Was God once human, and can humans become Gods?

[Caitlyn]

And does God have a physical body and live in a specific place, a star called Kolob? Where is it?

Edited November 20, 2011 by pam
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[NeuroTypical]

Yes, we believe God has a physical body. I don't know where God lives. I'm pretty sure it's not inside a star though. The specific scriptural quote is "Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God", which is different than "God lives in a star".

Regarding becoming gods, yes, LDS believe Christ meant what he said about inheriting all His Father hath. And we believe Paul meant what he said about becoming "joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." And finally, we believe that being sons and daughters of God is literally, not just symbolically true - God is the father of our spirits, and we are His children. Children eventually grow up.

[Caitlyn]

Yes, we believe God has a physical body. I don't know where God lives. I'm pretty sure it's not inside a star though. The specific scriptural quote is "Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God", which is different than "God lives in a star".

Regarding becoming gods, yes, LDS believe Christ meant what he said about inheriting all His Father hath. And we believe Paul meant what he said about becoming "joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." And finally, we believe that being sons and daughters of God is literally, not just symbolically true - God is the father of our spirits, and we are His children. Children eventually grow up.

Thanks. Was God once human, and was there another God who created him, and so on, back in an endless progression?

Edited November 20, 2011 by pam
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[Guest mormonmusic]

We don't know the answer to that question. That's the most satisfying answer I've heard to that question. I've asked it a number of times myself.

[livy111us]

Was God once a man? Here are some scriptures in the affirmative:

John 5:19--The Son can’t do anything that He hasn’t seen the Father do. That would mean that

God lived as a spirit in a pre-mortal life, was born (John 5:26) and received a body, died, and was

resurrected (John 10:17-18)

Mark 10:18-- In the 1611 edition of the King James Version, this passage reads “why callest thou

me good? There is no man good, but one, that is God”. The phrase ‘no man’ was removed from

every subsequent printing of the King James Bible even though the same Greek word that

underlies the 1611 rendition (oudeis) is also translated ‘no man’ in Revelation 7:9 and 14:3

In Hosea 2:16, the Lord says His people will call him “Ishi”. This is Hebrew for “man”, or “male

person”. (see also Ex. 15:3)

In a Christian Gnostic work called the 'Corpus Hermeticum' (10.25) we find the

straightforward statement that “God in the heavens is an immortal man”(this work is cited in

Munoa, III, 'Four Powers of Heaven', 102)

Those scholars who are familiar with the Gnostic system of belief point out that the “Gnostic

speculations about ‘man’ were anchored in the ‘older Israelite mentality” (ibid)

In the Dead Sea Scrolls on parchment QM 12.2 and 1QM 19, identify God as a

“Glorious man” (Manoa, III, Four Powers in Heaven, 103-104)

The Assyrian cuneiform word for God is i* which Assyriologists pronounce ILU (In reality it should be pronounced ALE -- the U is a grammatical suffix that is not pronounced, but lengthens the preceding vowel -- but this is not vital for us here). This word is composed of the characters i (pronounced EE or like the European "I"), which means exalted (and a couple of other things - protect, possess, or protect), and * LU, person, individual, or man (* LU is in turn composed of & KU, garment, and / creature, so a person [* LU]is a "garment creature," or a creature wearing clothes). Hence we have i* God, literally "exalted man." (David Stewart)

In the Nag Hammadi, the Apocryphan of John (14.14), there God is referred to as ‘man’.

(Soren Giverson, Apocryphan Johannis, pg. 73)

Irenaeus stated “How, then, shall he be a God, who has not as yet been made a man? Or how can he be perfect who was but lately created? How, again, can he be immortal, who in his mortal nature did not obey his Maker? For it must be that thou, at the outset, shouldest hold the rank of a man, and then afterwards partake of the glory of God. For thou dost not make God, but God thee” (Irenaeus Against Heresies 4:523, Ante-Nicene Fathers 1:523-524)

He argues that how can we become a god, if we were not once a man. Using this same line of argument, how could God become a God, if He was not a man once?

[livy111us]

Does God have a body?

Answers to Anti-Mormon Questions

[Caitlyn]

Is his body the same size as any normal human body?

Can women become Gods?

[annewandering]

I believe that yes we can become Gods. Yes it is part of our religion. We are Gods children not his test tube experiments. :)

[Guest Cneve]

Becoming Gods - can it be somewhat compared with becoming one with God, we unite/meld with him in some way? Maybe a bit like buddhists and hinduists think -that when we die our souls/spirits go back to where they came from and unite with the universe? (or something like that) there are similarities with mormonism if you look at it in a certain way.

[annewandering]

Some believe that kind of thing, kinda like the Trinity idea, but no thats not what I mean at all. A child doesnt meld with a father and become one being. A child grows up and becomes like his parents.

[sonicsonicboom]

God has got a body which is the same size as a normal man's body, yes - i.e. he is not ten times bigger than the earth etc. When Joseph Smith had the First Vision, he saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and they both had physical bodies, just like we do. God made man "after his own image" (Genesis) and so our bodies are patterned after his body.

[Guest Cneve]

And if Jesus had a physical body, even after he was resurrected and had become ever more perfect and god-like - then why wouldnt his father have one too?

[annewandering]

ok why wouldnt he?

[Caitlyn]

Was God originally from earth?

[annewandering]

Well since He created, or had earth created, that would seem to be a difficult thing to do. :)

[Caitlyn]

Well since He created, or had earth created, that would seem to be a difficult thing to do. :)

So from another planet?

[annewandering]

Well He had to live somewhere didnt He? We dont know anything about that but logic is a good thing. God is an orderly person. The universe is an orderly place.

[bytebear]

Who says God is limited to our universe. I believe he created the universe including this Earth, but is not from it. But there is no doctrine on this other than God has created worlds without end, including this Earth.

[Blackmarch]

And does God have a physical body and live in a specific place, a star called Kolob? Where is it?

Was God once human? we don't have any direct answer on this. However there is some good logic and some hints that he may have been as Christ was. Either way, this does not affect our salvation in Christ.

Of course this also draws out the question what does it mean to be human or a man? what qualifies such? In genesis we are said to be made in the very image of God... in other words if anything, God is the perfected and exalted Man, of which we are extremely poor copies of.

Can humans become as God? I'd say yes if God were to make them perfect, and to grant unto them learning knowledge unto perfection, and making them immortal. In fact i'd say that humans are gods in a sense- When Christ was accused of blasphemy for claiming to be jehovah, he countered with "is it not written; that ye are gods?".

This does also bring yet another question- what is a god and/or what does it mean to be a god?

Does god have a physical body? yes. Christ had one because of his resurrection, and Christ is not Greater than his father. Does that mean God exists at a singular location.. logic would say so but we don't specific answer beyong that he rules from his thorne in heaven.

Is heaven in or at kolob? God hasn't said. all he has said about Kolob is that it is near unto him, and is used in governing other celestial bodies.

[Blackmarch]

Was God originally from earth?

We don't have any reason to believe so seeing that he was God before the eaerth was created.

[Blackmarch]

So from another planet?

THat would be logical, however we don't have any direct answer to this question from God.

[mnn727]

in other words if anything, God is the perfected and exalted Man, of which we are extremely poor copies of.

So, God makes poor copies?

[Blackmarch]

So, God makes poor copies?

well he said that it man was good, not perfect. And god allows imperfections to exist, which allow this world to run as it does.

And most of those who have seen God or Christ exalted or have made comparisons between us and God tend to have him at one end of the spectrum and us at the opposite end.

Edited November 21, 2011 by Blackmarch