LDS doctrine:
We can become gods, we need to pattern our lives after Christ, and our husbands can rule their own planet in eternity.
BECOMING A GOD
The LDS church teaches exaltation, which means we can become a god in the celestial kingdom. Just as we must obey while we are on earth to achieve the highest positions in the church, we must also obey in heaven in order to rule our own planet and become a god.
D&C 76:50-58
...they are gods...
D&C 132:15-23
...but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory. For these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity; and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God forever and ever....the angels and the gods are appointed there, by whom they cannot pass; they cannot...inherit my glory...and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths-...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. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory. For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me. But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also.
D&C 132:29
Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne.
D&C 132:37
Abraham...Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods.
When we lived with our Heavenly Father, he explained a plan for our progression. We could become like him, an exalted being...exaltation is eternal life, the kind of life God lives. He lives in great glory. He is perfect. He possesses all knowledge and all wisdom. He is the Father of spirit children. He is a creator. We can become like our Heavenly Father. This is exaltation. If we prove faithful to the Lord, we will live in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom of heaven. We will become exalted, just like our Heavenly Father. Exaltation is the greatest gift that Heavenly Father can give his children. Our Heavenly Father is perfect. However, he is not jealous of his wisdom and perfection. He glories in the fact that it is possible for his children to become like him...Those who receive exaltation in the celestial kingdom...will receive special blessings...these are some of the blessings given to exalted people:
- They will live eternally in the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (as if they are two separate beings)
- They will become gods.
- They will have their righteous family members with them and will be able to have spirit children also. These spirit children will have the same relationship to them as we do to our Heavenly Father. They will be an eternal family.
- They will receive a fulness of joy.
- They will have everything that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have-all power, glory, dominion, and knowledge..., Gospel Principles, 301-302 (1992)
"here, then, is eternal life-to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, ...by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, 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...to inherit the same power, the same glory and the same exaltation, until you arrive at the station of a god, and ascend the throne of eternal power, the same as those who have gone before..., Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p 221-222
...Hold out to the end, and we shall be resurrected and become like Gods, and reign in celestial kingdoms, principalities, and eternal dominions. Ibid p 531
Lorenzo Snow says: "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become." Also Joseph Smith's King Follett sermon and Articles of Faith by James E. Talmage, p 390.
However, in The Bible, there is no such thing as becoming a god or even becoming like God.
PATTERN OUR LIVES AFTER CHRIST
Followers of Christ pattern their lives after the Savior to walk in the light. Elder Walter F. Gonzalez of the Presidency of the Seventy, Followers of Christ, Ensign, May 2011
Kyiv Ukraine Temple dedicatory prayer: 'We seek to pattern our lives after the life of Thy Son,' Prayer offered by President Thomas S. Monson to dedicate the Kyiv Ukraine Temple on Sunday, August 29, 2010
RULE OUR OWN PLANET IN ETERNITY
I'm not sure if LDS believe that God lives on the planet Kolob or if he lives close to Kolob. Either way, Kolob means "the first creation" and the Mormon god lives somewhere on or around this planet. So in order to become like Him as the LDS church teaches, we must have our own planet someday.
Abraham 3:3-9
...the name of the great one is Kolob,...there shall be another planet whose reckoning of time shall be longer still; And thus there shall be the reckoning of the time of one planet above another, until thou come nigh unto Kolob, which Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord's time; which Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God, to govern all those planets which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest.
The book, Mormon Doctrine, has further teaching about planets. I do not have the book, but I believe this teaching is on pages 321 and 516.
The Bible states nothing about having our own planets. I never understood how Ken was going to live on his mother's planet AND live on my planet with me and our children. Since our children would someday have their own planet with their own wives to bear their own spirit children, at what point will our children leave Ken's (and my) planet to be with their families? This was devastating for me that the LDS doctrine of "Families Can Be Together Forever" sounds great in theory, but there is no way that it is actually going to work.
In D&C 76:95, LDS are taught to become like God and be equal to Him.
And he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion.
And in D&C 88:107
And then shall the angels be crowned with the glory of his might, and the saints shall be filled with his glory, and receive their inheritance and be made equal with him.
And in D&C 88:107
And then shall the angels be crowned with the glory of his might, and the saints shall be filled with his glory, and receive their inheritance and be made equal with him.
However, The Bible states that this is the very reason Satan was cast out of heaven.
Isaiah 46:5
"To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal And compare Me, that we should be alike?"
