From: ACUS10@WACCVM.SPS.MOT.COM (Mark Fuller)
Subject: Re: Mormons are not Christians
Organization: Motorola Inc.
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 20:45:57 GMT

From: robarr@sdcc3.ucsd.edu (Robert O'Barr)
> Says Mark:
> >        As for me, I will stick to:
> >
> >  'I am Jehovah, and there is none else, there is no God [Elohim] beside
> >   me.' Isa. 45:5.
> >  'before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.'
> >   Isa 43:10.
>
>    It amazes me that even trinitarians have difficulty understanding
> how The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are ONE GOD yet three individual
> persons.

        What do you mean 'One God'?  The LDS beleive there are three
individual Gods: the Father God, who was once a man and progressed
to god-hood and is now clothed in a body of flesh and bones (as
tangeble as ours), and can only be in one place at one time.
The Son, who is Jehovah, and birthed in the LDS pre-existance by the
above man-god and his plural wives.  And the Holy Ghost, who also
was birthed in the LDS pre-existance, but has not yet gone through
his earth life -- as all other Gods before him have.

        Maybe the following will help others understand what you
mean when you say 'One God.'  A little primer is required before
we can fully understand the word 'God' as used by the LDS.

+++Godhood Promised to the Faithful

        Included in the doctrine that the Almighty God was once a man
who attained godhood is the promise to faithful Mormons that they too
can become gods. The Apostle Bruce R. McConkie stated that the
"exaltation which the saints of all ages have so devoutly sought is
godhood itself." (Mormon Doctrine, p. 321) He said: "It is a case of a
man making himself a God." (Promised Messiah, p. 355) The Prophet
Brigham Young stated the following:

   "The Lord created you and me for the purpose of becoming Gods like
   Himself... We are created, we are born for the express purpose of
   growing up from the low estate of manhood, to become Gods like unto
   our Father in heaven. (Journal of Discourses, 3:93)

   "The Father and the Son have attained to this point already; I am on
   the way, and so are you, and every faithful servant of God....
   ...the faithful will become Gods...
   I am on the way to become one of those characters...
   I am on my way to this great exaltation. I expect to attain unto it.
   (Journal of Discourses, 6:275-276)

        The Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith (tenth prophet) stated that
"mortality is the testing or proving ground for exaltation to find out
who among the children of God are worthy to become Gods themselves, and
the Lord has informed us that 'few there be that find it.'" (Doctrines
of Salvation, 1:69)

        The Apostle James E. Talmage stated that the Mormons "believe in
a God who is Himself progressive, whose majesty is intelligence; whose
perfection consists in eternal advancement -- a Being who has attained
His exalted state by a path which now His children are permitted to
follow, whose glory it is their heritage to share. In spite of the
opposition of the sects, in the face of direct charges of blasphemy, the
Church proclaims the eternal truth: 'As man is, God once was, as God is,
man may be.'" (Articles of Faith, p. 430)

        Notice that Talmage said the Mormon Church has been charged with
blasphemy. According to the Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, "blasphemy
consists in either or both of the following: 1. Speaking irreverently,
evilly, abusively, or scurrilously against God or sacred things; or 2.
Speaking profanely or falsely about Deity." (Mormon Doctrine, p. 90)

        The Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., told the Mormons: "...you have
got to learn how to be Gods yourselves...the same as all Gods have
done..." (The Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 346)

        The Apostle Heber C. Kimball remarked that Joseph Smith said
that god the father in Mormonism "went on from one degree of knowledge
to another until he obtained the knowledge that made him God. So also
will it be with us, we shall have to advance from one degree of faith to
another until we get that knowledge that will prepare us for exaltation
in our Father's kingdom. But we must first prove ourselves in this state
of probation, then we rise from step to step till we reach that position
that is promised to the people of God." (Journal of Discourses, 9:371)

        The Apostle Melvin J. Ballard stated that "few men will become
what God is. And yet, all men may become what he is if they will pay the
price." (Three Degrees of Glory, p. 9)

        The sixth Prophet Joseph F. Smith said that "the undeveloped
offspring of celestial parentage is capable, by experience through ages
of aeons, of evolving into a God." (Latter Day Prophets Speak, p. 73)

        The Apostle George Q. Cannon stated the following about man's
evolution to Mormon godhood:

   "Men talk about evolution. This is the true evolution - being such as
   we are and developing and advancing and progressing in that upward
   and onward career until we shall become like Him, in truth, until we
   shall possess the powers that He possesses and exercise the dominion
   that He now exercises. This is the promise that is held out to us....

