On Facebook there was an ad for Mormon.org and one of the options was "Come Worship with Us" which makes me ask - what do Mormons Worship? I have been to meetings of other religions and they each practice their own form of worship but I cannot recall in 50 years of attending LDS services of actually worshipping. There is the assumption that some type of worship actually happened but it seems to be a vacate spot from my memories. When in Sacrament Meetings do Mormons actually worship? It is not during the eating of smashed bread and stale water.

...in theory, they should be worshiping traditional Native American spirit-beliefs; and that includes their totems....sure would look way better than trumpet-boy Moroni.

"A totem is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe. The totemic symbol may serve as a reminder of the kin group's ancestry or mythic past."


http://www.crystalinks.com/totempoles.jpg

As fer littul ol' me, well I have done gone and BLOOD-ATONED my Mormon "mythic past."

Back in '02, in a totally raging insane, tequila-speed-and-marijuana-laced dream, I cut off Holy Joe and Brigham the Beast behind the ears, then puked on their bodies. Now that was worship service! Sort of MMM style...

Being as it was, such a beautiful derivative of my Mormon mythic past, it was all very bloody and very cathartic!

And good riddance.

If you accept the definition one place gave, of "worship" as "unquestioning devotion" -- yes. They do.
They worship the cult and its founder(s) and leaders.

NO. The cult's practice of worship and entire organizational system is idol worship of the Q15 and Joe Smith. How many thousands of hours have you spent in meetings and not one word was spoken about the Lord except when they feigned a prayer and closed in the Lords name? They lack a real sense of that which is sacred. Everything they do is just a mirage to show holiness but it is void of the Spirit and genuine spiritual development like Pharisees. It reminds me of the Lord's statement in Isaiah where He says, "they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Gee, where have we heard that before? It is a part of the first vision. Joseph Smith plagiarized it for effect by plagiarizing the Bible up the wazoo. A key statement Christ gave as recorded in Matthew that perfectly describes the consequences for the Q15's scams, false doctrine, etc. is when He casts them out for their hypocrisy and self-dealing rituals. Christ says, "I never knew you." Considering that Christ knows all things, for Him to say that is very serious. Also Christ does not know evil firsthand because He is without sin. There is no way the Q15 get revelation from Christ and run His church because everything they do, say and enact through their ridiculous policies is un-Biblical and un-Christlike. Mormons, generally speaking do not know how to worship Christ because the emphasis is on idol worship of the Q15. There may be some members who did worship God, like myself and for those of us who resigned, we came to see the light and truth that the Q15 are false prophets and seek worship and celebrity for themselves.

During my time with the TSCC I noticed also:

That It seems that members don't have a direct relationship with Heavenly Father AKA God. Instead they Obey/follow the tenants of the church, who then handles/squares everything with the Big Guy.

Maybe I had it wrong, but it seemed like a big red flag to me.

Just my 2 cents, or my 10%...

vaguely, I remem there's a quote or attribution to one of the GAs which in essence counsels AGAINST developing/nurturing a close relationship with deity...

I KID YOU NOT!

That would be Apostle Bruce R. McConkie. He said,

. . ."There are yet others who have an excessive zeal which causes them to go beyond the mark. Their desire for excellence is inordinate. In an effort to be truer than true they devote themselves to gaining a special, personal relationship with Christ that is both improper and perilous."

. . ."Now I know that some may be offended at the counsel that they should not strive for a special and personal relationship with Christ."

RE the Q15: . . ."you have never heard one of them advocate this excessive zeal that calls for gaining a so-called special and personal relationship with Christ."

. . ."You have heard them teach and testify of the ministry and mission of the Lord Jesus, using the most persuasive and powerful language at their command. But never, never at any time have they taught or endorsed the inordinate or intemperate zeal that encourages endless, sometimes day-long prayers, in order to gain a personal relationship with the Savior."

. . ."I am well aware that some who have prayed for endless hours feel they have a special and personal relationship with Christ that they never had before. I wonder if this is any or so much different, however, from the feelings of fanatical sectarians who with glassy eyes and fiery tongues assure us they have been saved by grace and are assured of a place with the Lord in a heavenly abode . . ."

. . . "It is a fine and sacred line, but clearly there is a difference between a personal and intimate relationship with the Lord, which is improper, and one of worshipful adoration, which yet maintains the required reserve between us and him who has bought us with his blood. . ."

His conclusion:
. . . "But you have been warned, and you have heard the true doctrine taught. Those who need to study the matter further would do well to get and study a copy of what I have said when it is published by Brigham Young University."

