What is worship? What should be worshiped?

[Traveler]

From time to time I think it would be interesting to drill down on concepts and definitions and individual beliefs. For this purpose I am asking the question – “What is worship?”

My intent is to understand fully what we mean when we say we worship -----. The other concept that I believe runs parallel is – “What is okay to worship along with G-d?” This question may sound like heresy but let’s take an example. Suppose we include in our worship – Singing praises. Well then – singing a national anthem would officially qualify as “worshiping” what one’s country stands for.

So then – what is worship? And what “things” are okay to worship? Or should I say – what “things” can we respect (worship) in the same manner we respect (worship) G-d?

The Traveler

[james12]

So then – what is worship? And what “things” are okay to worship? Or should I say – what “things” can we respect (worship) in the same manner we respect (worship) G-d?

Great question. When discussing the meaning of "worship" my thoughts are tied to the following talk by Bruce R. McConkie How to Worship - Ensign Dec. 1971 - ensign. He clarified how I see worship. Maybe I'll give you a combination of my ideas in relation to his.

And he [the Eternal Father] has planted in our hearts an instinctive desire to worship...

I believe in one way or another every person worships something. Every person seeks to give worth to something or someone. The object of our worship may be centered in ourselves, on God, or it may be on an inanimate object. However, worship that is not focused on the living God is, in the end, worship of an idol.

There is no salvation in worshiping a false god. It does not matter one particle how sincerely someone may believe that God is a golden calf, or that he is an immaterial, uncreated power that is in all things; the worship of such a being or concept has no saving power.... If a man worships a cow or a crocodile, he can gain any reward that cows and crocodiles happen to be passing out this season. If he worships the laws of the universe or the forces of nature, no doubt the earth will continue to spin, the sun to shine, and the rains to fall on the just and on the unjust. But if he worships the true and living God, in spirit and in truth, then God Almighty will pour out his Spirit upon him, and he will have power to raise the dead, move mountains, entertain angels, and walk in celestial streets.

Strength and power unto life and salvation comes as our worship is centered in the true God. Only the truth about who God is will lead to any measure of salvation. Until we obtain this truth it matters not if we call ourselves Christians, Buddhists, Atheists, or Mormons.

“I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness. For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.” (D&C 93:7–20.)

In other words, true and perfect worship consists in following in the steps of the Son of God; it consists in keeping the commandments and obeying the will of the Father to that degree that we advance from grace to grace until we are glorified in Christ as he is in his Father. It is far more than prayer and sermon and song. It is living and doing and obeying. It is emulating the life of the great Exemplar.

I may sing till I'm blue in the face, I may pray till my knees are sore, and I may read scriptures till my eyes go blurry but until I seek to emulate the Master I have not truly worshiped at all. Instead I have likely made a mockery of the very God to whom I am pretending to give honor.

[Tyler90AZ]

Great question. When discussing the meaning of "worship" my thoughts are tied to the following talk by Bruce R. McConkie How to Worship - Ensign Dec. 1971 - ensign. He clarified how I see worship. Maybe I'll give you a combination of my ideas in relation to his.

I believe in one way or another every person worships something. Every person seeks to give worth to something or someone. The object of our worship may be centered in ourselves, on God, or it may be on an inanimate object. However, worship that is not focused on the living God is, in the end, worship of an idol.

Strength and power unto life and salvation comes as our worship is centered in the true God. Only the truth about who God is will lead to any measure of salvation. Until we obtain this truth it matters not if we call ourselves Christians, Buddhists, Atheists, or Mormons.

I may sing till I'm blue in the face, I may pray till my knees are sore, and I may read scriptures till my eyes go blurry but until I seek to emulate the Master I have not truly worshiped at all. Instead I have likely made a mockery of the very God to whom I am pretending to give honor.

Very good, using part for my signature!

[Traveler]

Great question. When discussing the meaning of "worship" my thoughts are tied to the following talk by Bruce R. McConkie How to Worship - Ensign Dec. 1971 - ensign. He clarified how I see worship. Maybe I'll give you a combination of my ideas in relation to his.

