I Am Bismark

Re: Reverence

Tianna wrote the a post about reverence in the context of Doctrine & Covenants 107:2-4 and using words like God, Heavenly Father, etc. in our speech.

I’m convinced that as a culture at large, we don’t give proper respect to deity. Is it possible that as a church culture we still don’t give proper respect? We understand that we shouldn’t use His name in vain… but is that enough?

If the name of God were rarely said, it would draw more attention to His sacred nature. As it is, has God become more of (for lack of a better term) a household item? Do we treat him with the reverence that He deserves?

I had a few thoughts that I want to share:

  1. I think it’s difficult to say exactly what this scripture means. Like Tianna says, there are a number of possible interpretations. I think it is also worth pointing out that these verses sound more like a Joseph-ism (i.e. Joseph attempting to explain something according to his understanding) than a Koran-style passage coming directly from the mouth of God (for more on this, take a look at this awesome post on revelation). This pushed the meaning through an added level of interpretation.

  2. Jesus had no qualms about speaking about His Father. I really think we should have a more personal relationship with God than we tend to, even to the point that I have a hard time agreeing with the Mormon culture of using archaic language when addressing deity. If our goal is to become more like Jesus, doesn’t that include striving to have such a personal relationship with our Father in Heaven that we can call Him Abba?

  3. Using the names of deity as expletives is the most common form of taking the Lord’s name in vain, but it surely is the least damaging. The real sin occurs when people claim to be acting in the “name of God” for their own personal gain (yeah, I’m looking at you, politicians).

  4. The Atonement gives us greater access to our Heavenly Father through Christ, which I believe is one reason that we have moved on from things like only allowing the high priest to enter in the presence of God once a year. The Atonement gives everyone that same opportunity anytime they wish.

Given the above points, I think the answer to Tianna’s question is no, these verses do not indicate we should ever avoid talking about God. The closer our relationship with God, the more natural it should be to talk about Him as part of our daily lives.

Why the name change? I dunno. In the grand scheme of things, I don’t think it really matters.

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