![FairMormon Logo](https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2021_fair_logo_primary.png)
FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
DavidSmith (talk | contribs) (added "Why do we worship or praise God?") |
DavidSmith (talk | contribs) (added section Do the Latter-day Saints use praise ...) |
||
Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
|S= | |S= | ||
|L1=Why do we worship or praise God? | |L1=Why do we worship or praise God? | ||
− | |L2=Question: Does the Church violate the Biblical command against "graven images" by displays sculptures of Christ? | + | |L2=Do the Latter-day Saints use praise of God as part of their prayers and songs in worship? |
− | | | + | |L3=Question: Does the Church violate the Biblical command against "graven images" by displays sculptures of Christ? |
+ | |L4=Question: Are we allowed to pray to our "Heavenly Mother"? | ||
}} | }} | ||
</onlyinclude> | </onlyinclude> | ||
Line 36: | Line 37: | ||
God's commandments to worship him—to praise and honor him—provide us an opportunity to improve ourselves, to develop more godly attributes, to become more like him and be prepared to join with all the righteous who are with him in eternity.<ref>See [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/76?lang=eng&id=50-70#p50 Doctrine and Covenants 76:50–70].</ref> | God's commandments to worship him—to praise and honor him—provide us an opportunity to improve ourselves, to develop more godly attributes, to become more like him and be prepared to join with all the righteous who are with him in eternity.<ref>See [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/76?lang=eng&id=50-70#p50 Doctrine and Covenants 76:50–70].</ref> | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==Do the Latter-day Saints use praise of God as part of their prayers and songs in worship?== | ||
+ | ===Praise, and the language of praise, is integrated into the worship of Latter-day Saints in both prayer and song=== | ||
+ | |||
+ | The most common "recipe" that is given children in teaching them to pray in our church consists of 4 parts: | ||
+ | |||
+ | #Open by addressing Heavenly Father. | ||
+ | #Give thanks for the blessings He has given you. | ||
+ | #Ask for the things that you need. | ||
+ | #Close in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen | ||
+ | |||
+ | These parts are illustrated in "[http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=2&searchseqstart=14&searchsubseqstart=%20&searchseqend=14&searchsubseqend=ZZZ I Pray In Faith]," from ''[http://www.lds.org/cm/display/0,17631,8764-1,00.html Children's Songbook]'', the Church's hymnal for children aged 3-11: | ||
+ | |||
+ | <blockquote> | ||
+ | 1. I kneel to pray ev’ry day. <br> | ||
+ | I speak to Heav’nly Father. <br> | ||
+ | He hears and answers me <br> | ||
+ | When I pray in faith. <br><br> | ||
+ | |||
+ | 2. I begin by saying “Dear Heavenly Father”; <br> | ||
+ | I thank him for blessings he sends; <br> | ||
+ | Then humbly I ask him for things that I need, <br> | ||
+ | In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. <ref>Janice Kapp Perry, Song #14, "[http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=2&searchseqstart=14&searchsubseqstart=%20&searchseqend=14&searchsubseqend=ZZZ I Pray In Faith]," ''Children's Songbook'' (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). {{link|url=http://www.lds.org/cm/display/0,17631,8764-1,00.html}}</ref> | ||
+ | </blockquote> | ||
+ | |||
+ | Two areas here often are used for praise in the Church, with a third being used on occasion. | ||
+ | |||
+ | A great deal of praise is often attached to the addressing of Heavenly Father. Such praise will often describe traits of God that we wish to praise. Common words of praise are: kind, merciful, exalted, gracious, and many Latter-day Saints include the phrase from the Lord's prayer "Hallowed be Thy Name." This can be taken to excess, and when that happens it can seem to be "praying for to be seen of men." Thus it is more common in the Church not to prolong this aspect during public prayers (private prayers are another matter) but if one examines temple dedicatory prayers, more lengthy examples are available. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The second area where praise very commonly enters prayer, is when the one praying is giving thanks for blessings. This occurs more in personal prayer than it does in public prayer, but gratitude is a form of praise, and when pondering blessings it is good for a Latter-day Saint to allow the Spirit to move them to praise. But even in public prayer, praise can be manifest in this section of the prayer as God's many blessings are enumerated. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Occasionally praise can enter during the requesting part of prayer as we proclaim the mercies of the God we are requesting a boon from. | ||
