That question sounds a lot like the question that Christian philosophers have asked about the traditional Christian interpretation of God**:** “If God created all that exist out of nothing, who created God? Where did God come from? How did He originate?” When you have found a good answer to that question, then maybe it would be the right time to ask the above question about the Mormon interpretation of God.
It looks like Rebecca nailed it. I am not asking for “revelation”. I am asking for you to use the human reason God gave you. You must, ultimately arrive at the one Source of all things. To say you have no revelation concerning this is not an answer.
I do have a good answer to that question, rather the Church has a good answer. It is central to Christian dogma. God was not created. He is eternal, without beginning and without end. He is not a creature, as everything else aside from Him is. He has always existed, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is not only a revealed truth, it does not conflict with reason.
Of course it is an answer, and two of us have already given you the same answer. I also already linked to an article detailing why a supposed “infinite regress of gods” is but one school of speculative thought in LDS theology, and why, for the other school of thought, your question wouldn’t make sense. Therefore, since the restored gospel is a revelatory faith, based on God’s revelation to man, if there has been no revelation on an issue, than any answers provided are just speculation.
The Apostles were not “prophets”, so to speak, but rather witnesses. They wrote what they had witnessed by walking with Jesus Christ. As far as prophecy in the Catholic Church is concerned, you will not have to look far to find it. Just look at the Marian apparitions; Fatima, Lourdes and Guadalupe in particular. It does not effect a change in doctrine, however. If it did we would consider that public revelation. A big difference in Catholic revelation, as opposed to LDS, is that it has never conflicted with a previous doctrine. Both polygamy and the black priesthood are glaring examples of conflicts within “revelations” received by the LDS church. Research “Ann the lay Apostle” for an example of modern private revelation being received by a Catholic even today. We are not bound by any of this, however, for the simple reason that there will never be a change in our fundamental beliefs. We already possess the fullness of truth.
Of course you agree. All Christian faith is a revelatory faith, BYU. That doesn’t mean we stop using our human reason which is also given to us by God. You refuse to go there because you know where your reason will lead you, and it isn’t to an “infinite regress of gods” which goes against human reason.
Some people think that it does. Everything has a beginning and a cause, therefore God (if He exists, according to them), cannot be an exception to this rule. They think that their alternative explanation for the origin of the universe, which is evolution and chance, is more plausible than belief in God.
Interpret it as you wish since J. Smith invented your religion.
Why cannot God be an exception to this rule? He, alone, is not created. Rather, He is the Creator of all that exists. Everything, except God, had a beginning, but God is the cause without cause. He is not like us, zerinus, this is what prevents you from perceiving this truth. This is the error that results from a true apostasy. You think that He is like you in everything, just further along in the exaltation process. He transcends humanity and all of creation completely, infinitely and eternally. “God’s ways are not our ways.”
Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t; but you are inventing your own religion that nobody has heard of except yourself!
I am simply trying to show you that the Mormon (according to some) idea of an eternal regression of Gods is no more implausible, from a purely logical point of view, than the Catholic idea of a self-existent and uncreated Deity. Your position can no more be “logically proven” than the Mormon alternative. In either case, is it a matter of faith.
So you want us to make something up? Sorry, when it comes to truths, we will stick to what God has revealed when declaring them. Anything beyond that is the speculations of men.
Just through cursory research, this is somewhat correct. The tribes of Benjamin and Judah of the Kingdom of Judea constitute the “Jews.” Jew = Judea. These two tribes, under the monarchy of Judea, were conquered and exiled to Babylon, where the bible was written.
I don’t know why the Mormons are pretending like they don’t have any revelation on the idea, when they do teach the glory of their god is intelligence, and that they themselves have a spirit of uncreated “intelligence”.
I could not disagree more. There is no logic in the eternal regression of gods. There must, logically, be a first cause to all things. We know, from the natural world around us, that something does not and cannot come from nothing. We know, from our own observation and reason that creation is not eternal. Everything in existence in the physical world can be traced back to a cause. Logic brings us finally to the uncaused cause, a first principle of all things. We, of course, are limited in our ability to understand the eternal, yet it is not beyond our ability to understand that it must exist. Our reason is supported by revelation:
Modern scientists (or the great majority of them at least) don’t seem to agree with that. They think that evolution and occurrence by chance is a more logical explanation for the existence of the universe. You have not sown that your (Catholic) theology of the origin of Deity is more “logical” than the Mormon one (and that is only one interpretation of Mormonism, not the only one).
In the beginning? Beginning of what? This only states that the Word was with God at that time, and states nothing about before “the beginning”.