Becoming a god

[Robert_Joseph60]

Is it true that Roman Catholics are working towards becoming a god, like the Mormons do?

CCC 460, The Word became flesh to make us “partakers of the divine nature”:78 "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God."79 "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God."80 "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."81

 

[VanSensei]

Neither Catholics nor Mormons are working to become a “God” of any kind.

 

[Judas_Thaddeus]

No, many Catholic Church haters will use that idea out of context to support
the idea that the Catholic Church is wrong, AND even Mormons will use that
concept OUT OF CONTEXT to prove how their doctrines are not so farfetched.

The saved ARE to be “partakers of the divine nature”, but that doesn’t mean the saved be-
come gods. Anyone who says otherwise profess that Peter believed in humans becoming
gods, as he said: “Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great pro-
mises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping
from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.” (2 Peter 1:4)

I’m not SO smart, someone (not anti-Catholic) can explain more and better than I can.

 

[Judas_Thaddeus]

Neither Catholics nor Mormons are working to become a “God” of any kind.

eh…you’re SO right about Catholics, but totally not about Mormons.
Mormons are trying to become gods, which is why they have their
secret masonic temples, their doctrine of polygamy (which they do
technically still practice), their covenants and laws, etc.
“As man now is, God once was; as God is now man may be.”
(The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow,
ed. Clyde J. Williams [1984], 1.)

(And Snow did mean
becoming gods, over
their own worlds.)
​

 

[meltzerboy]

eh…you’re SO right about Catholics, but totally not about Mormons.
Mormons are trying to become gods, which is why they have their
secret masonic temples, their doctrine of polygamy (which they do
technically still practice), their covenants and laws, etc.
“As man now is, God once was; as God is now man may be.”
(The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow,
ed. Clyde J. Williams [1984], 1.)

(And Snow did mean
becoming gods, over
their own worlds.)
​

I heard that the Mormons once believed this but no longer. It’s hard to imagine they EVER thought so while still maintaining their Christian identity.

 

[Jon_S_1]

Is it true that Roman Catholics are working towards becoming a god, like the Mormons do?

CCC 460, The Word became flesh to make us “partakers of the divine nature”:78 "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God."79 "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God."80 "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."81

No, Catholics are not trying to become gods.

We are trying to enter into God’s presence and be with God for all eternity. The Church Clearly teaches there is one God throughout the catechism. The church devotes pages and pages to emphasize the fact of one God. So to take one sentence and say that they teach that all men become gods, is a great abuse, and not very academically honest. One must see the problem and seek out why there seems to be a discrepancy. Then seeing the overwhelming evidence that the Church teaches that there is only one God, one must say to himself, what else must this mean.

And it means what people above have posted and what I said at the beginning, that in sharing in God’s nature in heaven, in being joined with God, we become like God fully sharing in his nature. Not of our own accord, which is an important distinction, but because God wills it to be so.

 

[Judas_Thaddeus]

I heard that the Mormons once believed this but no longer. It’s hard to imagine they EVER thought so while still maintaining their Christian identity.

NOPE!
Mormons still believe it, still part of their doctrine, Mormons of course don’t always talk about becoming gods, not a great way to gain converts,
they won’t introduce the temple ceremonies first, they’ll take you to meeting houses, won’t share Doctrine & Covenants OR The Pearl of Great
Price but rather their bible-like Book of Mormon…

You have been misinformed, I feel.

Plus Mormons are not Christians, they’re polytheists,
yes do good works, are wonderful people, etc etc etc,
say Jesus and Christ and so forth, but Mormons aren’t
Christian, even if they say they are…
​

 

[Jon_S_1]

NOPE!
Mormons still believe it, still part of their doctrine, Mormons of course don’t always talk about becoming gods, not a great way to gain converts,
they won’t introduce the temple ceremonies first, they’ll take you to meeting houses, won’t share Doctrine & Covenants OR the Pearl of Great
Price but rather their bible like Book of Mormon…

You have been misinformed, I feel.

