62 Years of Sacrament Meetings in the 9th / 31st Ward Chapel.
On Christmas day, 1960, at 2 o'clock p.m., Latter-day Saints belonging to the Bountiful 9th and 18th Wards joined for the first sacrament meeting held in their new chapel. Almost 1,000 people attended this first meeting including the entire Stake Presidency.
Almost every week for just over 62 years, the Ninth Ward has met to partake of the Lord's Supper, offer prayers, join in song, and hear inspired messages from visitors and fellow congregants (I will assume until I learn otherwise). Taking into consideration General and Stake Conferences, the total number of 9th Ward Sacrament meetings conducted in the building on the corner of Center Street and 6th East would be just under 3,000.
Minutes from the 1960s and 1970s let us go back and discover how some things have changed, and some things have stayed the same. Much should seem familiar to today's readers.
Before looking at a couple of Sacrament meetings sixty and fifty years ago, this minute entry from January 15, 1961 is fun. It would have been the fourth Sunday of services in their new building. This meeting was an 8 o'clock Ward Teacher's Report Meeting. Those in attendance had divided into three groups.
This is good advice for those of us worshipping in a 60+ year old building. Reverence and appreciate our beautiful home.
Sixty years ago on January 20, 1963, Ninth Warders met at 6 p.m. for a meeting conducted by Bishop Glenn Goodrich. It just happened to be the missionary farewell of Stephen B. Shurtliff. The hymns sung then are familiar to Latter-day Saints of today. The meeting lasted 1 hour and 37 minutes, as carefully noted by the ward clerk.
The meeting held ten years later also happened to be connected to a missionary, this time a missionary homecoming. The meeting started at 3 pm and there were 292 in attendance. Clifford Chapple, a ward clerk, captured the business and happenings of the meeting, as well as some interesting anecdotes and thoughts shared by the returned missionary and high councilman.
Spending time this past week with ward history impacted my experience in our own Sacrament Meeting this morning. I couldn't help but think of what I was witnessing as a fleeting moment in time. We no longer take such careful notes of our Sunday meetings (in some buildings, the clerk had his own seat, often on the opposite side of the rostrum from the sacrament table, where he sat and captured the minutes of the meeting), but perhaps in fifty or sixty years, someone will find this blog post and wonder about the people who participated in our meeting today.
Here's a few observations and some commentary of someone in attendance at the meeting. Hopefully future scholars will also have access to Roy Van Orman's journals and notes for another perspective of today's meeting.
Brother Jim Karper, second counselor in the bishopric conducted and took care of some ward business including the calling of Tracy Larson and Scott and Jill Stirling to the youth conference committee. Brother Ken Tingey gave the opening prayer, wearing a black suit, gray tie with a pattern, and a white shirt. In 2023, the overwhelming majority of men wear dark suits, white shirts and ties to sacrament meeting, though not everyone.
It was fun to look around at the congregation and reflect on the contributions of many who have been in the ward for decades. People serve in Latter-day Saint congregations, they don't just observe. Looking through old records, I came across the names of ward members I recognize. I looked around to see which of this ward's former bishops were in the sacrament meeting. I spotted several. The same could be done of other callings in the ward. The minutes of past sacrament meetings would reveal the names of ward choristers and organists. I wondered about the time and dedication it takes to master the keyboard and be able to play the organ as I listened to Becky Veigel play that marvelous organ. I thought of the sound that came from actual organ pipes directly to my ears rather than sound created through electronic circuit boards, wires and speakers. Vanessa Johnson has a calming influence as she effortlessly leads the music.
The opening hymn was number 223, "Have I Done Any Good?" I paid particular attention to the words and wondered about the purpose of Sunday worship. Sacrament meeting can be a gift each week to get away from the demands of everyday life and ask ourselves, "Have I done any good in the world [this week]? Have I helped anyone in need? Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?" The words of this hymn seemed particularly meaningful today. I must admit, I don't always think about the words I sing at church. "Has anyone's burden been lighter today because I was willing to share? Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way? When they needed my help was I there?" I thought about how hollow these words are if we just gather each week and sing them together without actually doing good. But I also think that gathering together to sing words beautifully crafted and sung to memorable tunes can do something to us. Perhaps it takes a long time, and there are times of failure, but perhaps those messages sink in. Perhaps little by little, we repent and change. We are converted. I also think about how rare it is for a group of people to get together and sing. Some people sing in rock bands. Some belong to big choirs. I can't think of many other places where I get to sing in public.
