Welcome to Closer to Christ, the General Conference,
where two friends who love Jesus share our own
approach to studying the most recent General
Conference talks. This is Abby and Amy. Let's
jump into it. Today we're discussing the talk
Worship by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the
Quorum of the Twelve. Now, when Jesus was born
in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the
king, behold, there came wise men from the east
to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born
king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in
the east, and we are come to worship him. We're
going to suggest in this episode a self -reflection
question. So that question is, what does worshiping
God mean to you? How does that view of worship
translate into the actions that we actually perform
in our worship? I really love this talk, Abby,
and I'm excited to jump in. Same. The Magi, as
they were sometimes called, were wise in seeking
to find and worship the Messiah. For them, worshiping
meant falling down before the Savior, offering
Him gifts of gold and precious fragrant spices.
As Elder Christofferson said, I think there are
many lessons to be offered by the Magi, so I
spent some more time pondering on. you know how
the magi worship through their example to come
to and worship the savior the wise men needed
spiritual awareness to recognize the sign of
the star for sure it was available for all to
see but they were the ones who had eyes to see
it that means that they knew what sign they were
looking for and they believed in the prophecies
that had come before they were actively watching
for their savior with only a star as their guide
they spent years seeking the savior which meant
a sacrifice of time and comforts and their safety
in search for this prophesied Savior. We know
that they faced obstacles like Herod, his deception,
and the uncertainty about where to find this
child. But through that all, they persisted.
And they didn't stop at seeing the star. They
acted with purpose in seeking the Savior. When
they finally met Him, they knew Him. They fell
at his feet. They offered these gifts, which
symbolize his kingship, divinity, and future
suffering, further testifying that they knew
they were in the presence of their Savior. And
then after meeting him, were warned in a dream
not to return to Herod, meaning that they are
willing to obey and depart in another way, showing
continued responsiveness to God's direction.
Wow. In his words, their journey is a powerful
pattern for all who seek to worship Christ today.
It totally is, Abby. Have you ever seen that
movie? It's called The Fourth Wise Men. Fantastic.
Where's it on or where'd you see it? It's from
the 80s. Anyway, look it up at some point. Sounds
during Christmas. It just talks about like this
life, but it really is. Be the wise men that
seek him. Yes. And he spent his whole life looking
for him. He wasn't one of the three, right? He
was the fourth. So he was later. Anyway, as you're
reading this, I'm just thinking of, yes, a life
of sacrifice and all the things that they did.
This is very powerful. So to reiterate the question,
what does worshiping God mean to you and me?
Typically, our thoughts go to the way we practice
our religion at home and in private. Elder Christofferson
is... pondered on the matter of worshiping our
Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, our Savior.
And he identified four concepts to focus on.
Number one, the actions that constitute our worship.
Number two, the attitudes and feelings that figure
into our worship. Number three, the exclusivity
of our worship. I like that. And when I first
heard that, I was like, what does that mean?
So we're going to jump into it. It is the one
that I was like, what does he mean by that? And
it's perfect. Number four, the need to emulate
the holy beings that we worship. So we gather
in consecrated spaces to perform acts. devotion.
In an effort to separate ourselves from the world,
we'll join to partake of the sacrament on His
holy day. This is the primary purpose for our
buildings, dedicated chapels. But, he mentioned,
even non -dedicated spaces treated with a degree
of sanctity can also work. It caused me to think
of the little one -room bar that I attended sacrament
meeting in when I was in Aguas Calientes, Peru.
And it was a bar, pretty obvious, but it was
cleaned and prepared in such a way that the emblems
of the sacrament... 20 years later, it's still
special. So I don't know. I just like kind of
reminiscing on that. Like sacrament rooms are
nice. We can cherish them and they're beautiful,
but you can make a place to worship just about
anywhere that, you know, more than one person
is willing to gather in his name. That's awesome.