   PROGRESSION FROM AN INFANT TO A GOD. What is there more helpless,
   weak, puny, insignificant, it may be said, in many respects, than a
   human being when it is born into the world. Yet that being, if
   nurtured properly, if trained as it should be, has before it a career
   of never-ending glory. That little puling infant may become, in the
   eternity of our God, a god, to sway power and dominion in the eternal
   worlds, to be the father of unnumbered millions. Yet at its birth who
   would anticipate such a future for it. (Gospel Truth, 1:131)

   TRUE EVOLUTION. We hear considerable about evolution. Who is there
   that believes more in true evolution than the Latter-day Saints? --
   the evolution of man until he shall become a god... That is the
   Gospel of Jesus Christ, believed in by the Latter-day Saints. That is
   the kind of evolution we believe in, but not the evolution of man
   from some low type of animal life. (Gospel Truth, 1:9)

        The Apostle Spencer W. Kimball, who became the twelfth Mormon
prophet on December 30, 1973, stated that man is "a god in embryo with
the seeds of godhood neatly tucked away in him, and with the power to
become a god eventually..." (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 173)

        Milton R. Hunter, of the First Council of the Seventy, stated
that "as early as February 16, 1832, the Lord revealed to the Prophet
Joseph Smith the sublime truth that 'men may become gods.'" (Gospel
Through The Ages, p. 105) He maintained that "no prophet of record gave
more complete and forceful explanations of the doctrine that men may
become Gods than did the American Prophet..." (Gospel through The Ages,
p. 115)

        In their book _The Story of the Latter-day Saints_, James B.
Allen, who was assistant Church historian, and Glen M. Leonard, who was
senior historical associate in the Church Historical Dept. at the time
their book was published, state the following:

   "Joseph Smith taught that man, far from being an enemy or mere tool
   of God, was actually a god in embryo. The Father had achieved godhood
   only by going through the same experiences man is now enduring.
   Having successfully met all tests, he progressed in knowledge and
   power to become God. In turn, he instructed his spirit children in
   the plan of salvation before they came to earth and promised them
   that if they lived faithfully in their mortal life, one day they,
   too, might become gods. This was the doctrine of eternal progression,
   which became another hallmark of the restored gospel. (p. 168)

        The Bible clearly denounces this concept that men can become
gods. God Himself states in Isa. 43:10, "...understand that I am he:
before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me."

+++Many Gods

        Inherent in the Mormon doctrine that men can become gods is the
doctrine of many gods.

   "Three separate personages -- Father, Son, and Holy Ghost -- comprise
   the Godhead. As each of these persons is a God, it is evident, from
   this standpoint alone, that a plurality of Gods exists. To us,
   speaking in the proper finite sense, these three are the only Gods we
   worship. But in addition there is an infinite number of holy
   personages, drawn from worlds without number, who have passed on to
   exaltation and are thus gods. (Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon
   Doctrine, pp. 576-577) [When asked by Horace Greeley, editor of the
   New York Tribune, in 1859, if the Mormons "believe in the doctrine of
   the Trinity," the Prophet Brigham Young admitted: "We do; but not
   exactly as it is held by other churches." Kingdom of the Saints, pp.
   274-275]

   "As pertaining to this universe, there are three Gods: the Father,
   Son, and Holy Ghost. All other supposed deities are false gods.
   (Mormon Doctrine, p. 270)

   "...there are more Gods than there are particles of matter...
   (Apostle Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, 2:345)

   "...and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set
   there... (D&C, 132:19. See also 132:37; 121:32)

   "I will preach on the plurality of Gods. I have selected this text
   for that express purpose. I wish to declare I have always and in all
   congregations when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it
   has been the plurality of Gods....
   I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a
   separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the
   Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three
   constitute three distinct personages and three Gods....
   Many men say there is one God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost
   are only one God. I say that is a strange God anyhow--three in one,
   and one in three! It is a curious organization.... All are to be
   crammed into one God, according to sectarianism. It would make the
   biggest God in all the world. He would be a wonderfully big God--he
   would be a giant or a monster. (Joseph Smith, Jr., The Prophet Joseph
   Smith, pp. 370,372)

        If it was true, as Joseph Smith claimed above, that he always
taught the "plurality of Gods," then he constantly contradicted the
Bible (2 Sam. 7:22; Isa. 44:6,8), the BofM (Alma 11:28-29), the Book of
Moses in _the Pearl of Great Price_ (2:3-31), and his own Inspired
Version of the Bible. (Gen. 1:6-33, pp. 27-29)

        Although the Bible does not teach the concept of many gods,
Joseph claimed he could prove polytheism from it.

