Editor’s note: To support personal and family gospel learning, the Church News is publishing articles on messages from April 2025 general conference. It is recommended to listen to or read the full address in addition to reviewing these resources.
About this talk
- “Worship”
- Elder D. Todd Christofferson | Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
- Saturday evening session of April 2025 general conference.
- Theme: Believers worship God as they keep the Sabbath day holy, live in thanksgiving daily, worship only God and emulate Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of Elder Christofferson’s message here.
Outline
- When Jesus was born, Wise Men came to worship Him. For them, worshipping meant falling down before Him and offering Him gifts of gold and precious, fragrant spices. “What does worshipping God mean for you and me?”
- As Elder Christofferson pondered worshipping Heavenly Father and the Savior, four concepts emerged: first, the actions that constitute worship; second, the attitudes and feelings that figure into worship; third, the exclusivity of worship; and fourth, the need to emulate the Holy Beings who are the focus of worship.
First, the actions that constitute our worship
- Gathering together on the Sabbath day to perform acts of devotion such as prayer, hymns and gospel learning is an important part of worship. Actions on the Sabbath day are a sign to God.
- Daily acts of worship such as prayer, scripture study, bearing testimony of Christ and service are also important. Alma and Amulek taught Zoramites who had been banned from their synagogues to worship God not merely once a week but always and “in whatsoever place ye may be in” (Alma 34:38).
The attitudes and feelings inherent in worship
- Feeling and expressing gratitude to God are what infuses worship with a sense of joyful renewal.
- True worship means loving God and yielding one’s will to Him, like Jesus Christ did when He submitted to the Father’s will, saying, “Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39).
Third, the exclusivity of our worship
- King Nebuchadnezzar threatened to throw Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego into a fiery furnace if they would not worship his idol. The young men refused to worship anything besides Jehovah, and God protected them from harm in the furnace (see Daniel 3:8-28).
- Whatever takes precedence over worship of the Father and the Son becomes an idol; one who places loyalty to a party or cause ahead of divine direction worships a false god.
Finally, the need to emulate the Father and the Son
- Showing devotion means emulating the Father and the Son — cultivating Their attributes and character in oneself. True worship is transformative.
- Priesthood ordinances and covenants made in the house of the Lord constitute an elevated form of worship. As believers walk the covenant path, the sanctifying “power of godliness is manifest” in them (Doctrine and Covenants 84:19-21).
Reflection questions
What role does partaking of the sacrament play in your worship?
Is there anything in your life taking “precedence over worship of the Father and the Son”?
What is one way you can better emulate Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
How might gratitude enhance your personal worship?
When have you had a joyful worshipping experience? What made it joyful?
Speaker quotes
- “Feeling and expressing gratitude to God are, 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.”
- “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.”
Reference scriptures
- “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.”
- “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
- “But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness. Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.”
Invitations and promises
- “Worshipping together as ‘the body of Christ’ (1 Corinthians 12:12-27) has unique power and benefits as we teach, serve and sustain one another.”
- “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’ (3 Nephi 9:20), He will again baptize us with His Spirit and fill us with His grace.”
- “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.”
Stories
- When Jesus was born, Wise Men came to worship Him. For them, worshipping meant falling down before Him and offering Him gifts of gold and precious, fragrant spices (see Matthew 2:11). What does worship mean to believers today?
- Alma and Amulek taught Zoramites who had been banned from their synagogues to worship God not merely once a week but always and “in whatsoever place ye may be in” (Alma 34:38). They also taught about prayer as worship, in addition to searching the scriptures, bearing testimony of Christ, service, receiving the Holy Ghost and living in thanksgiving daily.
- Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego refused to worship an idol set up by King Nebuchadnezzar, who commanded that they be thrown into a burning fiery furnace. He asked, “And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” (Daniel 3:15). The young men boldly replied, “If it be so, 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, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Daniel 3:17-18). The furnace was so hot that it killed those who threw them into it, but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were unharmed. Nebuchadnezzar then praised their God for delivering them.
Additional resources
- Related image: “Mongolia Sacrament Meeting”
- Related video: “Welcome to the Church of Joy”
- Related hymn: No. 64, “On This Day of Joy and Gladness”
Recent conference talks on worship
- Elder Patrick Kearon: “Welcome to the Church of Joy” (October 2024)
- Bishop L. Todd Budge: “Seek Him With All Your Heart” (October 2024)
- President Dallin H. Oaks: “The Need for a Church” (October 2021)
Who is Elder Christofferson?
- Elder D. Todd Christofferson was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 5, 2008. Prior to his calling as a general authority in 1993, Elder Christofferson was associate general counsel of NationsBank Corp. (now Bank of America).
