Even little children sense this love, this awe for a tiny baby. They beg to hold the baby. They touch its fingers and cheeks, delighted and amazed at its smallness. The idea of a new life, a truly valued gift, inspires reverence, love, and joy.

President Spencer W. Kimball suggests that we should be “the happiest people on earth,” and “the most reverent.” He says this is so because we are so “richly blessed.” (We Should Be a Reverent People, booklet, 1976.) Indeed, we not only enjoy all the temporal blessings of this good earth, but, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we possess a gift that should be valued above all else—the gospel of Jesus Christ. Just as life inspires feelings of reverence, so can the gospel. Could it be that the reverent feelings and behavior we sometimes lack at our church meetings result from our inability to appreciate the true value of this gift?

2. Understanding Increases Our Reverence
Sometimes we don’t feel reverence because our understanding is limited. A small child visiting a cemetery will probably not feel particularly reverent. Instead, he may see it as a unique playground with hiding places to explore and pretty flowers to collect for Mommy.

To adults who understand death and its place in the plan of salvation, this same visit can be one of quiet respect and shared joy. With this understanding, we may spend our time reliving happy memories of our loved one, smiling as we recall the past and anticipate the future. Because we understand more, we feel more reverent.

This growth of gospel understanding is a gradual process. Children learn of specific gospel principles through their parents. And because they love their parents, they learn to value the things their parents value—going to church, having family home evening, praying. Parents can use these experiences to help their children understand the principles of the gospel and appreciate the Savior.

During this time of growth, parents can teach children appropriate ways to express reverence. Parents who talk quietly and reverently in the chapel, who support their church leaders, and who feel joy in meeting with the Saints, show children that church is a quiet and happy place to be.

As children continue to grow through adolescence into adulthood, they develop their own testimonies through prayer, study, and personal revelation. At that point, reverent behavior is not outward conformity but a reflection of those things they have come to value within themselves. Their actions become respectful and appreciative—in other words, reverent. Understanding leads to value, and value leads to reverence.

3. Reverence Is Prompted by the Spirit
The more abundantly we feel the Spirit and the closer we feel to our Heavenly Father, the more reverent we naturally feel. For example, we feel the Spirit strongly in our temples. As we enter the doors, we sense the presence of God’s Spirit. The actions of those who work in the temple—their warmth as they greet us, their quiet voices, their unhurried movements—remind us of the peace and spirituality in the Lord’s house. In response, we also tone down our voices, clear our minds of concerns about home or work, and seek to partake of the fulfilling, joyful, and revitalizing peace that comes through temple service.

Although children do not generally go to the temple, they too can understand how it feels to be in tune with the Spirit. These feelings can be fostered in the home during regular activities such as family home evening, family prayer, and family study periods. The Spirit can also be nurtured through specific spiritual experiences that they can understand: baptisms, births, deaths, family Christmas programs, and fathers’ blessings.

Parents can tell when their children are feeling close to their Heavenly Father: their eyes light up, their bodies relax, their attention grows keen, and their interest becomes high. What better time is there to explain the feeling of reverence? In this teaching moment, a father might ask, “What are you feeling right now?”

“I feel all good and warm inside,” the child responds.

“That feeling is reverence. Being close to Heavenly Father helps you feel that way.” Children thus learn the joy of reverence, remembering it as a desirable feeling. And as they learn and cultivate reverence, their behavior reflects that feeling.

4. Reverence Is Involvement
It is not enough to understand the gospel and value it. Reverence is an active, not a passive, feeling. It is not a mere “Shush!” It requires that we become thoughtfully and spiritually involved in our worship services, recognizing the importance of the Savior’s sacrifice in our behalf. Reverence requires us to become more tolerant and patient with those who are speaking, teaching, and presiding—to love them as our Father’s children and realize they too are learning. We make the services meaningful by listening to their messages with receptive hearts and by building on their ideas with thoughts and insights of our own. We use our new discoveries to better our personal lives.

This active involvement is not always easy for either adults or children. Church leaders can do much to help. People who conduct various Church services can encourage the Lord’s Spirit to be present in all meetings through the reverent way they conduct meetings and through their prayers, planning, preparation meetings, and personal worthiness. Such well-prepared meetings keep the members’ attention and invite the Spirit.

Parents, too, can help by preparing themselves and their children. They are more apt to feel reverent if they leave home with the proper attitude. Scolding Suzy for her messy hair as you slide into your seat during the opening announcements easily stifles a reverent feeling. On the other hand, scripture reading, family prayer, singing hymns, and gospel discussions can promote a feeling of reverence in the home. Arriving early enough to listen to the prelude music helps carry that feeling into the church meetings.

