Lately, Rychen and I have been discussing lines of logic that leads to various conclusions. And I’ve been pondering this literal Father God thing lately.
It used to be so familiar, so comforting. Home.
But what are the fruits of this doctrine? Where do the lines of logic actually lead?
The first and most obvious, that Mormons will hang their hat on, is that a generic child will naturally progress to become like his or her genetic parents.
(Ok, the first step of logic prior to this would be that there must be a Heavenly Mother also. After all, as Eliza Snow figured out, truth is reason and truth eternal tells me I’ve a mother there.)
So then, you can become a God.
It’s as easy, as natural, as that.
But then there’s more.
Because if he’s your dad and you started there with him, then he owes you a way to come back home.
How could your parents leave you stranded on Earth??
That wouldn’t be very parent like. That would be severely unloving.
A loving parent would never send any child to hell.
(Cue the 3 degrees of glory doctrine, which actually contradicts Mosiah 3:24-27, 2 Nephi 28:19-23, Mosiah 15:26-27, and many, many Bible verses where even Jesus himself speaks of eternal, lasting judgment.)
There’s always another chance!
And that’s exactly what the atonement is— it gives us chances.
I don’t really like how that word makes it sound uncertain and out of his hands, actually though, when you think about it.
I’d rather have a sovereign God who chose me and completed the work, not left it up to “chance.” But I digress. Topic for another day.
Today I want to share why it’s actually really cool that God adopts His believers (and only his believers).
But let’s start with seeing what the Bible says about it!
“to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-12)
“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.” (Romans 8:14-15)
“God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.” (Galatians 4:4-7)
“Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.” (Hebrews 2:11)
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
“love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”(Matthew 5:44-45)
And just in case the Bible was translated incorrectly 😉…. Here’s what the Book of Mormon says about it!
First of all, you’ve got the same Sermon on the Mount verses in 3 Ne 12:19 and verses 44-45.
Same thing.
(I guess it was translated correctly after all 🤷♀️)
And you’ve got Moroni:
“Men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the sons of God.” (Moroni 7:26)
“Pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love…that ye may become the sons of God.” (Moroni 7:48)
And you’ve got good ol’ King Ben who told his people when they were born again that “today he has spiritually begotten you… therefore you are born of him and have become his sons and daughters.” (Mosiah 5:7)
Okay, now for the cool part.
There’s a reason Paul, a Roman citizen, put such a large emphasis on adoption, especially in his letter to the Romans. In Roman law, biological children can be disowned. The relationship lasted only as long as desired. It wasn’t always permanent!
Meanwhile, adopted children were chosen intentionally and could never be disowned—becoming a permanent part of the family with full rights.
That inheritance was legally binding.
The concept of adoption shows us how secure our relationship to God is.
Once God has adopted you, it’s permanent. Once you’ve been born again, born into the family of God, He cannot undo that.
And this teaching isn’t just to Romans. And it wasn’t just Paul. As shown earlier, John taught it, Book of Mormon prophets taught it, and Jesus himself taught it.
If followers of Jesus become the children of “your father in Heaven,” as He himself declared on the sermon on the Mount, then what does that make the unbelievers? Those who don’t follow Jesus?
Do you see why we simply cannot go around saying “Heavenly Father loves all his children, and He wants all His children to come home!!!!” ??
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In the end, though, God is not our same species. This is the final and most important argument of why He is not our literal “spiritual-biological” father. We are creation, the Bible is clear. He cannot create himself (or anything to become as He is, ontologically) because then that being would be a creation, not a creator. And a creation cannot become a creator.
The very definition of God is an uncreated, all-powerful, eternal, creator of all things.
Everything falls on either of two sides here: creator or created. You cannot be both. God was not created; He is eternal. That’s how we know Jesus didn’t become a God after spiritually maturing. That’s how we know we can’t become Gods. A god is not something a person becomes. A God is eternal which means without beginning or end. Not created. God has always been God.
(See also Moroni 7:22, Moroni 8:18, Mosiah 3:5, which are the strongest references, but also everywhere else that calls God “the Eternal Father”)
But in practice, Mormonism actually has a different definition for “God” and it really isn’t an all-powerful, eternal being. It’s just a natural result of everybody growing up….
Which isn’t actually all that impressive.
Not something for me to worship, at least.
All I Possess 