Bow Down Before Him

In the most recent general conference, Elder Christofferson spoke about how we worship the Lord. He taught, “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 a party or cause ahead 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 to 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] hast sent.’” To truly worship the Father and the Son, we must follow the first and great commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37). We cannot love Him with all our heart if we have placed other priorities ahead of the Lord in our lives. Elder Christofferson encouraged us with these words: “May we, as the ancient Nephites and Lamanites, ‘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.” Yielding our hearts to Him is perhaps the most important part of worship, and it is symbolized by our kneeling down before Him.  

This verse that he mentioned from Doctrine and Covenants 18:40 really stuck out to me: “And you shall fall down and worship the Father in my name.” The idea of falling down before the Lord in worship is used in other scriptures as well. Nephi saw this in vision: “I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him” (1 Nephi 11:24). He beheld the mortal Savior and those worshipping Him at His feet. Perhaps he saw in vision the account of the woman with the alabaster box of ointment: “A woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment” (Luke 7:37-38). She had fallen down and worshipped Him with tears. After His resurrection, “Jesus met [his disciples], saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him” (Matthew 28:9). Their immediate reaction to finding that the Savior had risen from the dead was to fall down before Him. When the Savior subsequently visited the Nephites, as Elder Christofferson mentioned, they fell down at His feet. Nephi, in particular, “arose and went forth, and bowed himself before the Lord and did kiss his feet” (3 Nephi 11:19). Later that same day, after He had healed many of them, “They did all, both they who had been healed and they who were whole, bow down at his feet, and did worship him; and as many as could come for the multitude did kiss his feet, insomuch that they did bathe his feet with their tears” (3 Nephi 17:10). This physical gesture of falling down before the Lord is symbolic of the attitude of worship we should have before Him, one filled with humility and awe and complete devotion.

Nephi, the son of Lehi, encouraged us to worship the Savior with all our hearts. He wrote, “The right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not; for by denying him ye also deny the prophets and the law. And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out” (2 Nephi 25:28-29). We can bow down both literally in prayer to the Father in the name of the Son and figuratively as we humble our hearts before Him and worship Him with all our mind. Then we will find the true “joy in worship” that Elder Christofferson promised.