set it apart make it holy right this talk causes
us to ponder on the actions we do as we gather
on the lord's day we dress our best according
to our means not extra not extravagantly but
modestly in a way to signal our respect and reverence
for deity in our attitude Or rather, is our attitude
one of reverence and respect? Joining in prayer,
really joining, not just listening when singing
the hymns. Teaching and learning from each other
is a form of worship. Jesus says, remember that
on this, the Lord's day, thou shalt offer thine
oblations, meaning your offerings of time, talents,
and means in service of God and fellow men, and
thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing
thy sins unto the brethren. unto thy brethren
and before the Lord. Our object is to come together
to remember him and also be instructed more perfectly
in his gospel. Abby, I just was listening to
the part, it's in Alma, in the Book of Mormon,
where it talked about the hearer not being any
better than the preacher, you know, the one who's
teaching and the one who's listening. And that's
what this reminds me of too, that that's just
part of the way that God would have it is we're
all learning together and it's very, there's
a nice flow to it. There's not like a hierarchy
of like, I'm the teacher and you're not. Because
we all know darn well that one week we might
be the teacher and the next week we might be
the listener. That's how it works with us. Level
playing field because the spirit is the medium
that we're all concerned about. That if you're
the one that's supposed to be listening to the
lesson, the spirit can prick. And if you're the
one teaching the lesson, if you're doing it by
the spirit, that, yeah, no one's better, but
we're all being better together. Love that. Most
recent general conference, just the previous
one, Elder Patrick Kieran reminded us that we
do not gather on the Sabbath simply to attend
sacrament meeting and check it off the list.
We come together to worship. There's a significant
difference between the two. To attend means to
be present. To worship is to intentionally praise
and adore our God in a way that transforms us.
It's awesome. I'm going to say it again. To attend
means to be present, but to worship is to intentionally
praise and adore our God in a way that transforms
us. That is so powerful. I think we're going
to continue going back to Elder Kieran's talk
on that because there's just so much to learn
there. It was nice knowing it came from a perspective
of maybe having more exposure to other churches.
Like, I don't have that. So when I listen to
his words, I'm like, I've tried to go and attend
other meetings. If a friend's invited me to their
services, I've taken that opportunity. he has
he he's seen what worship looks like when like
when things look a little bit different maybe
I don't know I just appreciated his perspective
I heard the talk in that way the way that he
brought up like joyful reverence was in that
talk and I was like exactly it doesn't mean like
just sitting with your feet on the floor and
cross -armed and not saying a word. It's showing
that we're so satisfied with the things that
we're hearing, like our spirits pricked and we
can make some noise, but it doesn't have to be
like exaggerated and exuberant noise. It doesn't
have to include drums and guitars and stuff.
Right. I just, I liked his thoughts. And so I'm
really glad that this talk brought it up. Yeah,
circle back around again. I agree, Abby. Because
we've had six months to think on that talk. And
then this one just kind of handpicked some of
the most amazing lines from it and builds on
it. Yes, transformative. Devoting our Sabbath
to the Lord and his purposes is itself an act
of worship. He referenced how years ago, then
Elder Russell M. Nelson observed, how do we hallow
the Sabbath day? Many years ago, that might have
been a compiled list of things to do and things
not to do on the Sabbath. From the scriptures,
we learned that our conduct and attitude on the
Sabbath constitute a sign between us and Heavenly
Father. Lists are no longer necessary when this
is our litmus. The do's and don'ts are unnecessary
once we remember to just gauge what we are about
to do with this question. What sign is this giving
to Father in Heaven? Or Elder Christofferson
stated it like this, what sign do I want to give
to God? That's so good. It's nice to be done
with the checklist items. I do remember seeing
that list when I was a kid and I was like, I
felt overwhelmed by it. I was like, sheesh, I
feel like I can kind of feel in my heart what
feels good and what doesn't because a kid knows
that. I do want to specify like the list coming
maybe from the church. It's no longer appropriate
or necessary. I do have a friend and she had,
well, I'm just, I'm just saying. that is the
church we used to live in. It's like, well, we
don't do that on Sundays. Well, who said? It's
like, well, you know, I'm not saying it was like
a correlated list, but you'd be like, oh, you
jump on the tramp on Sundays. Oh, blah, blah,
blah. Like whatever, whatever your thing is.
But we're kind of past that. We were saying,
what sign do we want to give to the Lord? I do
have a friend, she was raising eight kids. And
so they did as a family create a list and it
didn't say things we can't do on Sunday. It said
things we do on Sunday. And it was fun. things
write a note color a picture and i'm not going
to go it's i'm not going to make the list for
you because as a family you can decide you know
totally what what that looks like so i'm not
saying a list is inappropriate i'm just saying
that the message is what you know what sign are
we going to give to the lord you know my kid
wanted to go fishing today my husband's like
we're not going to go fishing and i'm like And
my litmus is like, we did church, we've worshipped,
we've done other good things. I don't think it's
that big of a deal. I can totally support my
husband if he doesn't want to do the fishing
thing. But he's like, well, there's six other
days we can do that. Okay, we can have that discussion.
