Worship

Today I read Alma 33, the first part of this chapter, Alma is teaching the men he has been talking to that they can pray anywhere they want to. Halfway through the chapter however he switches to the principle of witnesses and shows them just how many people have testified of Christ.

We have already touched on how absurd it really is that so many witnesses are not enough to convince some of the reality of Christ. The only thing I really want to say about it is just the fact that the people these days remind me a lot of the Israelites that Alma talks about in this chapter where all they had to do to live was to look at a brass serpent to live and they wouldn't do it! You'd think they might have thought to themselves, "Well, what the heck, I mean I'm going to die anyway, I might as well look." But no! They wouldn't even do that. Sadly in my profession I meet people like this all the time.

But I don't want to dwell on this. I'd rather focus on the wording Alma uses. When he is talking to the farmers who have been cast out of their synagogues, Alma calls prayer worship. That is really fascinating to me. How many people in this day and age really think of prayer as worship I wonder. I know I fall into this trap all the time, my prayers are 90% asking and only 10% thanking. I think I've gotten a little better since my daughter was born, but not much.

I think one of the reasons I don't generally think of prayer as worship to God is because I have always kind of felt that we more worship Him when we live the kind of life He would want us to live. But as I read the scriptures today, I really think my prayers could use a tune up. I remember how I used to pray as a missionary, how I would take my time and really talk to God, and they were very, very heartfelt. These days I feel my prayers have become almost routine.

Now, one of the ways Latter-day Saints are good at worshiping God is through the singing of Hymns. We learn from Doctrine and Covenants 25 that hymns are a prayer unto God. It's one of the reasons I love to sing hymns to my daughter. I want her to know from her earliest age that we love God in this household and that we worship Him and want her to feel that love for Him too.

One of Alma's chief points he is making to the Zoramites is that you can worship God anywhere you want to. But as we have also discussed already it IS very important to attend church so that God can be worshiped in a multitude of ways. So the Zoramites desire to attend church was not a bad one. Alma is merely addressing the mistaken belief that they can only pray to God in church and that they should only think about God once in a week. That is an important distinction to make, lest someone read this chapter and mistakenly think that Alma is saying it is not necessary to attend church. But the Zoramites have forgotten so much, that Alma is having to teach them very quickly and correct a lot of wrongs all at once.

For those who love God, the form of worship is very important. As I said, I personally feel that living the kind of life He wants is the best form of worship, but God needs all kinds of worship, prayer, hymns and emulation to just name a few. The one thing I will definitely take away from this chapter though is the knowledge that I need to pray better. Until tomorrow.