Five Surprising Things You Didn’t Know About the Mormon Faith

By Meaghan Mackey

On a rainy Sunday afternoon, I decided to step foot into a Mormon ward to see what it was all about. I was recently single, knew of many people who met their life partner in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and wanted to find out for myself what it was actually like. The service I chose to attend was a three hour singles ward intended for single adults ages 18–30 living in Sparks, Nevada. The ward was on Prater Way and was also designed to accommodate people living with disabilities.

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into but I was intrigued to find out. Here are five things I learned that I didn’t know before after attending the service:

The Bishop Must Take the Sacrament First

One of the first things that happens during the service is the Sacrament, which is similar to communion in Catholism. The Sacrament consists of leavened bread and holy water. First, the bread is passed around and consumed by the congregation and second, the water is sent around. The “brothers” or males of the church are the individuals that serve the Sacrament. The Sacrament must first be consumed by the Bishop of the ward because he is the higher authority of the administration in the church.

Yes, there is a ward just for singles!

If you aren’t familiar with the Mormon faith, all families are assigned to attend a ward that is in their region every Sunday. However, when an individual reaches the age of 18, they are then assigned to a singles ward where they can mingle with other Mormons that share their same religious beliefs and values. The Church of Jesus Christer of Latter Day Saints has a large emphasis on getting sealed to your family so it is important to people who practice Mormonism to meet a spouse they can be sealed inside the temple. The particular ward I attended in Sparks was for singles and they even served chili at the end of the service to encourage mingling amongst one another.

Transgender Individuals Can Be Mormon

In the third portion of the Mormon Singles Ward service on Prater Way, three individuals shared their testimony about how they came into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. One of the testimonies was done by an individual that identifies as transgender (see Emily Hodge’s story). He says that he feels accepted by the Mormon Church and has never felt a love like that before.

Members of the Church Feed the Missionaries

When I first entered the ward, I was immediately introduced to two “sisters” who were serving a mission at the singles ward off of Prater Way. Both of them were from the southern region of the United States so moving to Reno for 18 months was a foreign experience for them. Typically in the Mormon church, females are called to serve a mission or “calling” for 18 months while males are called to serve for two years. During the service, a clipboard was passed around the congregation to sign-up for a night to feed the missionaries. I was under the impression that it is the responsibility of the church to pay for these missionaries while they are on their mission so meal sign-ups

are essential to the church.

You Must Accept the Calling the Church Gives You

At the beginning of the singles ward service, the Bishop announced that the Bishop from another ward was given a new calling and someone else was going to take his place. After the first part of the service was over, I approached the Bishop because I was curious about these “callings.” That is when he showed me a YouTube video about how these callings work and that there is a committee that selects the member of the church they think is best fit to serve in that position. Examples of callings are clerks, secretaries, counselors, elders, etc.

There are many things the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints keeps secret; or as they like to call it, sacred. But these were some of the things I observed during a three hour ward I had the opportunity to attend.