FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Difference between revisions of "Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man/Gods of their own planets"
m (→Response) |
m (→Conclusion) |
||
| Line 51: | Line 51: | ||
Members of the Church—like [[Deification_of_man#UnChristian.3F|early Christians]]—believe in human deification or ''theosis''. They aver that this doctrine is taught in the [[Deification_of_man#Scriptures|Bible]] and by modern revelation. However, what this doctrine ''means'' or entails is beyond human comprehension anyway. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him," taught Paul ({{b|1|Corinthians|2|9}}). | Members of the Church—like [[Deification_of_man#UnChristian.3F|early Christians]]—believe in human deification or ''theosis''. They aver that this doctrine is taught in the [[Deification_of_man#Scriptures|Bible]] and by modern revelation. However, what this doctrine ''means'' or entails is beyond human comprehension anyway. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him," taught Paul ({{b|1|Corinthians|2|9}}). | ||
| − | Most members of the Church realize that they have enough on their plates to do and become through Christian discipleship and keeping their covenants. They do not worry | + | Most members of the Church realize that they have enough on their plates to do and become through Christian discipleship and keeping their covenants. They do not worry much about the exact details of their future state. They are simply confident that they will be happy, in families, and back in the presence of God where they will continue to do His will. |
Certainly we can have the end in mind, remembering the relationship of Father to child is crucial. He will always, through all eternity, [[Deification_of_man#Supplanting_God.3F|be our Father and our God]]. Still, it would be unwise to jump the gun and assume we are practically almost there; we have plenty to do in the meantime, and an eternal and abiding need for the grace of Christ to compensate for our manifest inadequacies. | Certainly we can have the end in mind, remembering the relationship of Father to child is crucial. He will always, through all eternity, [[Deification_of_man#Supplanting_God.3F|be our Father and our God]]. Still, it would be unwise to jump the gun and assume we are practically almost there; we have plenty to do in the meantime, and an eternal and abiding need for the grace of Christ to compensate for our manifest inadequacies. | ||
Revision as of 11:47, 6 July 2009
| Answers portal |
| God |
|
 RESOURCES
|
|---|
|
 PERSPECTIVES
|
 MEDIA
|
| OTHER PORTALS
|
Contents
Criticism
Critics claim that Mormons believe that they can push themselves higher in a type of 'celestial pecking order.'
Source(s) of the Criticism
- Richard Abanes, One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church (New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2003), 287 ( Index of claims )
Response
Much criticism of Joseph Smith and the Church in general stems from a teaching regarding the eternal potential of mankind.[1] The Church believes that men and women are the "offspring" of Heavenly Parents (see Acts 17:28-29) composed of the same eternal substance (see DC 93꞉33-35) and hence we have divine possibilities through the grace of Christ.
However, there are many names for (and many interpretations of) this belief in and out of the Church. There are various schools of thought on what it might mean for a person to become a "god" after this life. On this view, Brigham Young didn't teach of countless gods doing their own thing in countless universes, each out for their own concerns. According to Brigham, there will be no such separate kingdoms of personal power
- ...to yourself, by yourself, and for yourself, regardless of every other creature.
- But the truth is, you are not going to have a separate kingdom; I am not going to have a separate kingdom; it is not our prerogative to have it on this earth. If you have a kingdom and a dominion here, it must be concentrated in the head; if we are ever prepared for an eternal exaltation, we must be concentrated in the head of the eternal Godhead...If we fancy that we have an independent interest here and in the world to come, we shall fail in getting any of it.
- Your interest must be concentrated in the head on the earth, and all of our interest must center in the Godhead in eternity, and there is no durable interest in any other channel.[2]
Along these lines, consider the interesting sermon by Heber C. Kimball from 1856. In this discourse, President Kimball tangentially referred to deification, not as a glorious declaration that we will become gods or godlike, but to remind his listeners not to put the cart before the horse. We ought to consider becoming true "Saints" before focusing too much on being gods.
