The Way Things Used to Be: Mid-century LDS Church Meeting Schedules
When my parents tell stories about going to church in the good-old days, there’s inevitably a confusing explanation about the split schedules that were the norm before the consolidated three-hour block meetings we attend today.
I’ve created this handy guide for deciphering these stories. Below are explanations about the meeting schedule of the Mt. Emmons Ward, in which my mom grew up in the 1950s-60s:
Sunday Mornings
Sunday School was the first meeting held on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Children attended Junior Sunday School while their parents were in adult class. Sacrament was administered in Sunday School as well as during sacrament meeting.
Following Sunday School were priesthood quorum meetings. Because many families lived a good distance from the chapel, while priesthood holders attended these meetings, women and children would wait for them to get out before going home together. To cut down on juvenile delinquency, the Mt. Emmons Ward established a youth choir to keep the young people busy during this time.
Sunday Evenings
Sacrament meetings were held late in the Mt. Emmons Ward — 7 p.m. in the winter and 8 p.m. in the summer. The late start times gave farmers enough time to go home, milk cows and do other essential farm chores between meetings.
Weekdays
Relief Society meetings were held one weekday per week at about 10 a.m. Meetings were about an hour except for work meetings (when sisters got together and did things like make quilts or sew), which went longer and involved lunch.
Primary was held one afternoon per week a little after school got out.
Stake Conferences
Stake conferences included two Sunday sessions: one in the morning (at 10 a.m.) and another in the afternoon (at 2 p.m.). Individual wards would also hold sacrament meetings in the evenings on these Sundays as well.
