Worshiping God
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When Moses delayed to come down out of the mount — that being Sinai where the Lord gave him "two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God" — the children of Israel prevailed upon Aaron to make them "gods, which shall go before us …" (Exodus 32:1; 31:18).
One of the great ironies in scripture is that after Moses had received the Ten Commandments — the first of which concerned worshiping the Lord — he descended Mount Sinai to find the children of Israel worshiping a molten calf.
This incident seems to affirm that humans have an innate desire to worship — if not the true and Living God, then something else they deem more powerful than themselves: idols of metal, stone, wood or other substance; nature; the sun, moon, stars, or some other object or concept.
"The issue is not whether men shall worship, but who or what is to be the object of their devotions and how they shall go about paying their devotions to their chosen Most High" (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, "How to Worship," Ensign, December 1971, p. 129).
The Lord declared:
"I am the Lord thy God. …
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
"Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.
"And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments" (Exodus 20:2-6).
Without question, Latter-day Saints worship God.
The weekly sacrament meeting is one of the most outwardly visible venues of our worship. Certainly, there are others — attending the temple, praying, obeying the commandments, to name but a few. We attend sacrament meetings not for socializing, although our presence there allows for fellowship. Nor do we attend solely to be enlightened by talks or uplifted by beautiful music, although talks and music can inform, instruct and inspire us.
We attend sacrament meetings to worship God, the Eternal Father. As part of that worship, we partake of the sacrament, which was instituted to remind us of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and renew covenants we made at baptism.
Many members attend sacrament meetings in the company of family members, friends, neighbors or social peers. Doing so is an added bonus. However, it ought not matter who occupies the pew beside, before or behind us. Whether young, old or somewhere in between, married, single, widowed or divorced, male or female, we are all children of our Heavenly Father. Our focus is to be on the worship of Him and gratitude for the atoning sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son.
Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve said: "Each member of the Church bears responsibility for the spiritual enrichment that can come from a sacrament meeting. Each should sing with a grateful heart and respond with an audible 'amen' at the conclusion of a prayer or a testimony. We personally ponder the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We reflect upon the significance of His suffering at Gethsemane and His Crucifixion on Calvary. At this time, each of us is to 'examine himself' (1 Corinthians 12:28) and reflect upon personal covenants made with the Lord. At this time, we meditate upon the sacred things of God.
"Gratefully, I thank the Lord for the sacrament meeting and all that it has meant in my life. It has repeatedly rekindled my faith and allowed me to renew my covenants from week to week, helping Sister Nelson and me to live and rear our family in the glorious light of the gospel" ("Worshiping at Sacrament Meeting," adapted from an address given at a worldwide leadership training meeting on June 21, 2003; Liahona, August 2004, p. 11).
In our own dispensation, the Lord commanded:
"And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day;
"For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and pay thy devotions unto the most high" (Doctrine and Covenants 59:9-10).
How blessed we are to have the privilege of attending sacrament meeting, which allows us to focus our thoughts in the worship of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