Plus Mormons are not Christians, they’re polytheists,
yes do good works, are wonderful people, etc etc etc,
say Jesus and Christ and so forth, but Mormons aren’t
Christian, even if they say they are…
​

I have mormon family. This is very true.

 

[Jon_S_1]

Is it true that Roman Catholics are working towards becoming a god, like the Mormons do?

CCC 460, The Word became flesh to make us “partakers of the divine nature”:78 "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God."79 "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God."80 "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."81

I cant help but notice your religious choice is “Biblicist”

Does that mean you worship the Bible?

 

[billcu1]

No, many Catholic Church haters will use that idea out of context to support
the idea that the Catholic Church is wrong, AND even Mormons will use that
concept OUT OF CONTEXT to prove how their doctrines are not so farfetched.

The saved ARE to be “partakers of the divine nature”, but that doesn’t mean the saved be-
come gods. Anyone who says otherwise profess that Peter believed in humans becoming
gods, as he said: “Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great pro-
mises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping
from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.” (2 Peter 1:4)

I’m not SO smart, someone (not anti-Catholic) can explain more and better than I can.

Read Theologia Germanica.

 

[billcu1]

Read Theologia Germanica.

God’s greatest wish for us is to eventually become just like him.

St. Paul saith, “When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done
away.”6 Now mark what is “that which is perfect,” and “that which is in part.”
“That which is perfect” is a Being, who hath comprehended and included all things in
Himself and His own Substance, and without whom, and beside whom, there is no true
Substance, and in whom all things have their Substance. For He is the Substance of all things,
and is in Himself unchangeable and immoveable, and changeth and moveth all things else.
But “that which is in part,” or the Imperfect, is that which hath its source in, or springeth
from the Perfect; just as a brightness or a visible appearance floweth out from the sun or a
candle, and appeareth to be somewhat, this or that. And it is called a creature; and of all
these “things which are in part,” none is the Perfect. So also the Perfect is none of the things
which are in part. The things which are in part can be apprehended, known, and expressed;
but the Perfect cannot be apprehended, known, or expressed by any creature as creature.
Therefore we do not give a name to the Perfect, for it is none of these. The creature as
creature cannot know nor apprehend it, name nor conceive it.

Dionysius would be good to look at too Let me know if you need help. He was the first Bishop of Athens and the Corinthian church.

 

[Randy_Carson]

I heard that the Mormons once believed this but no longer. It’s hard to imagine they EVER thought so while still maintaining their Christian identity.

Meltzer-

It is really important for non-Mormons (and Mormons, too, come to think of it) to understand that Mormons are NOT Christians despite the name of their organization and other associations with Jesus. Their baptisms are not valid Christian baptisms.

Second, it is their belief that “As man is, so God once was. As God is, so man can become.”

A Mormon with Temple Recommends who dies in good standing with the Mormon Church may become God of his own planet. His wife is sealed to him, and her eternal state depends largely (if not entirely) upon his. Together, they will have intercourse for eternity producing spiritual babies that need bodies to inhabit on their planets. This is why Mormons have large families…the God of this planet “needs” bodies for all the spiritual babies waiting to be born.

There may be posts from Mormons protesting and denying what I have just written, but I own a LOT of books on Mormonism, and I think my brief explanation is accurate. However, not all Mormons have been told the full story of what their Church really believes in the inner circle.

 

[meltzerboy]

Meltzer-

It is really important for non-Mormons (and Mormons, too, come to think of it) to understand that Mormons are NOT Christians despite the name of their organization and other associations with Jesus. Their baptisms are not valid Christian baptisms.

Second, it is their belief that “As man is, so God once was. As God is, so man can become.”

A Mormon with Temple Recommends who dies in good standing with the Mormon Church may become God of his own planet. His wife is sealed to him, and her eternal state depends largely (if not entirely) upon his. Together, they will have intercourse for eternity producing spiritual babies that need bodies to inhabit on their planets. This is why Mormons have large families…the God of this planet “needs” bodies for all the spiritual babies waiting to be born.

