The LDS Daily WOOL© Archive - "No Gods Before Me"


(10/30/01)
"A narcissist society, in which each person is busy looking out for number one, can build neither brotherhood nor community. Aren’t we glad in this Easter season and in all seasons that Jesus did not selfishly look out for number one? No wonder we have been told, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me,' and this includes self-worship! (Ex. 20:3; emphasis added). One way or another, the grossly selfish will finally be shattered, whimpering, against the jagged, concrete consequences of their selfishness."

Neal A. Maxwell 
"'Repent of [Our] Selfishness' (D&C 56:8)" 
"Ensign," May 1999, 25

(10/31/01)
"'The Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind.' Hence, the first of the Ten Commandments is, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me,' and the Savior declared that the first and great commandment is, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.' Only when we give our all and overcome our pride and walk the path of faith without deviation can we honestly sing, 'Lord, accept our true devotion.'"

Joseph B. Wirthlin 
"True to the Truth," 
"Ensign," May 1997, 16

(11/1/01)
"We should always put the Savior first. The first commandment Jehovah gave to the children of Israel was, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me' (Ex. 20:3). This seems like a simple idea, but in practice many find it difficult."

Dallin H. Oaks 
"Powerful Ideas," 
"Ensign," Nov. 1995, 27

(7/16/04)
"Our Father in Heaven must come first. Nothing in this world can take His place. Teach your children to recognize His hand in all things, to respect and honor Him. (See D&C 59:21; Alma 31:5) Show them how to worship Him through selfless service to others. Worship Him in family prayer and family home evening. We fail to worship Him when we give preeminence to sports, academics, entertainment, wealth, vanity, or anything else of this world." - Lynn A. Mickelsen, "Eternal Laws of Happiness," Ensign, November 1995, p. 79

(1/20/05)
"Why should the Lord command his children to love him with all their heart, and with all their soul, and with all their mind? There is great wisdom and divine security for mortal man in full and complete love for God.

"God created the heavens and the earth and all plant and animal life upon the earth. God created the universe with all of its profound greatness and blessings. The greatest of all miracles is God's creation of man in his own image and likeness; eyes that can see, ears that can hear, minds that can reason were created within our mortal mothers. We know that our mortal mothers do not know how to make eyes that can see and ears that can hear and mortal minds that can reason. God said that he created man in his own image and likeness. Our creation and mortal birth is evidence of divine power. All that we have that is good for this life and eternal life comes from God. We owe our full respect, dedication, allegiance, and love to him.

"The alternatives are to love Satan or some other part of God's creations. Satan did not participate in any of the creations that were for the good of man. We owe him absolutely nothing. But some pay tribute to Satan through bad temper, quarreling, dishonesty, adultery, covetousness, drugs, disrespect for God and Jesus Christ, disrespect for the Sabbath day, nonpayment of tithes, hatred, etc." - Bernard P. Brockbank, "Love of God," Ensign, June 1971, p. 85

(2/26/05)
"There is no salvation in worshiping a false god. It does not matter one particle how sincerely someone may believe that God is a golden calf, or that he is an immaterial, uncreated power that is in all things; the worship of such a being or concept has no saving power. Men may believe with all their souls that images or powers or laws are God, but no amount of devotion to these concepts will ever give the power that leads to immortality and eternal life.

"If a man worships a cow or a crocodile, he can gain any reward that cows and crocodiles happen to be passing out this season.

"If he worships the laws of the universe or the forces of nature, no doubt the earth will continue to spin, the sun to shine, and the rains to fall on the just and on the unjust.

"But if he worships the true and living God, in spirit and in truth, then God Almighty will pour out his Spirit upon him, and he will have power to raise the dead, move mountains, entertain angels, and walk in celestial streets." - Bruce R. McConkie, "How to Worship," Ensign, Dec. 1971, 1p. 29

3/1/06
"Our Father in Heaven must come first. Nothing in this world can take His place. Teach your children to recognize His hand in all things, to respect and honor Him. (See D&C 59:21; Alma 31:5.) Show them how to worship Him through selfless service to others. Worship Him in family prayer and family home evening. We fail to worship Him when we give preeminence to sports, academics, entertainment, wealth, vanity, or anything else of this world." - Lynn A. Mickelsen, "Eternal Laws of Happiness," Ensign (CR), November 1995, p.78

2/11/07
"To achieve spirituality and to reform our motives and perfect our desires we must learn to control our thoughts. The prophet Alma taught his faithful son Helaman: 'Let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever' (Alma 37:36).

