The Plan of Salvation
I had a few Mormon friends growing up that were able to bring me above the cliche stereotypes and misconstrued practices, so here's a weird one, but you should have fun with it:
As I understand it, LDS is very open to the notion of extraterrestrial life, and that individuals in this life time can aspire to the heights of being a creator themselves in the afterlife. After all, doesn't a father wish the best for his children? Achieving equal/greater, hmm, universal standing, is the sign of successful parenting. That is as I understand it; enlighten me if I'm wrong.
So my question: is our God, the God of Christ, the big mackdaddy? Are other civilizations out there the result of LDS followers making the ascension into creator-status? Or vice versa, which would allow other civilizations to be older than ours. That is, if time is linear as we perceive it to be.
Let me know if I'm way off.
This falls under the Plan of Salvation, which is basically the grand plan that God has for us as His children, which included the creation of the world, the Atonement and Christ's death and resurrection, as well as the end of the world, the final judgment, and all that is to occur thereafter.
We believe that as God's children (begotten spiritually), we have the potential to inherit all that God has, just as the young of any other species grows up with the same attributes as its parent. This is hinted at in the Bible and explained more fully in the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. I can't recall who said it, but a General Authority said that we are, in effect "gods in embryo," developing and gaining the experiences that will help us in the life hereafter.
I wouldn't say greater standing, to be sure, but the ability to inherit the same abilities and powers for sure.
'The Father is the one true God. This thing is certain: no one will ever ascend above Him; no one will ever replace Him. Nor will anything ever change the relationship that we, His literal offspring, have with Him. He is Eloheim, the Father. He is God. Of Him there is only one. We revere our Father and our God; we worship Him.
There is only one Christ, one Redeemer. We accept the divinity of the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh. We accept the promise that we may become joint heirs with Him. Paul wrote to the Romans:
“The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:16-17.)'
Boyd K. Packer, “The Pattern of Our Parentage,” Ensign, Nov 1984, 66
I'm not sure about the use of the term "big mackdaddy," though it is quite colorful! As far we on Earth are concerned God, the Father, is the only supreme being. He works in tandem with Christ and the Holy Ghost, whom we believe are three separate personages that form the Godhead and are one in purpose, but not in body.
Are there other civilizations out there? I believe so as God has created "worlds without end." Are these the result of LDS people (on this Earth) reaching exaltation? No. We do not receive our full inheritance until after the final judgment. While some have been resurrected or translated (body being made perfect without dying) such as Moses, Elijah, and others, they have not yet received the full inheritance. Part of this, I suspect, is because one can not be exalted and have eternal life without having entered into the sacred covenant of marriage, while anyone ever born will be resurrected. Yes, Moses was married, but who is to say whether she has been resurrected yet and even if she has been, the order of things as I understand it is that exaltation and receiving of one's full inheritance doesn't occur until after the Final Judgment.
Also it's not just those who are of the LDS Church as established in 1830 and beyond, it would include those who made the covenants during any dispensation when all the keys were present, such as when Christ established the ancient church during his time.
Are there civilizations out there which were not created by God? Probably. In 1 Corinthians 8:5-6 it notes "For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) [6] But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." I don't know if this means they're in our universe or not, but they're out there ... somewhere.
This whole subject gets all the more interesting, when you consider the quote from Lorenzo Snow, the fifth President of the Church "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may be." This is all rather deep doctrine and while interesting to think upon, it is not pertinent to our immediate salvation. We can speculate all sorts of things, such as whether there are multiple gods operating within this universe, or if they all exist on separate planes of existence. Will we operate within this universe or will we be sent off to alternate dimensions to start a new universe afresh?
I have no idea whatsoever, but I do know that we are really only to be concerned with the workings of God the Father, His son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost and the thoughts of others is just a mental exercise that we can use to both stimulate and confound the human mind with no pertinence or affect on our own existence. It's like worrying what a butterfly might be doing on the other side of the planet. While Chaos Theory would say that it could affect us, for all practical purposes it's nothing to worry about.
Hopefully that's fairly clear and answers the questions. Again, if there's anything I've missed or someone has further questions on, feel free to ask!
Edit: Something that came to mind that might be of interest: D&C 130:4-5"In answer to the question--Is not the reckoning of God's time, angel's time, prophet's time, and man's time, according to the planet on which they reside? [5] I answer, Yes. But there are no angels who minister to this earth but those who do belong or have belonged to it."
Another hint that there is life on other planets, but I think the likelihood of us ever seeing "aliens' is rather slim. So if you have a friend who believes he was visited by alien angels from anther planet I wouldn't believe it!
