From the decades-old Church building that exudes community and religious history to the newly constructed stake center set to open its doors, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints features a wide array of meetinghouses throughout the world.
As the Church expands into locales with smaller congregations, Church-owned and operated meetinghouses are supplemented with multi-phase buildings as well as rented halls, gathering places or — in some extreme cases — members' homes.
"Each meetinghouse is dedicated to be a place of worship and learning and a refuge from the world. In addition, a meetinghouse is a witness of faith in Jesus Christ and shows evidence of sacrifice and consecration by Church members" (Facilities Management Guidelines for Meetinghouses, p. 1).
Meetinghouses are used for many purposes — most important, to worship and to learn gospel truths as well to perform sacred ordinances, including but not limited to baptisms, confirmations and the sacrament.
The building's central location is the chapel, a special place where members should enter in a spirit of reverence, whether for meetings or ordinances. One's attire, actions and attitudes in the chapel should reflect that it serves as a spiritual sanctuary.
In Church- or family-related circumstances, the meetinghouses are also used to socialize in activities and receptions; to perform music, dance and drama; and to participate in sports activities. In these cases, a cultural hall often becomes the focal point of activities.
However, members would be shortsighted if they see a meetinghouse more as neighborhood community center or recreational center instead of a dedicated building first and foremost for worship, religious instruction and ordinances.
Even worse is if one's actions in the meetinghouse reflected a misperception that activities and events take precedence over worship, instruction and ordinances. We should be cautious that casualness in conduct, irreverence and inappropriate speech not only don't spill into our worship and ordinances but also don't become prevalent whenever we're in the meetinghouse.
Parents can help children and youth understand actions and attitudes that might be acceptable in social or athletics circumstances in the meetinghouse could also be unacceptable on Sundays or in other religious-oriented settings. And that rambunctious, rowdy behavior — running or playing throughout the building, shouting, defacing or showing disrespect to the building — is always inappropriate.
Sometimes our children, youth and even some adults become too comfortable and uncaring in meetinghouses. They might tend to do something or act in a way that they wouldn't dare repeat in a school, a library, a store, a public building or even at home — for example, bringing a bicycle into a foyer for safekeeping during a night activity or bouncing a basketball in the hallway.
Members would do well to remember a meetinghouse's special, sacred nature.
No longer are members asked to donate to unit budget funds to help finance building operational costs and utilities, nor are they asked to contribute to building funds to first pay all or part of the construction costs for new buildings. Now, tithes, donations and other Church funds are used to pay for the construction and maintenance of meetinghouses.
Members help defray costs as well as show respect and reverence for meetinghouses by sharing responsibility in regular weekly maintenance of the building and the safeguarding of the facility and its equipment.
They also help by putting away chairs and tables, cleaning up areas, emptying the trash, turning off lights and securing the building after all meetings and activities.
Through increased respect, reverence and effort, members can ensure that "in all things, those who use the buildings should be blessed by coming" (Guidelines, page 1).