The above minutes noted the priests who blessed the sacrament. I noted the priests today. I have always been impressed by Aeden Skelton. He is a hard worker and always shows up. I think of the example he is to the new priests who recently joined him in the priest quorum and how much of a help he must be to Bishop Moore. I loved to see two Skelton brothers blessing the sacrament together and was impressed with the beautiful way Asher blessed the water. One doesn't often hear the voices of deacons and teachers. They are frequently seen but not heard. We hear the voices of priests every week. I look forward to hearing Asher bless the sacrament again. I looked at Jack Veigel and thought about how naturally he fit behind the sacrament table. When I was in primary, and even a deacon and teacher, I remembered thinking that the priests were really cool. I suspect that a lot of people in this ward look up to Jack Veigel.
I once again noted that the sacrament was handled entirely by Aaronic priesthood holders. It has been quite some time since that has happened and it was noteworthy. Darren Dean, and a few other regulars got to stay in the congregation today. This is the third week that the newest group of deacons passed the sacrament. I was impressed with how well-trained they were and how confidently and reverently they fulfilled their assignment. Aiden Cook passed the sacrament to me. He's the deacon's quorum president and one of only a few people who hold priesthood keys in the ward. I thought about how well he's doing leading the quorum. In the section in front of me was Daniel Hill. For some reason, when I see Daniel, I think of my son Joseph. I remembered watching Joseph, my oldest, pass the sacrament as a deacon and thought of his church service while a college student today, more than ten years later. Growing up in the Ninth Ward prepared him well for the life he is living. Time passes too quickly.
There is power in priesthood ordinances. They erase time and space. I felt this strongly when I baptized Will and I knew that Joseph would be performing a baptism in Cote d'Ivoire that same weekend. I knew that we would both say the same words that had been repeated at every baptism since the Church was organized in 1830. That is, if everyone participating in those baptisms followed the directions found in D&C 20. I knew that Joseph and I, and those we were baptizing, would be dressed in white. I knew that the manner of baptism would be very similar. I feel the same way about the sacrament. It connects me to Latter-day Saints around the globe including those who have already passed. I think of my Latter-day Saint ancestors who attended sacrament meetings. Their sacrament experience was not that different from mine. Some may have partaken homemade bread, drunk out of a communal cup, and perhaps the old priest extended his hands toward heaven while saying the prayers, but the words were the same. The heart of it is the same. Sometimes I feel at one with God and His children when I participate in the sacrament.
I spent a bit of time looking around at the congregation and thinking about the people I saw. I thought about the several married couples sitting together who, when we moved into the ward over a decade ago, had a number of children sitting next to them. Now they sat alone. Actually, many of them sat next to their friends in the ward, friendships forged over years and years. I looked around and saw a room filled with individuals, all of them in different situations in life. I love to see people chat with each other before and after our meetings. I love to see their smiles and their faces light up as they catch up with their friends each week. I thought about the breadth of this ward. We have good representation of people of all ages. I know I'm growing old because I look at people younger than me and wonder where the time has gone.
Today's talks were excellent. I love listening to youth speakers. Naomi LaMarr is one of those really impressive people. I was blown away by her performance of Matilda at Hannah Holbrook's school play last year. I thought about how her relationship to Jesus, and her understanding of His life and gospel, would help her in the coming years. I wonder if I'll get to vote for her as my president in twenty-five or thirty years. I once again got to wonder at Aeden Skelton. Everything he does he does well. As Aeden spoke, I thought about repenting this week. There are small things I can do to draw closer to God.
I like Brother Burrell. I suspect he's quite likable and that is why I like him. I thought back on my own experiences of home teaching and ministering. My dad made sure that we did our home teaching every month. I've had companions that were the same way. Perhaps I've often been that companion Brother Burrell mentioned that can often use the help and love of his companion. When Brother Burrell mentioned falling asleep during a home teaching visit, I remembered visiting the Youngs with my dad. They were homebound and looked forward to my dad's monthly visits. They had three chairs on one half of the room where the television was located. Across the room was the couch. My dad got one of the chairs next to the Youngs, I sat on the couch. I fell asleep during our visits several times. If our visits had lasted only 20 or 30 minutes, I think I could have stayed awake. But the visits often went on for more than an hour. I was in a reflective mood today, obviously. Brother Burrell's stories made me think of my own experiences.
John Jarman was my first home teaching companion in the Ninth Ward, I believe. When I see him, I think first and foremost of unique late night/early morning "home teaching" visits. I'm sure I accompanied him on just some of such emergency visits. In addition to our home teaching relationship, I got to visit his home with Joseph for his last "temple prep" lesson. That now comes to mind as well when I think of Brother Jarman. I like to hear Brother Jarman pray.
I didn't always like going to Church as a kid. I went because I was supposed to and to be good. With age has come appreciation. The more I learn about the past, the more I appreciate the present. I am grateful for those with gifts and talents who contribute to our hour of worship each week. I am grateful that we still gather and worship together, even as home church has become a critical part of our service.
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