now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem saying "Where is he that is born king of the Jews for we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him." The magi as they are sometimes called were wise in seeking to find and worship the Messiah for them worshiping meant falling down before him and offering him gifts of gold and precious fragrant spices what does worshiping God mean for you and me when we think of worship our thoughts typically turn to the ways we show religious devotion both privately and in church services as I've considered the matter of worshiping our heavenly father and his beloved son our savior four concepts have come to mind first the actions that constitute our worship second the attitudes and feelings that figure into our worship third the exclusivity of our worship and fourth the need to emulate the holy beings that we worship first the actions that constitute our worship one of the most common and important forms of worship is to gather in a consecrated space to perform acts of devotion the Lord says "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." This is of course our primary motivation in building chapels but if necessary a non-dedicated space will do if we can invest it with some degree of sanctity most important is what we do when we gather on the Lord's day of course we dress as best we can according to our means not extravagantly but modestly in a way to signal our respect and reverence for deity our conduct is similarly reverent and respectful we worship by joining in prayer we worship by singing hymns not just listening to but singing the hymns we worship by instructing and learning from one another jesus says "Remember that on this the Lord's day thou shalt offer thine oblations meaning offerings of time talents or means in the service of God and fellow man thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the most high confessing thy sins unto thy brethren and before the Lord we come together not to entertain or be entertained as by a band for instance but to remember him and be instructed more perfectly in his gospel at the most recent general conference Elder Patrick Kieran reminded us that quote "We do not gather on the Sabbath simply to attend sacrament meeting and check it off the list we come together to worship." There is a significant difference between the two to attend means to be present at but to worship is to intentionally praise and adore our God in a way that transforms us." unquote devoting our Sabbaths to the Lord and his purposes is itself an act of worship some years ago then Elder Russell M nelson observed "How do we hallow the Sabbath day in my younger years I studied the work of others who had compiled lists of things to do and things not to do on the Sabbath it wasn't until later that I learned from the scriptures that my conduct and my attitude on the Sabbath constituted a sign between me and my heavenly father with that understanding I no longer needed lists of dos and don'ts when I had to make a decision whether or not an activity was appropriate for the Sabbath I simply asked myself "What sign do I want to give to God?" Worship on the Lord's day is marked by a particular focus on the great atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ we appropriately and specially celebrate his resurrection at Easter but also every week as we partake of the sacramental emblems of his atonement including his resurrection for the penitent partaking of the sacrament is the highlight of Sabbath worship worshiping together as the body of Christ has unique power and benefits as we teach serve and sustain one another interestingly one recent study found that those who view their spiritual lives as entirely private are less likely to prioritize spiritual growth or to say that their faith is very important or to have regular devotional time with God as a community of saints we strengthen each other in worship and in faith even so we cannot forget the daily acts of worship that we engage in individually and at home the Savior reminds us "Nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days and at all times." One sister wisely observed "I cannot think of a more profound way to worship God than to welcome his little ones into our lives and care for them and teach them his plan for them." Alma and Amu taught the Zoromites who'd been banned from their synagogues to worship God not merely once a week but always and in whatsoever place you may be in they spoke about prayer as worship ye must pour out your souls in your closets and your secret places and in your wilderness yay and when you do not cry unto the Lord let your hearts be full drawn out in prayer unto him continually they also spoke of searching the scriptures bearing testimony of Christ charitable acts and service receiving the Holy Ghost and living in thanksgiving daily consider that thought living in thanksgiving daily it speaks to my second concept the attitudes and feelings inherent in worship feelings and feeling and expressing gratitude to God is in fact what infuses worship with a sense of joyful renewal as opposed to seeing it as just one more duty true worship means loving God and yielding our will to him the most precious gift we can offer when asked which was the first commandment in all the law Jesus replied "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind." He also called this the great commandment this was the pattern of Jesus's own worship of the father his life and his atoning sacrifice were dedicated to the glory of the father poignantly we remember Jesus's heart-rennding plea in the midst of unimaginable suffering and anguish oh my father if it be possible let this cup pass from me but then his submissive nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt worshiing is striving to follow this perfect example we will not attain perfection in this course overnight but if each day we offer for a sacrifice unto him a broken heart and a contrite spirit he will again baptize us with his spirit and fill us with his grace third the exclusivity of our worship in the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord pronounces this indictment of the world they have strayed from mine ordinances and have broken my everlasting covenant they seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness but every man walketh in his own way and after the image of his own God whose image is in the likeness of the world it's good for us to remember the example of the three Jewish young men Haniah Mishael and Aariah carried captive to Babylon not long after Lehi and his family left Jerusalem king Nebuchadnezzar renamed them Shadrach Meshach and Abednego later when these three refused to worship an image set up by him Nebuchadnezzar commanded that they be thrown into a burning fiery furnace saying to them "And who is that God who shall deliver you out of my hands?" You will recall their bold answer our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thine hand O king but if not be it known unto thee that we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." The furnace was so hot that it killed those who threw them into it but Shadrach Meach and Abednego were unharmed then Nebuchadnezzar spake and said "Blessed be the God of Shadrach Meshach and Abedneo who hath delivered his servants that trusted in him and yielded their bodies that they might not serve nor worship any god except their own God they trusted in Jehovah for deliverance but if not that is even if God in his wisdom did not prevent their death yet they would remain true to him whatever takes precedence over worship of the father and the son becomes an idol those who reject God as the source of truth or disavow any accountability to him in effect substitute themselves as their god one who places loyalty to party or cause a head of divine direction worships a false god even those who purport to worship God but do not keep his commandments are walking in their own way they draw near unto me with their lips but their hearts are far from me the object of our worship is exclusively the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent finally the need to emulate the father and the son ultimately how we live may be the best most genuine form of worship showing our devotion means emulating the father and the son cultivating their attributes and character in ourselves if as the saying goes imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then we might say with respect to deity emulation is the sincerest form of veneration this suggests an active sustained effort on our part to seek holiness but becoming more Christlike is also the natural outcome of our acts of worship elder Kiran's phrase cited earlier about worshiping in a way that transforms us is significant true worship is transformative this is the beauty of the covenant path the path of worship love and loyalty to God we enter that path by baptism pledging to take upon us the name of Christ and to keep his commandments we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost the messenger of the Savior's grace that redeems and cleanses us from sin as we repent we could even say that in repenting we are worshiping him there follow additional priesthood ordinances and covenants made in the house of the Lord that further sanctify us the ceremonies and ordinances of the temple constitute an elevated form of worship president Russell M nelson has emphasized that every man and every woman who participates in priesthood ordinances and who makes and keeps covenants with God has direct access to the power of God this is not only a power we draw upon to serve and to bless it's also the divine power that works in us to refine and purify us as we walk the covenant path the sanctifying power of godliness is manifest in us may we as the ancient Nephites and Lamemonites fall down at the feet of Jesus and worship him may we as commanded by Jesus fall down and worship the Father in the name of the Son may we receive the Holy Spirit and yield our hearts to God have no other gods before him and as disciples of Jesus Christ emulate his character in our own lives i testify that as we do we will experience joy in worship in the name of Jesus Christ amen amen