According to LDS teaching, why should we worship this God?
Upvote:0
A few things I can think of:
When you are a child, let's say 7, do you obey your parents, and the things they tell you to do, or the things your grandparents say.
We have been given no commands by our "grand-heavenly-father" to be worshiped, nor have we ever been instructed by our God or him to worship him, the only reason we know he must exist is because of light indirect mentioning in the scriptures
Dave DeLong shares the following here:
"it's pretty simple. Mormons worship God the Father, through the Son. While we believe that there are other gods out there, they are not our God. I find that an analogy helps me think about this clearly: At work, I have one boss. He is my boss and no one else is. There are other bosses, but I do not report to them, they do not affect my quarterly reviews, and I don't really interact with them in any sort of manager-underling relationship. The same goes for God."
Upvote:2
As is often helpful when addressing questions such as these, the definition of "worship" should be considered. According to the NOAD, worship means:
- show reverence and adoration for (a deity); honor with religious rites
- treat (someone or something) with the reverence and adoration appropriate to a deity
Notice the words reverence and adoration, which have much to do with respect and love. Now consider the prominent LDS doctrine that all people on earth are children of God. Assuming there is a succession of Gods as implied by the quotes given in the question, God the Father has his own father, who is also a god, and who also has a father who is a god, and so on.
The Gospel Topic Essay titled "Becoming Like God" offers more insight in this matter. Specifically, the following excerpt is relevant:
Does belief in exaltation make Latter-day Saints polytheists?
For some observers, the doctrine that humans should strive for godliness may evoke images of ancient pantheons with competing deities. Such images are incompatible with Latter-day Saint doctrine. Latter-day Saints believe that God’s children will always worship Him. Our progression will never change His identity as our Father and our God. Indeed, our exalted, eternal relationship with Him will be part of the “fulness of joy” He desires for us.
One way to understand this (my opinion) is as follows: generally, young children on earth respect and love their fathers (and mothers) more than their grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on. They have a closer relationship with their fathers, spend more time together, and work through more problems together. This is not to say their fathers are somehow better or worse than their grandfathers or great-grandfathers; rather, the fathers are closest to their children and most directly responsible for their care, upbringing, and protection, and are therefore given the most attention.
Similarly, all people on earth as children of God love and respect Him more than His father or others who came before Him because He is the most relevant to us. He has the responsibility of raising His children on earth to one day return to His presence and live with Him forever. He requires His children to respect and love Him as He is their Father—the God most closely related to them.
Upvote:5
Consider any reason a Christian would worship God:
- He created us.
- He (through his Son) saved us.
- He has commanded that we worship him and pray to him in the name of Jesus Christ.
- We know and love him.
- We fear the consequences of not reverencing him.
All apply, and specifically to God.
More post
- 📝 Why does the Coptic church still perform circumcisions?
- 📝 Who is "the Lord thy God" mentioned in scripture?
- 📝 What are the differences between the different millenialisms?
- 📝 Why did Peter, James and John (all three) appear to Joseph Smith?
- 📝 What's is the case for premarital sex being an instance of πορνεία (p**neia)?
- 📝 Do Protestants believe that "Our Father" is on par with "Our Mother," or is Jesus strictly invoking a male symbol only?
- 📝 In a Catholic viewpoint, is it possible for Rome to fall?
- 📝 What does Mary look like in the Fatima Apparitions?
- 📝 Does the word 'testament' in the titles OT and NT imply the death of the testator in both covenants?
- 📝 Why does God punish us for our will?
- 📝 When did the practice of tearing one's own garments start among the Jews?
- 📝 Which denomination had the largest percent of members who now profess atheism?
- 📝 Primacy of Andrew in Eastern Orthodoxy
- 📝 What is the biblical basis against the use or overuse of tobacco and other types of drugs?
- 📝 In Catholicism, what does "mystical" mean?
- 📝 Is it true that in Bible certain brothers are favored more than others?
- 📝 Which, according to Catholic Church, is the writing in Old Testament that Jesus is referring to in Jn 7:38?
- 📝 Who is the American Catholic Church?
- 📝 What is the meaning of "GNU" and how should it be displayed on a cremation urn?
- 📝 How to receive the gift of tongues according to the New Testament?
- 📝 To where was Satan cast out?
- 📝 Which battle won by Judah or the United Kingdom of Israel that was won miraculously had the greatest number of enemy casualties?
- 📝 What does Lumen Gentium 25 mean about submission?
- 📝 According to Catholicism, why was Adam alone given the charge of naming the animals and birds?
- 📝 Is masturbation worse than smoking (for the Catholic Church)?
- 📝 Does Acts 20:33-34 suggest that a church should not have a paid ministry?
- 📝 Why is "Friends" capitalized in 1 Maccabees in the NRSV?
- 📝 If Joseph and Mary consummated their marriage, why did they wait to do so?
- 📝 A little more about natural law, the rules and punishment within natural law?
- 📝 What are the main differences between 7th Day Adventists and Catholic/Protestant churches?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 According to LDS teaching, why should we worship this God?
- 📝 According to the LDS faith, if our spirits lived with God before this life, why is spiritual birth during life on earth required?
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church, why should we pray if God has already decided the best future for all of us?
- 📝 According to Roman Catholic doctrine, why does Mary refer to God as her Savior if she was born without sin?
- 📝 According to LDS (Mormon) teaching, who was the first God who began the eternal progression?
- 📝 According to Calvinism, why does God give mercy to some and not to others?
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church, why is God called “Father” (and not, say, “Mother”)?
- 📝 Why does God often permit his children to suffer in this world more than the wicked?
- 📝 Why does LDS teaching say that the Priesthood returned to earth if John never left?
- 📝 According to Reformed theology, why does God tell people to repent if they don't have the choice to do so, as in Exodus 10:3?
- 📝 According to the LDS church, why was Jesus Christ born when he was born?
- 📝 When did the LDS church start teaching that God the Father had a beginning?
- 📝 If Jesus is not God according to Jehovah’s Witnesses, why was He accused of blasphemy?
- 📝 According to LDS, if the Fall was a positive thing why would God condemn sin in the flesh?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about this question- Why do Jesus and God have two seats in heaven when they are the same God?
- 📝 According to LDS teaching, was Adam the first man created in all the worlds or just this one?
- 📝 According to Catholic theology, why does God have an only Son?
- 📝 According to non-Trinitarians, why did God allow trinitarianism to become the mainstream understanding of His nature?
- 📝 Why is God the Father referred to as "Eternal Father" in LDS writings when He is not believed to be eternal?
- 📝 According to the doctrine of the LDS Church what is man's relationship with God
- 📝 According to orthodox Trinitarians, why did Jesus respond that only God is good?
- 📝 According to Calvinists, why does God not predestine all to Heaven?
- 📝 According to Catholic doctrine, do our fallen, finite nature and our relationship with God set us up for abusive relationships in this life?
- 📝 According to soul sleep adherents, why would God allow people to be massively misled by the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19-31)?
- 📝 According to Protestant interpretations why does God want people to serve Him when He doesn’t need it?
- 📝 According to Young Earth Creationists why would God create elements that decay if the creation was perfect?
- 📝 According to LDS teaching, Does God have a God?
- 📝 According to Protestantism why did God choose the persona of a Father?
- 📝 According to Calvinists, why did God say what He did to Cain in Genesis 4:7?
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church, why does God hurt others to punish David in 2 Samuel:24?