Another essay has been released by the Mormon Church; this time addressing the idea of faithful Mormons becoming gods. It downplays the idea that planet owning and operating is part of the Mormon ‘plan’, yet admits to ‘creative potential’ – and the potential of becoming gods. The Church isn’t sure any longer about where its god came from, but does admit to the doctrine that men may become gods. Yet Smith specifically answered the question about where his god came from in his King Follett sermon, claiming it as evidence that men may also become gods. One half of the ‘couplet’, coined by (prophet of the Mormon god) Lorenzo Snow, based on Smith’s teachings (“As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may be”), without the other half, simply doesn’t work. Couple that with the earlier church essay, admitting that polygamy will be practiced in the eternities, and where are we to suppose all the spirit children will go to be born as humans, if it is not to planets owned and operated by the newly ordained gods? There is certainly no doctrine that spirits fathered by many new ‘under-gods’ will all go to the same planet, operated by their original god.
The mess created by denying earlier, and very specific teachings, leaves the Mormon church spinning out of control in an ever downward spiral, while more and more members are seeing it for what it really is – a perpetuated nineteenth century hoax. The article contains some three and a half thousand words that really don’t say much of anything at all, despite the fact that ‘God’ is mentioned almost one hundred times.
LDS ESSAY: Becoming Like God.
“…while few Latter-day Saints would identify with caricatures of having their own planet, most would agree that the awe inspired by creation hints at our creative potential in the eternities.”
“The teaching that men and women have the potential to be exalted to a state of godliness clearly expands beyond what is understood by most contemporary Christian churches and expresses for the Latter-day Saints a yearning rooted in the Bible to live as God lives, to love as He loves, and to prepare for all that our loving Father in Heaven wishes for His children.”
“Since that sermon, known as the King Follett discourse, the doctrine that humans can progress to exaltation and godliness has been taught within the Church. Lorenzo Snow, the Church’s fifth President, coined a well-known couplet: “As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be.” Little has been revealed about the first half of this couplet, and consequently little is taught. When asked about this topic, Church President Gordon B. Hinckley told a reporter in 1997, “That gets into some pretty deep theology that we don’t know very much about.” When asked about the belief in humans’ divine potential, President Hinckley responded, “Well, as God is, man may become. We believe in eternal progression. Very strongly.” (Emphasis added to above three quotes from the essay).
I repeat: in that case, where will all the spirit children be born as human beings, if not on planets owned and operated by their new god-parents? And, of course, the whole aspect of the evolution required on each new planet cannot be addressed by the Church, as evolution is incompatible with Mormon theology on too many levels. Creationism is scientifically dead, but I doubt we will see a Church essay admitting to evolution as an established and irrefutable fact any time soon, despite the fact that over the last few decades, evolution has become one of the most fully substantiated and proven scientific theories we have (everything in science is theory – proven or otherwise; just in case there is someone out there who still doesn’t know). We actually know far more about evolution than we do about space-time curvature (gravity). On a new planet, it is not a given that humans as we know them would actually evolve at all – or intelligent life of any description for that matter. It is a lottery.
The following is an extract from my ‘The First Vision’ booklet, also available as an article to read free here.
“In his infamous King Follett sermon (at the funeral of a man who was killed by a bucket of bricks falling on his head during a well construction) Smith starts on about plural Gods for the first time in public. This was on 7 April 1844, a couple of months or so before Smith’s death. Following the disclosures in his talk, many Mormons left the fold as they considered it to be heresy. Reading what he came out with, this is perfectly understandable.
Smith takes Revelation 1:6 as his text. He says:
“God … is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret.”
“…He was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth … and I will show it from the Bible.”
A recent Mormon prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, at least twice, publicly stated he does not know that they teach it and he does not know much about it. (See: San Francisco Chronicle, 13 Apr 1997:3/Z1 Don Lattin, religion editor; also Time Magazine, 4 Aug 1997).
Smith declared “It is plain beyond disputation…” He quotes Revelation 1:6 directly from the KJV: “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Note the phrase, “God and His Father”. Smith then states “It is altogether correct in the translation”. This is because he wants to propound his new concept that God had a father and that there are many Gods. However, Smith either forgot, or more likely simply ignored, the fact that when he had been inspired to ‘correct’ biblical scripture in his earlier Inspired Revision, he altered that very verse in order to clarify the tradition that God of course does not have a father. [In the KJV ‘God and His Father’ is followed by ‘him‘, in the singular, hinting at mistranslation – which has been corrected in almost all later versions of the Bible]. Yet here, in 1844, Smith completely ignores his own earlier Inspired Revision and claims the KJV is ‘altogether correct’ – just to suit his newly developed thinking.