I believe in one way or another every person worships something. Every person seeks to give worth to something or someone. The object of our worship may be centered in ourselves, on God, or it may be on an inanimate object. However, worship that is not focused on the living God is, in the end, worship of an idol.

Strength and power unto life and salvation comes as our worship is centered in the true God. Only the truth about who God is will lead to any measure of salvation. Until we obtain this truth it matters not if we call ourselves Christians, Buddhists, Atheists, or Mormons.

I may sing till I'm blue in the face, I may pray till my knees are sore, and I may read scriptures till my eyes go blurry but until I seek to emulate the Master I have not truly worshiped at all. Instead I have likely made a mockery of the very God to whom I am pretending to give honor.

Thinking --- is it possible to misplace good worship on false thinking of G-d and also (as you stated) is it really possible to improperly worship the correct G-d?

The Traveler

[jayanna]

I am thinking of when the Lord said, "They draw near to me with their lips while their hearts are far from me"

Don't get me wrong, singing praises is important, but it is what lies in the heart that is the most important. If you are truly converted to the Lord, not just your actions, but your intentions will be different. The pharisees followed the letter of the law, not just to show obedience to their God, but for other reasons that were all wrong. They were running around hating on each other, tattling on each other, thinking that their love of God would show through their outward obedience only. They were doing the best they could with what scripture they had, but it was not nearly good enough. When their very Savior was among them, they did not even recognize Him. Following the first two laws is important, showing love one to another.

[james12]

Thinking --- is it possible to misplace good worship on false thinking of G-d and also (as you stated) is it really possible to improperly worship the correct G-d?

Traveler, I'm a little unclear on the first thought but I'll rephrase slightly and you can correct it if I'm wrong.

1. Is it possible to misplace good worship on a false idea of God?

We certainly can worship whatever we want and many do. Whether it is "good worship" is less clear. Certainly it is not as meaningful as worshiping the true God. But, specifically related to God, I might ask a follow on question to yours: If I do not correctly understand who God is, am I worshiping God? I would say, only as I have a correct idea of who God is am I able to worship him. Now, I do not believe this is an all or nothing proposition. For instance, if I have a correct idea of some of the attributes of God and honor him by trying to emulate those same attributes I will indeed be following Christ. However, when I try to worship base on my false notions of who God is I cannot be worshiping the true God for I will be moving down the wrong path.

2. Is it really possible to improperly worship the correct God?

I don't believe I said that we can improperly worship God. Rather, I said that if we don't seek to follow Christ, the forms we are making may only be a pretense and ultimately a mockery. The answer to this question may depend on the definition of "worship". Ultimately I would say that worship is adoration which leads to emulation (see Russell M. Nelson, “Gratitude for the Mission and Ministry of Jesus Christ,” in Brigham Young University 1997–98 Speeches [1998], 349). In this strict sense of the word anything less then followership based on love would not be worship at all. Rather, it would be something akin to hypocrisy.

[Guest gopecon]

Good worship of a false god? I think this is possible if we define "good" worship as sincere, honest practice of one's religion. A devout Buddhist or Hindu who lives an honorable life following their religion will not be condemned for not having found Jesus. If they were acting according to the light and knowledge they had, I don't think the worship that leads them to do good will be counted as evil.

Improperly worshiping the true God? I think that there are numerous ways that this can be done. Let me be clear and say that I don't think you have to be LDS to properly worship God. He hears and answers sincere prayers from His children regardless of denomination. As was quoted above, there are many ways that people draw near with their lips, but their hearts are far from the Lord.

[Traveler]

More thoughts. As we contemplate worship and what worship is would not honoring our parents be a kind of worship of them? Would not efforts of a person in sports with diligence to win be considered - at least in part as worshiping their coach? And completing assignments at school - is that not in some way worshiping one’s teacher? Is being a fan (of whatever) not in essence worship?