There may be posts from Mormons protesting and denying what I have just written, but I own a LOT of books on Mormonism, and I think my brief explanation is accurate. However, not all Mormons have been told the full story of what their Church really believes in the inner circle.

Thank you for the details, Randy. Is this godlike inheritance written about in the Book of Mormon or is it part of Mormonism’s oral tradition? The reason I am wary is that I know what some think and say about the teachings of Catholicism and Judaism, which is flatly wrong.

 

[Randy_Carson]

Thank you for the details, Randy. Is this godlike inheritance written about in the Book of Mormon or is it part of Mormonism’s oral tradition? The reason I am wary is that I know what some think and say about the teachings of Catholicism and Judaism, which is flatly wrong.

I grabbed this from a website, answers.yahoo.com:

In 1840, fifth LDS President Lorenzo Snow declared, “As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become.” Besides correctly illustrating the Latter-day Saint teaching that God was once a mere mortal man, this couplet also declares that man has the potential to become God.

Joseph Smith stated: “Here then is eternal life - to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God the same as all Gods have done before you” (JOD 6:4; TPJS p.346). Brigham Young, the second prophet and president of the Mormon Church, delivered a message in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on August 8, 1852, in which he affirmed this teaching when he said, “The Lord created you and me for the purpose of becoming Gods like Himself” (JOD 3:93).

The Encyclopedia of Mormonism concurs with this thought when it states: “For Latter-day Saints, the term ‘godhood’ denotes the attainment of such a state—one of having all divine attributes and doing as God does and being as God is” (The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 2:553).

Mormon theology teaches that the God of this world was once a man on another planet and that he became a god by “earning” his godhood through obedience to his God-Father who ruled that world. He, in turn, grants his children (the people of this world) the same opportunity to earn godhood through obedience to him.

“If Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and John discovered that God the Father of Jesus Christ had a Father, you may suppose that He had a Father also. Where was there ever a son without a father? And where was there ever a father without first being a son? Whenever did a tree or anything spring into existence without a progenitor? And everything comes in this way. Paul says that which is earthly is in the likeness of that which is heavenly, Hence if Jesus had a Father, can we not believe that He had a Father also?” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.373.)

“Latter-day Saints believe in this progression in eternity until, eventually, we become worthy through knowledge, wisdom, humility, and obedience, to be like God, and then to have the privilege of being made equal in power, might and dominion (D&C. 76:95), and to possess all that the Father hath (D&C. 84:38) as members of ‘the Church of the First-born’” (LDS Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, The Way to Perfection, p.9).

+++

Think of the problem this creates: the god of our planet was once a man on another planet living in obedience to the god of that planet who, in turn, was once a man on another planet under obedience to another god…

This is an infinite regression. Who was the first god? Was there an original creator? etc, etc.

 

[meltzerboy]

I grabbed this from a website, answers.yahoo.com:

In 1840, fifth LDS President Lorenzo Snow declared, “As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become.” Besides correctly illustrating the Latter-day Saint teaching that God was once a mere mortal man, this couplet also declares that man has the potential to become God.

Joseph Smith stated: “Here then is eternal life - to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God the same as all Gods have done before you” (JOD 6:4; TPJS p.346). Brigham Young, the second prophet and president of the Mormon Church, delivered a message in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on August 8, 1852, in which he affirmed this teaching when he said, “The Lord created you and me for the purpose of becoming Gods like Himself” (JOD 3:93).

The Encyclopedia of Mormonism concurs with this thought when it states: “For Latter-day Saints, the term ‘godhood’ denotes the attainment of such a state—one of having all divine attributes and doing as God does and being as God is” (The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 2:553).

Mormon theology teaches that the God of this world was once a man on another planet and that he became a god by “earning” his godhood through obedience to his God-Father who ruled that world. He, in turn, grants his children (the people of this world) the same opportunity to earn godhood through obedience to him.