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/bruce-r-mcconkie_relationship-lord/

- - -

Well, scanning and reading that talk made me sick to my stomach. I used to eat that stuff up. Pure BS now.

I seem to remember an old bishop of mine telling me that a personal relationship with the Lord was not necessary for us to obtain exaltation. All we have to do is follow the rules and we will get there. I think the Lord came to Earth because of the prevalence of this type of thinking among the Jews of that day. If you are a Christian a relationship with Christ is pretty darned important or at least it is for me. The LDS church left me feeling empty. Today I feel full and that is because I left the Mormon church and gained a personal relationship with Jesus.

I think like many church related words, they don't know its meaning.

Agreed...

I remember participating in what is known as the Triddum during Holy Week years after I left Mormonism. It struck me during the Good Friday service "So, THIS is what is meant by worshipping".

Observationally speaking, Mormons don't understand the meaning and therefore, don't really worship in their meetings.

That does seem to be missing in its meetings.

The only worship as I recall was focused on Joseph Smith, philanderer, con artist and bigamist.

Maybe that was a part of the spiritual vacuum I'd come away with after attending LDS services.

Other denominations do practice worship time. It's what they do.

No. You've been there, right? I don't think that anyone who is in the habit of going to any other Christian church would agree that Mormons worship. It's a kind of self-admiration society. It's always, "We're the best. We have the Book of Mormon. We have prophets. Others don't. Others suck."

most mormons would claim to worship the traditional big three of christianity.

they may do it badly, but its a valid claim

and any argument against that, merely runs into the 'no true scotsman' fallacy

Not so. EssexExMo is correct.
One of the posts above says they don't worship, then a few words later says it's "idol worship." Guess what -- idol worship IS worship. It's right there in the name.

The ones who think they don't above mostly seem to think that since mormon "worship" isn't like other "christian" worship, then it's not worship. Which is the fallacy EssexExMo pointed out.

Mormons use fallacies in "reasoning" all the time. I don't want to join them. :)

Cheryl Wrote:
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I agree. But that's the essence of "No True Scotsman" -- just because it's not the way YOU do it doesn't mean it isn't doing it. It's just different. They "worship" in their own way, mostly "worship" of the church and its leaders. It's not what we consider "worship," it is what THEY consider "worship."

LDS services are about as worshipful as a sales meeting -- interrupted by crying babies and fidgety kids.

However, I used to feel worshipful during good sacrament hymns and the passing of the sacrament when it was quiet and meditative. Then the mood would be spoiled by yammering from the pulpit.

Mormon meetings are a bunch of motivational sales talks guilt tripping members into overscheduling even more to serve the cult for free.

Do Mormons really Worship?

Yes, they worship the Church.

sacrament bread and water, regular attendance, white shirts, and missionaries. But do they worship a higher ideal or being? That's questionable.

The bishop here, when he conducts, always says something about gathering to worship together. I had never really thought about this until he became bishop and was constantly saying it. What does "worship" really mean? Is singing "Praise to the Man" worship? For the most part, SM is just 2-3 boring talks that sometimes don't even mention God or Jesus, and 2-3 hymns that 10% of the congregation even sings. I'd say the sacrament is a form of worship, but that's 3 minutes out of the 3 hour block.

There are thousands of ways to worship. It can be religious or something else. Everyone can decide how they worship for themselves. There is no right or wrong way to worship.
We decide for ourselves what and how we worship, or don't worship. It can be very personal, or part of a group.
In religious services, I have considered the whole service to be worship. People are there to be supportive of their religious views and share in singing, listening to sermons, talks, scripture reading, and all the specific rituals whether Christian, or some other religion.
The LDS Church has it's specific form of worship. And as with all other religions, it's defined by it's belief system.
Their services are designed to reinforce their beliefs in music, and sermons/talks, and the Sacrament, as well as in classes, and discussions. It's all their way of worshiping.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/24/2015 12:29PM by SusieQ#1.

I don't know... I don't feel like I ever worshpied anything. I thought I was supposed to have a father-son relationship with God, and I'd never worship my dad. Now I don't think I could ever worship anything even if God were real. I'm too proud, I have too much respect for myself.

themaster Wrote:
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> When
> in Sacrament Meetings do Mormons actually worship?

It isn't Sacrament Meeting but Tithing Settlement.

The only thing I ever seen them worship was money and power.

Most morg church services are so boring, bland and fdull. If you've ever attended a business meeting it's the same thing for all 3 hours. They're so dull that they put people to sleep!

They don't worship God, they worship the middle-man.