Question (from a reader): I've also heard that one of the beliefs of the LDS church is that humans (if they are good and accomplish all their religious responsibilities) can become 'gods' themselves and rule over their very own planet in the afterlife.
Do you guys really believe that?
Answer: Yes. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are taught that if they follow God's commandments, they will be Gods themselves with their own worlds. Members are also taught God Himself was once a being of flesh and bones and that He once lived on an earth as we do now to experience the same things we do. In Moses 4:28 (Pearl of Great Price), it reads: And I, the Lord God, said unto mine Only Begotten: Behold, the man is become as one of us to know good and evil; and now lest he put forth his hand and partake also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever.
Our potential as children of God is great. We already know good from evil, which is the first step to becoming like God as referenced above. In the Doctrine and Covenants, section 121, verse 32, it reads: According to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the Eternal God of all other gods before this world was, that should be reserved unto the finishing and the end thereof, when every man shall enter into his eternal presence and into his immortal rest.
The Council of the Eternal God is in reference to the pre-mortal life. An immortal rest refers to the post-mortal life. Therefore, members of the LDS church are taught that becoming Gods over their own kingdoms or worlds was predetermined.
So here's a brief run-down and my personal point-of-view on the subject: as humans and children of God, we have the potential and privilege to become as Gods ourselves. This is predicated upon our worthiness of God's commandments and laws. We can become as He is to rule over our own world. As a member of the LDS church, I know this is true, that I may become a Goddess to rule over my own kingdom in the afterlife if I remain worthy.
To read more about this subject, please visit the online topical guide from the LDS scriptures on lds.org.
Comments
AWESOME! sounds so good that it must be true. NOT! Unless you are hindu, but certainly not christian.
Notice the reliance on LDS books, with no mention of the actual Holy Bible, either Hebrew Old Testament or Greek New Testament. That is why God condemns adding to His words or taking away from them. Revelation was the last inspired book, anything that follows is myth. This obvious from the Mormon books. In Isaiah God says,"I am the Lord, before me was no God formed, nor will there be one after Me."
Alec, Moses 4:28 is also in the Holy Bible as Genesis 3:22. In fact, there are many references to man becoming as Gods in the Holy Bible. The King James Version of the Bible is the version the LDS church uses. Here is the list of references.
Gen. 1:26, Gen. 3:22, Lev. 19:2, Psalms 8:5-6, Matt. 5:48, Luke 24:39, John 10:34, Acts 17:29, Rom. 8:17, 2 Cor. 3:18, Gal. 4:7, Eph. 4:13, Heb. 12:9, 1 John 3:2, Rev. 3:21.
Also, the Isaiah 43:10 passage in your post is in reference to false gods and idols, that there are none before or after God himself. Isaiah 43:12 talks about strange gods, which puts the verse you reference in much better and understandable context.
Danette,
Gen. 1:26 - "let us make man in our image..." is a reference to the Trinity and the trinitarian nature of God, not a reference to their being many individual gods. If that were the case, this would imply that creation was carried out by a committee of gods or something. Is that part of your theology as well? Does this mean that someday, when you become a goddess, you expect to share the ruling of your world with other gods and goddesses?
Gen. 3:22 is again a reference to the Trinity. And the implication is that, though Adam and Eve could have freely eaten of the Tree of Life at any time and thus attained eternal life, they chose instead to disobey God, thus Man no longer deserves eternal life (.....and needs a savior}.
Danette,
Lev. 19:2 says " Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy"
I guess you are trying to say that being 'holy' is the same as being a god. Well, the Hebrew word that is translated here as 'holy' means "sacred or holy; saint; set apart" from a root word that means such things as "to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate, to be set apart".
Sorry. It doesn't mean 'to be a god'. It is a command to the people of Israel (and by extension anyone who wants to be identified as a child of God) to set themselves apart - as different and holy - from other people, just as God set Isael apart from other nations.
Danette,
Psalm 8:5-6 says "For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet"
Obviously this does not mean that men can become gods either. Angels are created beings, just as humans are, and this passage says we are a little lower than the angels.
Hi Joe,
Thank your for your comments. Part of the LDS belief is that we will be able to create our own world, meaning each god/goddess will have their own world. When Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of the tree of life, though it was disobedient, it had to be done in order to fulfill a greater commandment from God which is to multiply and replenish the earth.
To become a God or Goddess, you must first set yourself apart to do God's will, to become holy (i.e. keep God's commandments and maintain your worthiness). Again, I appreciate your comments.
Danette,
You also refer to Matthew 5:48.
Here it is in context: "43 Ye have heard that it hath been said , Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye ? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
Advice on how to live to God's glory, not a promise that you will one day be a goddess.
Alec, I appreciate your insights as well. Thank you for participating in this discussion.
