What is worship & how do you worship G-d?

[prisonchaplain]

Traveler...great post...covenant, imho, though is the initial act of worship--the foyer, so to speak...whereas worship is the sanctuary, the "entering in" to the life of Christ. And, love (God) must be the source of our worship, and that which satuates our acts. I'm thinking that most of us focused on the mechanics of worship, rather than the heart of it. :-)

[Nappaljarri]

Moses: 5

1 And it came to pass that after I, the Lord God, had driven them out, that Adam began to till the earth, and to have adominion over all the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, as I the Lord had commanded him. And Eve, also, his wife, did clabor with him.

2 And aAdam knew his wife, and she bare unto him bsons and daughters, and they began to multiply and to replenish the earth.

3 And from that time forth, the sons and daughters of Adam began to divide two and two in the land, and to till the land, and to tend flocks, and they also begat sons and daughters.

4 And Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence.

5 And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.

6 And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.

7 And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.

8 Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.

9 And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will.

and another one....

17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;

18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is amighty to save.

19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.

20 Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.

21 Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.

22 Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies.

23 Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.

24 Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.

25 Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.

26 But this is not all; ye must apour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.

27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be bfull, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.

28 And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need—I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith.

To worship is to emulate and copy. If our ultimate goal in this life is to become as the Savior, then our every action should be to that end. So from these two scriptures and many more I am sure, we can understand that living God's law (through partaking of his covenant) and repenting continually is worshipping him. I for one know that even when I am washing the clothes and doing the ironing (which equates to making my home a heaven on earth) is in very deed worshipping the almighty.

[Traveler]

Traveler...great post...covenant, imho, though is the initial act of worship--the foyer, so to speak...whereas worship is the sanctuary, the "entering in" to the life of Christ. And, love (God) must be the source of our worship, and that which satuates our acts. I'm thinking that most of us focused on the mechanics of worship, rather than the heart of it. :-)

It is my impression that covenant is more than the entering - it is the journey. It is the way and it is the path. It is the only relationship possible - ever - for anything between man and G-d. Anything done outside of a covenant is not worship of G-d and is accounted as evil and a sin before him. Jesus is the example and he did nothing but that he was commanded (through covenant) from the Father.

The Traveler

[WANDERER]

Doing God's will is an act of love and worship, I would agree that keeping His covenants is an outward sign...yet it isn't worthy worship if it is not from inward and from a heart that leans towards God...what Jesus had to say about the Pharisees sums up that sense of *not worshipful* for me.

[Nappaljarri]

I see singing hymns of praise as a blessing more than an act of worship (although it is in my catagory of worship for obvious reasons). It is a blessing because when singing songs of praise, I personally feel the spirit and it is during these times of praising that sometimes I receive personal revelation on things I need to do and change in my life.

[Justice]

Traveler...great post...covenant, imho, though is the initial act of worship--the foyer, so to speak...whereas worship is the sanctuary, the "entering in" to the life of Christ. And, love (God) must be the source of our worship, and that which satuates our acts. I'm thinking that most of us focused on the mechanics of worship, rather than the heart of it. :-)

I believe the heart of worship is what we do.

I will use the New Testament since I know you do not believe the Book of Mormon is scripture. (Oh, but if I could use the Book of Mormon, this would be an easy thing to settle)

1 John 4:

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

You said love, but it's not just the love of God that shows true worship, it's the love of each other. If we do not love each other we cannot love God.

How do we love each other?

John 15:

9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your ajoy might be full.

12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.

Scripture just doesn't get any more plain than that, even if it does get simpler:

John 14:

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

...

23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

John 13:

34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Matt. 22:

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

...

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Mark 12:

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

Even a Scribe understood.

1 Jn. 5:

2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

And the last one I'll post is telling because it's from the perspective of someone who doesn't do what Christ says, yet claims to love Him...

Luke 6:

46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood rose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

To worship Jesus Christ is to do what He says. If it came down to a choice between singing to Him or doing what He says, the choice is clear. We would not want to sing to Him if we did not do what He says. Praise Him by singing, but show true worship by keeping His commandments.

Yes, the Book of Mormon is even more clear.

We covenant to keep His commandments at baptism. This covenant is the heart and soul of true worship. As you can see, it's not just in the desire, but in the doing.

There are plenty more scriptures on the subject. :)

Edited September 5, 2008 by Justice

[Guest tomk]

It does come down to actual OBEDIENCE in the end!!!!

Matt. 7: 21

21 ¶ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

3 Ne. 14: 21

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.

I think where many otherwise good members of this and other faiths get a little confused is the source of that power to obey. Many people think that we must muster the power to obey from within ourselves. But if it were that simple, those among us who have exceptional willpower would not "need" a Savior, would they?

We are given commandments. We are also given weaknesses. Everyone has a commandment they struggle with. Everyone will struggle with obedience (in some form or another) until the day they die. This is by design. Because it is not about our performance, but about our obedience. There is a difference.

The commandments, and the conditions we live under (due to the Fall of Adam) are purposefully set in place to BREAK US DOWN. To give us the need, and the opportunity to HUMBLE OURSELVES and become willing to enter into that covenant relationship with Christ and His Holy Father.

Christ is the Rock. The Rock upon which we build. The Rock upon which the prideful and arrogant dash themselves to pieces. He cannot be moved. Our performance, our deep down desires, will always be found lacking!!

Again -- this is on purpose!!!!

