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Subscribe!Sun - Sep 30, 2007 : 12:46 pm
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Children Of God
Once, after inquiring the reasons why he believed Mormonism was wrong, a good Baptist friend of mine began telling me about Satan and his desire to take the throne of God before the world was.
Everything he told me was true and accurate, as far as my knowledge goes. Satan did try to take the throne of God and was thusly cast out of heaven forever.
As he was explaining this, I was trying to figure out what this had to do with Mormons being wrong, when it hit me.
Mormons believe they can become Gods, like God. They believe they can become like Heavenly Father.
I told him what I thought, and he nodded that I had seen the light. I thought to myself, "Man, that must seem pretty darned blasphemous from someone who doesn't fully understand why Mormon's believe they can become Gods." I mean, imagine if you didn't understand that becoming a god is very different than trying to take the place of God. I mean, heck....
If I for one instant thought that my religion taught us that one day we would replace God and take His throne, I'd be the first person to bolt. That doctrine is indeed very blasphemous. So... Why am I coming up with this? Why talk about this now?
Because I had a wonderful gospel doctrine class which had some very good points about being children of God.
I ask you this: Have you ever found a good, loving father who didn't want his children to grow up and become like he is? In fact, have you found a good, loving father anywhere who didn't want his children to become more than he is? Nah... I haven't either.
Another point which was beautifully made in this class was one which consisted of comparing parents, and then comparing those parents' children, on a very general scale.
First off, how does it make me feel to know that I have a divine potential in me to become a god? Does it make me prideful or arrogant? Hehe... That's so contrary to truth it's almost laughable.
When I think of my divine potential, I feel empowered to be like God due to the belief I have in God's willingness and desire to do nothing but help me in this pursuit.
I also have a hard time believing that any good God-fearing soul could feel any other way. If God wants me to be like him, and I want to be like him, and God is willing to help me be like him, why would I not try?
Here's a great analogy to this whole children of God discussion:
How do children generally feel if they believe that their father believes 100% in their ability to choose the right, to do what is best, to grow and ultimately become just as good or better than their father is? Well... I imagine that'd do nothing but foster growth and motivation in that child to do the absolute best he or she could.
Now, imagine the opposite. Imagine a father who openly tells his children they can never reach his stature, no matter how they try. No matter the effort given or the knowledge gained, it simply wasn't possible for the children to attain the levels of the father. How would that affect the children? Would they be motivated to try as hard, or learn as much, or give their 100% to reach the goal of only mediocrity? I doubt it.
Now, take that to the divine level.
How foreign it is to me to imagine a God who openly calls himself our "Father" wanting anything but the best for His children.
Again, every time I really think about the divine potential in me, it does nothing but bolster and improve my resolve to do the best I can to attain that ultimate goal - to get that ultimate gift - godhood.
If I thought that God, my Father, wanted me to try my hardest, but that ultimately, the goal wasn't to "be as the Father is", but rather to be something less, it would cause some major conflict within me, and most likely cause me to think less of myself.
That just doesn't sit well with me at all.
So... That's today's take on what I learned in class.
Anyway, I kind of like this trend of blogging spiritually on Sunday. Makes me feel like I'm contributing to the sacredness of the Sabbath.
Take care and happy worshipping!
Oh, and by the way, this scripture would also be a bit harder to understand if I didn't think one of the goals in life was trying to be like God.
Everything he told me was true and accurate, as far as my knowledge goes. Satan did try to take the throne of God and was thusly cast out of heaven forever.
As he was explaining this, I was trying to figure out what this had to do with Mormons being wrong, when it hit me.
Mormons believe they can become Gods, like God. They believe they can become like Heavenly Father.
I told him what I thought, and he nodded that I had seen the light. I thought to myself, "Man, that must seem pretty darned blasphemous from someone who doesn't fully understand why Mormon's believe they can become Gods." I mean, imagine if you didn't understand that becoming a god is very different than trying to take the place of God. I mean, heck....
If I for one instant thought that my religion taught us that one day we would replace God and take His throne, I'd be the first person to bolt. That doctrine is indeed very blasphemous. So... Why am I coming up with this? Why talk about this now?
Because I had a wonderful gospel doctrine class which had some very good points about being children of God.
I ask you this: Have you ever found a good, loving father who didn't want his children to grow up and become like he is? In fact, have you found a good, loving father anywhere who didn't want his children to become more than he is? Nah... I haven't either.
Another point which was beautifully made in this class was one which consisted of comparing parents, and then comparing those parents' children, on a very general scale.
First off, how does it make me feel to know that I have a divine potential in me to become a god? Does it make me prideful or arrogant? Hehe... That's so contrary to truth it's almost laughable.
When I think of my divine potential, I feel empowered to be like God due to the belief I have in God's willingness and desire to do nothing but help me in this pursuit.
I also have a hard time believing that any good God-fearing soul could feel any other way. If God wants me to be like him, and I want to be like him, and God is willing to help me be like him, why would I not try?
Here's a great analogy to this whole children of God discussion:
How do children generally feel if they believe that their father believes 100% in their ability to choose the right, to do what is best, to grow and ultimately become just as good or better than their father is? Well... I imagine that'd do nothing but foster growth and motivation in that child to do the absolute best he or she could.
Now, imagine the opposite. Imagine a father who openly tells his children they can never reach his stature, no matter how they try. No matter the effort given or the knowledge gained, it simply wasn't possible for the children to attain the levels of the father. How would that affect the children? Would they be motivated to try as hard, or learn as much, or give their 100% to reach the goal of only mediocrity? I doubt it.
Now, take that to the divine level.
How foreign it is to me to imagine a God who openly calls himself our "Father" wanting anything but the best for His children.
Again, every time I really think about the divine potential in me, it does nothing but bolster and improve my resolve to do the best I can to attain that ultimate goal - to get that ultimate gift - godhood.
If I thought that God, my Father, wanted me to try my hardest, but that ultimately, the goal wasn't to "be as the Father is", but rather to be something less, it would cause some major conflict within me, and most likely cause me to think less of myself.
That just doesn't sit well with me at all.
So... That's today's take on what I learned in class.
Anyway, I kind of like this trend of blogging spiritually on Sunday. Makes me feel like I'm contributing to the sacredness of the Sabbath.
Take care and happy worshipping!
Oh, and by the way, this scripture would also be a bit harder to understand if I didn't think one of the goals in life was trying to be like God.