Is It True Faithful Mormons Become Gods?
“As man now is, God once was; As God now is, man may be.”
That sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Surely Donny Osmond and Mitt Romney don't believe such a thing, do they? Many people have no idea that Mormons believe in such a thing as becoming a God. Let me explain.
Mormons worldwide worship Elohim (Heavenly Father) as the God of this world, meaning the Earth. They believe Elohim, or God himself, was once a man who attained deity, as did his firstborn spirit son, Jehovah (Jesus).
Mormons also believe there are multiple Gods and multiple worlds, and men may themselves become Gods eventually.
Daniel Peterson pointed out, “Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that human beings can grow spiritually and progress morally until, through divine mercy and grace, they can inherit and possess all that the Father has. To put it bluntly, if they’re faithful they can become gods.”
The first Mormon or LDS prophet, Joseph Smith, taught this idea from the pulpit and added it as scripture in 1843 as Doctrine and Covenants 132: 19–20.
Gerald Lund of the Church Education System confirmed in 1982, “Numerous sources could be cited, but one should suffice to show that this doctrine is accepted and taught by the Brethren.” He continued to illustrate his point continuing, In an address in 1971, President Joseph Fielding Smith, then serving as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said:
“I think I can pay no greater tribute to [President Lorenzo Snow and Elder Erastus Snow] than to preach again that glorious doctrine which they taught and which was one of the favorite themes, particularly of President Lorenzo Snow. …
“We have been promised by the Lord that if we know how to worship and know what we worship, we may come unto the Father in his name, and in due time receive of his fulness. We have the promise that if we keep his commandments, we shall receive of his fulness and be glorified in him as he is in the Father.
“This is a doctrine which delighted President Snow, as it does all of us. Early in his ministry, he received by direct, personal revelation the knowledge that (in the Prophet Joseph Smith’s language), ‘God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens,’ and that men ‘have got to learn how to be Gods … the same as all Gods have done before.’
“After this doctrine had been taught by the Prophet, President Snow felt free to teach it also, and he summarized it in one of the best-known couplets in the Church. …
“As man now is, God once was; As God now is, man may be.” (Writers insertion)
“This same doctrine has, of course, been known to the prophets of all the ages . . .”
(Address on Snow Day, given at Snow College, 14 May 1971, pp. 1, 3–4; italics added.)
The teaching of President Lorenzo Snow is both acceptable and accepted doctrine in the (Mormon) Church today. Not that makes it true, but Mormons believe and work towards becoming Gods.
Does it sound kind of arrogant to you? As a friend (Liz Harrell) informed me, it's a classic tactic called “future faking.” Similarly, most Americans believe that if they work hard, the American dream will make them rich. Same future faking. Beware of future faking!
© Stephen G. Arrowsmith 2022
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