Inspired Revision: Rev 1:6 …and hath made us kings and priests unto God his Father. To him be glory and dominion, forever and ever. Amen. (Emphasis added).
If Smith’s claim that the KJV is “altogether correct” is accepted by the Church in order to justify his plural Gods theology; then they must also accept that he lied in the IR. Either way, he is caught in his duplicity and his lies – and that is a true mark of a false prophet.”
Understanding that alone should be enough to turn any sane person away from Mormonism.
See also, Sandra Tanner’s excellent note: “Mormons Hope to Become Gods of Their Own Worlds Procreating Endless Numbers of Children.”
These are a few of the quotes Sandra references:
“The heaven of the Saints is something we can look forward to in the confident hope of realizing our inheritances and enjoying them forever, when the earth becomes sanctified and made new. And there, as here, we will spread forth, and multiply our children. How long? For eternity. What, resurrected Saints have children? Yes, the same as our God, who is the Father of our spirits; so you, if you are faithful to the end, will become fathers to your sons and daughters, who will be as innumerable as the sands upon the sea shore; they will be your children, and you will be their heavenly fathers, the same as our heavenly Father is Father to us, and they will belong to your kingdoms through all the vast ages of eternity, the same as we will belong to our father’s kingdom.” (B. H. Roberts, The Mormon Doctrine of Deity, p.284).
“Logically and naturally, the ultimate desire of a loving Supreme Being is to help his children enjoy all that he enjoys. For Latter-day Saints, the term “godhood” denotes the attainment of such a state—one of having all divine attributes and doing as God does and being as God is. Such a state is to be enjoyed by all exalted, embodied, intelligent beings (see Deification; Eternal Progression; Exaltation; God; Perfection). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all resurrected and perfected mortals become gods (cf. Gen. 3:22; Matt. 5:48). They will dwell again with God the Father, and live and act like him in endless worlds of happiness, power, love, glory, and knowledge; above all, they will have the power of procreating endless lives. Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus Christ attained godhood (see Christology) and that he marked the path and led the way for others likewise to become exalted divine beings by following him” (cf. John 14:3). (Encyclopaedia of Mormonism, Vol.2: Godhood).
“When the servants of God and their wives go to heaven there is an eternal union, and they will multiply and replenish the world to which they are going.” (Orson Hyde, 6 October 1854. Journal of Discourses, Vol. 2 pp. 85-86).
“When we talk about celestial glory, we talk of the condition of endless increase; if we obtain celestial glory in the fullest sense of the word, then we have wives and children in eternity, we have the power of endless lives granted unto us, the power of propagation that will endure through all eternity, all being fathers and mothers in eternity; fathers of fathers, and mothers of mothers, kings and queens, priests and priestesses, and shall I say more? Yes, all becoming gods.” (George Q. Cannon, 31 October 1880. Journal of Discourses, Vol. 22, p. 125). (Emphasis added to the above quotes).
Clearly, personal ‘worlds’ will be needed to facilitate the promise of being gods to ‘endless’ offspring.
Question: Where the hell are all those countless (and endless) children going to live, if not on planets provided for these new gods to rule over? I was taught that I would have my own planet as a god, by missionaries, when I converted in 1960 at age fourteen. It was one of the enticements that appealed to a young lad who liked constructing things… the church is altering everything I was ever led to believe was doctrine – changing with the tide of popular opinion at every turn. Meanwhile, dozens of other ex Mormons have confirmed their understanding has always been the same as mine and they are as perplexed as I am about it. It just proves the hoax over and over. Having confirmed that men can become gods and have many wives and untold numbers of spirit children who will all need human bodies, perhaps the church can now disclose how they plan to accomodate this need for all these gods, if they are not to have planets – instead of thinking the following will simply make it all go away?
“Do Latter-day Saints believe that they will “get their own planet”? No. This idea is not taught in Latter-day Saint scripture, nor is it a doctrine of the Church. This misunderstanding stems from speculative comments unreflective of scriptural doctrine.”
