Christmas Book Citations Lorenzo Snow Part 4

.1 examines the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a biblical perspective viewpoint when Mormonism is sponsored by Mormonism research ministry since 1979 Mormonism research ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect.

And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism so glad to be with us for this edition of viewpoint on Mormonism. I'm your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry and with me today is Johnson. My colleague at M. R. M. We are still looking at the teachings of Lorenzo Snow a book that was given away as a Christmas gift in the year 2012 by the first presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. There's so much in this book that there's still a few more citations we need to examine Lorenzo Snow was known for the famous Lorenzo Snow couplet as man is God once was, as God is man may be, and we been discussing what that meant to Lorenzo Snow as contained in the first chapter.

What were going to continue looking at the subject of as man is God may be or this idea in Mormonism that man can achieve godhood and that is a goal of every faithful Latter Day Saints mail that they too will also become like the father and according to Mormon doctrine, they will be rewarded with their own world where they will be able to populate that world with their eternal life that they been married to for eternity in a Mormon temple. So let's look at some more.

The quotations having to deal with this idea of godhood and we want to start off with that as the subheading faithful husbands may become God's I say to you sisters your husbands if they are faithful will be God's in eternity. After we have passed through the various ordeals of life and go to the other life where our father dwells. Even the God of heaven. The promises that we shall be like him. And of course when they say we shall be like him. Another words they will have the same attributes as God the father has somehow they believe that they will be omniscient, they will be omnipotent. I don't know how that can possibly happen because how can you all of a sudden become omnipotent. If there is already an omnipotent being, God the father.

You would think. According to Mormonism.

I always like to say facetiously if there was to be an arm wrestling contest between two omnipotent beings who would win. It's impossible then for two beings to both be omnipotent and you might say I'm making that up, but all we need do is go to Spencer W.

Kimball's book the miracle of forgiveness. He says right at the beginning of that book that they will have the attributes of God the father, including omnipotence. He says it right there at the front of the book how this idea of what happens with the sisters when he says that I say to you sisters your husbands if they are faithful will be God's in eternity will what about the women. This is what he writes at the end of chapter 1 that we've been discussing, and this deals with the mother in heaven doctrine. He writes women can become like her mother in heaven. You sisters, I suppose, have read that poem, which my sister Eliza Roxie Snow composed years ago in which his son quite frequently.

Now in our meetings, which is oh my father. It tells us that we not only have a father in that high inglorious place that we have a mother to and you will become as great as your mother. If you are faithful. There's that term great to be as great. We were talking about that last week because this book starts off with that whole notion of being great.

In fact, the first sentence of the book be as great as you want to be and in this book it says that Lorenzo Snow was told by Joseph Smith's father that he could even be as great as God him self that's troubling to us as New Testament Christians, but it is certainly a doctrine in Mormonism.

They hope to become God's.

And of course when they become gods just as all homage and worship is directed towards God the father during this lifetime. It will be directed to them in the next lifetime if they are worthy enough to become a God or achieve celestial exultation as it's understood built one of the teachings in Mormonism is that after a person dies a man.

He will be able to call his wife up and be able to go into the celestial kingdom, but that there will be additional women that could possibly join him to be able to create the spirits of this new world.

It says mother in heaven, but shouldn't read mothers in heaven and in during the 19th century, when polygamy was very popular being taught openly it was not hidden that God the father, the God, the father of Mormonism that is was indeed a practicing polygamist now the don't talk about that so much nowadays because of course since the manifesto of 1890, the Mormons have promised that they were going to be practicing polygamy and so I don't recall any Latter Day Saints leader in general conference talking about a plurality of wives to God the father and yet it's obvious that it's believe because while polygamy may not be practiced in the here and now. It certainly will be practiced in the future because the top two leaders of the church. Russell and Nelson and Delaunay chokes. Both are married for eternity needed to women.

Each and so you have this idea of them wanting to see both wives are not anticipating only one of them to be there. They would want them both to be there another citation.

This continues chapter 1, pages six and seven and he talks about the importance of obedience and he says obedience and purity are requirements of godhood that exalted position was made manifest to me at a very early day I had a direct revelation of this it was most perfect and complete. If there ever was a thing revealed to man perfectly clearly so that there could be no doubt, or dividing.

This was revealed to me, and it came in these words as man now as God once was as God now has man may be.