+ | |||
+ | In any case, praise is an important part of prayer as a way to draw closer to God. Latter-day Saints in public are, perhaps, a bit less exuberant or extroverted about it than some other Christians. But we are no less grateful to God. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Praise in Music=== | ||
+ | |||
+ | We have a great deal of praise music in the Church. If you look in the back of a hymnal you will find a topical guide and in there you will find a listing for praise. Here in the Church online Library you can find a list of songs from that list from our Hymnal: | ||
+ | [http://www.lds.org/cm/topicsearchalpha/1,18284,4789-1-1,00.html?searchPhrase=Praise Songs of Praise]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Songs of Gratitude can also be considered songs of praise and you will find many of the same songs under that topic in the Hymnal: | ||
+ | [http://www.lds.org/cm/topicsearchalpha/1,18284,4789-1-1,00.html?searchPhrase=Gratitude Songs of Gratitude]. | ||
{{:Question: Does the Church violate the Biblical command against "graven images" by displays sculptures of Christ?}} | {{:Question: Does the Church violate the Biblical command against "graven images" by displays sculptures of Christ?}} |
Jump to Subtopic:
"To worship God is to give Him our love, reverence, service, and devotion."[1]
The Savior commanded, "Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great."[2] He also commanded, "If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.[3]
But what are the blessings of praise? Why do we worship God?
Elder Dean M. Davies explained the blessings of worshipping or praising God:
When we worship God, we acknowledge and receive Him with the same reverence as those ancient people of the Americas. We approach Him with incomprehensible feelings of wonder and awe. We marvel in gratitude at the goodness of God. And thus, we acquire hope.
We ponder God’s word, and that fills our souls with light and truth. We comprehend spiritual vistas that can be seen only through the light of the Holy Ghost.10 And thus, we acquire faith.
As we worship, our souls are refined and we commit to walk in the footsteps of our beloved Savior, Jesus Christ. And from this resolve, we acquire charity.
When we worship, our hearts are drawn out in praise to our blessed God morning, noon, and night.
We hallow and honor Him continually—in our meetinghouses, homes, temples, and all our labors.
When we worship, we open our hearts to the healing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. . . .
Through sincere and heartfelt worship, we blossom and mature in hope, faith, and charity. And through that process, we gather heavenly light into our souls that infuses our lives with divine meaning, abiding peace, and everlasting joy.[4]
God's commandments to worship him—to praise and honor him—provide us an opportunity to improve ourselves, to develop more godly attributes, to become more like him and be prepared to join with all the righteous who are with him in eternity.[5]
The most common "recipe" that is given children in teaching them to pray in our church consists of 4 parts:
These parts are illustrated in "I Pray In Faith," from Children's Songbook, the Church's hymnal for children aged 3-11:
1. I kneel to pray ev’ry day.
I speak to Heav’nly Father.
He hears and answers me
When I pray in faith.
2. I begin by saying “Dear Heavenly Father”;
I thank him for blessings he sends;
Then humbly I ask him for things that I need,
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. [6]
Two areas here often are used for praise in the Church, with a third being used on occasion.
A great deal of praise is often attached to the addressing of Heavenly Father. Such praise will often describe traits of God that we wish to praise. Common words of praise are: kind, merciful, exalted, gracious, and many Latter-day Saints include the phrase from the Lord's prayer "Hallowed be Thy Name." This can be taken to excess, and when that happens it can seem to be "praying for to be seen of men." Thus it is more common in the Church not to prolong this aspect during public prayers (private prayers are another matter) but if one examines temple dedicatory prayers, more lengthy examples are available.