Danette,
Luke 24:39 says "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have."
The context here is after Jesus' ressurection. He's saying "it's really me, guys!"
No reference to people becoming gods and goddesses.
Thanks, Joe. I really appreciate your opinion on these things. You offer a lot of new things to think about.
Danette,
Now with John 10:34 you could be onto something. Let's take a look.
"Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said , Ye are gods?" Hmmmm....
The context here is a conversation at a time that some Jews are seeking to stone Jesus because he has claimed to be God; God the Father as well as Son. If he is not God, he is blaspheming.
The Greek word here translated as 'gods' is indeed "theos", which means "God", but also is used as 'god like', 'of god', etc.
[Christian means 'Christ-like' by the way...]
Jesus is quoting from Psalm 82 here. The Hebrew word in the psalm is "elohim", which somtimes refers to God himself, but also refers to and is translated as "judges" many, many times throughout the Old Testament. The meaning is 'God's representatives". Jesus is chiding them here for thinking of themselves as God's representatives, yet failing to recognize God when he's standing right in front of them.
Perhaps a bit deep, but still no promise of godhood.
Danette,
Acts 17:29 says "Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device."
The word 'offspring' here means what it says. No surprises. We are the children of God in a literal sense, but that's not the same as saying we will be "gods" ourselves someday in the sense that God is God.
We (Christians) will reign with God someday [read Revelation]. But, again, no promise of 'becoming gods' through any sort of religious activity. The good news of the Gospel is that our faith and our confession of our sin can gain us eternal life WITH God (but not AS gods).
Danette,
Romans 8:17 speaks of being 'heirs' because we are of the family of God. But it's a bit of a stretch to say this means we are literally the same as God or that we can aspire to being gods.
2 Corinthians 3:18 talks of being changed into the 'same image' of the glory of God. But an 'image' is not the exact same thing as the original, is it?
A Christian is commanded to aspire to become more Christlike, and we become more and more Christlike though the work of the Holy Spirit - but this passage doesn't say we can become gods either ...
BTW - the word 'image' in 2 Cor 3:18 in Greek is 'eikon'. Compare: icon. Does it more closely mean 'clone' or 'representative of' .....
Danette,
Galatians 4:7 talks about being an heir again.
Already covered.
Eph. 4:13 talks about attaining knowledge of Christ and aspiring to being "unto the measure of the stature" of Christ.
In other words, becoming more Christ-like, (but not God ourselves).
Heb. 12:9 says " Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence : shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live ? "
Good advice, but still no promise of godhood.
Danette,
1 John 3:2 says "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be : but we know that, when he shall appear , we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. "
The NIV says "and what we will be has not yet been made known".
This is explicitly not telling us that we will become gods. In fact, it holds a bit of mystery as to what our nature will actually be when we enter His presence. But it says 'like' Him ....
Revelation 3:21 says "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne."
Christ-like? Yes. Member of the family? Yes. Welcomed into the presence of God? Yes.
But a prideful stretch to think that a human could become God or Goddess.
Some things for you to think about Danette.
Please be careful of false doctrines. Read the Bible for yourself (and go ahead and put it ON TOP OF the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, Doctrines and Covenants, etc)...
James 1:5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Go to the source of all wisdom. Ask Him directly and I'm confident God will help you with this question.
I say all this to you with love. Take care.
Thank you, Joe. I have read both the Bible and the Book of Mormon and know both are true. I have prayed specifically about these things and God has confirmed them. I very much appreciate your comments.
I just read some of your poetry. The back cover reads "Sink yourself into Danette's deepest darkest secrets. Lose yourself in her warped and sick mind. Forget where and who you are for just a moment as you delve into the mind of demons and thoughts of darkness."
Jesus - the real Jesus - can give you the comfort that you need, the love you seek.
I'm praying for you.
I've just been reading through this thread. Danette you have done a good job with this.
As a demonologist this is one of the most disturbing (to me) doctrines that Mormons hold true. The reason for this is that it goes back to the reasons Lucifer fell from Heaven and why man was cast out of the garden of Eden. Lucifer thought he deserved God's throne and sought to take God's throne (Isaiah 14:12-14) and it was for that pride that he was cast from Heaven and transformed from the "bringer of light" (Lucifer) to the Advesary (Satan). Further when Satan (and we know it was Satan from Revelation 12:7-9) deceives Eve into eating from the tree of knowledge he tells her she will become as God (Genesis 3:4-5). Yet she does not become like God she gets cast out of Eden and condemned to death (admittedly that death takes centuries but she does die where if she had remained obediant she would have had eternal life). The mistake occurs again at the tower of babel (Genesis 11:1-9). To think we can become gods is to fall into Satan's oldest lie.
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