   "President Joseph Smith read the 3rd chapter of Revelation, and took
   for his text 1st chapter, 6th verse--"And hath made us kings and
   priests unto God and His Father: to Him be glory and dominion forever
   and ever. Amen.["]
   It is altogether correct in the translation....
   I will preach on the plurality of Gods. I have selected this text for
   that express purpose....
   Our text says "And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His
   Father." (Documented History of the Church, 6:473-474)

        Notice that Joseph said the translation of Rev. 1:6 in the KJV
was "Altogether correct," yet he changed this verse in his Inspired
Version to read: "...and hath made us kings and priests unto God, his
Father." (p. 514) Observe that Joseph deleted the word "and" between the
words "God" and "his" and inserted a comma in its place, thereby
removing his "proof" for his many gods.

        Obviously Joseph could not cite his Inspired Version as a
proof-text because he had changed it; therefore, he had to quote the KJV
instead. This is an interesting point because the Apostle Bruce R.
McConkie claimed Joseph was "acting under the spirit of revelation" when
he "corrected, revised, altered, added to, and deleted from the King
James Version of the Bible to form what is now commonly referred to as
the Inspired Version of the Bible." (Mormon Doctrine, p. 383)

        The Apostle Orson Pratt agreed that it was "by the command of
God, and through the gift and power of the Holy Ghost" that Joseph Smith
"translated the Old and New Testaments." (Orson Pratt-Writings of an
Apostle, "Divine Authenticity," no. 4, p. 64)

        Concerning Joseph's changes in the Bible, the Apostle Joseph
Fielding Smith (tenth prophet) claimed that the Mormons fully accept all
of them, "as having come by divine revelations to the Prophet Joseph
Smith." (Answers To Gospel Questions, 2:207) He also said that Joseph's
"translation of the Bible is one of the greatest tangible evidences of
his spiritual insight and divine calling." (The Prophet Joseph Smith, p.
11, footnote)

        According to these Mormon leaders, Joseph Smith wrote his
Inspired Version through the "spirit of revelation." However, since
Joseph could not quote his own spirit-revealed change, it would have to
be asked, What "spirit" revealed this change to him?

        Not only did Joseph Smith use Rev. 1:6 to try to prove there are
many gods, but he also used it to try to prove that God the Father has a
father who has a father who has a father, etc. Regarding this concept by
Joseph Smith, the Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith stated: "The Prophet
says: '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.' Then he asks: 'Where was there ever a son without a
father? And where was there ever a father without first being a son?'"
(Doctrines of Salvation, 1:11-12)

        The Apostle Bruce R. McConkie acknowledged that Joseph Smith
taught that "there is 'a God above the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.'" (Mormon Doctrine, p. 322)

        The Apostle Orson Pratt stated: "We were begotten by our Father
in Heaven; the person of our Father in Heaven was begotten on a previous
heavenly world by His Father; and again, He was begotten by a still more
ancient Father; and so on, from generation to generation, from one
heavenly world to another still more ancient, until our minds are
wearied and lost in the multiplicity of generations and successive
worlds, and as a last resort, we wonder in our minds, how far back the
genealogy extends, and how the first world was formed, and the first
father was begotten." (The Seer, p. 132)

        Rev. 1:6 does not teach a plurality of Gods, neither does it
teach that God the Father has an exalted-man father god over Him. The
Bible states the following in Heb. 6:13 - "For when God made promise to
Abraham, _because he could swear by no greater_, he sware by himself"
(emphasis added), and it states the following in Num. 23:19 -- "God is
not a man...neither the son of man..." (See also Gen. 22:16; Isa. 45:23;
Jer. 22:5; 49:13)

        Mormonism maintains that the head god called the gods together
and "concocted a plan to create the world and people it." (Joseph Smith,
Jr., The Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 349) Regarding this concept, the
Apostle Bruce R. McConkie stated:

        There were many meetings, conferences, councils, and schooling
sessions held among the Gods and their spirit offspring in
pre-existence. Among other things, at these various assemblages, plans
were made for the creation and peopling of this earth and for the
redemption and salvation of the offspring of Deity. The spirit children
of the Father were then taught the terms and conditions of the plan of
salvation and were given opportunity to accept or reject the Father's
proposals.