The second area where praise very commonly enters prayer, is when the one praying is giving thanks for blessings. This occurs more in personal prayer than it does in public prayer, but gratitude is a form of praise, and when pondering blessings it is good for a Latter-day Saint to allow the Spirit to move them to praise. But even in public prayer, praise can be manifest in this section of the prayer as God's many blessings are enumerated.
Occasionally praise can enter during the requesting part of prayer as we proclaim the mercies of the God we are requesting a boon from.
In any case, praise is an important part of prayer as a way to draw closer to God. Latter-day Saints in public are, perhaps, a bit less exuberant or extroverted about it than some other Christians. But we are no less grateful to God.
We have a great deal of praise music in the Church. If you look in the back of a hymnal you will find a topical guide and in there you will find a listing for praise. Here in the Church online Library you can find a list of songs from that list from our Hymnal: Songs of Praise.
Songs of Gratitude can also be considered songs of praise and you will find many of the same songs under that topic in the Hymnal: Songs of Gratitude.
It is claimed that the Church violates the Biblical command against "graven images" because it displays sculptures of Christ, statues of the angel Moroni on the spires of our temples, or paintings showing scriptural scenes, within temples, chapels, visitors' centers, and publications. (See Exodus 20:3-4.)
Since
one should side with God and Moses and say that Exodus 20:3 does not mean that one cannot have pictures, statues, or images of earthly or heavenly things in one's home or in church.
Instead one should stick with the unambiguous interpretation of this principle that is given in Exodus 34:17, "Thou shalt make thee no molten gods." We are commanded not to worship images, or anything else besides God, and members of the Church do not.
It is ironic that those who accuse the LDS of not being Christians then complain that the Saints use images of Christ to remind them of their worship of him.
The prohibition in Exodus 20: (see also Deuteronomy 5:) is not the production of graven images per se but the bowing down and serving of such images. We should remember that God later commanded the construction of the seraphim and cherubim for the ark (Exodus 25꞉17-22, Exodus 37:8-9) and temple of Solomon (1 Kings 6:23-35, 1 Kings 8:6-7), and the veneration given to the Ark of the Covenant, as well as the brass serpent (Numbers 21:6-9).
In similar fashion, Latter-day Saints do not bow down and serve/worship images of Moroni and images of past and present leaders.
One of the facts that must be reconciled with any interpretation of Exodus 20:3-4 is that the Bible states that God explicitly commanded that the Israelites make images and include them in their holiest places of worship. The text explicitly says that these images were revealed to Moses while he was on the mount (Exodus 25:40 and Exodus 26:30), meaning that they were given at the same time as the Ten Commandments and are part of the environment in which Exodus 20 must be interpreted.
For example:
And finally:
And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them. (Exodus 39:43).
Furthermore, we have not even mentioned all the images that were used during the construction of Solomon's Temple, such as the oxen holding up the brass sea (see 1 Kings 7:25) or the lions, oxen, and cherubim on the base (see 1 Kings 7:29).
Those people who reject all images of things on earth or in heaven have an interpretation of Exodus 20:3-4 that doesn't agree with God's interpretation of those verses or with Moses' interpretation of those verses.
Despite these beliefs, Mother in Heaven plays virtually no role in LDS worship or teaching beyond that outlined above. It is not considered proper for members to pray to Mother in Heaven, since there are no prophetic or scriptural examples encouraging such a practice. Members of the Church pray as taught by the Savior, "Our Father, who art in heaven...." (Matthew 6:9, 3 Nephi 13꞉9, 3 Nephi 17꞉15, 3 Nephi 18꞉21, 3 Nephi 19꞉19-21, (italics added).)
