4 Nephi 1:12 discussed how and why the saints met together: “[T]hey did walk after the commandments which they had received from their Lord and their God, continuing in fasting and prayer, and in meeting together oft both to pray and to hear the word of the Lord.” Moroni 6:6, now mentions additionally that they did “meet together oft to brake of bread and wine in remembrance of the Lord Jesus Christ.” They were strict about how they behaved and who could participate (see verse 7). We are blessed in our own worship practices to know how to worship in a Zion manner the way they did.
When they met together, it says in verse 9 that their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the spirit and by the power of the Holy Ghost: “[F]or as the power of the Holy Ghost led them, whether to preach or to exhort or to pray or to supplicate or to sing, even so it was done.” Of course, it may not have been so open a meeting as to be a free-for-all. However, there are often changes in our meetings, and spontaneous speakers are occasionally asked to participate, and testimonies are borne. If one person presides and is influenced by the power of the Holy Ghost, and everyone else has that same gift, it is not a chaotic situation. There have been some spontaneous parts in Sacrament meetings that have been very effective. Sometimes spontaneity is even more effective because it occurs within a framework or structure in which people are not expecting it.
Singing and music was also a part of their worship services. This carried over the traditional uses of the Old Testament Psalms and other hymns of praise and joy that were long-standing parts of ancient Israelite family and temple worship. Singing and praising God (see 3 Nephi 4:31) was endorsed by Jesus as he quoted Isaiah in 3 Nephi 16:18–19; 20:32–34; and 22:1.
In addition, at the end of verse 5, it says that when they met, it was “to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls.” Is that a clear enough part of our pattern today? One may hope that in the study of scriptures, in priesthood and Relief Society classes, concentration is on the welfare of souls, and how well everyone is doing, and that the lessons are pulled together to focus on the real purpose of getting together. In that case, the Spirit can guide us more specifically.
That is how ministering contacts, training sessions, and Ward Council meetings are handled, by relying on the Spirit. For Family Home Evening, it is good to have a lesson planned, but if the lesson turns out to not be what the Spirit says needs to be said, the teacher needs to be flexible enough to adjust for the welfare of the family.
Some years ago, President Boyd K. Packer was presiding at a regional training meeting that I attended. He asked the people to move closer to the front, and no one moved. After asking several times, he abruptly ended the meeting. When later asked by the stake presidents, as my stake president reported to us, about why he did that, President Packer replied, “Because revelation stopped.” He explained to them that the disobedience of the brethren in not moving down caused revelation to cease; therefore, he stopped the meeting, and that was the appropriate thing to do. This gave new meaning to me of the passage in Doctrine and Covenants 42:14, “If you do not have the spirit, ye shall not teach.” That does not just mean you will not teach; it means that you cannot teach and should not teach.
Moroni and his predecessors maintained and provided the means for us to do as Jesus had commanded his twelve disciples: “Ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do” (3 Nephi 27:21, emphasis added). Using the methods given for ordinances and meetings, and applying the guidance in Moroni 1–6 will give us the means to become closer to being a Zion society, as it did the people in 4 Nephi.
Book of Mormon Central, “What Can an Ancient Christian Text Tell us About the Book of Mormon? (Moroni 6:5), KnoWhy 450 (July 17, 2018).
Book of Mormon Central, “Why Was Singing Hymns a Part of Nephite Worship Services? (Moroni 6:9), KnoWhy 251, (December 13, 2016). “Evidently, the Nephite church, as Moroni knew it, made singing a part of their worship services, as guided by the Holy Ghost. Although the text does not indicate when this practice was officially instituted, there is a long history of the use of music and hymns in Judeo-Christian worship. Nephite worship practices fit nicely into this tradition.”