Joseph Smith: “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. …I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil… He was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ Himself did; …you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another,… from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings. and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power” (History of the Church, Vol. 6, Ch. 14, p. 305-6).
Smith claimed God was once a human who evolved to become a god; we must learn how to be gods too.
I don’t believe in any gods or the Bible any more than Joseph Smith’s nonsense, but for those who do:
Isaiah 43:10. “…before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.”
Isaiah 44:8. “…Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.”
Isaiah 45:21-22. “…there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”
Isaiah 46:9. “…I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me”
The above are all from the King James Version (KJV). Smith supposedly ‘corrected’ the KJV in his Inspired Revision (IR) of the Bible. Unfortunately, he neglected to alter a single word regarding the claim that there is only one God. The verses in Smith’s IR remain identical to the KJV.
I.R. Isaiah 43:10. “…before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.”
I.R. Isaiah 44:8. “…Is there a God besides me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.”
I.R. Isaiah 45:21-22. “…there is no god else beside me; a just God, and a Savior; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.”
I.R. Isaiah 46:9. “…I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me.”
It is clear that Smith still held an entirely monotheistic view when he ‘doctored’ the Bible. When he developed his later theology on plural gods and humans becoming gods, it was too late to avoid proving himself a false prophet through his own neglect. Had his new claims been correct, God should have inspired Smith to accommodate the controversial theology throughout his Bible revisions. He didn’t. This is just one example of Joseph Smith making everything up as he went along. He is ‘hoisted on his own petard’.
Jim Whitefield 