How then does the Church explain (see below) the completely opposite claim expressed in their own Ensign magazine barely a decade ago, by one of their own apostles no less? My thanks to a friend, who wishes to remain anonymous, for sharing more quotes from leaders confirming the idea that men, as gods, will govern worlds of their own. The following are just two of several examples:
“The real life we’re preparing for is eternal life. Secular knowledge has for us eternal significance. Our conviction is that God, our Heavenly Father, wants us to live the life that He does. We learn both the spiritual things and the secular things so that we may one day create worlds and people and govern them (see The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [1982],386)“ (Henry B. Eyring, “Education for Real Life” [CES fireside for young adults, May 6, 2001], 2-3, 5). (Emphasis added).
They even teach it in a lesson manual designed for children aged between 4 and 11 years of age. Note it only mentions ‘his’, (only male gods): Teaching Children from 4-11.
“Each one of you has it within the realm of his possibility to develop a kingdom over which you will preside as its king and god. You will need to develop yourself and grow in ability and power and worthiness, to govern such a world with all of its people.” (Emphasis added).
Many gods, with many wives, and ‘endless’ children – a concept even taught to children – but now, out of nowhere (and for no logical reason that I can fathom), no planets for men to rule over as gods. Yet there always used to be – we could aspire to “create worlds and people and govern them”, but now we can’t and yet our god has had billions of children (apparently) and if men can become like him, how can they be real gods with their own billions of children with no personal planets to accomodate them?
So, are they going to alter the Doctrine and Covenants, or just pretend it doesn’t actually mean what it so clearly states?
D&C132: 19 And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, …Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; …and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, …and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.
- Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.
In the strange world of Mormonism, becoming a god has always meant having many wives, innumerable children, creating worlds, and populating them; ALWAYS – it was every man’s ultimate goal. Until now.
It gets worse. Thanks to Jean Bodie (and Kerry Shirts) for these additional quotes:
“President Snow said: ‘Wait a moment, President Brimhall, I want to see these children at work; what are they doing?’ Brother Brimhall replied that they were making clay spheres. ‘That is very interesting,’ the President said. ‘I want to watch them.’ He quietly watched the children for several minutes and then lifted a little girl, perhaps six years of age, and stood her on a table. He then took the clay sphere from her hand, and, turning to Brother Brimhall, said:
“‘President Brimhall, these children are now at play, making mud worlds, the time will come when some of these boys, through their faithfulness to the gospel, will progress and develop in knowledge, intelligence and power, in future eternities, until they shall be able to go out into space where there is unorganized matter and call together the necessary elements, and through their knowledge of and control over the laws and powers of nature, to organize matter into worlds on which their posterity may dwell, and over which they shall rule as gods’” (Quoting Lorenzo Snow, Improvement Era, June 1919, 658–59).” (Emphasis added).
“In the spring of 1840, just before leaving on his first mission to England, Lorenzo Snow spent an evening in the home of his friend, Elder H. G. Sherwood, in Nauvoo. Elder Sherwood was endeavoring to explain the parable of the Savior about the husbandman who sent forth servants at different hours of the day to labor in the vineyard. While thus engaged in thought this most important event occurred, as told by President Snow himself:
“‘While attentively listening to his (Elder Sherwood’s) explanation, the Spirit of the Lord rested mightily upon me—the eyes of my understanding were opened, and I saw as clear as the sun at noon-day, with wonder and astonishment, the pathway of God and man. I formed the following couplet which expresses the revelation, as it was shown to me … :
As man now is,
God once was:
As God now is,
man may be.
“‘I felt this to be a sacred communication which I related to no one except my sister Eliza, until I reached England, when in a confidential, private conversation with President Brigham Young, in Manchester, I related to him this extraordinary manifestation.’
“Soon after his return from England, in January, 1843, Lorenzo Snow related to the Prophet Joseph Smith his experience in Elder Sherwood’s home. This was in a confidential interview in Nauvoo. The Prophet’s reply was: ‘Brother Snow, that is true gospel doctrine, and it is a revelation from God to you’” (Snow, Improvement Era, June 1919, 656). (Emphasis added).
A photographic copy of the June 1919 Improvement Era is available.
‘Mormon Voices’ claims, “A search of LDS.org, which includes all of the church lesson manuals, all talks given in church conferences, and all magazines published by the LDS church shows that there are no instances—zero—where it is taught that we will be ‘gods of our own planets.” (Emphasis added).
