Man's Right to Freedom in Worship -- The Latter-day Saints proclaim their unqualified allegiance to the principles of religious liberty and toleration. Freedom to worship Almighty God as the conscience may dictate, they affirm to be one of the inherent and inalienable rights of humanity. The inspired framers of our charter of national independence proclaimed to the world, as a self-evident truth, that the common birthright of humanity gives to every man a claim to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Happiness is foreign, liberty but a name, and life a disappointment, to him who is denied the freedom to worship as he may desire. No person possessing a regard for Deity can be content if restricted in the performance of the highest duty of his existence. Could one be happy, though he were housed in a palace, surrounded with all material comforts and provided with every facility for intellectual enjoyment, if he were cut off from communion with the being whom he loved the most?
What is Worship -- The derivation of the term suggests an answer. It comes to us as the lineal descendant of a pair of Anglo-Saxon words, weorth, meaning worthy, and scipe, the old form of ship, signifying condition or state, and connotes the thought of worthy-ship. The worship of which one is capable depends upon his comprehension of the worthiness characterizing the object of his reverence. Man's capacity for worship is a measure of his comprehension of God. The fuller the acquaintance and the closer the communion between the worshiper and Deity, the more thorough and sincere will be his homage. When we say of one that he is a worshiper of the good, the beautiful, the true, we mean that he possesses a deeper conception of worth in the object of his adoration, than does another whose perception does not lead him to reverence those ennobling qualities.
Man, then, will worship according to his conception of the divine attributes and powers, and this conception approaches the correct one in proportion to the spiritual light that has come to him. True worship cannot exist where there is no reverence or love for the object. This reverence may be ill-founded; the adoration may be a species of idolatry; the object may be in fact unworthy; yet of the devotee it must be said that he worships if his conscience clothe the idol with the attribute of worthy-ship. We have spoken of "true worship"; the expression is a pleonasm. Worship, as has been affirmed, is the heart-felt adoration that is rendered as a result of a sincere conception of worthiness on the part of the object; any manifestation of reverence prompted by a conviction inferior to this is but a counterfeit of worship. Call such false worship if you choose, but let it be remembered that worship is necessarily true, the word requires no adjective to extend its meaning nor attest its genuineness. Worship is not a matter of form any more than is prayer. It consists not in posture, in gesture, in ritual or in creed. Worship most profound may be rendered with none of the artificial accessories of ritualistic service; for altar, the stone in the desert may serve; the peaks of the everlasting hills are as temple spires; the vault of heaven is of all the grandest cathedral dome.
Man is at heart an expression in part of that which he worships. The savage, who knows no triumph greater than that of bloody victory over his enemy, who regards prowess and physical strength as the most desirable qualities of his race and looks upon revenge and vindictiveness as the gratifications of life, ascribes such attributes to his deity, and offers his profoundest reverence in sacrifices of blood. The revolting practises of idolatry are traceable to perverted conceptions of human excellence, and these are reflected in the hideous creations of man-made, devil-inspired deities. On the other hand, the man whose enlightened soul has received the impress of love, pure and undefiled, will ascribe to his God the attributes of gentleness and affection, and will say in his heart "God is love." Knowledge, therefore, is essential to worship; man cannot adequately serve God in ignorance; and the greater his knowledge of the divine personality, the fuller and truer will be his adoration. He may learn to know the Father, and the Son who was sent; and such knowledge is man's guaranty to eternal life.
Worship is the voluntary homage of the soul. Under compulsion, or for purposes of display, one may insincerely perform all the outward ceremonies of an established style of adoration; he may voice words of prescribed prayers; his lips may profess a creed; yet his effort is but a mockery of worship and its indulgence a sin. God asks no reluctant homage nor unwilling praise. Formalism in worship is acceptable only so far as it is accompanied by an intelligent devoutness; and it is genuine only as it is an aid to the spiritual devotion that leads to communion with Deity. The spoken prayer is but empty sound if it be anything less than an index to the volume of the soul's righteous desire. Communications addressed to the Throne of Grace must bear the stamp of sincerity if they are to reach their high destination. The most acceptable form of worship is that which rests on an unreserved compliance with the laws of God as the worshiper has learned their purport.