This book explains this concept rather well: The Holy Secret

We must humble ourselves and enter into that covenant relationship. And I mean relationship. We are to converse with our Lord as "one man speaketh with another" - we drop all pretense and we just TALK TO GOD. We do it honestly. We stop trying to sound "righteous" or "be righteous" in order to please Him. We get honest and we come to Him, so to speak, in our "filthy rags" and plead for His strength and power and guidance in every aspect of our lives.

That is true worship. That is how Christ (INFINITE) + us (FINITE) = An INFINITE creature. Mercy claims the pentitent.

Tom

Edited September 5, 2008 by tomk

[Over43]

"Worshipping" God (with all the vowels) comes through obedience. We are obedient when we do what is expected of us through commandments, ordinances and endowments. When we are truly being obedient, then our worship becomes perfected. Although I do not think we can become perfect in this life. But we strive for it.

O43

[Traveler]

I believe the heart of worship is what we do.

I will use the New Testament since I know you do not believe the Book of Mormon is scripture. (Oh, but if I could use the Book of Mormon, this would be an easy thing to settle)

1 John 4:

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

You said love, but it's not just the love of God that shows true worship, it's the love of each other. If we do not love each other we cannot love God.

How do we love each other?

John 15:

9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your ajoy might be full.

12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.

Scripture just doesn't get any more plain than that, even if it does get simpler:

John 14:

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

...

23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

John 13:

34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Matt. 22:

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

...

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Mark 12:

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

Even a Scribe understood.

1 Jn. 5:

2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

And the last one I'll post is telling because it's from the perspective of someone who doesn't do what Christ says, yet claims to love Him...

Luke 6:

46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood rose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

To worship Jesus Christ is to do what He says. If it came down to a choice between singing to Him or doing what He says, the choice is clear. We would not want to sing to Him if we did not do what He says. Praise Him by singing, but show true worship by keeping His commandments.

Yes, the Book of Mormon is even more clear.

We covenant to keep His commandments at baptism. This covenant is the heart and soul of true worship. As you can see, it's not just in the desire, but in the doing.

There are plenty more scriptures on the subject. :)

I would add to you thoughts - worship of G-d is not what you do - it is what you do by covenant. You are very correct -Baptism is the first covenant one makes with G-d but it is not the only covenant. One example I like to ask concerns the Sabbath. The Sabbath is not about what is okay and not okay to do on that day - it is all about what you covenant to do and not do on that day. Please note that I did not say what we tell others their covenant is their covenant - What is very important is that we know what is our covenant.

The Traveler

[WANDERER]

Luke 7

44And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

45Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.

46My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

47Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

Mark 14

3And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.

4And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?

5For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.

6And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

7For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.

8She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.

John 12

4Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him,

5Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?

6This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.

7Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.

8For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.

So they love much? Is that a problem? Um, apparently according to the law both these women had no business annointing Christ. A sinner...no priesthood authority..women at that....you can just hear the collective intake of breath..and right in front of a pharisee too.

To worship is to spend time communing and communicating with God. There are many different ways in which to worship God: prayer, meditation, singing, dance, church going, temple going and following His word and keeping the covenants. But to see praising God as an act of idleness and waste...hmmmm. I can almost hear people saying out loud: why are you going to church..wouldn't that time better be spent getting out and helping the poor? What are you praying for? You are really going to spend all that time doing a Bible study course? And so on. Why would you do that/what a waste of time? Two years of your young life as a missionary...what?

In the context of Luke 10:

38Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

39And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.

40But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

41And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

42But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

What about *works*? Her sister wasn't helping with the housework. Are we careful and troubled about many things? Yes. Are we missing out on the good parts? Why is it described as needful?

Some things are seen as foolishness...and praising and worshipping God ...sitting on a cloud playing a harp...how boring......reminds me of...mocking David for dancing to God ...and there is nothing new under the sun about it. I would think that there will be people who will spend time in heaven praising God...who have been forgiven much and who will be overcome by His presence. No point in muttering or complaining here on Earth about it either.

We worship God in Spirit and in Truth. Exactly as it says.

[prisonchaplain]

To say that singing is worship, and to speak of "entering into God's presence," and to take great joy in the spiritual communion that takes place during "the worship service," in no way discounts the importance of loving neighbors, doing good works, obeying God's commands, etc. In fact, I would argue that these different spheres should complement one another. The one who worships with his/her life activities should be able to enter into song and communion with much greater abandon than the selfish, self-righteous hypocrite who happens to know all the songs.

[Justice]

PC, on Sunday, those who are Latter-Day Saints, go to church and meet and greet like other religions. We have Sunday School, and other meetings, even if they are unlike other Christian churches. But, our primary purpose in going to church is to partake of the Sacrament, the emblems of our Savior and His sacrifice, and renew our baptismal covenants with God.

Without this opportunity each and every week, our meetings would be just meetings.

It IS our worship, as LDS, to make and keep covenants. I hope this helps you understand a little more why we view covenants a little differently than most.

[prisonchaplain]

Thank you Justice. What you say makes sense. For Catholics, the Eucharist, or the taking of the literal body and blood of Christ is the central act of worship. For Baptists it's general the proclamation of the Word. For Pentecostals it's probably an even split between the preaching and the corporate "worship."

If I'm reading you right, the meaning differs, but it is the Sacrament that is central...and it's primary meaning is rededication. This string suddenly makes a lot more sense.

[WANDERER]

Is it about consecration and consecrating...the value that we place in ordinances...heh my pentecostal roots are betraying me: baptism of the Spirit.

[Justice]

Very well worded, PC. Rededication is a synonym for the word we use, "renew" our covenants. But, it's good to see it worded the way you have, it helps me realize exactly what it is ust a bit better.

By jove, I think you've got it!

Edited September 6, 2008 by Justice