Can You become a God?

"YES" says the Mormon Church.

"Here then is eternal life - to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to become Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before , you, namely, by going from one small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain the ressurection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings , and to sit in glory. as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power." Joseph Smith, The King Follett Discourse, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp.346, 347

"Then shall they be gods, because they have no end ; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting , because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them." Doctrine and Covenants 132:20

"... for salvation consists in the glory, authority, majesty, power and dominion which Jehovah possess and in nothing else; and no being can possess it but himself or one like him."After quoting many passages of scripture, the record of the Prophet's teachings continues: "These teachings of the Savior most clearly show unto us the nature of salvation, and what he proposed unto the human family when he proposed to save them - that he proposed to make them like unto himself, and he was like the Father, the great prototype of all saved beings;..." Mormon Doctrine, McConkie, p. 258

"In this way both the Father and the Son, as also all exalted beings, are now or in due course will become Gods of Gods. (Teachings pp. 342-376)" Mormon Doctrine, McConkie, pp. 322-323

"Mortal persons who overcome all things and gain an ultimate exaltation will live eternally in the family unit and have spirit children, thus becoming Eternal Fathers and Mothers." Mormon Doctrine, p.517

"NO" Says GOD

"Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me was no God formed, neither shall there be after me." Isaiah 43:10

BEFORE ME WAS NO GOD FORMED, NEITHER SHALL THERE BE AFTER ME.

It's really very straightfoward and simple. God means exactly what he has said through one of his true prophets, Isaiah. You can never become a God, because God said so.
The God of the Bible is not one of a multitude of Gods with many before him and many following him. There was simply none before Him and there are simply none after Him. He stands alone in all the universes. he did not become a God at a point of time by obeying some kind of `law of eternal progression`. He always was God and He surely always will be God. "...even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." Psalms 90:2

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT GOD IS ALL - KNOWING?

Does the God you believe in truly know everything that is going on throughout the endless reaches of the universe? The true God does. He said, "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD." ( Jeremiah 23:24). Notice that he says "I fill heaven" not just his power and influence. "... behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!" (2 chronicles 6:18- this is part of Solomon's given at the dedication of the great temple in jerusalem). Then we have the 147th psalm (vs. 5) declaring "... his understanding is infinite." Can you agree he is all-knowing? Then seriously consider:

" Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea there is no God: I know not any." Isaiah 44:8

If you admit that God is all-knowing then you must agree that there are no other Gods out there because God doesn't even know of any. He doesn't know of any father or mother Gods before him and He also doesn't know of any Sons or Daughters that became Gods after Him. If you actually became a God and were all-knowing, woldn't you be aware of the presence of other Gods on or about this neighboring worlds? If you're L.D.S., how do you relate to this L.D.S. verse?:

"... but there is no God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all." ( Moses 1:6, cf. 2 nephi 9:20)
 

ANSWERING SOME POSSIBLE L.D.S. OBJECTIONS

1) " In Isaiah 43:10 God was referring to idols, not true Gods." Then God would have been saying that no idols would be formed after him. Idols have been formed after Him however (cf. Isaiah 44:9-20), so God would be guilty of lying or false prophecying if that interpretation were true.

2) " Isaiah 44:8 really means that God doesn't know of any other Gods for this Earth." There is nothing in the context of this verse to support such an interpretation. Isaiah 44:24 tells us, "... I am the LORD that maketh all things; that strecheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself." (cf. 45:12,18,21,22). The God who made the heavens alone and doesn't know of any other true Gods because He alone is truly God! (Also see D. & C. 38:1,2; 88:41.)

3) "But Jesus said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48). If we can become perfect like the father then that means we can become God! Hold on; back up to verses 44 and 45, get the context. We are supposed to be loving our enemies (vs. 44), even as the Father "...maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good..."(vs. 45). Jesus is talking about imitating the character of of God, NOT about becoming Gods in our own right.

4) "But Jesus said, "Ye are gods" in John 10:34!" There are a number of problems here with the commeon Mormon contention that this verse supports the idea athat men can become Gods in the sense that God is God. Notice that He said, "Ye are gods" not "Ye will become gods" the sense is wrong. Other questions need to be asked. Who was He speaking to? and Where was he quoting from and what was the context?
He was speaking to some jews who wanted to stone Him! (this doesn't sound like they were 'Gods in embryo' does it?) He was quoting from Psalms 82:6 The context of 82:2 shows us that these gods were judging unjustly and accepting "the persons of the wicked." These men were evil and certainly not candidates for Godhood according to L.D.S. theology! L.D.S. authority James E. Talmage, indicated that they were divinely appointed human judges(Jesus The Christ, p. 501). Simply human!

5) "Joint-heirs with Christ however (Romans 8:17), will literally inherit everything that He has, including Godhood!"
Suppose a man wills $50,000 to his son and also to his cat. The cat is a joint-heir with the son, but that doesn't make the cat a human! Being a joint-heir with Christ doesn't make the believer a God either. Christians are promised "If we suffer we shall also reign with him..." (2Timothy 2:12). It should be seen however, they will reign with Him, not apart from Him (as separate Gods)!

Lucifer arrogantly strove for Godhood but received a promise of hell. (Isaiah 14:12-15). Avoid his fate! Take this scripture to heart:
"And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3)

For further information, help, or questions:
TRUTH P.O.Box 502 Lancaster NY 14086

INTERNET: mailto:preacher@streetpreaching.net  http://www.streetpreaching.net