Religious Intolerance -- The Church holds that the right to worship according to the dictates of conscience has been conferred upon man by authority higher than any of earth; and that, in consequence, no worldly power can justly interfere with its exercise. The Latter-day Saints accept as inspired the constitutional provision by which religious liberty within our own nation is professedly guarded, that no law shall ever be made "respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" FN and they confidently believe that with the spread of enlightenment throughout the world a similar guaranty will be acquired by every nation. Intolerance has been the greatest hindrance to progress in every period of time; yet under the sable cloak of perverted zeal for religion, nations, while boasting of their civilization, and professed ministers of the Gospel of Christ, have stained the pages of the world's history with the record of such unholy deeds of persecution as to make the heavens weep. In this respect, so-called Christianity ought to bow its head in shame before the record of pagan toleration. Rome, while arrogantly though none the less effectively posing as the mistress of the world, granted to her vanquished subjects the rights of freedom in worship, requiring of them only that they refrain from molesting others or one another in the exercise of such freedom.
The people of Israel, while yet in fact Jehovah-worshipers, flourished, but soon became intolerant, counting themselves sure of an exalted station, and looking upon all who were not of the covenant race as unworthy. Christ, in His ministry among them, saw with compassionate sorrow the spiritual and intellectual bondage of the times, and declared unto them the saving word: "The truth shall make you free." At this, some self-righteous aggressors became angry, and boastfully answered: "We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?" Then the Master reproved them for their bigotry: "I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you." FN
There is little cause for wonder in the fact that the early Christians, zealous for the new faith unto which they had been baptized, and newly converted from idolatry and pagan superstitions, should consider themselves superior to the rest of humanity still sitting in darkness and ignorance.
Even John, traditionally known as the Apostle of Love, but surnamed by the Christ, he and his brother James, Boanerges, or Sons of Thunder, FN was intolerant and resentful toward those who followed not his path; and more than once had to be rebuked by his Master. Note this incident: "And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part. For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward." FN And again, while traveling with their Lord through Samaria, the apostles James and John were incensed at the Samaritans' lack of respect toward the Master, and craved permission to call fire from heaven to consume the unbelievers; but their revengeful desire was promptly rebuked by the Lord, who said: "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." FN
Intolerance is Unscriptural -- The teachings of our Lord breathe the spirit of forbearance and love even to enemies. He tolerated, though he could not approve, the practises of the heathen in their idolatry, the Samaritans with their degenerate customs of worship, the luxury-loving Sadducees, and the law-bound Pharisees. Hatred was not countenanced even toward foes. His instructions were: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." FN The Twelve were commanded to salute with their blessing every house at which they applied for hospitality. True, if the people rejected them and their message, retribution was to follow; but this visitation of cursing was to be reserved as a divine prerogative. In the Parable of the Tares, Christ taught the same lesson of forbearance; the hasty servants wanted to pluck out the weeds straightway, but were forbidden lest they root up the wheat also, and were assured that a separation would be effected in the time of harvest. FN
In spite of the prevailing spirit of toleration and love pervading the teachings of the Savior and the apostles, attempts have been made to draw from the scriptures justification for intolerance and persecution. FN Paul's stinging words addressed to the Galatians have been given a meaning wholly foreign to the spirit that prompted them. Warning the saints of false teachers, he said: "As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." On the strength of this forceful admonition combined with denunciation, some have sought to justify persecution on account of differences in religion; but such misconstruction must be charged to shallow reading and evil prejudice. Was it not -- is it not -- rational to say that any man or coterie of men, any sect, denomination or church that would preach its own conceptions as the authentic Gospel of Jesus Christ, is guilty of blasphemy and deserving of the curse of God? Paul leaves us not in doubt as to the character of the Gospel he so forcefully defended, as his later words show: "But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." FN Let it be remembered that vengeance and recompense belong to the Lord. FN
The intent of John's words of counsel to the elect lady has been perverted, and his teachings have been made a cover of refuge for persecutors and bigots. Warning her of the ministers of Antichrist who were industriously disseminating their heresies, the apostle wrote: "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." FN By no rightful interpretation can these words be made to sanction intolerance, persecution, and hatred.
