Annapolis Newspaper Reporter Visits LDS Service At The Annapolis Ward In Maryland

Those of us who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have an extra incentive to be on our best behavior and to fellowship investigators who attend our Sunday services. The next unfamiliar investigator who walks through the doors may be more than just an "investigator"; that person may actually be a local reporter doing a story. It happened recently in Annapolis, Maryland.

Anne Arundel County in Maryland has about 260 churches representing more than 40 Christian denominations, plus a handful of synagogues and mosques. An estimated 42 percent of the county's 520,000 residents are adherents who attend services. So the local newspaper, The Capital, decided to send reporters to take in the services at local churches. Among their selections; a typical Sunday service at the LDS chapel in Annapolis. They did not initially specify which ward they visited; the chapel hosts three separate congregations, to include the Annapolis Ward, the Broadneck Ward, and the Spa Creek Spanish-speaking Branch. All are part of the Annapolis Maryland Stake, which oversees 12 congregations.

Most likely they visited the service conducted by the Annapolis Ward, since it's later mentioned by name, and it appears that from the account given, the reporter may not have stayed for the entire three-hour block, but attended only the sacrament meeting portion. That is permissible; a person is not required to remain for the entire three hours. If one wants to go to church primarily to worship the Lord, then attending sacrament meeting alone will satisfy them. The other meetings are intended to convey much more detailed knowledge and understanding of the Gospel, as well as promote what is sometimes referred to as "kingdom-building".

The reporter writes a fair and balanced account of his visit to the services. As a personal touch, he adds the story of Greg Hall, who converted to the Church at the age of 22 when he met and married a Mormon woman. He laments the fact that his five grown sons are no longer with the Church, which simply means that despite the best efforts of LDS parents, the kids can and will go separate ways when they go our on their own. The segment about the LDS Church visit begins after the jump: