Mormons (more accurately, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) worship God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ; they do not worship Joseph Smith or other church leaders.

Core belief: Who Mormons worship

  • Latter-day Saints teach that God (often called Heavenly Father) is the ultimate object of their worship.
  • They also affirm deep devotion to Jesus Christ as the divine Son of God, Savior, and Redeemer, and modern LDS leaders describe Him as “the central focus” of their worship.
  • Official explanations say they pray to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ and seek to follow Christ’s teachings as the way back to the Father.

What about Joseph Smith?

  • Joseph Smith is regarded as a prophet—like biblical prophets—not as a being to be worshiped.
  • LDS writers emphasize that worship is “strictly reserved” for God the Father and Jesus Christ, and that Joseph Smith is honored as an instrument God used to restore the gospel.

How this differs from many other Christians’ view

  • Latter-day Saints speak of a Godhead of three distinct beings—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—who are united in purpose but are three separate divine persons.
  • Many traditional Christians see this as different from classic Trinitarianism, which teaches one God in three coequal, coeternal persons sharing one divine essence.
  • Some non-LDS Christian groups therefore argue that, even though Mormons use similar language (Father, Son, Holy Ghost), they do not “worship the same God” in a theological sense.

Lived worship: What it looks like

In everyday religious life, Mormons typically:

  • Pray to Heavenly Father, ending prayers “in the name of Jesus Christ.”
  • Take the sacrament (similar to communion) weekly in remembrance of Christ’s body and blood.
  • Sing hymns centered on Jesus, study the Bible and the Book of Mormon as “another testament of Jesus Christ,” and try to model their lives on His example.

In LDS terms, if you asked a practicing member “who do you worship?”, a common answer would be: “I worship Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, and I follow Jesus Christ as my Savior.”

TL;DR: Mormons worship Heavenly Father (God) and center their worship on Jesus Christ as Savior and Redeemer; they honor but do not worship Joseph Smith or other leaders.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.