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| Where e'er thou art |
▪ when the Psalmist invites: “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker2?Are we to understand that the time will come when we will be commanded to kneel in Holy Places—Holy Places which have been desecrated with idols? when we must not kneel nor bow down, but stand together for truth and right?
▪ when Moses was told to remove his shoes3 (and presumably to kneel or bow down) in the presence of the Holy?
▪ when keeling or bowing down is the typical expression of worship, reverence, submission, wonder, and awe when encountering the Holy4?
Will we experience a demand to bow down to idols like unto the experience of Abram (Abraham)5? like the three daughters of Onitah6? like Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego7? like the persecutions during the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes8? like the prophesied last days9?
Is that what we must understand about standing in holy places? to not bow down10?
Is that why God says:
But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved.11--------------------/
Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen.12
Behold, it is my will, that all they who call on my name, and worship me according to mine everlasting gospel, should gather together, and stand in holy places; And prepare for the revelation which is to come, when the veil of the covering of my temple, in my tabernacle, which hideth the earth, shall be taken off, and all flesh shall see me together.13
Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.14
Behold, the great day of the Lord is at hand; and who can abide the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appeareth?15
1. New Testament | Matthew 24:15 ~ When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Also: Pearl of Great Price | JS-Matthew 1:12 ~ When you, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, then you shall stand in the holy place; whoso readeth let him understand.
(YES, there may be other interpretations than what I offer above.)
2. Old Testament | Psalms 95:6
3. Old Testament | Exodus 3:5 ~ And he [the LORD] said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
4. Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 25:29 ~ And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out.
Book of Mormon | Alma 22:16–17 ~ But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest. And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did bow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily,
Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 17:10 ~ And they did all, both they who had been healed and they who were whole, bow down at his [Jesus'] feet, and did worship him; and as many as could come for the multitude did kiss his feet, insomuch that they did bathe his feet with their tears.
Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 17:13–15 ~ And it came to pass that when they had all been brought, and Jesus stood in the midst, he commanded the multitude that they should kneel down upon the ground. And it came to pass that when they had knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am troubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel. And when he had said these words, he himself also knelt upon the earth; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him.
Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 19:6-7 ~ And the twelve did teach the multitude; and behold, they did cause that the multitude should kneel down upon the face of the earth, and should pray unto the Father in the name of Jesus. And the disciples did pray unto the Father also in the name of Jesus. And it came to pass that they arose and ministered unto the people.
Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 19:15–19 ~ And it came to pass that while the angels were ministering unto the disciples, behold, Jesus came and stood in the midst and ministered unto them. And it came to pass that he spake unto the multitude, and commanded them that they should kneel down again upon the earth, and also that his disciples should kneel down upon the earth. And it came to pass that when they had all knelt down upon the earth, he commanded his disciples that they should pray. And behold, they began to pray; and they did pray unto Jesus, calling him their Lord and their God. And it came to pass that Jesus departed out of the midst of them, and went a little way off from them and bowed himself to the earth,
Book of Mormon | Moroni 4:1-2 ~ THE manner of their elders and priests administering the flesh and blood of Christ unto the church; and they administered it according to the commandments of Christ; wherefore we know the manner to be true; and the elder or priest did minister it—And they did kneel down with the church, and pray to the Father in the name of Christ,
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 18:40 ~ And you shall fall down and worship the Father in my name.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 20:75-76 ~ It is expedient that the church meet together often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Jesus; And the elder or priest shall administer it; and after this manner shall he administer it—he shall kneel with the church and call upon the Father in solemn prayer,
5. Pearl of Great Price | Abraham 1:4-15.
6. Pearl of Great Price | Abraham 1:11 ~ Now, this priest had offered upon this altar three virgins at one time, who were the daughters of Onitah, one of the royal descent directly from the loins of Ham. These virgins were offered up because of their virtue; they would not bow down to worship gods of wood or of stone, therefore they were killed upon this altar, and it was done after the manner of the Egyptians.
7. Old Testament | Daniel 3:14–18 ~ Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 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.
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiochus_IV_Epiphanes
9. New Testament | Revelation 13:13-15 ~ And he [another beast] doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
10. Old Testament | Exodus 20:4-5 ~ Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Old Testament | Exodus 23:24 ~ Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. (see also Lev. 26:1; Deut. 5:9; Book of Mormon | Mosiah 13:13)
11. Doctrine and Covenants | Section 45:32
12. Doctrine and Covenants | Section 87:8
13. Doctrine and Covenants | Section 101:22–23
14. Old Testament | Psalms 24:3–4
15. Doctrine and Covenants | Section 128:24