"In the great revelation given in Liberty Jail, the Lord commanded the Prophet Joseph Smith to conform his thoughts to this high standard: 'Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly' (D&C 121:45). This means that in our innermost feelings we should always be 'full of [love] towards all men' and that our thoughts should always be garnished with virtue, which is goodness, purity, and truth. The revelation promises us that when we do this our 'confidence [shall] wax strong in the presence of God' (D&C 121:45; see also 1 John 3:21)." - Dallin H. Oaks, "Pure in Heart," p.145


3/28/08
"A lawyer, a Pharisee, asked Christ, on one occasion, 'Which is the great commandment in the law?' (Matthew 22:36.) And in answer, most profound, Jesus said the first fundamental law is to 'love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all they strength.' (Mark 12:30.) 'And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.' (Matthew 22:39.) And the Pharisee admitted that Jesus had spoken wisely.

"Analyze that and you will find it means that instead of centering your thoughts on self, God becomes the center of your existence; your thoughts will be-what you are going to do for him. You will pray to him at night. You will pray to him when you have some heavy task to perform. Even in your school work you should pray. I know you may not hear his voice always, and you may feel that he did not answer your question in your prayer; but in youth, keep praying and holding to the assurance that God is near you to help you." - David O. McKay, "Man May Know for Himself: Teachings of President David O. McKay," compiled by Clare Middlemiss, p.15


9/20/09
“The requirement that we should love the Lord above fish, bank accounts, automobiles, fine clothing, stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, or any other possession is total; it is absolute. The first commandment given unto the ancient Israelites was ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ The Savior Himself amplified this command when He told the lawyer who asked Him which was the greatest commandment, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.’” -  James E. Faust, “Them That Honour Me I Will Honour,” Ensign (CR), May 2001, p. 45


7/4/11
"The Lord said, 'Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.' I have learned that such faith gives emancipating power. Facing God first lets us decide firmly what we shall not do; then we are free to pursue what we ought to do." - Russell M. Nelson, "Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods," Ensign (CR), May 1996, p.14


9/1/11
Today, in our very complex world, we may well be reminded of the true message that comes from Christ himself to avoid constant battles and a final holocaust when he declared: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you.” (3 Ne. 12:44.)

However, the essential personal question that we need to consider is whether our relationship with deity will be that of friend or foe. If well understood, because of its eternal implications, this relationship can bring eternal life; if misunderstood, misused, misapplied, misconceived, or misrepresented, it can bring mortal as well as spiritual death. - Charles Didier, "Friend or Foe," Ensign (CR) October 1983


7/15/12
When the rich man who came to Jesus asked, “Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” the Lord reiterated the commandments, and the man answered, “All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”

As His disciples today, we should ask, “What lack I yet?” You can go about doing good, you can love and serve others in your family, in the Church, and in the community. At some point you must be willing “to render to him all that you have and are.” - Robert J. Whetten, "True Followers," Ensign (CR) May 1999

10/29/12
My beloved brothers and sisters, I am not certain just what our experience will be on Judgment Day, but I will be very surprised if at some point in that conversation, God does not ask us exactly what Christ asked Peter: “Did you love me?” I think He will want to know if in our very mortal, very inadequate, and sometimes childish grasp of things, did we at least understand one commandment, the first and greatest commandment of them all—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.” And if at such a moment we can stammer out, “Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee,” then He may remind us that the crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty. - Jeffrey R. Holland, "The First Great Commandment," Ensign (CR) November 2012

7/28/14
We cannot keep one foot in the Church and one foot in the world. One reason is the world and the Church are rapidly diverging. We will lose our balance.

We know that “no man can serve two masters.” Some, I fear, are attempting to do what President Marion G. Romney described as trying to “serve the Lord without offending the devil.” - Larry W. Gibbons, “Wherefore, Settle This in Your Hearts,” Ensign (CR) November 2006

11/13/15
Put God first, regardless of the trials you face. Love God. Have faith in Christ, and entrust yourself to Him in all things. Moroni makes the following promise to such people: “And if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ.” - Koichi Aoyagi, “Hold on They Way,” Ensign (CR) November 2015

3/15/17
The second of the Ten Commandments elaborates the direction to have no other gods and identifies what should be the ultimate priority in our lives as His children. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing” in the heavens or the earth (Exodus 20:4). The commandment then adds, “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them” (Exodus 20:5). More than merely forbidding physical idols, this states a fundamental priority for all time. Jehovah explains, “For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, … shewing mercy unto … them that love me, and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:5–6). The meaning of jealous is revealing. Its Hebrew origin means “possessing sensitive and deep feelings” (Exodus 20:5, footnote b). Thus we offend God when we “serve” other gods—when we have other first priorities. –
Dallin H. Oaks, “No Other Gods,” Ensign (CR) November 2013


 
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