By: Taylor

Each Sunday, the parking lots at three different meetinghouses of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fill and empty 2-3 times as congregations called “wards” take their turn to hold worship services. As a global faith, they do not have independent affiliates, but they keep wards small to allow everyone to feel more connected and serve each other. There are several congregations in the metro, but they all have the same structure and meeting format as each other. 

Sunday worship services last for two hours, the first hour being called “sacrament meeting.” In that meeting, families worship together in the chapel, singing hymns and listening to short sermons delivered by other members of the congregation. The most important portion of the meeting is the “sacrament,” when members renew the promises they made at baptism by eating bread and water as symbols to remind them of Jesus Christ.  The second-hour alternates between different classes every other week.

High school students meet each school day at 6:00 am to further study scriptures and Church teachings and history. These classes are taught by adults within the congregation because this church has a lay ministry. There is no paid clergy or local staff. Each ward is led by a Bishop, who has been selected by regional Church authorities to preside over the congregation for up to 5 years, even as he continues his regular occupation.

The church has a “home-centered, Church-supported” approach to daily worship, where families are expected to continue family prayer and scripture study at home as they are able. Members are assigned to minister to each other in small groups to ensure needs are being met. Members are encouraged to engage in community service on their own or in small groups. At the same time, the entire global church of 17 million meets every 6 months for two days of sermons from global leaders. Most members watch online, with about 20,000 attending in person in Salt Lake City, Utah, the faith’s headquarters. Iowans will sometimes travel to Utah to attend in person. 

This church considers itself the “restored New Testament church” and is therefore not an off-shoot of historical Christianity. Often called the Mormons because they believed in The Book of Mormon as a companion scripture to the Bible, Latter-day Saints believe Christ was known to ancient Americans who kept a record that was hidden in 421 CE and translated by Joseph Smith in 1829. The resulting Book of Mormon holds the account of pre-Columbian inhabitants of parts of the Americas. Latter-day Saints accept Joseph Smith (1805-1844) as a prophet and seer. His successors in the faith are equally regarded, and each prophet serves until death.

Latter-day Saints are distinct in their missionary program that sends 18-25 year-olds throughout the world to serve up to two years at their own expense to share their message about Jesus Christ. They are also distinct for their effort to build temples in addition to regular meetinghouses. For them, temples are sacred buildings where they make promises to God to live by high standards and where they participate in proxy ceremonies on behalf of their ancestors. Due to the sacred nature of these services, the temple is not open to the public once it has been dedicated. In 2024, the Church announced a temple will be built in Des Moines at some point in the future. 

Meeting Schedule:

To find meeting times, search “Church of Jesus Christ” in your map program; click on one of the results to see current hours and a local phone number.

There are also two other locations in the Des Moines area, they are located in West Des Moines and Waukee.