        Joseph Smith speaks of "the head of the Gods" calling "a council
of the Gods" to arrange for the creation and peopling of the earth.
(Teachings, pp. 348-349.) (Mormon Doctrine, pp. 163-164)

        The Bible reveals that the triune God "worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will" (Eph. 1:11; Heb. 2:4), not after the wills
of a council of innumerable gods. These many "gods" that Mormonism
proclaims are "idols." (1 Chron. 16:26; Ps. 96:4-5)

+++Man Is As Eternal As God And Is Of The Same Essence And Race

        Joseph Smith, Jr., believed and taught that the spirit (the
intelligence) of man is as immortal as the Mormon god. He said god never
had the power to create it, and such an idea lessened man in his
estimation.

   "...the soul, the mind of man, the immortal spirit. All men say God
   created it in the beginning. The very idea lessens man in my
   estimation; I do not believe the doctrine, I know better....
   "The mind of man is as immortal as God himself....their spirits
   existed coequal with God... I take my ring from my finger and liken
   it unto the mind of man, the immortal spirit, because it has no
   beginning.... God never did have power to create the spirit of man at
   all. God himself could not create himself: intelligence exists upon a
   self existent principle, it is a spirit from age to age, and there is
   no creation about it.... The first principles of man are self
   existent with God... (Times & Seasons, 5:615)

        The Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith (tenth prophet) stated that
"the intelligent part of man was never created but always existed. That
is true of each of us as well as it is of God..." (Doctrines of
Salvation, 1:12)

        Milton R. Hunter, of the First Council of the Seventy, said man
is as eternal as god and is of the "same kind of substance or essence."
The only difference between man and god is that god is ahead of other
men. He has progressed so far above us in intelligence and power, that
compared to us, he is god.

   "Life, intelligence, mind, the "light of truth," or whatever name one
   gives to the center of the personality of man, is an uncreated,
   eternally existent, indestructible entity. "He-- for that entity is a
   person-- ...is eternal as God is; coexistent, in fact, with God; of
   the same kind of substance or essence with Deity, though confessedly
   inferior in degree of intelligence and power of God." (Gospel Through
   the Ages, p. 126)

        Hunter explained the stages these "eternally existent,
indestructible entities" or "intelligences" pass through on their way to
godhood. These steps were allegedly revealed to Joseph Smith, Jr.
(Gospel Through the Ages, p. 127)

   "ETERNALLY EXISTENT INTELLIGENCES
   ...In the first stage, man was an eternally existent being termed an
   intelligence. In that sphere of existence each individual was
   naturally conscious.... In that realm, as in all other states of
   immortal existence, natural law, good and evil, love and hate, truth
   and error, and free agency exist....
   We do not know how long we lived in this first realm, but it must
   have been ages and ages. There came a time, however, when we
   completed our work in that realm and were permitted to go forward in
   the eternal process of progression.
   THE SPIRIT WORLD
   The next realm where man dwelt was the spirit world. According to
   Mormon concept eternally-existing intelligences were clothed with
   spirit bodies in the mansion of their Eternal Father.... There in the
   spirit world they were reared to maturity, becoming grown spirit men
   and women prior to coming upon this earth....
   THE MORTAL PROBATION
   Following his stay in the spirit world, man comes on earth in a
   probationary state preparatory to the eternal existence beyond the
   mortal confines of this world. Here he receives a physical body and
   undergoes the experiences of mortality.... we come here with the
   amount of potential development that we had attained in the spirit
   world.... mortality is a continuation of a previous existence...
   POST-MORTAL LIFE ...mortal death comes upon all. The eternal spirit
   goes to the spirit world to await resurrection and judgment. In due
   time, all will rise from the grave and stand before the judgment seat
   of Jesus Christ. There they shall be assigned to the glory that they
   have merited according to the lives that they have lived while in
   mortality and the changes that they have wrought upon their
   characters while in paradise... There some of them will become angels
   and others priests and kings, or, in other words, Gods. (Gospel
   Through the Ages, pp. 127-129)

        Notice that Hunter claimed that man is first an "eternally
existent being termed an intelligence" who was "naturally conscious" and
who exercised his free agency before he was clothed with his spirit body
in the spirit world. However, the Apostle Bruce R. McConkie said that
"the intelligence or spirit element became intelligences after the
spirits were born as individual entities." (Mormon Doctrine, p. 387)

