I recently attended a stake conference that featured a nine-year-old speaker.
“Yes, you heard me. I’m nine. Years. Old,” she announced boldly during her introduction, smiling at the congregation. Her courage in bearing a pure and simple testimony touched everyone’s hearts, and the kids in the room especially perked up during her talk.
This experience is just one example of why it’s important to involve children in our local church meetings. “We’ve had a concern over the years that children grow up with the idea that ‘Sacrament meeting is Mom and Dad’s meeting, so my job is to just be quiet so they can learn, and then I get to go to my meeting, which is Primary,’” President Susan H. Porter explained recently on the Church News podcast. “[The] Lord wants to nourish every person He has invited to His meeting, and that includes children.”
Sacrament meeting isn’t just for adults, and we can do many things to help our young members feel needed, seen, and heard. Here are three ways to include children more in sacrament meeting.
1. Speak with Everyone in Mind
We can keep younger congregation members in mind when we speak over the pulpit or participate in fast and testimony meetings.
This mindfulness might look like addressing children and youth directly, focusing on the pure truths of the gospel, and making eye contact. Although these efforts may seem simple, they can help our little ones feel seen and loved, ultimately enabling them to feel the Spirit more at church.
President Porter exemplified this principle in the April 2024 general conference. At the beginning of her talk, she invited children to pay special attention, explaining the concept of prayer using clear and simple language:
“Girls and boys, wherever you are in the world, I want to share something with you.
“Our Heavenly Father loves you! You are His child. He knows you. He wants to bless you. I pray with all my heart that you will feel His love.
“Do you like to receive gifts? I want to talk to you about a very special gift that Heavenly Father has given to you to help you. It is the gift of prayer. What a blessing prayer is! We can talk to Heavenly Father anytime, anywhere.”
2. Invite Children to Participate in Meetings
Inviting children to participate in meetings benefits everyone in the congregation. “When children are invited to speak and pray, their own testimonies of the Savior are strengthened. They will feel part of the body of Christ and we will recognize them as such,” President Porter explained. “We will see them with new eyes, having been taught by their witnesses of the Savior.”
We can also encourage children to stay engaged by asking them questions about the meeting after church and incorporating topics and stories they’re learning in Primary in our sacrament meetings.
According to the Church’s General Handbook, baptized children as young as eight years old can offer opening or closing prayers and give talks in sacrament meeting (see sections 29.6 and 29.2.1.4).
3. Feature Primary Songs and Musical Numbers
Music is another wonderful way to engage children at church. Local Church leaders can prioritize featuring Primary songs in our sacrament meetings and inviting children to participate in musical numbers.
The Church’s revised hymnbook includes Primary songs, helping children feel an increased sense of belonging in the body of Christ. A few of these children’s songs have already been released in the first digital batch, including “When the Savior Comes Again,” “I Will Walk with Jesus,” “Think a Sacred Song,” and “Gethsemane.”
These songs invite the Spirit and hold a special place in people’s hearts—across ages and locations. In an article for the Church News, the Primary General Presidency and Advisory Council wrote:
“Wherever we travel throughout the world, we love to ask what Church members remember most from their days in Primary. The most common answer is the inspired Primary music and how it continues to bless the lives of Saints everywhere, sometimes in their most difficult moments. … Sacred music is a vital part of [a child’s] spiritual foundation that will bless, strengthen, and guide them throughout their lives.”
For more inspiring stories about helping children feel engaged at church, check out the articles below.
▶ Watch: Adorable 11-year-old plays the organ for his ward
▶ 1 thing we forget when teaching our children about feeling the Spirit
▶ The golden question to ask yourself before teaching kids gospel lessons