The apostle's true meaning has been set forth with clearness and force by a renowned Christian writer of the current day, who, after deploring the "narrow intolerance of an ignorant dogmatism," says: "The Apostle of Love would have belied all that is best in his own teaching if he had consciously given an absolution, nay, an incentive, to furious intolerance. * * * Meanwhile, this incidental expression of St. John's brief letter will not lend itself to these gross perversions. What St. John really says and really means, is something wholly different. False teachers were rife, who, professing to be Christians, robbed the nature of Christ of all which gave its efficacy to the atonement, and its significance to the incarnation. These teachers, like other Christian missionaries, traveled from city to city, and in the absence of public inns were received into the houses of Christian converts. The Christian lady to whom St. John writes is warned that if she offers her hospitality to these dangerous emissaries, who were subverting the central truths of Christianity, she is expressing a public sanction of them; and by doing this, and offering them her best wishes, she is taking a direct share in the harm they do. This is common sense, nor is there anything uncharitable in it. No one is bound to help forward the dissemination of teaching what he regards as erroneous respecting the most essential doctrines of his own faith. Still less would it have been right to do this in the days when Christian communities were so small and weak. But, to interpret this as it has in all ages been practically interpreted -- to pervert it into a sort of command to exaggerate the minor variations between religious opinions, and to persecute those whose views differ from our own -- to make our own opinions the conclusive test of heresy, and to say with Cornelius-a-Lapide, that this verse reprobates 'all conversations, all intercourse, all dealings with heretics' -- is to interpret scripture by the glare of partisanship and spiritual self-satisfaction, not to read it under the light of holy love." FN
Toleration is not Acceptance -- The human frailty of running to extremes in thought and action finds few more glaring examples than are presented in man's dealings with his fellows on religious matters. On the one hand, he is prone to regard the faith of others as not merely inferior to his own but as utterly unworthy of respect; or, on the other, he brings himself to believe that all sects are equally justified in their professions and practises, and that therefore there is no distinctively true order of religion. It is in no wise inconsistent for Latter-day Saints to boldly proclaim the conviction that their Church is the accepted one, the only one entitled to the designation "Church of Jesus Christ" and the sole earthly repository of the eternal Priesthood in the present age, and yet to willingly accord kind treatment and a recognition of sincerity of purpose to every soul or sect honestly professing Christ, or merely showing a respect for truth and manifesting a sincere desire to walk according to the light received. My allegiance to the Church of my choice is based on a conviction of the validity and genuineness of its high claim -- as the one and only Church possessing a God-given charter of authority -- nevertheless, I count the sects as sincere until they demonstrate that they are otherwise and am ready to defend them in their rights.
Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the current dispensation, while reproving certain of his brethren for intolerance toward the cherished beliefs of other men, taught that even idolators ought to be protected in their worship; that, while it would be the strict duty of any Christian to direct his efforts toward enlightening such benighted minds, he would not be justified in forcibly depriving even the heathen of their liberty in worship. In the sight of God, idolatry is most heinous; yet He is tolerant of those who, knowing Him not, yield to their inherited instinct for worship by rendering homage even to stocks and stones. Deadly as is the sin of idolatrous worship on the part of him to whom light has come, it may represent in the savage the sincerest adoration of which he is capable. The voice of the Lord has declared that the heathen who have known no law shall have part in the first resurrection. FN
Man is Accountable for His Acts -- The unbounded liberality and tolerance with which The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regards other religious denominations, and the teachings of the Church respecting the assurance of final redemption for all men except the few who have fallen so far as to have committed the unpardonable sin, thereby becoming sons of Perdition, may suggest the erroneous conclusion that we believe that all so redeemed shall be admitted to equal powers, privileges, and glories in the kingdom of heaven. Far from this, the Church proclaims the doctrine of many and varied degrees of glory, which the redeemed will inherit in accordance with their merits. We believe in no general plan of universal forgiveness or reward, by which sinners of high and low degree shall be exempted from the effects of their deeds, while the righteous are ushered into heaven as a dwelling place in common, all glorified in the same measure. As stated, the heathen whose sins are those of ignorance are to come forth with the just in the first resurrection; but this does not imply that those children of the lower races are to inherit the glory provided for the able, the valiant and the true in the cause of God on earth.