I'm not going to get in a fight about it, but
we can all have our list. Some people are like,
we don't watch sports on Sundays. And some families,
that's their together time. They love the energy
of a sports game. That's not our thing. I mean,
we turn on the Super Bowl just so we can have
gummy food. But I'm just saying I appreciate
that we've moved past that. The lists aren't
necessary and they're not. The point was missed
when we were kind of doing it in list fashion.
Agreed. Also, it kind of like you shut your brain
off sometimes when you see a list. And like you
were just saying, you know, we've been to church.
I feel like. Now, it's one thing because I was
just talking about this literally with my mom
because we live right by the river and people
were going down the river and we were chatting
about it on Sunday, right? So I was saying, you
know, and she was too, we've been to church and
we renewed our covenants and being out in nature.
I don't see anything. This is me. Don't see anything
wrong with that. And then the next thing I said
was, the difference is when you replace nature
with renewing your covenants. Now, if it's replacing
it, that's a whole other conversation. Do you
know what I mean? So yeah, I feel like that the
list is wide. And as long as we ask, what sign
do I want to give to God? I think that that will
direct us and our families will be happy with
that. Right. And then it doesn't make it like,
oh, it's Sunday. We can't do this, that, and
the other. What can we do? Anything that draws
you closer to your Savior. Like you said, you've
renewed your covenants and then passed that.
Yes. Our Sabbath day worship is intended to be
centered around the great atoning sacrifice of
Jesus Christ. We appropriately and specially
celebrate his resurrection at Easter, but also
every week as we partake of the sacramental emblems
of his atonement, including his resurrection.
for the penitent partaking of the sacrament is
the highlight of sabbath worship worshiping together
as the body of christ has unique power and benefits
as we teach and serve and sustain one another
maybe many of you have the opportunity to partake
of the emblems of the sacrament in your own home
during the months of covid like us was that like
a worldwide I don't know, in our area, whoever,
the powers that be authorized the priesthood
bearers to perform the sacrament in the home.
And for us, it was a sacred experience. I cherished
that time in our homes. I cherished having one
of our rooms dedicated to this special act. And
when I reflect back on it, I'm reminded of those
tender feelings that I have about it. When we
got back to church and we gathered to do that
same thing together in unity with other ward
members, my testimony of gathering together was
strengthened. I loved being at home, but I was
able to see the contrast of that compared to
gathering together to do the same thing. 100%.
I was actually surprised. Of being willing and
wanting to go back? Just because I loved being...
like I'm an introvert and I love being home so
much that I was like, there's no way I'm going
to love going back as much as I love this because
it's been such a beautiful experience. And I
too was taken back. When I went back, there was
just a feeling of this is why we gather and just
such an expansive feeling. And it was like, I
love this. Like I was so happy to be back. What
a blessing, you know? Agreed. Elder Christofferson
referenced a recent research study here. And
when looking deeper into that, we found it was
conducted in February of the same year. So the
research, showed that 56 % of U .S. Christian
adults viewed their spiritual lives as entirely
private. This was so interesting to me. The remainder
of Christians, 44%, tend to be more open when
thinking about sharing their spiritual life and
walk with others. And then it's this. Christians
who view their lives as entirely private are
less likely to say that it is very important
to see progress in their spiritual life, that
their faith is very important in their life today,
and that they have weekly time with God. So again,
that brings us back to there is something about
sharing it when we share it, it grows, right?
Christians who seek to grow in their faith and
walk with Christ are more likely to do so when
they're open to journeying alongside others.
That includes sharing about their spiritual life
so that fellow believers and friends can challenge
them to grow in healthy ways. It makes the scripture
we referenced earlier, remember on this, the
Lord's day, thou shall offer thine offerings
of time, talents, or means in service of God
and fellow men. More special knowing that in
worship together, we grow our faith and make
more time for God. When I was listening to this,
Abby, this talk this week, I just thought back
on, it kind of is comfortable just to kind of
keep your faith close to your heart. Kind of
is comfortable and you're not going to mess up.