I have been thinking on this matter - even getting ready for a night out could be argued as rituals in the act of worship? In fact anytime we strive to do our best or accomplish anything of worth or value - is that not also an act of worship. And anything we hold in high esteem - is that not worship or that thing?

As I listen to some LDS critics that we worship Joseph Smith or our current Prophet and I listen closely to why they think so - I am not convinced that they are wrong in their comments but at the same time - I do not think that such things exclude or are contrary to the worship of our G-d. In other words - obeying our prophets is in essence worship of them but such worship also is included in our worship of G-d is it not? Because prophets are authorized by G-d thus to worship them is to worship G-d?

But what if someone is wrong attaching someone’s teachings as to be teachings of G-d; then the respect for that individual would be misplaced worship in what we think is someone sent by G-d but not in reality? We also must wonder about honoring unworthy parents?

So a good person worshiping Buddha may direct the worship in a good manner to a false G-d. But I do not think the other - worshiping G-d with bad methods plays out. Jesus said to the Scribes and Pharisees that their worship of the G-d of Abraham was really the worship of the Devil.

Anyway - some thoughts for thinking.

The Traveler

Edited December 28, 2011 by Traveler

[Guest gopecon]

I think that the word can be used in different ways. How many little boys "worship" their fathers or older brothers? Do they actually think that they are God? Do they ascribe supernatural powers to them? No, but they admire and have strong feelings for them. With proper perspective (i.e. not putting so much faith in them that a failing of theirs destroys one's belief in God) this is healthy.

Worship of God is a life changing experience in which we put our faith in Him. We can give our complete trust, trusting that He will support us through it all and reward us in the end. It is the feeling of unworthiness and gratitude that will cause every knee to bow and every tongue to confess that He is our King. It is the praise that we give Him in word, song, and deed to show our love to Him.

[Traveler]

I think that the word can be used in different ways. How many little boys "worship" their fathers or older brothers? Do they actually think that they are God? Do they ascribe supernatural powers to them? No, but they admire and have strong feelings for them. With proper perspective (i.e. not putting so much faith in them that a failing of theirs destroys one's belief in God) this is healthy.

Worship of God is a life changing experience in which we put our faith in Him. We can give our complete trust, trusting that He will support us through it all and reward us in the end. It is the feeling of unworthiness and gratitude that will cause every knee to bow and every tongue to confess that He is our King. It is the praise that we give Him in word, song, and deed to show our love to Him.

Gopecon - Thank you for your response. I am exploring my thoughts as well as those posted. I am troubled trying to understand preciously what you intend to say. For example; I am not sure I understand the difference between your use of “complete trust” verses trust. I personally do not believe that the word “complete” adds anything but confusion and diminishes what I understand as trust. I know this sounds like semantics – but I want to be sure I understand what you are trying to communicate.

I am also troubled by your reference to “supernatural powers”. As an engineer and scientist I am thinking that the term has less to do with “supernatural – magic” than it has to do with a lack of understanding and knowledge of ways what is natural can be manipulated. For a primitive mind a radio signal may seem supernatural but to an electrical engineer such is very natural. I do not believe G-d is “supernatural”, magic or does anything contrary to intelligent “natural” law – that could not be done by anyone that understands the laws that govern whatever. I am not sure if you are communicating a different kind of thinking. I personally think that intelligent and knowledgeable worship is higher that worship by faith – but because we mortals lack greatly divine knowledge and intelligence – much of our worship is by faith.

So getting back to basics – how many “little boys” worship their fathers or older brothers? Is it really wrong to worship fathers or older brothers? Is it bad to worship mothers or sisters?

What I am trying to understand is what makes worship good or bad? Is it only if we worship G-d or something else? Does why (what desire within us) we worship have anything to do with it being good or not? If we worship because we think to gain a reward – what then is wrong with others (not us) that worship something else thinking to be rewarded?

The Traveler

[Guest]

I don't think that singing the National Anthem is worshiping my country anymore than singing a love song is worshiping my husband.

