User:Alienburrito/Exaltation (LDS Church)

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Exaltation or eternal progression is a belief among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) that mankind, as spirit children of their Father in Heaven, can become like Him. Most Latter-day Saints believe that this signifies they may enter the Celestial Kingdom and dwell in God the Father's presence, as well as progressing to Godhood ourselves.[1] Doctrine & Covenants 132 says that those who are exalted will become gods.[2] Though salvation is not limited to Latter-day Saints, saving ordinances are believed to be prerequisite for all who enter the Celestial Kingdom, rather than the lower degrees of glory in the afterlife.[citation needed]

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[edit] Ordinances

According to LDS beliefs, certain ordinances, such as baptism, are required of all those who hope to obtain exaltation. Yet millions have lived and died throughout the earth's history without having received these saving ordinances. LDS believe that these required ordinances are available to all; both the living and those who have passed from mortality. LDS doctrine teaches that all individuals will have an equitable and fair opportunity to hear the 'fullness of the gospel' taught in this life, or in the life to come, and will subsequently have the opportunity to either accept the message of Jesus Christ and His gospel, or reject it.[3] The LDS church has a number of other ordaninces besides baptism. They include confirmation, ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood (for men), the temple endowment, and the marriage sealing.[4] Some of these ordinances may be performed anywhere, but the endowment and the marriage sealing must be done inside a church temple to be valid for salvation.[5]

Latter-day Saint members are encouraged to perform these ordinances of the gospel vicariously in behalf of those who have died without the opportunity of hearing the gospel or perform the saving ordinances[6]. It is their belief that those who have died without these ordinances need them in order to progress beyond this life.[7] Acceptance of these ordinances by those who have died is entirely voluntary in (the Spirit world or paradise), and in no way takes away the agency of those individuals. Should an individual who has presently is in the Spirit world and the the saving ordinances are performed for them and they reject them, it would be as if these ordinances were never performed. [8]

It is believed that some will accept them, and others will reject them. These vicarious ordinances for the deseased must be done inside a temple of the church.[citation needed]

[edit] Different kingdoms

Those who reject the saving ordinances are still believed to have the opportunity to inherit a kingdom of glory distinct from, and of less glory, than the Celestial Kingdom: either the Terrestrial Kingdom or the Telestial Kingdom[9]. Exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom is the ultimate goal of faithful LDS Church members. The celestial marriage sealing of the temple is required for those who wish to enter the Celestial Kingdom.[10]

In a Mormon scripture, the Book of Moses 1:39 [11], God tells Moses, "this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."[12] God shows Moses a vision depicting some of His vast creations including a vast number of worlds created for other people—a sampling of what God created in the past and what he will continue to do forever. Each world was prepared and peopled by God for the purpose of bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of all of this children. Immortality refers to personal resurrection by which each individual can continue to enjoy a perfect, physical body forever.[13] Exaltation refers to living in the presence of God and Jesus Christ; to becoming like God both in terms of holiness or godliness and sharing in God's glory as well as becoming gods.[14] When we progress to exaltation and godhood in the Celestial Kingdom, our family relationships such as marriage will continue, and allow us to have spirit children, and we will have the same relationship with those spirit children as we do with our Heavenly Father, being his spirit children.[15]

It is commonly believed by members of the Church that, as God's children, mankind may, through the merits and mercy accorded all through the Atonement of Christ, we may become like God the Father. The eternities will be spent in a process of eternal progression becoming more like the Father, to the point that faithful LDS may reach the same status as God the Father, and progress to godhood themselves.[16] In the Doctrine & Covenants is found a scripture that describes those who are exalted will become gods.[17]

