Be ye gods?
The Bible is very clear that there is but one God, and there are no others. That is not what the Mormons believe.
In John 10:34, the Mormons point out that Jesus says “Ye are gods”, implying that Jesus was saying man can be gods. Not to go into the context of John 10:34 and the reference to Psalm 82, even their own Apostle James Talmage made the distinction. “Divinely Appointed Judges Called “gods.” … Judges so authorized officiated as the representatives of God and are honored by the exalted title “gods”. A far cry from saying they were in fact ‘gods’.
And yet the Mormons do hold to the idea that man can become gods.
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith - “In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it.”
Same source - “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man.”
Journal of Discourse - “Gods exist, and we had better strive to be prepared to be one with them.”
Abraham 4:1 - “And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth.”
The Gospel Through the Ages - “As man is, God once was: as God is, man may become.” (quoted from Prophet Lorenzo Snow)
Journal of Discourse - “When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is MICHAEL, the Archangel, the ANCIENT OF DAYS! About whom holy men have written and spoken - HE is our FATHER and our GOD, and the only God with whom we have to do.”
You just read that correctly. They just identified Adam as the God who created the earth (well, one of the gods who did so… according to them).
It is important to note that not all Mormons believe in Polytheism, and some will in fact bury their head in the ground and declare that Joseph Smith never taught polytheism. Here is a quote from one of his sermons, published in a Mormon newspaper and recorded by four different people not unsympathetic to the Mormons.
“First, God himself, who sits enthroned in yonder heaven, is a man like unto one of yourselves… if you were to see him today, you would see him in all the person, image and very form as a man… Here then is eternal life, to know the only wise and true God. You have to learn how to be Gods yourselves: to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you…”
Jared Williams
In John 10:34, the Mormons point out that Jesus says “Ye are gods”, implying that Jesus was saying man can be gods. Not to go into the context of John 10:34 and the reference to Psalm 82, even their own Apostle James Talmage made the distinction. “Divinely Appointed Judges Called “gods.” … Judges so authorized officiated as the representatives of God and are honored by the exalted title “gods”. A far cry from saying they were in fact ‘gods’.
And yet the Mormons do hold to the idea that man can become gods.
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith - “In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it.”
Same source - “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man.”
Journal of Discourse - “Gods exist, and we had better strive to be prepared to be one with them.”
Abraham 4:1 - “And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth.”
The Gospel Through the Ages - “As man is, God once was: as God is, man may become.” (quoted from Prophet Lorenzo Snow)
Journal of Discourse - “When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is MICHAEL, the Archangel, the ANCIENT OF DAYS! About whom holy men have written and spoken - HE is our FATHER and our GOD, and the only God with whom we have to do.”
You just read that correctly. They just identified Adam as the God who created the earth (well, one of the gods who did so… according to them).
It is important to note that not all Mormons believe in Polytheism, and some will in fact bury their head in the ground and declare that Joseph Smith never taught polytheism. Here is a quote from one of his sermons, published in a Mormon newspaper and recorded by four different people not unsympathetic to the Mormons.
“First, God himself, who sits enthroned in yonder heaven, is a man like unto one of yourselves… if you were to see him today, you would see him in all the person, image and very form as a man… Here then is eternal life, to know the only wise and true God. You have to learn how to be Gods yourselves: to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you…”
Jared Williams