As I understand it, LDS is very open to the notion of extraterrestrial life, and that individuals in this life time can aspire to the heights of being a creator themselves in the afterlife. After all, doesn't a father wish the best for his children? Achieving equal/greater, hmm, universal standing, is the sign of successful parenting. That is as I understand it; enlighten me if I'm wrong.
So my question: is our God, the God of Christ, the big mackdaddy? Are other civilizations out there the result of LDS followers making the ascension into creator-status? Or vice versa, which would allow other civilizations to be older than ours. That is, if time is linear as we perceive it to be.
Let me know if I'm way off.
This falls under the Plan of Salvation, which is basically the grand plan that God has for us as His children, which included the creation of the world, the Atonement and Christ's death and resurrection, as well as the end of the world, the final judgment, and all that is to occur thereafter.
We believe that as God's children (begotten spiritually), we have the potential to inherit all that God has, just as the young of any other species grows up with the same attributes as its parent. This is hinted at in the Bible and explained more fully in the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. I can't recall who said it, but a General Authority said that we are, in effect "gods in embryo," developing and gaining the experiences that will help us in the life hereafter.
I wouldn't say greater standing, to be sure, but the ability to inherit the same abilities and powers for sure.
'The Father is the one true God. This thing is certain: no one will ever ascend above Him; no one will ever replace Him. Nor will anything ever change the relationship that we, His literal offspring, have with Him. He is Eloheim, the Father. He is God. Of Him there is only one. We revere our Father and our God; we worship Him.
There is only one Christ, one Redeemer. We accept the divinity of the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh. We accept the promise that we may become joint heirs with Him. Paul wrote to the Romans:
“The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:16-17.)'
Boyd K. Packer, “The Pattern of Our Parentage,” Ensign, Nov 1984, 66
I'm not sure about the use of the term "big mackdaddy," though it is quite colorful! As far we on Earth are concerned God, the Father, is the only supreme being. He works in tandem with Christ and the Holy Ghost, whom we believe are three separate personages that form the Godhead and are one in purpose, but not in body.
Are there other civilizations out there? I believe so as God has created "worlds without end." Are these the result of LDS people (on this Earth) reaching exaltation? No. We do not receive our full inheritance until after the final judgment. While some have been resurrected or translated (body being made perfect without dying) such as Moses, Elijah, and others, they have not yet received the full inheritance. Part of this, I suspect, is because one can not be exalted and have eternal life without having entered into the sacred covenant of marriage, while anyone ever born will be resurrected. Yes, Moses was married, but who is to say whether she has been resurrected yet and even if she has been, the order of things as I understand it is that exaltation and receiving of one's full inheritance doesn't occur until after the Final Judgment.
Also it's not just those who are of the LDS Church as established in 1830 and beyond, it would include those who made the covenants during any dispensation when all the keys were present, such as when Christ established the ancient church during his time.
Are there civilizations out there which were not created by God? Probably. In 1 Corinthians 8:5-6 it notes "For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) [6] But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." I don't know if this means they're in our universe or not, but they're out there ... somewhere.
This whole subject gets all the more interesting, when you consider the quote from Lorenzo Snow, the fifth President of the Church "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may be." This is all rather deep doctrine and while interesting to think upon, it is not pertinent to our immediate salvation. We can speculate all sorts of things, such as whether there are multiple gods operating within this universe, or if they all exist on separate planes of existence. Will we operate within this universe or will we be sent off to alternate dimensions to start a new universe afresh?
I have no idea whatsoever, but I do know that we are really only to be concerned with the workings of God the Father, His son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost and the thoughts of others is just a mental exercise that we can use to both stimulate and confound the human mind with no pertinence or affect on our own existence. It's like worrying what a butterfly might be doing on the other side of the planet. While Chaos Theory would say that it could affect us, for all practical purposes it's nothing to worry about.
Hopefully that's fairly clear and answers the questions. Again, if there's anything I've missed or someone has further questions on, feel free to ask!
Edit: Something that came to mind that might be of interest: D&C 130:4-5"In answer to the question--Is not the reckoning of God's time, angel's time, prophet's time, and man's time, according to the planet on which they reside? [5] I answer, Yes. But there are no angels who minister to this earth but those who do belong or have belonged to it."
Another hint that there is life on other planets, but I think the likelihood of us ever seeing "aliens' is rather slim. So if you have a friend who believes he was visited by alien angels from anther planet I wouldn't believe it!