[Guest]

Traveler, the problem you are facing is that you are merging 2 different uses for the word Worship. In the dictionary, Worship of a Diety or Sacred Object is a different use of the word than Worship in a secular sense - an adoration/devotion to someone/something. You are mixing the two.

It's like the word Mother. I call my biological mother, Mother and I also call Theresa of Calcutta, Mother. Different uses of the word.

Worshipping the ground my husband walks on does not in any way have the same meaning as worshipping God.

[jayanna]

I think that the 'worship' you might be thinking of is actually 'expressing gratitude'. Though it is important to acknowledge God's hand in all things, and praise Him, we should also express gratitude for having, say...a country where we are allowed to attend whatever church we want. It is important to express gratitude to our parents, etc. That is part of the gospel, and assists us in recognizing our blessings.

[Traveler]

I don't think that singing the National Anthem is worshiping my country anymore than singing a love song is worshiping my husband.

It is not that I am trying to argue - but since you have a different opinion what is a love song not worship? I find it rather interesting that Jesus used the marriage relationship quite often to compare the relation ship of worship.

As to music - since I use to perform in my previous life (college) - I wonder - should we be involved in music that does not reflect our worship of G-d? If the music has nothing of worship character in it - is it music we should be enjoying?

I guess I am also asking - should e separate our love of country and family from our worship? Or are all these things connected?

The Traveler

[Traveler]

I think that the 'worship' you might be thinking of is actually 'expressing gratitude'. Though it is important to acknowledge God's hand in all things, and praise Him, we should also express gratitude for having, say...a country where we are allowed to attend whatever church we want. It is important to express gratitude to our parents, etc. That is part of the gospel, and assists us in recognizing our blessings.

The more I am thinking on this subject and the more responses I read - I am beginning to think that the two things you are telling me are very different are not really different at all. Please continue and explain to me why you think them to be different and not related.

The Traveler

[jayanna]

Well, for example I can feel gratitude for living in the country that I do, and express it when I sing the national anthem. I can share with others how great it is, point out wonderful things about it. I can support it, but I don't pray to it. I do not address it and expect a response.

All good things come from God. When we acknowledge those things and express gratitude for them, it becomes worship when we admit that it came from our HF

[Tyler90AZ]

I think we worship anything we love. The extent to which we worship something is another story. Off course God should be worshiped more then anything or anybody.

What makes worship good or bad?

If it is in alignment with God it is good worship. Also if we worship it more then God it is bad.

[jayanna]

When the people that Moses was leading in the wilderness were worshipping the golden calf, they were giving it credit for things, and praying to it. Worship and gratitude are different in the response that you expect. True worship is a two way relationship.

[norah63]

As Jesus said, true worshipers worship in spirit and in truth. So again it could be a division between just worship and true worship. Worship is to know the diffrence between, and be humble to reverance, that diffrence. We worship our Lord because he is worthy. Praise and song is worship if our hearts are in tune with the spirit of truth.

Just my two cents.

[Traveler]

Am I understanding correctly - prayer is the only real act of worship? What about covenant or taking "a name" upon you - Hmmmmm in marriage the bride takes the name of the husband - is taking a name a form of worship.

I started this thread to get beyond the word worship to some understanding of what we do. Is it possible we really do not know what and how we worship.

In reading about ancient worship of Baal - there were rituals which had little - or I should say nothing to do with prayer. In fact the worship of Baal often took on the character of adultery.

I also think I remember a conference talk some years ago that defined idolatry as adultery. So is it possible that marriage is a form of worship

The Traveler

[jayanna]

Here is a good link on worship: Bible Pattern of Worship - New Era Mar. 1973 - new-era

We need to be aware of what we worship, here is a paragraph from that link on lds.org that I think is very significant:

There has always been the temptation to worship “the creature more than the Creator.” (Rom. 1:25.) We worship what we give our hearts to. Jesus said: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Luke 12:34.) If we love the things of this world more than we love God, we will worship the devil and receive his rewards. If we reject Satan as Christ did and worship only God, we will receive God’s blessings upon us and our family.