Home » The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints » LDS Deep Doctrine » How Great Shall Be Your Joy (A Discussion of the Gods in History)
| How Great Shall Be Your Joy [message #350] |
Tue, 25 October 2011 09:14  |
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Dragon
Messages: 499
Registered: June 2010
Location: Earth
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Senior Member |
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When we pray, it is more common to address God as Heavenly Father than as O God. Father is truly the greater title. (The only title greater is Mother.) It is established church doctrine that Heavenly Father is the Father of all our Spirits. More than merely bringing our spirits from the mote of a being into fully formed spiritual children, He taught us all that we could learn while still in His presence. He sent us down to Earth so we could learn more.
Jesus Christ is the Son of our Heavenly Father, but He is also a Father to us. How is this possible? Jesus Christ has saved us all from the permanent physical death, and saved those who repent and follow His will from spiritual death. Thus He becomes the Father of the resurrection, being the first that rose, and the Father of our spiritual life. What's more, it is through His teachings we are saved, and by looking to Him, we learn and grow. We become as children, subjecting ourselves to everything Jesus teaches us to do, or else we will never learn to follow Him. As we become like children, He becomes our Father.
In the days of Moses, the righteous children of Israel looked to Moses as a father. He led them out of Egypt, and through the wilderness of sorrow. He plead with God to spare their lives, and the result was that their children were spared. He taught them the gospel, rewrote the scriptures and the history, and set them on a course that could have prepared them to learn of Christ and His teachings. He was a God to them in the same way that Pharaoh had been a God to them. However, Moses was ordained of God unto this calling. All the Israelites from Moses to Christ, and all the non-Christian Jews from Christ till today still live by the Law of Moses. He was and is the Law to many, and thus a Father to many.
Enoch lead a group of people to establish a city of righteousness amidst a world of wickedness. The city followed his teachings so closely they were all translated. He was a Father to them as he brought their souls to Christ. As leader of the city, and commander of the armies, he too acted in the role of God to the people of the City of Enoch. His word was law, and his words were words of righteousness. He defended the city with great power. Thus he was Father and God to the people of his city.
There are three others who are at the very least physical fathers to many or all. Adam, Noah, and Abraham. We know these were all men of great righteousness. Adam is the father of all mankind. Some accounts say he was a resurrected and perfected being before he became Adam. If the terms Father and God are synonymous, truly Adam is a God to all the Earth. Noah could say the same thing of everyone after the flood. He is a great Father to us all, having saved mankind from extinction. Abraham is the physical father of many people on the earth, and it is only through being adopted into the lineage of Abraham that those not of his lineage can obtain the blessings of Eternal Marriage. Thus Abraham is the Father of all who are saved in this dispensation. It is a common phrase to call him Father Abraham. These three men are also Fathers to us, and Gods unto us.
Based on these examples, I believe being a Father is the greatest training one can receive towards becoming like God. All those who we physically father and bring unto Christ, and all those who are brought to Christ through our efforts are our children in the gospel. Additionally, those for whom we serve as proxy to ensure their chance to accept the gospel will look upon us in the same way. Just as the men above did these things for those they served.
- Dragon
- Dragon
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| Re: How Great Shall Be Your Joy [message #353 is a reply to message #350] |
Sun, 22 January 2012 23:28  |
Seeker
Messages: 244
Registered: June 2010
Location: Las Vegas
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Senior Member |
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Interesting points.
Here are some quotes:
"And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet." - Ex. 7:1
"These Scriptures are a mixture of very strange doctrines to the Christian world, who are blindly led by the blind. I will refer to another Scripture. "Now," says God, when He visited Moses in the bush, (Moses was a stammering sort of a boy like me) God said, "Thou shalt be a God unto the children of Israel." God said, "Thou shalt be a God unto Aaron, and he shall be thy spokesman." I believe those Gods that God reveals as Gods to be sons of God, and all can cry, "Abba, Father!" Sons of God who exalt themselves to be Gods, even from before the foundation of the world, and are the only Gods I have a reverence for." - Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Six 1843-44, p.374
I am convinced that President Monson is God over the church member in general. The reason being that your ultimate authority is your God and the members will believe/follow the prophet over and above the voice of God to them directly through the spirit. So, for better or worse, the Prophet is their God.
~ Seeker
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| Re: How Great Shall Be Your Joy [message #354 is a reply to message #353] |
Mon, 23 January 2012 08:30 |
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Dragon
Messages: 499
Registered: June 2010
Location: Earth
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Senior Member |
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Here we approach a very sensitive subject. Is President Monson a God if people listen to him more than the Holy Ghost?
In a way, I would agree with you in calling Pres. Monson a god, but he would be a false god in that way, because he would not lead his followers/children to exaltation until they move past him, and learn to rely on their own discernment through the Holy Ghost.
Now, there are those among the church members who look to Pres. Monson as a powerful leader who guides the church well. For them, he is a leader and a prophet. They would see him as an important source of information and clarification when things are difficult for them. To these people, he is a Prophet, which is what we call him.
There are a select few who have come to Christ based mostly on the teachings or actions in their life of Pres. Monson. For them, he has become a father to their souls, and one of the authors of their salvation. For these select few, Pres. Monson would be a God insomuch as he is a Father to them.
- Dragon
- Dragon
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