by Wer62
It has been posed by detrators of the LDS faith that the LDS membership worships Joesph Smith. One such detractor asked made the following statement and asked a question:
The year 2005 is the 200th anniversary of the LDS Prophet Joseph Smith's birth. Latter-day Saints are using this anniversary year to honor their Prophet in special ways; but, according to the Chicago Tribune, this admiration is being "downplayed for fear that outsiders would mistake their reverence for the prophet as if they were worshipping him as a God."
In practical terms, how does LDS reverence for the Prophet Joseph Smith differ from LDS worship of Jesus Christ?
The article stated it plainly. We reverence Joseph Smith and we worship Jesus Christ. The difference is in the terminology and as such we need to define the terms of reverence and worship: [1]
rev-er-ence ( P ) Pronunciation Key (rvr-ns) n.
1. A feeling of profound awe and respect and often love; veneration. See Synonyms at honor.
1. A feeling of profound awe and respect and often love; veneration. See Synonyms at honor.
2. Reverence Used as a form of address for certain members of the Christian clergy: Your Reverence
wor-ship ( P ) Pronunciation Key (wurshp)n.
1. The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.
1. The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.
2. The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.
We honor Joseph Smith and his accomplishments no different that those who reverence Moses in his day, but we worship Jesus Christ as our deity. Immense difference!
We do not pray to Joesph Smith to save us, we do not expect Joesph Smith to save us. We pray through Jesus Christ and believe He is our mediator with the Father. We are taught to close our prayers "in the name of Jesus Christ". Does this sound like a religion that prays to Joesph Smith?
We admire all the Joseph Smith accomplished. He under the direction of Christ restored Christ's words, orginized a Church, built entire cities that were so nice they were taken away sometimes by threats of exterminiation orders by those who were jelious of those accomplishments. It is true that Joseph Smith accomplished a lot in his lifetime, more than most. That stated we do not pray to him and therefore by defintion do not "worship" him.
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Footnotes:
[1] Meriam Websters Online Dictionary
2 comments:
Wer, I agree with your post, but I just wanted to correct one little statement which you made. I know you know better, but I just thought I would head off any unecessary questions from this one statement. You said and I quote,"We pray to Christ and believe Christ is our mediator with the Father." We do believe Christ is our mediator with the Father, but we do not pray to Christ, we only pray in the name of Christ. Nothing serious, but just thought I would mention the difference. And as I said I already know you know this. Good Blog. Keep up the good work my friend. Hugh
Hugh.. Good to see you here. Thank you for pionting out the error.. I will make the correction.
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