“If Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and John discovered that God the Father of Jesus Christ had a Father, you may suppose that He had a Father also. Where was there ever a son without a father? And where was there ever a father without first being a son? Whenever did a tree or anything spring into existence without a progenitor? And everything comes in this way. Paul says that which is earthly is in the likeness of that which is heavenly, Hence if Jesus had a Father, can we not believe that He had a Father also?” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.373.)

“Latter-day Saints believe in this progression in eternity until, eventually, we become worthy through knowledge, wisdom, humility, and obedience, to be like God, and then to have the privilege of being made equal in power, might and dominion (D&C. 76:95), and to possess all that the Father hath (D&C. 84:38) as members of ‘the Church of the First-born’” (LDS Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, The Way to Perfection, p.9).

+++

Think of the problem this creates: the god of our planet was once a man on another planet living in obedience to the god of that planet who, in turn, was once a man on another planet under obedience to another god…

This is an infinite regression. Who was the first god? Was there an original creator? etc, etc.

Mormonism appears to be further removed from Christianity than I thought.

 

[Jon_S_1]

Thank you for the details, Randy. Is this godlike inheritance written about in the Book of Mormon or is it part of Mormonism’s oral tradition? The reason I am wary is that I know what some think and say about the teachings of Catholicism and Judaism, which is flatly wrong.

I believe it can be found in Dictrines and Covenants and/or the Pearl of Great Price. Both are Mormon holy books.

 

[Randy_Carson]

Mormonism appears to be further removed from Christianity than I thought.

It is a cult. Big, well-financed and savvy regarding public relations, but a cult nonetheless.

 

[Judas_Thaddeus]

Thank you for the details, Randy. Is this godlike inheritance written about in the Book of Mormon or is it part of Mormonism’s oral tradition? The reason I am wary is that I know what some think and say about the teachings of Catholicism and Judaism, which is flatly wrong.

No Oral Tradition, it is ALL WRITTEN:The Doctrine & Covenants states:

19 And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, …Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; …and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, …and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.
20 Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.
21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory.
22 For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me. ([ 132:19-22Doctrine and Covenants (Doctrine and Covenants Section 132))
Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Doctrines of Salvation, Vol.1, p.97 - p.98: ALL EXALTED MEN BECOME GODS. To believe that Adam is a god should not be strange to any person who accepts the Bible. When Jesus was accused of blasphemy because he claimed to be the Son of God, he answered the Jews: “Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?”
Joseph Smith taught a plurality of gods, and that man by obeying the commandments of God and keeping the whole law will eventually reach the power and exaltation by which he also will become a god.
Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.2: GODHOOD
Logically and naturally, the ultimate desire of a loving Supreme Being is to help his children enjoy all that he enjoys. For Latter-day Saints, the term “godhood” denotes the attainment of such a state—one of having all divine attributes and doing as God does and being as God is. Such a state is to be enjoyed by all exalted, embodied, intelligent beings (see Deification; Eternal Progression; Exaltation; God; Perfection). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all resurrected and perfected mortals become gods (cf. Gen. 3:22; Matt. 5:48). They will dwell again with God the Father, and live and act like him in endless worlds of happiness, power, love, glory, and knowledge; above all, they will have the power of procreating endless lives. Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus Christ attained godhood (see Christology) and that he marked the path and led the way for others likewise to become exalted divine beings by following him (cf. John 14:3).
Brigham Young said:f you have in your hearts to say…”we will not, therefore, be polygamists lest we should fail in obtaining some earthly honor, character and office, etc,"-the man that has that in his heart, and will continue to persist in pursuing that policy, will come short of dwelling in the presence of the Father and the Son, in celestial glory. The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy. **
Others attain unto a glory and may even be permitted to come into the presence of the Father and the Son*; but they cannot reign as kings in glory, because they had blessing offered unto them, and they refused to accept them. The Lord gave a revelation through Joseph Smith, His servant; and we have believed and practiced it.

