PROVO, Utah – A buzz of excitement, anticipation and energy fills the hallways and walkways of the Provo Missionary Training Center before, between and after the sessions of the annual four-day Seminar for New Mission Leaders. Old acquaintances are renewed, new friendships are formed, and connections are made with those serving in the same areas as new mission leaders, general authorities and officers and Missionary Department staff meet, mingle and converse.
Seminar participants are invited to be seated 15 minutes before the start of each session. That gets doubled on the Sundays of the seminar, as attendees are asked the day before to be in their seats 30 minutes before the Sunday session, which combines a sacrament meeting with a final message delivered by a First Presidency member. The invitation is to quietly and reverently prepare and ponder prior to the sacrament meeting.
Comparing the buzz in the hallways to the presession quiet in the conference rooms results in stark differences and understandable similarities. The obvious difference is the audible decibel levels; one similarity is continued excitement, anticipation and energy — not from conversations but of being ready to be instructed and edified.
And when it happens, it is a powerful scene. The moment — OK, the “moment” over 30 minutes — is unifying. The silence is almost deafening. The seeking of and listening to the Spirit is overwhelming.
These extended periods of spiritual preparation and personal reflection remind me of when the stake presidency I was serving in was invited to an instructional meeting for dozens of local stake presidencies, presided over by President Boyd K. Packer, then acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Knowing of President Packer and his propensity at meetings to underscore spiritual preparation and even start meetings early, I offered my stake presidency counselors a ride to the instruction meeting, announcing we should arrive 30 minutes before the scheduled start. I could tell they were surprised — yet agreeable to the earlier-than-expected time.
We arrived at the meetinghouse in a neighboring city 30 minutes early — with the chapel about a third full already and attendees quietly sitting. The organist had started playing prelude a half hour before that.
About 15 minutes before the scheduled start, President Packer and the other general and area leaders walked into the chapel and sat down on the rostrum. Seven or eight minutes later, the leader conducting the meeting got up, relaying that President Packer had appreciated the reverent preparation and that the Spirit had indicated to him that we were ready to begin.
Over the next several minutes, I watched others arrive through the chapel’s back doors, expecting to be a few minutes early, just on time or only a little late — yet surprised to find the meeting already underway. And after, my counselors expressed appreciation for learning about making time for spiritual preparation.
Fast-forward to the Sunday, June 21, final session of the 2026 Seminar for New Mission Leaders. Conducting the meeting and welcoming the participants, Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles expressed appreciation for the prelude music and the prolonged period of pondering and spiritual preparation and how it invited the Spirit — not only that day but the seminar’s other days as well.
To the new mission leaders soon to be meeting with missionaries in their assigned areas, Elder Rasband said: “May I suggest to you that this is a good pattern for you to follow.”
The pondering, preparation and personal reflection is a good pattern for all — even if it isn’t 15 to 30 minutes in advance. Speaking at a 2003 worldwide leadership meeting, then-Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles suggested starting at a shorter interval for sacrament meetings.
“Those participating should be seated at least five minutes before the meeting begins so they can be spiritually prepared for a worshipful experience,” he taught. “During that quiet interval, prelude music is subdued. This is not a time for conversation or transmission of messages but a period of prayerful meditation as leaders and members prepare spiritually for the sacrament.”
He later added: “Each member of the Church bears responsibility for the spiritual enrichment that can come from a sacrament meeting.”
May we consider our participation in worship meetings, training meetings, conferences and devotionals. If we find ourselves typically arriving just at the start or maybe a minute or two or more after, see if we can make arrangements and efforts to come a few minutes earlier and listen to the prelude music, ponder and prepare. And if we’re arriving just a couple of minutes before the meeting begins, try getting there even earlier for an extended period — and increased benefits — of prelude, pondering, preparation and personal reflection.
— Scott Taylor is managing editor of the Church News.
