Spirit-Directed Meetings and Days

Moroni, the last author of the Book of Mormon, provides the following description of church services among his people:

Their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Ghost; for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, even so it was done.

Moroni 6:9

It all sounds very spontaneous and improvisatory. He provides a list of activities which they included in their meetings but suggests that they decided the order of those activities in real time.

In modern revelation, the Lord has reiterated this instruction:

Notwithstanding those things which are written, it always has been given to the elders of my church from the beginning, and ever shall be, to conduct all meetings as they are directed and guided by the Holy Spirit.

Doctrine and Covenants 46:2

We have handbooks and training with detailed instructions about how to conduct church services, yet those instructions—that scaffolding—must never inhibit the revelatory worship experience of the participants. We must always approach church meetings with adaptability, a willingness to follow the Spirit of the Lord and participate in a manner that is appropriate to the current circumstance.

President Henry B. Eyring once welcomed a visiting church leader to his local area. He had heard this leader speak many times and knew that he was capable of delivering a polished sermon. However, the leader had recently flown into town after a long assignment in Europe and was clearly exhausted. President Eyring’s heart sank as he heard the leader ramble from one topic to another with no coherent organizing principle. Then, he noticed something remarkable:

As [this leader] moved from one apparently unrelated topic to another, he was touching the need of every poor struggling member and family we were trying to help. He did not know them and their needs. But God did. …

The Holy Ghost came that night. And the Lord’s will was done.

“Gifts of the Spirit for Hard Times,” Brigham Young University Devotional Address, 10 September 2006

As I’ve thought about this principle today, I’ve realized that what’s good for a church meeting or a talk is also good for our lives. Nephi said that “if [we] will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto [us] all things what [we] should do” (2 Nephi 32:5). Every morning, I make a list of goals and tasks for the day and try to visualize what I will accomplish. But after that time of preparation, when the day begins, I need to be as receptive to the guidance of the Holy Ghost as a church leader conducting a worship service. The day is sure to bring unforeseen challenges and opportunities. If I am clinging too tightly to my agenda, I may miss those opportunities entirely.

Today, I will strive to be Spirit-directed. I will make plans, but I will also be open to changing those plans as the Holy Ghost directs. I will remember that we must always be open to receive direction and guidance from the Holy Ghost.