• [Journal of Discourses (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Journal_of_Discourses/Volume_11/Delegate_Hooper—Beneficial_Effects_of_Polygamy,_etc.) 11:269 (Aug. 19, 1866)

So yeah, no oral tradition, was and IS Official Church Doctrine of the LDS, and it isn’t
even a little thing in Mormonism, the Becoming God’s Doctrine is the central focus of
the LDS people.*

 

[meltzerboy]

No Oral Tradition, it is ALL WRITTEN:The Doctrine & Covenants states:

19 And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, …Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; …and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, …and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.
20 Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.
21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory.
22 For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me. ([Doctrine and Covenants (Doctrine and Covenants Section 132) 132:19-22)
Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Doctrines of Salvation, Vol.1, p.97 - p.98: ALL EXALTED MEN BECOME GODS. To believe that Adam is a god should not be strange to any person who accepts the Bible. When Jesus was accused of blasphemy because he claimed to be the Son of God, he answered the Jews: “Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?”
Joseph Smith taught a plurality of gods, and that man by obeying the commandments of God and keeping the whole law will eventually reach the power and exaltation by which he also will become a god.
Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.2: GODHOOD
Logically and naturally, the ultimate desire of a loving Supreme Being is to help his children enjoy all that he enjoys. For Latter-day Saints, the term “godhood” denotes the attainment of such a state—one of having all divine attributes and doing as God does and being as God is. Such a state is to be enjoyed by all exalted, embodied, intelligent beings (see Deification; Eternal Progression; Exaltation; God; Perfection). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all resurrected and perfected mortals become gods (cf. Gen. 3:22; Matt. 5:48). They will dwell again with God the Father, and live and act like him in endless worlds of happiness, power, love, glory, and knowledge; above all, they will have the power of procreating endless lives. Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus Christ attained godhood (see Christology) and that he marked the path and led the way for others likewise to become exalted divine beings by following him (cf. John 14:3).
Brigham Young (kind of a lunatic) said:f you have in your hearts to say…”we will not, therefore, be polygamists lest we should fail in obtaining some earthly honor, character and office, etc,"-the man that has that in his heart, and will continue to persist in pursuing that policy, will come short of dwelling in the presence of the Father and the Son, in celestial glory. The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy. **
Others attain unto a glory and may even be permitted to come into the presence of the Father and the Son**; but they cannot reign as kings in glory, because they had blessing offered unto them, and they refused to accept them. The Lord gave a revelation through Joseph Smith, His servant; and we have believed and practiced it.

• [Journal of Discourses (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Journal_of_Discourses/Volume_11/Delegate_Hooper—Beneficial_Effects_of_Polygamy,_etc.) 11:269 (Aug. 19, 1866)

So yeah, no oral tradition, was and IS Official Church Doctrine of the LDS, and it isn’t
even a little thing in Mormonism, the Becoming God’s Doctrine is the central focus of
the LDS people.

Good to know, Judas. Thank you for the information.

 

[iepuras]

As a former Mormon, I can tell you that Judas Thaddeus, Jon S and Randy Carson are spot on. Glad I didn’t have to pull out the Journal of Discourses! The Book of Mormon is rather boring and tame. There are no unique Mormon doctrines in the book. The unique Mormon doctrines are in the Doctrine & Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price, both of which are considered scripture and part of the Mormon canon. For some really interesting reading, you can also try the Journal of Discourses.

The Mormons very much teach that faithful Mormons can become gods. It is taught in the ‘Gospel Principles’ Sunday School manual which is used to teach new converts during their first year in the church. Mormons are trying to appear as mainstream Christians but their beliefs are neither mainstream nor Christian. Even so, they still have not dumped that doctrine. When I was Mormon, I did consider myself to be Christian but never got worked up about real Christians saying that Mormons are not. Now that I am converting to and learning about real Christianity, I can definitely say that Mormons are not Christians. Many of them are fine people, but they are not Christians.