        The Apostle McConkie stated that "man and God are of the same
race..." (Mormon Doctrine, pp. 465-466) The Prophet Brigham Young
remarked that man and God "are of one species--of one family--" (Journal
of Discourses, 4:217) and that the only difference between the Mormon
god and the rest of us is that he has already "gained His exaltation,
and has obtained eternal lives." (Journal of Discourses, 4:218) The
Apostle John A. Widtsoe agreed that "God and man are of the same race,
differing only in their degrees of advancement." (Gospel Through the
Ages, p. 107)

+++Matter Or Element Is The Self-Existent One In Mormonism

        Mormonism teaches that matter or element, not God, is
self-existent. The Apostle Bruce R. McConkie stated that "matter or
element is self-existent and eternal in nature, creation being merely
the organization and reorganization of that substance which 'was not
created or made, neither indeed can be.' (D.&C. 93:29.)... if there had
been no self-existent spirit element, there would have been no substance
from which those spirit bodies could have been organized." (Mormon
Doctrine, p. 589)

        The Prophet Brigham Young stated that "the elements with which
we are surrounded are as eternal as we are..."  (Journal of Discourses,
10:3) D&C, 93:33 also states that "the elements are eternal..." The
Apostle Parley P. Pratt stated the following about this concept:

   "MATTER AND SPIRIT are the two great principles of all existence.
   Every thing animate and inanimate is composed of one or the other, or
   both of these eternal principles. I say eternal, because the elements
   are as durable as the quickening power which exists in them. Matter
   and spirit are of equal duration; both are self-existent--they never
   began to exist, and they never can be annihilated.... ...it
   is...impossible for God to bring forth matter from nonentity, or to
   originate element from nothing, because this would contradict the law
   of truth, and destroy himself. We might as well say, that God can add
   two and three together, and the product will be twelve; or that he
   can subtract five from ten and leave eight, as to say that he can
   originate matter from nonentity; because these are principles of
   eternal truth, they are laws which cannot be broken...
   ...it is not in the power of any being to originate matter. Hence we
   conclude that matter as well as spirit is eternal, uncreated,
   self-existing. (Pre-Assassination Writings of Parley P. Pratt, "Heaven
   on Earth," pp. 5-6)

        McConkie, Pratt, Young, and the D&C would have us believe it is
"matter or element" that is "self-existent and eternal in nature."
However, the Bible reveals that it is God who is self-existent. (Exod.
3:14) He created all things including matter or element, and they are
dependent upon Him. God is not subject to anything; all things are
subject to Him. (Jer. 10:16; John 1:3; Rom. 11:36; 2 Cor. 5:18; Col.
1:16-17; Heb. 1:3; 11:3; Rev. 4:11)

+++The Mormon God Is Not All-knowing By Nature

        The Apostle Orson Hyde stated that the Mormon god has to rely on
others to inform him about events. "...He knows everything. How? When
His angels and ministers tell him of it, take any other ruler." (Journal
of Discourses, 2:64)

        The Apostle James E. Talmage agreed that it is "through the
agency of angels and ministering servants" that god maintains
"continuous communication with all parts of creation..." (Articles of
Faith, p. 44)

        The Prophet Brigham Young said that after an earth is
"celestialized," a person can look into it and know the past, present,
and future.

   "This earth, when it becomes purified and sanctified, or
   celestialized, will become like a sea of glass; and a person, by
   looking into it, can know things past, present, and to come; though
   none but celestialized beings can enjoy this privilege. They will
   look into the earth, and the things they desire to know will be
   exhibited to them, the same as the face is seen by looking into a
   mirror. (Journal of Discourses, 9:87)

        The Apostle Melvin J. Ballard agreed that the earth will become
a "Urim and Thummim;" but in addition, he said each person in the
"celestial kingdom" will also receive a "white stone" which will keep
him informed as well.

   "...the earth a Urim and Thummim, looking into which one may learn
   about all conditions and kingdoms that are beneath and the kingdom in
   which we live, so that all depths are revealed to us.
   The revelations referred to inform us that whosoever enters the
   celestial kingdom shall receive a white stone, a Urim and Thummim of
   greatest purity. Through the gift and power of God it will enable the
   possessor to read the universe and obtain knowledge from all
   kingdoms, not only the one in which we dwell, so that we will
   comprehend all heights and all depths. Those who gain celestial
   glory, to them only comes this privilege... (Three Degrees of Glory,
   pp. 15-16)

        The Mormon leaders no doubt got this concept from D&C, 130:9
which states that "this earth, in its sanctified and immortal state,
will be made like unto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the
inhabitants who dwell thereon, whereby all things pertaining to an
inferior kingdom, or all kingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to
those who dwell on it..."

