"Gods"

[Guest MacawMan426]

One common question I am asked is why in the Pearl of Great Price and D&C does it say the word gods like there is more than one?

It also says something about men will become gods in D&C.

The one I'm referring more to is the book of Abraham chapter 1.

[Faded]

Two reasons:

1.) Eloheim is God the Father's name. It also means, "The Gods" or "Head of the Gods".

2.) God the Father and Jesus Christ were both Gods and both participated in the creation. I think we can safely assume that the Holy Spirit was involved as well, but we do not have any reference to base that upon.

You're profile says you are LDS. How long ago did you join?

[marshac]

Ahile back palerider shared this link with me-

Mormon Answers (LDS FAQ): The Divine Potential of Human Beings - or Do Mormons Believe They Can Become Gods?

You might find it useful as well

That's a good looking bird in your picture BTW :)

[Guest MacawMan426]

I joined the church in January of 1999. 10 years ago. I was 11.

[Faded]

That's fine, trying to determine how much background you have in the Church.

The simplest explanation is this. God is our Father. We are His Children. He wants his children to grow up to be like him. He wants us to grow up to be gods in other words. We are infinitely incapable of making that happen on our own. It is only by the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ, and the direct intervention of God our Father that we can bridge that infinite gap. So it is only possible because God and Christ will do it. Since God can do anything, I think that He can pull it off. As far as "When?" ... well it'll be a LONG time after you're dead.

[Justice]

Gods is plural for the same reason God uses "us" and "our" in Genesis:

Genesis 1:

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

And this verse from Genesis shows that we are on the path to becoming like Him:

Genesis 3:

22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

[Faded]

One common question I am asked is why in the Pearl of Great Price and D&C does it say the word gods like there is more than one?

It also says something about men will become gods in D&C.

The one I'm referring more to is the book of Abraham chapter 1.

To offer a more complete answer, here is what the Doctrine and Covenants:

Doctrine and Covenants 76:50-61

50 And again we bear record—for we saw and heard, and this is the testimony of the gospel of Christ concerning them who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just—

51 They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given—

52 That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power;

53 And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.

54 They are they who are the church of the Firstborn.

55 They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things—

56 They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory;

57 And are priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son.

58 Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God—

59 Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

60 And they shall overcome all things.

61 Wherefore, let no man glory in man, but rather let him glory in God, who shall subdue all enemies under his feet.

Please ask more questions. Happy to answer them.

Incidentally, the Old Testament has a lot of reference to this concept. The New Testament is absolutely LOADED with it. Somehow, most other Christian religions miss it though. Not sure how they interpret "Crowns" "Thrones" "inherit all things" "given all things", etc. Symbolic and significant of being made Kings (and Queens). Gods (and goddesses). I don't know where else you'd go with that type of symbolism.

Edited March 31, 2009 by Faded

[RangerPrincess]

Ahile back palerider shared this link with me-

Mormon Answers (LDS FAQ): The Divine Potential of Human Beings - or Do Mormons Believe They Can Become Gods?

You might find it useful as well

That's a good looking bird in your picture BTW :)

This was an amazing article. I hope everyone here takes the time to read it! I am just absolutely amazed at what I just learned! Its wonderful.

[Palerider]

this site is very good and has alot of info...here is the link...

Answers About Mormons and Mormon Belief (LDS FAQ - Latter-day Saints)

[TheAngelPalmoni]

The Progression Scroll

Eternal Progression, what a wonderful phrase, oh how crazy it would be to finally fully understand this. I've study an innumerable amount of hours on the subject, and I've come up with this I've posted it before, I just like saying it, you might have already read some of it.

It is first reasonable to say that this plan is a perfect plan in and that it cannot be improved upon, any alteration would make the plan imperfect. So it is the same eternal plan one after the other which purpose is to eternally progress from darkness into light. From lesser Intelligence into Greater Intelligence. From One Plan of Salvation to the next, Yes I'm saying that you have all been in previous plans of salvation, the egyptians say about 8 now. We are in the 8 recordable plan of salvation as a recognizable Intelligence. Second, before we were spiritually begotten by our Heavenly Father and Mother we were pure intelligence. D&C 93:23 29-30 in the beginning we were the spirit of truth, A profound statement, from this I push it as far as to say that in the beginning, we, you and I, were the Spirit of truth, or the Holy Ghost. We Aided the Holy Ghost in His calling!

