Cleaning The Chapel Is Not Only About Saving Money For The LDS Church, But Also About Building Character Through Additional Service Opportunities

One of the practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which has triggered some controversy and attracted criticism from anti-Mormons is the practice of asking Church members to participate in the weekly cleaning of our chapels during the past 14 years. An article published in the Ogden Standard-Examiner on February 5th, 2015, highlights this practice. Here's the critical excerpt:

For the last several years, members of LDS congregations worldwide have been asked to clean their own buildings, replacing what was once the task of janitors hired by the church. Though meetinghouses still hire out help for repairs, congregation member volunteers do the weekly cleaning.

According to church leaders, the primary purpose of member participation is to benefit and bless all, including the youth and less active by providing opportunities to serve. It also reinforces and deepens respect for the Lord’s houses of worship. It is noted that the opportunity to clean the meetinghouse is not about saving money, but about a spiritual opportunity to show respect to the Lord.

An unofficial estimate from a Mormon-skeptic blog, Nearing Kolob, projects that the Church saves $50 million per year in janitorial costs worldwide by having members clean the chapel. This estimate has not been confirmed by the LDS Church.

In my ward, we share the task with two other congregations, so it becomes our turn every three months. Because I was inactive, it was a great opportunity to get involved and serve at a level at which I could do so. I have since resumed regular activity in the Church (and I may have to change my user nickname :lol:). Participation in this effort is not a criterion for temple worthiness.

But how, when, and why did this practice evolve? This practice began with a letter from the First Presidency sent to various Church leaders in the Fall of 1998 calling upon the membership to assume a greater responsibility for cleaning and caring for Church meetinghouses. As a result, a number of full-time janitors became redundant as professional cleaning became restricted to big-ticket items such as carpet shampooing. In an article published in the June 1999 edition of Ensign, then-Presiding Bishop H. David Burton explained the change more fully. While Bishop Burton admitted that this was partially prompted by the fact that members no longer donated excess funds above normal tithing and fast offering levels, reducing available revenue to pay for fully professional cleaning, the real issue was that respect and appreciation for Church buildings by the membership, particularly among young people, had eroded. The change provided a greater opportunity for individual Church members to develop greater personal character and receive more eternal blessings by participating in the cleaning of their buildings; their sacrifice would prompt them to accord greater honor and respect and love for our beautiful houses of worship.

Additional refinements were announced in June 2010. The main point of coordination and leadership of this program is through stake presidents, the high councilor assigned as the stake physical facilities representative and the bishops and branch presidents. The LDS Church published "Cleaning Cards" which laid out the weekly tasks. Typical tasks for Church members include vacuuming the chapel, classrooms, corridors, and foyers; cleaning rest room floors, wiping counters, and replacing paper products; cleaning chalkboards, drinking fountains, and kitchen areas; sweeping the cultural hall floor, platform area, and exterior entrance walks; picking up debris; emptying trash and relining wastebaskets; setting up and putting away chairs and tables; cleaning and repairing hymnbooks, folding chairs, and sacrament trays; cleaning grounds, parking lots, landscaped areas, and adjacent Church-owned property; planting, weeding, and caring for flower beds; and removing snow from sidewalks as needed. Most often this is done on Saturday. Depending on the number of people who show up, the tasks can take anywhere from 45 minutes to three hours.

For the tougher cleaning tasks, facilities management personnel enter meetinghouses once a week to perform the more difficult maintenance responsibilities, such as refinishing cultural hall floors, cleaning the grouting in rest rooms, and shampooing carpets. They also maintain the equipment used by members and stock the cleaning supplies necessary for members to perform their roles.

Personally, from the perspective of one who has participated in this endeavor frequently, there is another reason this is a good idea. Cleaning the chapel can be a humbling experience. It reminds us not to get too full of ourselves. It further reminds us that, although not all work is equally valued by society, the Lord believes there is equal dignity in all work. It might even persuade us to behave more charitably towards the "hewers of wood and drawers of water" in our society whose jobs we don't want to do but whose products and services we're quick to use.

