Descriptions:
The Bible asserts that no man can see God, and live. Yet, the Bible also contains accounts from people who did see God, and even express surprise at the fact that they did indeed live to tell the tale! So… which is it? Is it possible, or not? Here’s a Latter-day Saint perspective.
“First Vision” on Encyclopedia of Mormonism: http://bit.ly/3en2uGG
Read the First Vision account on the Church’s website: http://bit.ly/2ODi2eg
Large glossary of information on this subject: http://bit.ly/2OgolV4
“Privilege of Seeing God,” in Topical Guide: https://bit.ly/3emRwkm
More from the Church’s website: http://bit.ly/38mSucC
Clementine Homilies text: https://bit.ly/3cfEUZA
Transcript and additional notes here: https://saintsunscripted.com/faith-and-beliefs/the-gospel-of-jesus-christ/possible-to-see-god-and-live/
Notes:
-There’s some nuance that we didn’t get to address in this episode, and that is the difference between God the Father and God the Son (Jesus Christ). When Latter-day Saints read scripture like Exodus 33:20, we believe that the verse refers to Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, who we believe to be the premortal Jesus Christ. Thus, the face of God that Jacob would have seen in Genesis would have been that of Jehovah. As for seeing the face of God the Father, Stephen in the Book of Acts is probably the best example. He saw the resurrected Christ, standing on the right hand of God the Father. Both beings are described in anthropomorphic terms. But in general, the same principle applies to either being. To see God the Father or the resurrected, ascended Christ, one must undergo a change (one possible exception may be some of Christ’s appearances to people after his resurrection–some details are lacking there). God the Father has been seen on very few occasions, and Joseph Smith’s interpretation of 1 John:19 seems to hold true: “And no man hath seen God at any time, except he hath borne record of the Son; for except it is through him no man can be saved.” President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote,
“All revelation since the fall has come through Jesus Christ, who is the Jehovah of the Old Testament. … He is the God of Israel, the Holy One of Israel; the one who led that nation out of Egyptian bondage, and who gave and fulfilled the Law of Moses. The Father has never dealt with man directly and personally since the fall, and he has never appeared except to introduce and bear record of the Son” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie [1954], 1:27). Source: http://bit.ly/3d0R9tm
-The Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries (FIRM), a non-Latter-day Saint Christian organization, lends a non-literal meaning to the assertion that “no man can see [God’s] face and live”. I just thought I’d include this, as it’s interesting that even among non-Latter-day Saint Christians, there is not a consensus on the interpretation of the scriptures that seem to imply that man cannot see God. Their rationale (which is a bit different from the Latter-day Saint view) here: https://firm.org.il/learn/no-man-can-see-my-face-and-live/
-Interestingly, after Moses’ vision of God we read, “And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man…” Likewise, multiple accounts record that after Joseph Smith’s First Vision, he “found [him]self lying on [his] back looking up into heaven; When the light had departed [he] had no strength, but soon recover[ed] in some degree.” Additional accounts/details here: http://bit.ly/3rsiYB2
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