        The God of the Bible does not need other beings nor a stone to
tell Him what is happening. He knows all things, including men's
thoughts. (Gen. 6:5; Job 42:2; 1 Chron. 28:9; Ps. 94:11; Isa. 66:18;
Ezek. 11:5)

+++The Mormon God Is Not All-Powerful By Nature

        The Mormon god has not always been all-powerful. Milton R.
Hunter, of the First Council of the Seventy, stated: "Yet, if we accept
the great law of eternal progression, we must accept the fact that there
was a time when Deity was much less powerful than He is today." (Gospel
Through the Ages, p. 114)

        Once the Mormon god attained godhood, he was omnipotent. That
is, he was omnipotent in the sense that he had all power to organize and
reorganize the self-existent and eternal matter or element. It does not
mean he had the power to create out of nothing or to create the spirit
of man. All-powerful in Mormonism, then, means limited power.

        According to W. Cleon Skousen, Mormon writer and founder of the
National Center for Constitutional Studies (formerly called the Freeman
Institute), the Mormon god maintains his power and godhood only because
the intelligences he rules over allow him to do so.

   "Through modern revelation we learn that the universe is filled with
   vast numbers of intelligences, and we further learn that Elohim is
   God simply because all of these intelligences honor and sustain Him
   as such. In other words, as God extended His power and influence
   throughout His great kingdom, He did so by obtaining the voluntary
   cooperation and support of vast concourses of intelligences.
   In Section 93 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord states that all
   of these intelligences act freely and independently in their
   respective spheres. They obey God because they want to; not because
   they have to. Therefore, the Father is actually dependent upon their
   sustaining influence or honor to accomplish His purposes.
   Here is the clue to the source of God's power.
   ...God's "power" is derived from the honor and support of the
   intelligences over whom He rules....
   ...the present exalted position of our Heavenly Father was gradually
   built up. His glory and power is something which He slowly acquired
   until today "all things bow in humble reverence." But since God
   "acquired" the honor and sustaining influence of "all things" it
   follows as a correlary that if He should ever do anything to violate
   the confidence or "sense of justice" of these intelligences, they
   would promptly withdraw their support, and the "power" of God would
   disintegrate. This is what Mormon and Alma [BofM prophets] meant when
   they specifically stated that if God should change or act contrary to
   truth and justice "He would cease to be God." Our Heavenly Father can
   do only those things which the intelligences under Him are
   voluntarily willing to support Him in accomplishing. (The First 2,000
   Years, pp. 355-356)

        Regarding this matter, the Prophet Brigham Young stated: "...the
eternal laws by which he [God] and all others exist in the eternities of
the Gods, decree that the consent of the creature must be obtained
before the Creator can rule perfectly." (Journal Discourses, 15:134) He
also stated: "...the Lord cannot violate his own law; were he to do
that, he would cease to be God." (Journal of Discourses, 11:272)

        In a letter written from Nauvoo on June, 16, 1844, by Isaac and
Sarah Scott to her parents, the following statement is found: "Joseph
says there are Gods above the God of this universe as far as he is above
us, and if He should transgress the laws given to Him by those above
Him, He would be hurled from his Throne to hell, as was Lucifer and all
his creations with him." (Among the Mormons, p. 144)

        The following statement appeared in the Nauvoo Expositor, June
7, 1844: "Resolved 2nd, Inasmuch as we have for years borne with the
individual follies and iniquities of Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, and many
other official characters in the Church of Jesus Christ...and inasmuch
as they have introduced false and damnable doctrines into the Church,
such as a plurality of Gods above the God of this universe, and his
liability to fall with all his creatures...we therefore are constrained
to denounce them as apostates from the pure and holy doctrines of Jesus
Christ."

        The Apostle Parley P. Pratt stated that "each of these Gods,
including Jesus Christ and his Father...is subject to the laws that
govern..." (Keys to the Science of Theology, 1978 ed., p. 23)

        According to these Mormon sources, the Mormon god, who is
all-powerful and all-knowing in a limited, finite sense, can apparently
lose his position as god if he violates either the laws by which he
attained his godhood or the "sense of justice" of the intelligences over
whom he rules. Of course, this is not the sovereign God revealed in the
Bible. (Ps. 89:6-7; Isa. 40:12-13; 45:9; 46:5,9-10; Dan. 2:20-21; 4:35;
Acts 17:24-25)

Mark
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