The first sacrament meeting of the Restoration was held on a Tuesday. Latter-day Saints once drank homemade currant wine from a shared cup, sang hymns one line at a time because half the congregation couldn't read, and listened to music playing during the administration of the sacrament. Almost everything we picture when we say the word "church" is younger than we think.

Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot trace nearly two centuries of change in Latter-day Saint Sabbath worship — from open-air preaching in the Nauvoo grove to the 2026 two-hour block. There is no single standard history of this subject yet, so this episode pulls the thread together from separate histories of the sacrament, the Relief Society, the Sunday School, the Aaronic Priesthood, Primary, and the Young Women — including Justin Bray's work on the early sacrament.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro - Current Church Schedule Changes 

6:16 Sacrament Meeting History

14:22 The Sacrament History

32:12 Relief Society & Youth Program Changes

36:36 Sunday School Changes

42:42 Young Men’s & Women’s

49:00 Age Categories

53:25 Conclusion - Inspired Direction

===Informed Saints Credits===

Produced by The Ancient America Foundation

Producer: Spencer Clark

Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye

Church Changes Bibliography 

“https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/sacrament-meetings?lang=eng,” in Church History Topics. 

“https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/sunday-school?lang=eng,” in Church History Topics. 

“https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/young-women-organizations?lang=eng,” in Church History Topics. 

“https://churchhistorylibrary.churchofjesuschrist.org/guides/young-women-organization?lang=eng,” Church History Library Research Guides. 

“https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/relief-society?lang=eng,” in Church History Topics. 

Janene Wolsey Baadsgaard, “https://www.thechurchnews.com/1999/3/20/23249076/cover-story-sunday-school-grew-from-humble-start/,” Church News (March 20, 1999). 

Justin R. Bray, “https://rsc.byu.edu/you-shall-have-my-word/lords-supper-early-mormonism,” in You Shall Have My Word: Exploring the Text of the Doctrine and Covenants, ed. Scott C. Esplin, Richard O. Cowan, and Rachel Cope (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012), 64–74. 

Justin R. Bray, "https://rsc.byu.edu/sacred-time/sabbath-sacrament-latter-day-saints," in Sacred Time: The Sabbath as a Perpetual Covenant, ed. Gaye Strathearn (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book), 207–42. 

Rachel Cope, "https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-15-no-3-2014/thoughts-reclaiming-history-relief-society," Religious Educator 15, no. 3 (2014): 91–101. 

William Hartley, https://byustudies.byu.edu/online-book/my-fellow-servants-essays-on-the-history-of-the-priesthood/from-men-to-boys, in My Fellow Servants: Essays on the History of the Priesthood (Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2010). 

William Hartley, https://byustudies.byu.edu/online-book/my-fellow-servants-essays-on-the-history-of-the-priesthood/mormon-sundays, in My Fellow Servants: Essays on the History of the Priesthood (Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2010). 

Glen M. Leonard, “https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1974/12/125-years-of-the-sunday-classroom?lang=eng,” Ensign (December 1974). 

Janet Peterson, “https://rsc.byu.edu/firm-foundation/young-women-zion-organizational-history,” in David J. Whittaker and Arnold K. Garr, eds., A Firm Foundation: Church Organization and Administration (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2011), 277–94. 

Mary Jane Woodger, “https://rsc.byu.edu/sites/default/files/pub_content/pdf/DOM_and_progressive_education.pdf,” Religious Educator 21, no. 1 (2020): 128–55. 

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===Content Disclaimer===

The views expressed represent ours alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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