You're not going to step on toes. You're not
going to whatever. But as I read this and or
listen to it, I really I feel like the spirit
was really testifying to my heart that it really
is a spiritual gift to be able to share that,
to articulate that. And I think we're all working
on that. I don't think it's comfortable for anyone.
Maybe it is. Maybe there are the people are like,
you're a joke. It's very comfortable for me.
I practice it for so long. But I think for most
of us. it's hard and we might make mistakes and
we might fall but that's what spiritual gifts
look like and that's what being a disciple of
christ looks like is that we continue to try
and we continue to lift others up and grow in
that way and what's also true is like sometimes
you're the one that has to prepare the lesson
but just like the warm body that's come out of
their comfortable home you know gotten dressed
up and ready and just sitting in that chair even
if they're not really wanting to or open to opening
their mouths and sharing a lot just being there
being a receptacle of that lesson that's being
taught, it still does add to that community worship.
You can still be quiet, an introvert, a wallflower,
but still there. Totally. Gathering. That's like
such a sign to the Lord. Like, especially if
you do come from that place where you would way
rather be at home and he totally knows that about
you and you just show up. You know, if I'm sitting
there and I'm impressed to say something and
I don't, like... I need to share. Like, it's
good for me to share, but sometimes I'm just
content just to sit and listen. Oh, yeah. Church
is where we are supported in our faith journey.
Home is where our gospel efforts are centered,
though. In our homes, kind of tweaked, you know,
church -centered or home -centered, church -supported.
But in our homes, we perform daily acts of worship.
The Savior reminds us, nevertheless, thy vow
shall be offered up in righteousness on all days
and at all times. And we're not a church all
the time. So we do know that extends to the other
days of the week. We remember the Zoramites had
been banned from gathering together to worship
in their synagogues, but we know from that that
they were instructed to worship in whatsoever
place that they may be instead. Okay, let them
withhold your synagogues from you, but that doesn't
mean that there's not places to worship. It's
nice to know that in an effort to obey the law
of the land you're living in, if you're banned
from worshiping together, that your individual
efforts at home or inside your home you know
can be made more powerful um speaking about prayer
as a form of worship they say you must pour out
your souls in your closets in 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 so these verbal
prayers in these quiet places where you're not
banned from doing that and in your heart if if
that's where you can pray you know pray pray
in your heart Just heard the news on some recent
developments in China. So in July of this year,
2025, Chinese officials have banned the activities
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day
Saints in Beijing. The church has operated there
for over 20 years under unofficial arrangements,
but recent national crackdowns on foreign religious
groups have led closure in several cities. The
LDS Church, which is not among China's five legally
sanctioned religions, has emphasized its intent
to follow the law. Obviously, we follow the law
of the land that we're in while seeking mutual
understanding. So foreign members like those
of the U .S. embassy staff are now unable to
meet in person. And broader restrictions remain,
such as separating Chinese and foreign worshipers.
You know, that's always been a thing, a part
of their law. Like if you're Chinese national
versus. Like an expatriate. So experts view the
ban as part of a larger campaign against foreign
-based religions and non -governmental organizations.
The situation presents a difficulty for the Chinese
government because if they are to recognize the
LDS government, or I'm sorry, the LDS church,
it could open up the door for other world religions
to seek official status. And I think they're
pretty content. with the standard, with the five
that they have. I mean, the ones that were recently
banned apparently didn't like file like a certain
paperwork or whatever that they needed to. So
we understand that, like you've got to follow
things to a T and follow their rules. But I was
just thinking, you know, there's probably some
broken hearts where they're not able to gather
together. But where we're saying, and we're saying,
we're saying gather and join together, it's our
obligation, our duty to gather together because
we benefit so much from each other. It becomes
impossible to gather together. I feel like the
Lord. can magnify your individual worship opportunities.
If that's what's available to you, if that is
the best you are doing, he will give you 100
% of the blessings that he is able. And we probably
all felt that at some time or another. For sure.
So if you were to be in a country that banned
religious gatherings, we experienced that here
during COVID like we were just talking about.
The message also spoke of searching the scriptures,
bearing testimony of Christ, performing charitable
acts and service. And receiving the Holy Ghost.
So, again. Is another way of worshiping. Exactly.
