Like other Christians, Latter-day Saints attend Church services every Sunday — over 28,000 congregations meet each week in chapels throughout the world. These local congregations are geographically designated so as to bring neighbors and communities closer together, affording greater opportunities of being able to serve one another.Sunday services are open to all who wish to attend, including those not of the LDS faith.

In addition to regular Sunday worship, Latter-days Saints also follow the biblical practice of temple worship. The Church operates some 138 temples throughout the world. By comparison, there are over 17,000 chapels for Sunday worship services. Latter-day Saints believe that temples are the most sacred places on earth — sanctuaries from the distractions and commotion of life.Therefore, unlike regular Sunday worship, to which all are invited, temple worship is set aside for Latter-day Saints who observe the basic principles of the faith.

In 2008, the Church launched its online indexing program, in which volunteers spend a half hour or more each week as they’re able indexing various genealogical records, including census records and vital records. Volunteers work from their own computer following a brief online, self-paced training. Then, whenever they have some time, they log in to the site and select a project to complete. Most projects require about a half hour to complete. Some involve transcribing a handwritten record and others simply require the indexer to place typed data into a form from a copy of the document. The volunteer may work on the project whenever they have time, saving it to the server if they are interrupted. If the project is not completed in one week, it is given to another person to finish. Each project is done by two people, and differences in their results are analyzed by a trained person. This minimizes error and gives inexperienced volunteers confidence.

Older genealogists who have memories of spending hours in genealogy libraries scrolling through endless roles of microfilm are in awe of the ease this program has created. Many records are already online and available to researchers, who can track down a birth record or census film right in their own home without the time or cost previously required.

Current projects include the 1920 census, New Zealand passenger lists, Australian cemetery inscriptions and Canadian marriages. Some researchers enjoy working on projects that might include their own ancestors and others simply select projects that look interesting. Some have favorite types of projects. For instance, many enjoy the census records because of the glimpse they give into long ago families.

Mormon beliefs include the knowledge that God never intended for us to divorce our loved ones at death. Mormons believe that marriage and parenthood continue into the eternities and that families can be joined together for eternity. For this reason, genealogy takes on a special meaning as church members become acquainted with those who will be part of their eternal families, and many develop a strong sense of connection to people who died before they were born as they learn of their life stories. Eternal families are one reason for Mormon genealogy

Mormons perform the work necessary to make this eternal family come into being in their temples. Mormon temples are special buildings not used for regular worship. They are a place to learn about the Savior, Jesus Christ, to make covenants (promises) with Him, and to carry out eternal ordinances which allow those who died without the gospel to be offered a chance at the ordinances required for eternal life. Having these ordinances performed does not make them Mormons. After an ordinance is performed by a living proxy, the deceased person is given the opportunity to accept or reject the gift that was given. If he rejects it, it is as if it never happened. If he accepts, it stands as if he’d done so himself in his own lifetime. However, we always have our agency, and this continues after death, so each individual has the right to choose. The names of those for whom work is done is not entered into church membership records, since there is no way to know whether or not the person accepted.

The records being placed online are available to both Mormons and non-Mormons to assist them in their genealogical research. This new record, like others before it, will be a searchable database, eliminating the need to spend hours scrolling through lists.

My wife and I have also been blessed with miracles in our marriage. Our pleas for help have been answered in the form of unexpected monetary gifts, unsolicited job offers, as well as impressions that have led us to do something that was needed, but not solicited, for one another. We attribute these miracles to the covenant relationship that we have with God. As our benevolent Heavenly Father, we believe that God is involved with the details of our lives. His omniscience and omnipotence enable Him to bless us with extraordinary events that we are not able to experience otherwise. It’s like having God as a contributing partner in our marital relationship.

A few days ago, I woke up to the beautiful silhouette of my wife lying beside me. I was filled with so much gratitude for her and for the blessing that we can spend eternity together. Eternity sounds like a long time, but when you’re spending it with someone who you love completely, you’ll be grateful that you can spend eternity with him or her.

Personal Response by Richard Neitzel Holzapfel

Latter-day Saints, Mormons, like many other religious people, wear special clothing with religious meaning. Often Christian ministers and priests wear special robes or collars to identify themselves. In secular society, police officers, basketball players, or nurses wears special clothing to identify themselves with a particular group. Such clothing provides a sense of belonging and a personal reminder of what membership in that group entails.

When we see Protestant clergy or Buddhist priests, we automatically recognize a deep sense of religious commitment on their part. When we see a Catholic nun wearing the traditional black and white habit, we may identify her with people like Mother Teresa, who helped the poor and needy.

Jews wear a special garment called a Tallit Qatan (small Tallit), a four-cornered cloth with fringes. Based on biblical instructions (see Numbers 15:37-41), many Orthodox men wear this garment. It looks like a small poncho with four fringes attached (Tsitsit), and is worn beneath their outer clothing reminding them that the Lord has called them to be “a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). Additional significance of this particular garment is debated among Jewish scholars. However, it is worn by Jews who believe the Lord has asked them to do so.