Our condition in the world to come will be strictly a result of the life we lead in this probation, as, by the light of revealed truth regarding the preexistent state, we perceive our present condition to be determined by the fidelity with which we kept our first estate. FN The scriptures declare that man shall reap the natural harvest of his works in life, be such good or evil; in the effective language with which the Father encourages and warns his frail children, every one will be rewarded or punished according to his works. FN In eternity, man will enjoy or loathe the "fruit of his doing."
Graded Glories -- That the privileges and glories of heaven are graded to suit the various capacities of the blessed, is indicated in Christ's teachings. To the apostles He said: "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." FN
This utterance is supplemented by that of Paul, who speaks of graded conditions in the resurrection as follows: "There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead." FN
A fuller knowledge of this subject has been imparted in the present dispensation. From a revelation given in 1832 FN we learn that three great kingdoms or degrees of glory are established, known as the Celestial, the Terrestrial, and the Telestial. Far below the last and least of these, is the state of eternal punishment prepared for the sons of Perdition.
The Celestial Glory is provided for those who merit the highest honors of heaven. In the revelation referred to, we read of them: "They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given -- That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power; And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true. They are they who are the church of the Firstborn. They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things -- -They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory; And are priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son. Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God -- Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ's, and Christ is God's. * * * These shall dwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever and ever. These are they whom he shall bring with him, when he shall come in the clouds of heaven to reign on the earth over his people. These are they who shall have part in the first resurrection. These are they who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just. * * * These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood. These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical."
The Terrestrial Glory -- This, the next lowest degree, will be attained by many whose works do not merit the highest reward. We read of them: "These are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the church of the Firstborn who have received the fulness of the Father, even as that of the moon differs from the sun in the firmament. Behold, these are they who died without law; And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh; Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it. These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men. These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fulness. These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fulness of the Father. Wherefore they are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun. These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God."
The Telestial Glory -- The revelation continues: "And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, FN which glory is that of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differs from that of the glory of the moon in the firmament. These are they who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus. These are they who deny not the Holy Spirit. These are they who are thrust down to hell. These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have finished his work." We learn further that the inhabitants of this kingdom are to be graded among themselves, comprising as they do the unenlightened among the varied opposing sects and divisions of men, and sinners of many types, whose offenses are not those of utter perdition: "For as one star differs from another star in glory, even so differs one from another in glory in the telestial world; For these are they who are of Paul, and of Apollos, and of Cephas. These are they who say they are some of one and some of another -- some of Christ, and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch; But received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant." FN Evidently a considerable part of the human family will fail of all glory beyond that of the telestial kingdom, for we are told: "But behold, and lo, we saw the glory and the inhabitants of the telestial world, that they were as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore." They are thus not wholly rejected; their every merit will be respected. "For they shall be judged according to their works, and every man shall receive according to his own works, his own dominion, in the mansions which are prepared; And they shall be servants of the Most High, but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end."
That every soul shall find his place in the hereafter, that he shall be judged and assigned according to what he is, is no less truly scriptural than reasonable. He shall inherit according to his capacity to receive, enjoy, and utilize. This is made sublimely plain by revelation given in 1832, in which we read: "For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory. And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a terrestrial glory. And he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot abide a telestial glory; therefore he is not meet for a kingdom of glory. Therefore he must abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory." FN
The Kingdoms with Respect to One Another -- The three kingdoms of widely differing glories are severally organized on a plan of gradation. The Telestial kingdom comprises subdivisions; this also is the case, we are told, with the Celestial; FN and, by analogy, we conclude that a similar condition prevails in the Terrestrial. Thus the innumerable degrees of merit amongst mankind are provided for in an infinity of graded glories. The Celestial kingdom is supremely honored by the personal ministrations of the Father and the Son. The Terrestrial kingdom will be administered through the higher, without a fulness of glory. The Telestial is governed through the ministrations of the Terrestrial, by "angels who are appointed to minister for them." FN
It is reasonable to believe, in the absence of direct revelation by which alone absolute knowledge of the matter could be acquired, that, in accordance with God's plan of eternal progression, advancement within each of the three specified kingdoms will be provided for; though as to possible progress from one kingdom to another the scriptures make no positive affirmation. Eternal advancement along different lines is conceivable. We may conclude that degrees and grades will ever characterize the kingdoms of our God. Eternity is progressive; perfection is relative; the essential feature of God's living purpose is its associated power of eternal increase.