If It Was Not Undignified For Jesus To Wash The Feet Of His Disciples, It Is Not Undignified For LDS Members To Clean Chapels And Temples

In 1999, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in an effort to cope with the fact that many members were no longer donating above and beyond tithing and fast offerings to help operate their local wards and stakes, to include covering the rising costs of maintaining buildings and providing utilities, sent out a letter to local leaders calling upon Church members to assume a greater responsibility for cleaning and caring for Church meetinghouses. In particular, the letter suggested that Aaronic Priesthood quorums could play a prominent role in fulfilling this responsibility. Some local units began to terminate professional janitorial services as a result.

In the June 1999 Ensign, Presiding Bishop H. David Burton explained the issue, saying that saving money was not the only objective. Participating in the cleaning of the buildings would be a sacrifice by which members would better honor and respect and love our beautiful houses of worship. In short, the program was also intended to develop personal character and receive eternal blessings. Priesthood leaders who would teach their people that this is an opportunity to sacrifice and build the kingdom would find success in their efforts.

Church members would only take upon themselves light janitorial duties requiring no specialized experience or equipment; heavy janitorial tasks such as such as refinishing cultural hall floors, cleaning the grouting in rest rooms, and shampooing carpets would still be the responsibility of professional facilities management personnel.

And this doesn't just apply to chapels, but to temples as well. On The Rest of the Story, Alix and Brynt Barney reported on their recent experience taking a turn in cleaning the Rexburg Temple. They had a brief meeting where their responsibilities were explained and they were issued special "jump suits", then embarked upon their tasks. They were enthralled by the obvious presence of the Holy Spirit on the occasion, and what they took away from the experience was that the real point wasn't merely to clean something that was already dirty, but instead to keep it from ever getting dirty. Perhaps that explains why Jesus Christ said that when a man looks upon a woman and lusts after her, he has already committed adultery in his heart; unchecked, the impulse could lead someone to actually commit adultery and "dirty" up his life.

Other Church members also find it a worthwhile experience. In the February 2011 issue of Meridian Magazine, Susan Elzey describes her experience of cleaning her chapel in much greater detail. Banner, Sword and Shield notes that although she absolutely despises housework, she actually enjoys cleaning her chapel because it's not stressful, it's a demand that only comes up occasionally, it allows her a quiet period in a church where kids are not constantly needing attention. She compares it to the Celestial Room in a typical temple.

Amazingly, there are those who object to Church members being asked to volunteer to clean facilities. One detractor commenting to the Barneys' post ascribed ulterior motives to the Church:

Michael said:
You realize, of course, that you're doing janitorial work because the corporation would rather pour its money into the now-$4 billion mall in Salt Lake City, yes?
May 21, 2011 3:45 AM

Criticism pours in from other sources. On the Recovery from Mormonism website, cleaning facilities is denigrated as "scraping boogers off of chair bottoms". Another RfM thread denounces such members as "chapel-cleaning chumps". But, just as disturbing as the anti-Mormon invective is the element of elitism and snobbery entering into their discourse. They act as if cleaning and janitorial work is beneath their dignity. They behave just as the ancient Nephites did, who would enter into a cycle of prosperity, get lifted up in the pride of their hearts unto the wearing of costly apparel, and begin to look down upon their lesser brethren and sisters. Undoubtedly they looked upon janitorial work as "scut work" as well. And, of course, when the Nephites would not respond to their prophets' calls to repentance, an army of the Lamanites would often show up to administer their own lesson on repentance.

We should take our cues from Jesus Christ on this issue. In John 13:1-17, we find out that after the Last Supper was concluded, Jesus then proceeded to wash the feet of his disciples. Since Odoreaters™ had not been invented yet, this was undoubtedly not the most pleasant experience. Yet he did it anyway. The message Jesus intended to deliver was that no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

If it was not undignified for Jesus Christ to wash the feet of His disciples, then it is not undignified for LDS Church members to voluntarily clean their chapels and temples.