The Spirit of Man is not a created being; it existed from Eternity & will exist to eternity. Anything created cannot be Eternal. (WoJS pg. 9)

The rhetoric of praise is there (“every knee shall bow,” “I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,” etc.), but the dour Mormon aesthetic sucks the life out of it.

Unless, of course, we are singing “Praise to the Man”… :)

“Mormon – People who believe that the only difference between them and God is a few years of training. ”

and

“As man is, God once was; As God is, man may become

A doctrine which makes perfect sense when applied to me, but becomes downright unbelievable when applied to almost anyone else I can think of.”

“Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy , and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.”

Alma 26:16

Who is this “our” you are referring to here? Among Mormons there are numerous schools of thought on some of these theological questions. Some (like Blake Ostler) hold that the Father became a mortal once but has been the supreme God from all eternity. Most who lean toward the idea that our Father progressed to his Godhood usually also hold that there is a numberless regress of Fathers before our Father and it is not uncommon to think that our Father is One with his Fathers — thus the plural word Elohim represents both the person of our Father and the Divine Concert with whom hi is one. I bring this up simply to show that if a Latter Day Saint holds a conception of God that lacks a sense of wonder it is a personal problem not a problem forced by the institution. There are plenty of theological views in Mormonism that supply ample reason for awe (even if we reject the ex nihilo creator of the creeds).

Also, it seems to me that too much awe becomes a major barrier to a personal relationship with God. I suspect we emphasize our parent-child relationship with God partially to reduce barriers to personal revelatory relationships.

Not trying to be difficult here. I just have not witnessed much in the way of awe and wonder when Mormons talk about God. There are, of course, exceptions. But how many of you ever hear expressions such as those found in Alma 26 when Latter-Day Saints talk about God?

Oh good grief. So you would be happy if Mormons threw in a rote “hallowed be thy name” in every prayer? Sound vacuous and pointless to me. In my opinion we do praise God when we offer sincere thanks for specific blessings in our lives. I can’t imagine God would prefer a always-repeated “How great Thou Art” over a real and honest conversation/dialogue with us.