Yeah. I totally believe that the Lord. Those
things can go, like, take, they can recharge
us. Yes. As much as gathering together would
have had we been able to gather. Yes. And the
Lord is very creative. If there is not a way
that we're able to do something that we think,
like, there's only one way, like before, it's
the only one. Way to go to church was to be at
church. Then COVID happened. And probably for
other people, other things happened. And the
Lord's like, there are numerous ways for me to
allow you to feel of my spirit for you to do
all of these things. So I just feel that over
and over again that, yes, he can compensate for
that. Love it. Okay. The next concept he discussed
were the attitudes and feelings that contribute
to our worship. So the tale. end of the list
that we were reviewing included living in thanksgiving
daily like that list that you went through um
the the the last thing on that list was thanksgiving
daily but i was like that feels like it should
go with the attitudes and feelings instead of
like leading into it so do we ever just stop
and think that expressing gratitude of the things
that are around us is a form of worship i mean
i i think i know that it I know that my feelings
of gratitude for the thing strengthen my relationship
with him, but it's cool to be reminded like that's
a form of worship to point out the things that
you're grateful for that you see around you.
We have the choice to consider worship as an
obligation, something we've checked off a list,
a list of duties that we have, or we can. feel
that our acts of worship are reprieved from the
world and something that brings us joyful renewal.
Did you like how I used that word, joyful renewal?
Yes, of course. Honestly, thinking here of the
times that I've let assignments or callings take
so much out of me that I feel drained instead
of joyfully renewed. And so I feel like that
was an opportunity to reassess the things that
I'm doing and simplify when appropriate. Like
if you're not feeling recharged after your efforts,
Is there an opportunity to simplify it so that
we can feel joyfully renewed instead? That's
a great question, Abby. Is the extra things that
we're doing, drawing us closer to Jesus Christ,
were they really necessary? I'm fine being exhausted
if those efforts were like really impactful.
Totally. Like FSY. Yes. I'm exhausted. Like the
sleep that you get after like a week long of
that is insane. But I'm totally aware that that's
going to be the thing. And I'm totally happy
to give that. Because it's not like my whole
life. And you signed up two more times after
the first one. Yeah, like I'll sign up as much
as they'll ever let me. So great. And plus, my
responsibility is way minimal compared to these
poor counselors and leaders, these youth leaders
that they have. But again, they do it fully aware
that that's what they can offer to the Lord in
that season of their life. I love that. True
worship means loving God and yielding our will
to Him. the most precious gift we can offer.
This was the pattern of Jesus' own worship of
the Father. His life and his atoning sacrifice
were dedicated to the glory of the Father. Poignantly,
we remember Jesus' heart -rending plea in the
midst of unimaginable suffering and anguish.
He says, O my Father, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me. But then he's submissive.
Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Each day we can choose to offer for a sacrifice
unto him of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
Isn't that cool? Each day we can do that? Yeah.
If we mess that up one day, it's fine. The next
day is going to come. We have another chance.
It's kind of hard for black and white thinking,
but when you remember that, you're like, oh yeah,
every day. Yes, every day is a new day. His third
point was about the exclusivity of our worship.
And like you said, that's the one that peaked
our ears as he was starting it. And it's the
one that I wanted to dig the most into. He totally
did it on purpose. Yeah. What does he mean? Are
we exclusive? D &C, one talks about, this is
the quote from there. they have strayed from
mine ordinances and have broken my everlasting
covenant they seek not the lord to establish
his righteousness but every man walketh in his
own way and after the image of his own god whose
image is the likeness of the world and recounts
the story of shadrach meshach and abednego because
from them we learned that when we put our trust
in the one true god anything that um anything
that we let take precedence of in a in another
way is like worshiping is is idol worship one
who places loyalty to a party or cause ahead
of divine direction is worshiping a false god
even those who purport to worship god but don't
keep his commandments are walking in their own
way they say they draw near to me with their
lips but their hearts are far from me So the
object of our worship is exclusively the only
true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. There
it goes. I like that because it's not a list
of what those things look like, but it's like
anything that takes our focus away from them.
Absolutely. Abby, I love any time that a talk
references scripture stories because it kind
of like takes you back to it. You remember it
again. One of my absolute favorites is this one
with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Just because
like when you go back and read it, you know,
if you take the time to do that and you just
remember like this was a dire situation. They
had no assumption that anything other than being
burned alive was going to be happening to them.