Perhaps they could then explain the following:
“We will become gods and have jurisdiction over worlds, and these worlds will be peopled by our own offspring. We will have an endless eternity for this.” (J.F. Smith – Doctrines of Salvation Vol.2 p. 48).
“We educate ourselves in the secular field and in the spiritual field so that we may one day create worlds, people and govern them.” (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball – p. 386).
“All those who are counted worthy to be exalted and to become Gods, even the sons of God, will go forth and have earths and worlds like those who framed this and millions on millions of others.” Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses Vol.17, p.143).
And, if that wasn’t enough, FAIR cites three references that confirm Mormon men who become gods can indeed create their own worlds – so who do you believe? This is the link for the following references
FAIR – “Mormonism and the nature of God/Deification of man/Gods of their own planets/Statements.”
“Statements by Church leaders which refer to becoming like our Father in Heaven and participating in the creation of worlds.”
Brigham Young: “As for their labor and pursuits in eternity I have not time to talk upon that subject; but we shall have plenty to do. We shall not be idle. We shall go on from one step to another, reaching forth into the eternities until we become like the Gods, and shall be able to frame for ourselves, by the behest and command of the Almighty. All those who are counted worthy to be exalted and to become Gods, even the sons of God, will go forth and have earths and worlds like those who framed this and millions on millions of others.” Journal of Discourses 17:143.
Heber C. Kimball: “When you have learned to become obedient to the Father that dwells upon this earth, to the Father and God of this earth, and obedient to the messengers He sends—when you have done all that, remember you are not going to leave this earth. You will never leave it until you become qualified, and capable, and capacitated to become a father of an earth yourselves.” —Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses 1:356.
Joseph Fielding Smith: “The Father has promised us that through our faithfulness we shall be blessed with the fulness of his kingdom. In other words we will have the privilege of becoming like him. To become like him we must have all the powers of godhood;’ thus a man and his wife when glorified will have spirit children. who eventually will go on an earth like this one we are on and pass through the same kind of experiences, being subject to mortal conditions, and if faithful, then they also will receive the fulness of exaltation and partake of the same blessings. There is no end to this development; it will go on forever. We will become gods and have jurisdiction over worlds, and these worlds will be peopled by our own offspring. We will have an endless eternity for this.” —Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 2, p.48
I cannot understand how Mormon Church leaders can officially deny what FAIR clearly exposes above. To repeat what I quoted earlier: “Do Latter-day Saints believe that they will “get their own planet”? No. This idea is not taught in Latter-day Saint scripture, nor is it a doctrine of the Church. This misunderstanding stems from speculative comments unreflective of scriptural doctrine.” A definitive statement – straight from the LDS Newsroom.
In all the above sources (including FAIR), several references are the same, but they are repeated at each stage for clarity.
Having said all of the above, bearing in mind such an abundance of damning evidence, could it just be that I, along with all the newspaper articles and many blogs, got this entirely wrong? Could it be (despite the fact that they have not removed earlier condemning ‘newsroom’ statements) that the statements in the essay “Latter-day Saints’ doctrine of exaltation is often similarly reduced in media to a cartoonish image of people receiving their own planets” and “Likewise, while few Latter-day Saints would identify with caricatures of having their own planet, most would agree that the awe inspired by creation hints at our creative potential in the eternities” (emphasis added), are now meant to imply that whilst it is true that new gods will indeed create their own planets, most Mormons would not relate to that idea in the irreligious way such caricatures present it; what with it being such a sacred doctrine? In light of previous declarations, of course this must be highly unlikely.
However, the statements are indeed a little ambiguous, although everyone seems to have come to the same conclusion. Just in case we all got it wrong, the fault clearly (as ever) lies with the Church which continues in its half truths, and often outright lies. A clear statement saying “Yes, men can become gods, have many wives and billions of spirit children on an endless basis; and of course they will be endowed with creative powers enabling them to organise new worlds for their offspring” is needed (and that is what has always been taught). Instead of which, the Church continues to confuse everyone; in this case with some three and a half thousand words, when the above thirty-six would do. Whatever the case, clarification is needed. If, however, we are all right, then further explanation is required as it completely alters established doctrine. It is inexplicable and theologically inexcusable.
In Mormonism, the madness never ends.
Jim Whitefield 
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