The Sons of Perdition -- We learn of another class of souls whose sins are such as to place them beyond the present possibility of repentance and salvation. These are called sons of Perdition, children of the fallen angel who was once a Son of the Morning, Lucifer, now Satan, or Perdition. FN These are they who have violated truth in the light of knowledge; who, having received the testimony of Christ, and having been endowed by the Holy Spirit, then deny the same and defy the power of God, crucifying the Lord afresh and putting Him to an open shame. This, the unpardonable sin, can be committed by those only who have received knowledge and conviction of the truth, against which they then rebel. Their sin is comparable to the treason of Lucifer, by which he sought to usurp the power and glory of his God. Concerning them and their dreadful fate, the Lord has said: "They are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say that it had been better for them never to have been born; For they are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity; Concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come * * * And the only ones on whom the second death shall have any power; * * * they shall go away into everlasting punishment, which is endless punishment, which is eternal punishment, to reign with the devil and his angels in eternity, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, which is their torment -- And the end thereof, neither the place thereof, nor their torment, no man knows; Neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will be revealed unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof; Nevertheless I, the Lord, show it by vision unto many, but straightway shut it up again; Wherefore, the end, the width, the height, the depth, and the misery thereof, they understand not, neither any man except those who are ordained unto this condemnation." FN
The doctrines of the Church are explicit in defining the relationship between the mortal probation and the future state, and in teaching individual accountability and the free agency of man. The Church affirms that in view of the responsibility under which every man rests, as the director of his own course, he must be and is free to choose in all things, from the life that leads to the celestial home to the career that is but the introduction to the miseries of perdition. Freedom to worship, or to refuse to worship, is a God-given right, and every soul must abide the result of his choice. FN
Worship of the True and Living God Required -- For scriptures relating to man's freedom in worship, his capacity to obey or disobey the divine commandments, with the assurance that he must abide by the consequences of his choice, see references under Free Agency, following chapter 3.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me -- Exodus 20:3; read verses 1-6; see also 34:14.
The Lord commanded Moses and others to come up and worship -- Exo. 24:1.
If the Israelites served other gods they would surely perish -- Deut. 8:19.
Thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God -- Deut. 26:10.
The Lord shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice -- 2 Kings 17:36.
Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness -- 1 Chron. 16:29; see also Ps. 45:11.
There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god -- Ps. 81:9.
Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy -- Ps. 99:5; see also verse 9.
All flesh shall come to worship before me, saith the Lord -- Isa. 66:23.
Christ said to Satan: For it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve -- Matt. 4:10.
So worship I the God of my fathers -- Acts 24:14.
They that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth -- John 4:24.
John the Revelator saw in vision elders before the throne who did worship him that liveth forever and ever -- Rev. 4:10; compare 5:14; 7:11; 11:16; 19:4.
Worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy -- Rev. 19:10.
Alma instructed the poor that could not enter the synagogues that worship would be acceptable wherever offered, if genuine -- Alma, chap. 32; 33:2; 34:38.
The Nephites made sacrifices that they might worship God according to their desires -- Alma 43:9-11.
The Nephites and the converted Lamanites fought to maintain their rights, and the privileges of their church and of their worship, and their freedom and their liberty -- 3 Nephi 2:12.
The Nephite multitude worshiped the resurrected Christ -- 3 Nephi 17:10; see also 11:17.
The holy prophets worshiped the Father in the name of Christ, as did also the Nephites -- Jacob 4:4, 5.
And you shall fall down and worship the Father in my name -- D&C 18:40.
All men must worship the Father in the name of the Son -- D&C 20:29.
That you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name -- D&C 93:19.
Worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters -- D.&C 133:39; Rev. 14:7.
Moses refused to worship Satan and declared that God had said unto him: Worship God, for him only shalt thou serve -- Moses 1:15; read verses 12 20.
Abraham worshiped the living God, though his kindred had turned to idols -- Abraham 1:5.
For scriptures relating to the worship of idols see references under Idolatry, following chapter 2 herein.
As relating to graded conditions in the hereafter see references under Salvation, following Chapter 4 herein.