As we apply these principles in our homes and wards, reverence will become a more active part of our lives. It will become something we feel, not just something we do. It will become a part of who we are. And in the process we will grow closer to the Lord, the ultimate object of our reverence.

Building and Grounds. Bishop Keith J. Crawford, Grant Fourth Ward, Salt Lake Grant Stake, believes that reverence starts with the condition of the building and the grounds. “If the custodians and members dedicate themselves to seeing that the Lord’s house is always clean and ready—every day of the week, not just on Sunday—this sets a mood for reverence.”

Program Assignments. Many bishops agree that preparation is a key to reverent meetings. Bishop Derrol Sillito, Puyallup Second Ward, Puyallup Washington Stake, says that he and his counselors look at the needs of the ward, then develop themes and topics for their sacrament meetings. They ask people they feel are doing well in those areas to speak—several weeks in advance so that the speakers have ample time to prepare.

Bishop Glen F. Jepsen, Pleasant View Sixth Ward, Pleasant View Utah Stake, also assigns prayers a week in advance so that everyone on the program will be prepared and sitting on the stand when the meeting begins.

Sacrament Duties. Many ward leaders ask Aaronic Priesthood holders to have the sacrament ready from five to fifteen minutes before the meeting starts to eliminate distractions at the front of the chapel. They also ask Aaronic Priesthood leaders to assign young men to help with the sacrament in advance so there isn’t last-minute confusion in trying to decide who will do what.

Setting the Example

Parents. Children usually act the way they see their parents acting, says Bishop Watterson, so setting a reverent example is of utmost importance. Parents should never talk with one another or whisper during the meeting, particularly during the sacrament.

“Reverence Children.” Bishop David B. Day, former bishop of the Centerville Twelfth Ward, Centerville Utah Stake, found that using Primary children as examples helped his ward members to be more reverent. Each week, he had the Primary president select two children to stand quietly, with arms folded, on each side of the podium for ten minutes before sacrament meeting.

“The members had a model each week to represent the sacred nature of our meeting and to bring to mind the importance of reverent attention in the chapel as well as in sacrament meeting,” Bishop Day says. “The young people also focused on reverence in Primary as they prepared to represent it to the entire congregation.”

Music. Bishop Sillito finds that prelude music, played for at least ten minutes before the meeting begins, helps people be more reverent. “I think a good organist has the ability to alter people’s moods,” he says. A quiet example from greeters also helps.

Leaving the Chapel. N. Kay Stevenson, former bishop of the Burbank First Ward, North Hollywood California Stake, found that the most difficult times to maintain reverence in the chapel were before and after meetings. “We’re a business-doing people,” he says, “and we feel that if we don’t speak to each other, we’re being unfriendly. One way he remedied the problem was to have the congregation remain seated while he and his counselors ushered the sacrament meeting participants into the foyer. “We could all greet each other there and keep the chapel more reverent,” he says. “I felt a bit awkward walking out in front of everyone, but it really helped.”

Instilling Reverence within Families

Sitting Together. Many bishops agree that a meeting is more reverent when families sit together so that parents can supervise their children’s behavior. In many wards, after the sacrament, leaders excuse the deacons and priests to sit with their families. “It’s tough for eight to ten deacons to sit by themselves through a meeting and be quiet,” says Bishop Jepsen. “Families have learned to save a spot for their sons who are participating, and usually they try to sit close to the aisle so that there’s not a lot of disruption when the young men come to sit down.”

Concept of the Sabbath. Bishop and Sister Watterson feel that in order to convince children to be reverent, parents must teach them respect for the concept of the Sabbath. One way they have done this is to encourage their children to prepare for the Sabbath on Saturday night: “We require our children to be home by midnight.” They also treat the Sabbath as a special day. That way, “there’s no confusion of the spirits,” says the bishop. “The Sabbath isn’t for the spirit of entertainment; it is reserved for family and for activities that help each person come closer to the Lord.”

Family Home Evenings. Leaders in the Puyallup Second Ward encourage families to talk about and teach reverence in the home. Recently they referred parents to an Ensign article (July 1989, p. 40) and to lessons in the Family Home Evening Resource Book. “I think that’s where it all starts,” says Bishop Sillito. “If children know what reverence is because their parents have worked with them, we usually don’t have a lot of trouble.”