And I love it. Still didn't deny it. Right? When
you read that, you're like, holy cow, like that,
reading that scripture story puts into my heart
like a firmer conviction to have that type of
faith in Jesus Christ and in my God. You know
what I mean? And for everyone, like I hope my
children to have that. Anyway, I just love that
story. Anytime it's talked about or referenced,
it makes my heart happy. Okay, so his fourth
and final point of worship is this idea that
as we come to know the Father and the Son, our
worship should cause us to want to emulate the
things they did. Ultimately, how we live may
be the best, most genuine form of worship. Cultivating
their attributes and character in ourselves is
the most sincere. form of worship. I love this,
that he added this too. It's very good. As the
saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form
of flattery. With respect to deity, emulation
is the sincerest form of veneration. Now he sounds
like President Nelson. Or Oaks. Yes, he does.
So good. This means to me that we've studied
enough to know the true nature of Heavenly Father
and His Son, Jesus Christ. And we don't naturally
come by those characteristics on our own. But
implementing them. And emulating, yeah. Yeah,
implementing them despite the opposition that
we're facing because of those natural man tendencies
we have in an act of sustained effort on our
part helps us to see holiness. And in doing so,
we become more Christ -like. And this is because
of our acts of worship. True worship is transformative.
I love it too, because in the last podcast we
did, I was trying to get at this point. And when
I reread this talk, I'm like, he said it perfectly.
But it's like, you stay tuned on the next talk.
It's going to come. Yes. Yes. It is so good.
It's exactly it. In doing so, we become like
Christ. Love that. The covenant path, the path
of worship, love, and loyalty to God begins with
baptism, taking upon us the name of Christ and
keeping his commandments. We receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost, the messenger of the Savior's
grace that redeems and cleanses us from sin as
we repent we could even say that in repenting
we are worshiping him oh absolutely right because
we're turning to him and we're also seeing that
he is actually transforming our lives for the
better Therefore, follow additional priesthood
ordinances and covenants made in the house of
the Lord that further sanctify us. The ceremonies
and also ordinances of the temple constitute
an elevated form of worship. President Russell
M. Nelson has emphasized that every man and every
woman who participates in priesthood ordinances
and who makes and keeps covenants with God has
direct access to the power of God. I love this.
I love all the things we've talked about today
and just the different quotes from the brethren
and the different scripture stories they brought
to mind. Yes. Now, an action item. Abby, do you
have something else to say? I was just thinking
of an action item right here. What is one way
that... I might tweak what I'm doing to improve
my worship. I love that. That's a great way to
synthesize it. It's like this talk, as you're
listening to it, you may think, yes, I'm doing
those things. I'm seeing the benefits of making
my worship not just a Sunday experience and not
just a home experience, but the fusion of both
as far as we're able to, permitted to, given
the confines of governments that we're in or
whatever. But I love that idea that we might
think, maybe I can be a little bit more. receptive
as this emblems of the sacrament or during the
prayer or maybe i'm more intentional about my
time in the scriptures yeah whatever it is it
doesn't There's a million things that we could
be doing, maybe more acts of service during the
week. I like the idea of just picking one way
to tweak that. And it's like whatever comes to
your mind, I just take that and run with that
because I also feel like that is the Spirit telling
me that and the Lord knows what blessings I need
coming up. Well, you've had that impression,
like you said, that you were usually more hesitant
to share and speak up in church. And so you kind
of just sit. It was about bearing your testimony
or something. And then back in the day, this
was years ago, but just that one, that one small
tweak that it was like, Amy, you've got a testimony
of me and I'd like you to share it. Like there's
somebody that needs to hear that. Yeah, it's
fine. Like, don't let, don't let your probably
going to cry that that embarrasses you. But he's
like, that's not embarrassing to me. Like, I
just need you to share your testimony. And you've
done that thing. And you've been able to be way
more open about sharing your testimony at that
point. And I can think of a million things that
he's done to tweak me, you know. And there's
a lot more room that I can improve. I'm not going
to feel overwhelmed and like devastated by all
the things that I could be doing. I like this
action item. Pick one thing to tweak this week
or for the next little bit that you can tweak
your worship. And you know, I mean, the gospel
is so, it's so full. There are so many aspects
of it. And to be honest, I'm not 100 % all the
time thinking, what's the one thing I can tweak
in my Sunday worship to be closer to God? So
I really appreciate talks like this that focus
on one aspect of it, because as we... But you
said Sunday worship, and so the only thing I
would click on that... Yeah, like, yeah, seven
days. Yeah, my worship week is seven days long.