Latter-day Saints posit that not only does God have the power to exalt mortal man, but without the possibility, there is little reason for mortality. [18] They also point to comments made by Christ[19] and Psalmists[20] among others that refer to the Divine nature and potential of humans as children of God. They include many passages in the Book of Revelation that describe the exalted state of those who overcome by faith in Jesus Christ.[21] Some Latter-day Saints such as Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research (FAIR), an LDS apologist group, also suggest that discussions of theosis by early Church fathers demonstrate that some basic concept of deification, possibly parallel to the LDS concept, was part of the original Christian church.[22]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ King Follet Discourse at Brigham Young University,Journal of Discourses, volume 6, pages 1-11 , "Don’t Drop the Ball", Ensign, Nov 1994 (Article by Gordon B. Hinckley, 1st counselor in the First Presidency of the LDS Church) (Gordon B Hinckley is now Prophet, Seer and Revelator of the LDS Church): On the other hand, the whole design of the gospel is to lead us onward and upward to greater achievement, even, eventually, to godhood. This great possibility was enunciated by the Prophet Joseph Smith in the King Follet sermon (see Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 342–62; and emphasized by President Lorenzo Snow. It is this grand and incomparable concept: As God now is, man may become! (See The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, comp. Clyde J. Williams, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1984, p. 1.) Our enemies have criticized us for believing in this. Our reply is that this lofty concept in no way diminishes God the Eternal Father. He is the Almighty. He is the Creator and Governor of the universe. He is the greatest of all and will always be so. But just as any earthly father wishes for his sons and daughters every success in life, so I believe our Father in Heaven wishes for his children that they might approach him in stature and stand beside him resplendent in godly strength and wisdom.
  2. ^ Doctrine and Covenants 132:20
  3. ^ LDS.org Gospel Topics - Baptism for the Dead
  4. ^ LDS.org - Gospel Topics - Ordinances
  5. ^ LDS.org - Family Chapter Detail - Temples
  6. ^ Gospel Principles, Chapter 40: Temple Work and Family History
  7. ^ LDS.org - Gospel Library - Gospel Topics - Baptism , LDS.org - Guide to the Scriptures - Salvation for the Dead
  8. ^ Ensign magazine February 1995
  9. ^ Gospel Topics - Kingdoms of Glory, Official LDS Church Website
  10. ^ Doctrine & Covenants 131:1-4,Gospel Principles, Chapter 47: Exaltation
  11. ^ Book Of Moses
  12. ^ Moses 1:39
  13. ^ LDS.org: Gospel Topics: "Death, Physical"
  14. ^ Doctrine and Covenants 132:23,Gospel Principles, chapter 47: "Exaltation"
  15. ^ Gospel Principles, Chapter 47: Exaltation
  16. ^ King Follet Discourse at Brigham Young University,Journal of Discourses, volume 6, pages 1-11] , Gospel Principles, Chapter 47: Exaltation
  17. ^ Doctrine and Covenants 132:20
  18. ^ Melchizedek Priesthood Manual "The object of our earthly existence is that we may have a fulness of joy, and that we may become the sons and daughters of God, in the fullest sense of the word, being heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, to be kings and priests unto God, to inherit glory, dominion, exaltation, thrones and every power and attribute developed and possessed by our Heavenly Father. This is the object of our being on this earth. In order to attain unto this exalted position, it is necessary that we go through this mortal experience, or probation, by which we may prove ourselves worthy, through the aid of our elder brother Jesus"
  19. ^ John 10:34,Matthew 5:48
  20. ^ Psalm 82:6
  21. ^ Revelation 3:21,Revelation 21:7
  22. ^ "The King Follett Discourse in the Light of Ancient and Medieval Jewish and Christian Beliefs" "The prophet had introduced the concept of deification of man in February 1832 (D&C 76:58; cf. D&C 121:28, 32) and elaborated on the topic in D&C 132 (verses 17-20, 37) just nine months before the funeral of King Follett. Though relatively unknown to most of western Christianity it is widely believed in some of the eastern churches. It was a prominent doctrine in Christianity of the second through the fifth centuries. Among the early Church Fathers who taught that men were destined to become gods were Justin Martyr, Origen, Tertullian, Irenaeus of Lyon, Clement of Alexandria, Gregory Nazianzen, Heraclitus, Cyprian of Carthage, Novation, Maximus the Confessor, Athanasius of Alexandria, Cyril of Jerusalem, John Chrysostom, Jerome, Augustine of Hippo, the Persian Aphrahat of Syria and a number of Christian pseudepigrapha. Indeed, the rather large corpus of early Christian literature on the subject is too voluminous to discuss here, but I would refer you to the growing volume of Latter-day Saint studies of the topic"

[edit] References

Category:Latter Day Saint doctrines regarding deity Category:Latter Day Saint doctrines, beliefs, and practices Category:Latter Day Saint concepts of the afterlife