Heber said:
- Many think that they are going right into the celestial kingdom of God, in their present ignorance, to at once receive glories and powers; that they are going to be Gods, while many of them are so ignorant, that they can see or know scarcely anything. Such people talk of becoming Gods, when they do not know anything of God, or of His works; such persons have to learn repentance, and obedience to the law of God; they have got to learn to understand angels, and to comprehend and stick to the principles of this Church.
- …I bear testimony of this, and I wish you would listen to counsel and lay aside every sin that doth so easily beset you, and turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart.[3]
Similarly, during the King Follett discourse, Joseph Smith is said to have taught:
- When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the Gospel--you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil [died] before you will have learned them. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave.[4]
The need for divine grace
Christ said "be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect" (see Matthew 5:48) and members of the Church tend take that charge literally. The trouble is, some Saints might feel they can or even must achieve this impossible goal through their own efforts. In conversations about grace and works Mormons are quick to quote: "faith without works is dead," (see James 2:20), often in reaction to extreme conservative Protestantism's claims that one can be saved by faith alone without a concurrent change in behavior and life wrought by that faith. In this respect, the Latter-day Saints share far more with the early Christians than they do with modern conservative Protestantism (see Early_Christian_views_on_salvation).
Members must also remember, however, that works without faith is also dead, and Heber seems to be trying to express that message.
Here we see an early example of a Church leader discussing "grace," though he still maintains a perspective in which works are essential. It is for us, today, to focus on today, and retain a remission of sins relying on Christ, as the light grows brighter and brighter until the perfect day, when the rest of this doctrine can be figured out more clearly. In the meantime, our probation continues, and Heber had a few pieces of advice to impart:
- We cannot become perfect, without we are assisted by our heavenly Father. We must be faithful and of one heart, and one mind, and let every man and woman take course to build up and not pull down. See that you save your grain, that you may save yourselves from the wicked of the world. Try to take care of every thing that is good to eat, for this is the work of the Lord God Almighty, and we shall have times that will test the integrity of this people, that will test who is honest and who is not.
- Omitting prayer is calculated to lead the mind away from those duties which are incumbent upon us; then let us attend to our prayers and all our duties, and you will know that brother Brigham and his brethren have told you of these things...
- There are trying times ahead of you, do you not begin to feel and see them? If you do not, I say you are asleep. I wish that the spirit which rests upon a few individuals could be upon you, everyone of you, it would be one of the most joyful times that brother Brigham and I ever saw with the Saints of God upon this earth.[5]
Conclusion
Members of the Church—like early Christians—believe in human deification or theosis. They aver that this doctrine is taught in the Bible and by modern revelation. However, what this doctrine means or entails is beyond human comprehension anyway. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him," taught Paul (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Most members of the Church realize that they have enough on their plates to do and become through Christian discipleship and keeping their covenants. They do not worry much about the exact details of their future state. They are simply confident that they will be happy, in families, and back in the presence of God where they will continue to do His will.
Certainly we can have the end in mind, remembering the relationship of Father to child is crucial. He will always, through all eternity, be our Father and our God. Still, it would be unwise to jump the gun and assume we are practically almost there; we have plenty to do in the meantime, and an eternal and abiding need for the grace of Christ to compensate for our manifest inadequacies.
The critics' accusations along these lines are a caricature of LDS belief, and omit virtually everything of importance in their discussion of this doctrine.
Endnotes
- [note] This article was based on a blog post, Blair Hodges, "Becoming Saints before gods," lifeongoldplates.com (8 February 2008), last accessed (28 December 2008) off-site (used with permission). Due to the nature of a wiki project, the text may have been subsequently modified.
- [note] Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 4:26–28. off-site wiki
- [note] Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses 4:1–7. off-site wiki
- [note] Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 volumes, edited by Brigham H. Roberts, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1957), 6:306–307. Volume 6 link
- [note] Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses 4:1–7. off-site wiki
Further reading
FAIR wiki articles
| Theosis and related at FAIR |
- LDS are not Christians?
- Cult, LDS Church is
- Deification of man
- Downplaying the King Follett Discourse?
FAIR web site
| Theosis and related at FAIR |
- Michael W. Fordham, "Does President Gordon B. Hinckley Understand LDS Doctrine?" FAIR link (Key source)