This may appear to some minds as something very strange. Remarkable. But it is in perfect harmony with the teachings of Jesus Christ and his promises. This is the high destiny of the sons of God, they will overcome who are obedient to his commandments who purify themselves, even as he is pure. They are to become like him they will see him as he is, they will behold his face and reign with him in his glory, becoming like onto him in every particular company Latter Day Saints. Do you know have purified themselves even as Christ is pure. I've never met one and yet that is a requirement, as laid down by Lorenzo Snow builders there's another quote on page 7, and it talks about Jesus and it says we must advance through stages to godhood as man now is God once was. Even the babe of Bethlehem. Jesus advancing the childhood that's the boyhood manhood, then to the Godhead. This then is the mark of the prize of man's high calling in Christ Jesus. See Philippians 314 we are the offspring of God, begotten by him in the spirit world where we partook of his nature as children here partake of the likeness of their parents, Bill. I have a question for you. Jesus didn't have to go to mortality to prove himself through obedience and purity. Why not.

I wonder if someone's going to be able to raise that question is a Latter Day Saints hey heavenly father. Jesus didn't have to go through all that we went through in order to become a God. Remember, I'm not taken away the fact that Jesus certainly went through a lot during his mortality. But here's the point. According to Mormonism he somehow became a God in the preexistence. I don't understand how that can be and still have some semblance of consistency in the doctrine of Mormonism, Lorenzo Snow said we must advance through stages to godhood. One of those stages as we had to come through this mortal probation, as it's understood that. Let me read to you from a book, a manual titled gospel principles. This is page 10 it says our heavenly father knew we could not progress beyond a certain point unless we left him for a time he wanted us to develop the godlike qualities that he has. To do this we needed to leave our pre-mortal home to be tested and to gain experience. Our spirits needed to be clothed with physical bodies.

Now we know that even Mormon leaders have said Jesus or Jehovah as they referred to him in the pre-incarnate state did not have a body in the preexistence. We did not have bodies in the preexistence.

But that mere fact seems to be one of the problems without going through a mortal probation without taking on a physical body. We could only progress so far in that preexistent environment so the question I have, and I still can't get a clear answer for many Mormon apologist or Mormon leader for that matter, or Mormon scholar, for that matter, how did Jesus become a God in the preexistence when it says on page 10 of gospel principles. Our heavenly father knew we could not progress beyond a certain point unless we left him for a time.

Yet Jesus becomes a God in the preexistence without leaving for a time till I'm jealous because I would've liked to have had the same kind of situation. I don't know what I was doing up in the preexistence. Apparently I must not of been perfect, but somehow Jesus was able to do that. But then Jesus being perfect has the audacity to tell us that we have to be perfect.

Listen to what he says outside of chapter 1. This is on page 48, but it's in the same book. This is what Snow said we ought to improve ourselves and move faster toward the point of perfection. It is said, we cannot be perfect.

Jesus has commanded us to be perfect, even as God the father is perfect. It is our duty to try to be perfect and it is our duty to improve each day and look upon our course last week and do things better this week do things better today than we did them yesterday and go on and on. From 1° of righteousness to another and yet Bill is many Latter Day Saints have found out it's an impossible challenge. The goal of perfection is not able to be done and yet that's what Jesus says we have to be willing when you use that word perfection.

How many times do Mormons recoil whenever we even give them a verse from their own Scripture that hints of that type of perfection. What's the usual answer we hear will nobody's perfect.

Nobody can be perfect and yet we never even brought up the word yet that's what they conclude that verse must be saying it's there versus not ours now the one that you just cited from Lorenzo Snow. That's, of course, taken from Matthew 548 interesting folks that Lorenzo Snow is taking a very traditional understanding of Matthew 548, as it's been taught in the Mormon church that, as we explained last week, we will think it has anything to do with with sinless perfection. Jesus would ask that of fallen human beings. He knows that's impossible for us to do if we could do it, we would have no need for him but yet that's how Mormons have often interpreted Matthew 548, when he said, be therefore perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect. They look at that is sinless perfection but then again, how many Latter Day Saints are doing that we don't know of any. Thank you for listening. If you would like more information we guarding this research ministry. We encourage you to visit our website www.mrm.org you can request a free newsletter Mormonism research. We hope you join us again as we look at another viewpoint is sharing your faith with the Latter Day Saints helps to know what their church is taught in several basic topics. For this reason, this research ministry has provided its crash course Mormonism crash course, Mormonism includes concise articles highlighting what LDS leaders and church manuals have taught on issues that will probably come up in a typical conversation. You can find these informative articles and crash course Mormonism.com that's crash course Mormonism.com