Like some Orthodox Jews, Latter-day Saints wear religious clothing to remind them of their commitment to the Lord. The Latter-day Saint (Mormon) underclothing is called the holy garment, or more formally, “the garment of the holy priesthood.” In an age of political correctness and concern about respecting others’ religious beliefs, it is important to note that members of the Mormon Church do not use the term “Mormon underwear.” They prefer the term “holy garment” because for them the garment is more than underwear; it is a physical reminder to be faithful to the Lord. Much as a couple wears rings to remind them of promises made to each other, the garment reminds Latter-day Saints of their promises made to the Lord.

Because the garment has religious significance, Latter-day Saints consider them sacred and are careful about their use and care. They do not purposely display them publicly but attempt to be circumspect in removing them in public places such as gyms or locker rooms. Garments are white, symbolic of purity, and composed of two pieces that can easily be worn under modest clothing. Basically, the holy garment is worn night and day, except when a particular activity requires its removal, such as bathing, swimming, and certain other physical activities. Latter-day Saint (Mormon) soldiers wear a special holy garment that has been dyed so it will not draw attention in battle. There is nothing special about the material or the garment itself once it has worn out.

Hate groups who know the Latter-day Saint sensibilities and practice often display garments publicly in a mocking fashion or refer to them as Mormon underwear. They do so to marginalize Latter-day Saints by making them appear strange, but they wound the feelings of those who wear the holy garment as a reminder of their faith. Such hate groups dehumanize others by making a mockery of their beliefs. In this age of religious pluralism, we would never think of mocking a Jew for wearing a Tallit Qatan or display the garment in a mocking way, referring to it in inappropriate or offensive ways. Latter-day Saints ask for the same religious sensibilities to apply to them as with all religious groups.

Personal Response by Andrew C. Skinner

Latter-day Saint or Mormon temples are holy edifices or buildings wherein the most sacred ordinances, rites, and ceremonies are performed that pertain to full and complete salvation in the Kingdom of God, usually referred to as exaltation. Because Latter-day Saints believe that life continues after this mortal existence, and that all men and women deserve and need to participate in these saving ordinances instituted by God, members of the Mormon Church who have participated in these ordinances for their own salvation are encouraged to return to the temple often to act as proxies for ancestors who have passed on.

Latter-day Saints have always been a temple-building people because they believe that God has always commanded his people in every period of time to build temples (D&C 124:39). Therefore, Latter-day Saints see a connection to and continuity between their Mormon temples and ancient Israelite and Jewish temples (Solomon’s, Zerubbabel’s and Herod’s temples). The first Mormon temple built after the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830 was in Kirtland, Ohio (D&C 109) dedicated in 1836.

Latter-day Saints believe that authorized, dedicated temples are literally the house or home of the Lord, places on earth where he may actually come and dwell. Therefore, the same degree of purity and sanctity required of the ancient Israelites to enter their most sacred of all structures, as described in Ezekiel 44:9, is required of Latter-day Saints today. Temples are different from chapels, wherein weekday instructional meetings occur and Sabbath-day worship services are conducted. All people are welcome to enter these buildings. However temples possess the highest degree of holiness wherein the highest form of worship takes place and where only members who are certified in worthiness may enter.

Entrance into any temple, once it has been dedicated by priesthood leaders for its full and intended use, requires a recommend-a certificate of worthiness issued by a member’s Bishop or local ecclesiastical leader.

Because Latter-day Saint or Mormon temples represent the highest in our worship, special ordinances and ceremonies are performed that pertain to the exaltation of the human family. In the temple, members receive instruction on the Lord’s plan of salvation, the stages of humankind’s eternal existence, and ordinances which seal together husbands, wives, and children as eternal families. The power to bind and seal on earth, as well as in heaven, was possessed by Old Testament prophets, Elijah being one of the most dramatic examples (1 Kings 18). The power to bind and seal was given to Peter in New Testament times (Matthew 16:19), and that same power is vested in Prophets and apostles today. Thus Mormon temples are constructed for the same purpose as this earth was created-to foster marriage and family life and link families together for eternity (D&C 2; 49:15-17). Knowledge of and participation in these sealing ordinances provide a great blessing of security, comfort, and peace to those who attend the temple.The temple is a place of peace and purity because no unclean or impure thing is allowed to enter (D&C 97:15-16). As a result, members may enjoy special, sacred experiences in temples.

In the temple, Church members gain added insight into the nature of our Father in Heaven and his Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ, including an understanding of the infinite love they possess for each of us, and the infinite power and knowledge they desire to pass on to us. In the temple, worshipers get their bearings on the universe so to speak. The temple is a place on earth where God and humans come together.