Worship - Adding Depth to Your Devotion

When you think of the word worship, do you think of such devotional acts as praying or partaking of the sacrament or performing temple rites or even just enjoying the beauty of God's creation?

Do you remember times when those moments felt flat, devoid of the influence of the divine?

Do you also remember moments when the very air seemed charged with divinity, with connection between you and God?

What, then, makes the difference? Why do we sometimes struggle to connect with God through our worship? How do we connect—and how can we more consistently reach that level of connection?

In this engaging and thoughtful book interlaced with poignant personal experiences, Latter-day Saint author Eric D. Huntsman explores how worship works—what it is about our acts of devotion that can connect us to the divine and the eternal.

Brother Huntsman writes: "We assume that we are worshipping when we pray, go to church, take the sacrament, serve in the temple, sing hymns of praise, or care for others as Jesus would. But what makes a prayer different from simply reciting a list of things we need or items for which we are grateful? How is participating in an ordinance different from simply going through the motions of a traditional ritual? What makes feasting upon the word of the Lord different from simply reading the scriptures? And what makes singing or playing beautiful music an act of praise? Because our words and actions are all that appear above the surface, how can we add true depth to our devotion?"

You will find perceptive, thought-provoking answers to these questions and more inWorship: Adding Depth to Your Devotion.

Eric D. Huntsman

Eric D. Huntsman is a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, where he serves as the coordinator of the Ancient Near Eastern Studies program in the Kennedy Center for International Studies and is affiliated with the Classics program. After graduating from BYU with a bachelor’s degree in classical Greek and Latin, he earned a Ph.D. in ancient history from the University of Pennsylvania. He joined the BYU faculty in 1994.

The author of the acclaimed God So Loved the World, Good Tidings of Great Joy,and The Miracles of Jesus, Dr. Huntsman has published numerous articles on the New Testament and the writings of John. He served as a full-time missionary in the Thailand Bangkok Mission and as a bishop in Provo, Utah. Brother Huntsman is an ordinance worker in the Provo Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and sings in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He is also a popular speaker with Time Out for Women. He and his wife, Elaine Scott Huntsman, are the parents of two children.