Source Report--by Matthew James

Title:
McConkie, Bruce R. “How to Worship.” General Conference, October 1971.

Summary:
There are many forms of worship.  Only the worship of the Eternal Father can produce the desired result, namely, salvation.  We may ask what constitutes proper worship, or even who we should worship.  We must follow the example of Christ, who showed us how to worship the Father properly.  It isn’t a simple checklist of items, rather an entire life style.  Thus, worship isn’t something we do once a week, but over an entire lifetime.

Quote:
“To worship the Lord is to be married in the temple, to have children, to teach them the gospel, and to bring them up in light and truth.”

This quote is in a portion of the talk where ways that we can worship are listed.  I chose this, because it clearly contrasts the common idea that worship is something that we can do in an afternoon, with several things that take nearly a lifetime.  Often I think of worship as just prayer, and it can be, but it is so much more than that.

Title:
Maxwell, Neal A. “Premortality, a Glorious Reality.” General Conference, October 1985.

Summary:
The doctrine of having lived before this life is something that sets us apart from all other religions.  As we understand our purpose and reason for coming here, we begin to understand why we must endure so much hardship.  We can see that God really had a plan for us, and as our loving Father, knew what we needed to progress.  This knowledge doesn’t necessarily make life easier for us.  We still must make choices, and knowing that we lived before adds another layer of responsibility.  Now we must choose to follow God, as we did before, only now, we can’t remember Him.

Quote:
“Premortality is not a relaxing doctrine. For each of us, there are choices to be made, incessant and difficult chores to be done, ironies and adversities to be experienced, time to be well spent, talents and gifts to be well employed. Just because we were chosen ‘there and then,’ surely does not mean we can be indifferent ‘here and now.’ Whether foreordination for men, or foredesignation for women, those called and prepared must also prove ‘chosen, and faithful.’”

I really love how clearly he states this here.  We should remind ourselves that just because we chose to follow God once, it doesn’t let us off the hook in this life.  We must struggle and choose every day.  In fact, it is made more difficult now, since we cannot remember.  In the end, if we do prove faithful, we will be blessed beyond our imaginations.  I do like how he states the last sentence.  We often hear that we are the chosen generation, but really, we must prove that we are.
 
Insight:
Christ has been our example since before the world was.  I think that we can see this as we read the scriptures.  It is always Christ who is there at the front.  In D&C 93:8-9 it speaks of how Christ made the world.  Where were we in this verse?  We know we existed, and I think we were probably learning from Christ’s example.  We are to follow him here in this life, just as we did when we chose to come here, and as we likely did before that time.   Christ has shown us, since before the beginning how to worship the Father in the appropriate, salvation bringing way.

Response:
When I hear the word worship, I often think of many pious people kneeling and bowing and looking humble.  As I read the article on how God wants us to worship, I realized that God doesn’t need that.  I don’t really think that kind of worship would even make him happy.  What he desires, and wants us to desire, is to pattern our lives after and follow the Son, and become just like He is.  That would be the ultimate compliment to any Father I think, to have a child say, “Dad, I want to be just like you.”  While reading about the pre-earth life, this was further reinforced.  It is clear that God has planned this from the beginning to the end.  We can’t always see the path, but he can, and he wants us to succeed.  By letting us view our progress from premortality to now, he is opening up our imaginations to let us view our futures.