Yes. And so like, but just that, it's like, as
we visit every single talk, we get a full picture
of all of the things that we can be doing. So
I do love that. I have the same sentiment as
you. I don't want to be overwhelmed with a list
and be like, shoot, because really, if we were
looking at all the things I'm not doing, that
could be a cause for depression. However, just
doing one. special tweak, one little tweak, that's
it, then I feel very hopeful in that. And even
opening that up to the heavens, like Heavenly
Father, like I have a desire to be more worshipful.
What's one thing you can see that I can improve
on? And you let him give you some guidance on
picking the one thing. Yeah. Kind of helps put
the other ones on the shelf and like not be so
noisy. Now, what I know to be true is when you
focus on the thing that you're impressed to focus
on, sometimes the things that you've shelved
just kind of magically take care of themselves.
Yeah. Like that one time when I moved here and
I was praying about all these different things
and I just felt that I didn't hear any words,
but I felt the words in my heart. What if it's
all the same mountain? And I was like, thank
you. That's a good one. Of course it is. And
it might have come up in the podcast, but it
might have come up in another podcast or another
conversation. But the gist of somebody being
like, I don't read my scriptures. My mom didn't
read her scriptures. And the mom was like, what?
I definitely read my scriptures. I got up really
early in the morning before the kids were up.
Did you hear the same conversation? No, but this
wasn't anything podcast related. But the gist
of it was the mom's like, I got up before like
things were crazy. Oh, you know who it was? It
was Al Carraway. Pretty sure, you know, the cute
tattooed Mormon is what she calls herself, I
think. I'm pretty sure it was her thing that
I was watching. And so she makes it a point to
get her scriptures out and like the kids will
like hang on her and see her. But she's in her
scriptures and she says oftentimes they'll go
get their own little books or scriptury things
and they'll come in and worship with her. And
so I thought, yeah, it makes sense to maximize
your time as a mom to do it in the early hours
before your kids can see you. And I get that,
but it's also okay to have a very distracted,
disjointed worship time. If that's what stage
of life you're in. Well, because then your kids
see that that's what matters to you. And so like
we've talked in other podcasts about making laundry
sacred, you know, like you're listening to the
scriptures or listening to a conversation, reflecting
on something, you know, that's definitely during
those waking hours, the kids are around, they
know, you know, they know that. When I have a
few minutes to spare, that's something that I
like to do. It's not the only thing I do. I do
also listen to music, or there are other podcasts
out there, Murder Mysteries or whatever. It doesn't
have to be just gospel all the time, but even
if it's not in a gospel podcast every hour of
every day, the general feeling in your home can
be one of joyful worship and a rejuvenating atmosphere
because of all of the little things that are
happening. I agree, Abby. Absolutely. You feel
like you've shared everything you wanted to?
I do. Okay. I was just thinking, as I was listening
to this talk and thinking on it, the efforts
that I put into my individual worship during
the week magnify me as an individual, and it
helps me come prepared on Sundays. I gather to
worship with others, with friends, and with the
people around me. It gives me something to offer
and to share. But the follow -up to that is that
when I go, on Sundays, other people have also
done that same preparation. They fill my cup
too. They share insights from their personal
studies and their worship activities that I can't,
that, you know, in a different way or their perspective
on it or their way that they testify of it. It's
just something that I can't duplicate. Amy and
I are in primary and the primary presidency just
implemented on Fast Sundays. Like instead of
doing a scripture and a talk, it's like a little
three to five minute primary testimony meeting.
So cute. It was the cutest thing. And I'm like,
Yeah, COVID church at home wasn't the worst thing
in the world. Kind of loved it. But like that
moment, the cute little voices coming from the
pulpit and the sweet little truths that they
bore. I'm like, I can't duplicate that on my
own. And it just added to my, oh, I love this
gospel and the joy that it brings me. It was
very sweet. It was awesome. I was looking forward
to it when they announced it last Sunday and
it was everything I thought it would be today.
I'm like, thank you for putting me in the primary
right now. And I'll wrap it up with his testimony.
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. And He does this
in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you
so much for being with us today. Thank you for
taking a minute to worship, whether you're hearing
this on a Sunday or a Thursday or whatever day
of the week it is. We appreciate you for being
here with us. That's a wrap. Amen. See you next
time.