Isaiah 14:12-15
"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.
Satan wanted to make himself "like the Most High" and this is exactly why he was cast out of heaven. He was trying to be like God.
Lucifer, an angel of God, in his heart wanted to be like God, and as a result was cast out of heaven. This verse would tell us that we cannot be like God, and I think it is safe to say it is wrong; a slap in God's face, to say that something that The Almighty created can be (or should want to be) equal to Him. If this was not a sin, an insult to God, He would not have cast him (Satan) out of heaven forever. ~ Bridgette & Jim Williamson, Mormons2Grace Ministry
So what is my point? I have no desire to become a goddess someday. I have no desire to become like God. He deserves all the glory and power; I do not need any nor do I want any glory or power; it's all His. I have no desire to try to be perfect like Him. I have no desire to pattern my life after Christ, as that is the very reason Satan was cast out of heaven. I have no desire for Ken to have a planet someday. And I have no desire to live on a planet someday and bear spirit children. I do have a desire to be the best Christian I can be, but by no means do I desire to try and live a perfect life as the Savior lived.
The LDS church teaches that apostates (people like me who have learned of the LDS gospel and denied it) will never receive even salvation and will live with Satan for Eternity. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p 66; Journal of Discourses, Brigham Young, v 12, p 94) "If there is a despicable character on the face of the earth, it is an apostate from this church. He is a traitor who has deceived his best friends, betrayed his trust, and forfeited every principle of honor that God placed within him...They are disgraced in their own eyes. There is not much honesty within them; they have forfeited their heaven, sold their birthright, and betrayed their friends. What will the devil do with such characters? Will he have them in his kingdom? Yes, he will be obliged to, because he is an apostate himself...Yet, when apostates get to his kingdom, he will say-'I do not like you, for you are just as mean as I am. I was a traitor and a liar, and I am yet. I despise myself and every character that betrays his trust'...let apostates go."
Ouch, that hurts.
My unanswered question was:
Why would I want to be a part of a church that preaches a doctrine that we can become gods and be like Christ (the very reason Satan was cast out of heaven), and rule our own planet?
I was initially devastated when I received this answer that I do not want to be a part of this church, yet overjoyed to find the truth that I do not need to strive to be like God, something I will never be able to achieve, nor would I want to!
Satan wanted to make himself "like the Most High" and this is exactly why he was cast out of heaven. He was trying to be like God.
Lucifer, an angel of God, in his heart wanted to be like God, and as a result was cast out of heaven. This verse would tell us that we cannot be like God, and I think it is safe to say it is wrong; a slap in God's face, to say that something that The Almighty created can be (or should want to be) equal to Him. If this was not a sin, an insult to God, He would not have cast him (Satan) out of heaven forever. ~ Bridgette & Jim Williamson, Mormons2Grace Ministry
So what is my point? I have no desire to become a goddess someday. I have no desire to become like God. He deserves all the glory and power; I do not need any nor do I want any glory or power; it's all His. I have no desire to try to be perfect like Him. I have no desire to pattern my life after Christ, as that is the very reason Satan was cast out of heaven. I have no desire for Ken to have a planet someday. And I have no desire to live on a planet someday and bear spirit children. I do have a desire to be the best Christian I can be, but by no means do I desire to try and live a perfect life as the Savior lived.
The LDS church teaches that apostates (people like me who have learned of the LDS gospel and denied it) will never receive even salvation and will live with Satan for Eternity. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p 66; Journal of Discourses, Brigham Young, v 12, p 94) "If there is a despicable character on the face of the earth, it is an apostate from this church. He is a traitor who has deceived his best friends, betrayed his trust, and forfeited every principle of honor that God placed within him...They are disgraced in their own eyes. There is not much honesty within them; they have forfeited their heaven, sold their birthright, and betrayed their friends. What will the devil do with such characters? Will he have them in his kingdom? Yes, he will be obliged to, because he is an apostate himself...Yet, when apostates get to his kingdom, he will say-'I do not like you, for you are just as mean as I am. I was a traitor and a liar, and I am yet. I despise myself and every character that betrays his trust'...let apostates go."
Ouch, that hurts.
My unanswered question was:
Why would I want to be a part of a church that preaches a doctrine that we can become gods and be like Christ (the very reason Satan was cast out of heaven), and rule our own planet?
I was initially devastated when I received this answer that I do not want to be a part of this church, yet overjoyed to find the truth that I do not need to strive to be like God, something I will never be able to achieve, nor would I want to!
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