Third, I'm sorry if this is pushing the envelope, Christ is doing only that which he saw the Father do before, lay down his life and take it up again. Christ had the power to do exactly that. God might have in a previous Plan of Salvation created an atonement, and Christ is doing only that which he saw his father do. Now how could Christ see God do something if he wasn't in the plan? Christ somehow must have been in the plan to see this witness it. If D&C 93 has any hold in this presumption, I go as far to say that Christ was the Holy Ghost of the last plan of Salvation. Furthermore the Holy Ghost as an intelligence cannot exist inside another intelligence. An intelligence can exist inside a Spirit body. and a Spirit Body can exist inside a Physical Body. The Holy Ghost as an intelligence is able to dwell inside us and speak intelligence to intelligence. When you die and pass through the thin vail, you will see loved ones, when you go to give them a hug you will not whoosh through them but will feel them. D&C 76:13 "Even those things which were from the beginning before the world was, which were ordained of the Father, through his Only Begotten Son, who [{(was)}] in the bosom of the Father, even from the beginning." The Holy Ghost dwells in the bosom of the Father.

Within this progression scale there are a few more levels:

God the Father - Council of God

Christ - Mortals - Morning stars

Holy Ghost - Intelligence

The Spirit of Christ - Lower intelligences

The Light of Christ - Lower Intelligences

Breath of Life - Kolob - Darkness (there are four levels just in this one)

All men are given the Light of Christ which is known as the free gift or the conscience of man. This is an intelligence or personal being through which god communicates his Will. So this intelligence is in fact the Will of God which tells our own Intelligence what god requires of us. This light of Christ Intelligence is like our own intelligence.

In Eph 2:1-5 God hath quickened the saint who were once dead in trespasses and sins. Even though they were, before baptism, dead in sins god hath quickened them together with Christ. This endowment of the Spirit of Christ occurs at the time of confirmation.

From darkness to light, to say that an intelligence is darkness is not to say that it is 100% dark, only that it has more darkness than light. The jump from Darkness to the Light of Christ is found in many scriptures but here are a couple. II Cor 4:6, and D&C 88:12-13. When we move up within levels of progression the other levels move up as well. Darkness to the Light of Christ, the Light of Christ to the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Christ to the Holy Ghost,

Since Kolob is the first in government and last in time, it stands to reason that God the Father must me the First in Time and last in Government. This agrees with God's own Power, the Holy Ghost who is called the Head of Days in the Book of Enoch. (Enoch 46:1-2, and 48:2) Kolob seems to be the center of this creation. The light comes from the darkness, in the center of our galaxy is a Black hole... We progress from darkness to light! From one plan of Salvation to the next. So in the last plan of salvation we were all intelligences aiding the Holy Ghost in his calling. Before that we were the Spirit of Christ which is the Gift of the Holy Ghost at baptism. A personal Intelligence sealed within us. Before that we were The Light of Christ.

And before that we progressed through the four levels of Darkness... and before that we were varying degress of darkness to light always existing.

In Facsimile No2 Fig 7 this represents God sitting upon his throne, revealing through the heavens the grand keywords of the priesthood as also The Sign of the Holy Ghost unto abraham, in the form of a dove. The dove is the Holy Ghost offering his power to the Father at the beginning of the plan. The Dove is (was) Christ.

View the Scrolls

Angel Palmoni

[Ragnar]

As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become. - Lorenzo Snow

And his poem on this...

Hast thou not been unwisely bold,

Man’s destiny to thus unfold?

To raise, promote such high desire,

Such vast ambition thus inspire?

Still ’tis no phantom that we trace

Man’s ultimatum in life’s race;

This royal path has long been trod

By righteous men, each now a God:

As Abra’m, Isaac, Jacob, too,

First babes, then men—to gods they grew.

As man now is, our God once was;

As now God is, so man may be,—

Which doth unfold man’s destiny.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The boy, like to his father grown,

Has but attained unto his own;

To grow to sire from state of son,

Is not ’gainst Nature’s course to run.

A son of God, like God to be,

Would not be robbing Deity;

And he who has this hope within,

Will purify himself from sin.