Posted on 01/28/2010 5:02:59 AM PST by Colofornian
"And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him." (3 Nephi 11:17)
The Old Testament word usually translated as "worship" has a sense of to depress, as in to prostrate, especially in homage to royalty or God; to bow down; to stoop; to fall down flat.
The New Testament word is essentially the same, with the added sense of reverence and adoration.
In English, the word "worship" means to honor or adore as divine or sacred, especially with rituals or ceremonies; to offer prayers to God; to regard with extreme respect, devotion or love; to idolize; to regard or treat a person with honor or respect, specifically, to bow down or salute (Oxford English Dictionary).
There are two aspects of worship. First, there is the more formal sense of worship, such as sacrament meetings, public prayers and temple worship. The second aspect is our own personal attitude of worship. Of course, the two are intimately linked.
Simply sitting in a worship service without a personal attitude of worship is not worship.
It is in this more personal sense that the elements of "to fall down," "to prostrate oneself" or "bow down" become more instructive. Paul, in speaking of spiritual gifts, notes that "so falling down on his face he will worship God" (1 Corinthians 14:25).
Most of the scriptural uses of worship have this sense of personal submission to the divine.
In its deepest sense, worship means the surrender of our will to God's will. We are taught "that the right way is to believe in Christ ... wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul" (2 Nephi 25:29).
The scriptures also admonish us what not to worship. Isaiah teaches that people have turned away from God when their "land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made" (Isaiah 2:8).
President Gordon B. Hinckley captured the highest sense of worship when he taught about the Savior:
"He is the Savior and the Redeemer of the world. I believe in Him. I love Him. I speak His name in reverence and wonder. I worship Him as I worship His Father, in spirit and in truth. I thank Him and kneel before His wounded feet and hands and side, amazed at the love He offers me" (Liahona, March 1998).
Them mission training class ain't what they used to be...
LOL...
Never has one been so proud of being deceived...
...works of fiction like the BOM and other LDS “works”, that even on a good day are mediocre literature at best,...
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Well, the chapters that Smith right out plagiarized from the Bible are pretty good...
Nope, they ain’t.
Agreed.
Who was the mormon Freeper who kept banging on the Nicene Creed in post after post? I keep hearing those echoes....
Maybe it should read "It's futile FUN to talk facts to people who are enjoying a sense of moral superiority in their ignorance"
It can be both. And frustrating as well.
Please let sleeping dogs lay for a while :)
Ok, I don't remember because after the first two repetitions of cut and paste responses, I just don't read them any more.
What has happened to delphi user??
He was ALWAYS good for voluminous writings on FR about his chosen religion.
(Just look at his HOME PAGE!)
(Just look at his HOME PAGE!)
Last post Oct 1, 2009......weird.
Went to Haiti to be ahead of everyone else?
Or operating in a another of the muti personalities.
Say it ain't so.
Lets see “imply” nope just saying it out right. ;-) That’s who they are thats what they do.
Next thing you will tell me is that the Nephites really never settled in the Americans or the Indians ain't really Jewish...
As one from the oldest of traditions, perhaps you can answer a question from me. Jesus taught us to pray to our Father, but is also part of the Trinity. I have usually heard people pray to the Father, but have also heard some pray to Jesus. Is the second type of prayer incorrect, and does it matter? This has bothered me since I was a child.
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