Christ specifically says "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father" in Matthew 6:9 and 3 Nephi 13:9. God condemns worship of Asherah (thought by many to perhaps be Heavenly Mother) in the Old Testament.[7]
As President Gordon B. Hinckley observed:
Logic and reason would certainly suggest that if we have a Father in Heaven, we have a Mother in Heaven. That doctrine rests well with me. However, in light of the instruction we have received from the Lord Himself, I regard it as inappropriate for anyone in the Church to pray to our Mother in Heaven...The fact that we do not pray to our Mother in Heaven in no way belittles or denigrates her...none of us can add to or diminish the glory of her of whom we have no revealed knowledge.[8]
The Encyclopedia of Mormonism notes:
Latter-day Saints infer from authoritative sources of scripture and modern prophecy that there is a Heavenly Mother as well as a Heavenly Father.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rejects the idea found in some religions that the spirits or souls of individual human beings are created ex nihilo. Rather it accepts literally the vital scriptural teaching as worded by Paul: "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." This and other scriptures underscore not only spiritual sibling relationships but heirship with God, and a destiny of joint heirship with Christ (Romans 8:16-18; cf. Malachi 2:10).
Latter-day Saints believe that all the people of earth who lived or will live are actual spiritual offspring of God the Eternal Father (Numbers 16:22; Hebrews 12:9). In this perspective, parenthood requires both father and mother, whether for the creation of spirits in the premortal life or of physical tabernacles on earth. A Heavenly Mother shares parenthood with the Heavenly Father. This concept leads Latter-day Saints to believe that she is like him in glory, perfection, compassion, wisdom, and holiness.
Elohim, the name-title for God, suggests the plural of the Caananite El or the Hebrew Eloah. It is used in various Hebrew combinations to describe the highest God. It is the majestic title of the ultimate deity. Genesis 1:27 reads, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them" (emphasis added), which may be read to mean that "God" is plural.
For Latter-day Saints, the concept of eternal family is more than a firm belief; it governs their way of life. It is the eternal plan of life, stretching from life before through life beyond mortality.
As early as 1839 the Prophet Joseph Smith taught the concept of an eternal mother, as reported in several accounts from that period. Out of his teaching came a hymn that Latter-day Saints learn, sing, quote, and cherish, "O My Father," by Eliza R. Snow. President Wilford Woodruff called it a revelation (Woodruff, p. 62). In the heav'ns are parents single? No, the thought makes reason stare! Truth is reason; truth eternal Tells me I've a mother there. When I leave this frail existence, When I lay this mortal by, Father, Mother, may I meet you In your royal courts on high? [Hymn no. 292]
In 1909 the First Presidency, under Joseph F. Smith, issued a statement on the origin of man that teaches that "man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father," as an "offspring of celestial parentage," and further teaches that "all men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity" (Smith, pp. 199-205).
Belief that there is a Mother in Heaven who is a partner with God in creation and procreation is not the same as the heavy emphasis on Mariology in the Roman tradition.
Today the belief in a living Mother in Heaven is implicit in Latter-day Saint thought. Though the scriptures contain only hints, statements from presidents of the church over the years indicate that human beings have a Heavenly Mother as well as a Heavenly Father.[9]
We do not know the exact reason by which God has commanded us to only pray unto him and not Heavenly Mother. Whatever the reason, there are two things we can definitely rule out:
She's a mother and a goddess. If she felt that she needed to speak to her children more directly, her power and glory, much greater than any of ours as mortals, could and would be wielded to speak to us.
You are not going to get different answers by praying to Heavenly Mother than you are to Heavenly Father. Again, she is one with God and would answer the same as him. As a goddess herself, she knows that the Godhead works in complete unity one with another. She would do the same.
Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
Very little has been revealed about Mother in Heaven, but what we do know is summarized in a gospel topic found in our Gospel Library application.[10] Once you have read what is there, you will know everything that I know about the subject. I wish I knew more. You too may still have questions and want to find more answers. Seeking greater understanding is an important part of our spiritual development, but please be cautious. Reason cannot replace revelation. Speculation will not lead to greater spiritual knowledge, but it can lead us to deception or divert our focus from what has been revealed.[11] For example, the Savior taught His disciples, “Always pray unto the Father in my name.”[12] We follow this pattern and direct our worship to our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ and do not pray to Heavenly Mother.[13][14]
Notes
FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
We are a volunteer organization. We invite you to give back.
Donate Now