Under the leadership of the president of the church we meet in council to determine the direction of the church and what are called in the world, the policies of the church. Some of those things called policies are doctrine, some of them are practices, some of them are temporary directions like the age of missionary service. But they come out of council.
“Man is a child of God, formed in the divine image and endowed with divine attributes, and even as the infant son of an earthly father and mother is capable in due time of becoming a man, so the undeveloped offspring of celestial parentage is capable, by experience through ages and aeons, of evolving into a God.”
The great religious leaders of the world such as Mohammed, Confucius, and the Reformers, as well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received a portion of God's light. Moral truths were given to them by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals...We believe that God has given and will give to all peoples sufficient knowledge to help them on their way to eternal salvation.
There is no impropriety, therefore, in speaking of Jesus Christ as the Elder Brother of the rest of human kind … Let it not be forgotten, however, that He is essentially greater than any and all others by reason (1) of His seniority as the oldest or firstborn; (2) of His unique status in the flesh as the offspring of a mortal mother and an immortal, or resurrected and glorified, Father; (3) of His selection and foreordination as the one and only Redeemer and Savior of the race, and (4) of His transcendent sinlessness.
It is held by some that Adam was not the first man upon this earth, and that the original human being was a development from lower orders of the animal creation. These, however, are the theories of men. The word of the Lord declares that Adam was “the first man of all men” (Moses 1:34), and we are therefore in duty bound to regard him as the primal parent of our race. It was shown to the brother of Jared that all men were created in the beginning after the image of God; and whether we take this to mean the spirit or the body, or both, it commits us to the same conclusion: Man began life as a human being, in the likeness of our Heavenly Father.
All of the commandments are made to liberate you from the bondage of sin and error. So the way to joy is to keep the commandments of God. Stay on the covenant path. Keep on the covenant path. And if you've stepped off, find your way back.
I think it is important when we look back on the history of the Church, which I've been reading and studying all of my adult life - It's a great comfort to me to know that I don't have to take the statement or actions of one particular leader as expressive of the doctrine and expectations of the church.
“He [God] made the tadpole and the ape, the lion and the elephant, but He did not make them in His own image, nor endow them with godlike reason and intelligence.”
We live in the most vibrant era in the history of the world. I wake up every morning eager for the adventures of the day. And I hope you feel that same exuberance for the gift of life.
Don't be offended by what may have been said, or what may have transpired. Make sure you are square with your heavenly father, who loves you and wants you to be happy, and the way to happiness is to keep his commandments.
If we weren't interested in transparency we wouldn't be publishing all of the papers of the prophet Joseph Smith, and the documents that came out of the founding of this restored church.
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, basing its belief on divine revelation, ancient and modern, proclaim man to be the direct and lineal offspring of Deity. God Himself is an exalted man, perfected, enthroned, and supreme.”
Though our world is filled with serious challenges, I am optimistic about the future, and feel confident about the fundamental goodness of human kind.
Your worship in the Temple and your service there for your ancestors will bless you with increased personal revelation and peace, and will fortify your commitment to keep on the covenant path.
Every member needs to know the difference between what's doctrine and what's human. We have both elements that we have to work with.
So give your leaders a little leeway to make mistakes, as you hope your leaders will give you a little leeway to profit by your errors.
The word commandment is a little misunderstood sometimes. People think it is some kind of restriction, a binding, or some kind of prison cell. On the contrary. Keeping the word of wisdom will allow you to run and not be weary, walk and not faint, and ski with your grandchildren.
It is held by some that Adam was not the first man upon this earth, and that the original human being was a development from lower orders of the animal creation. These, however, are the theories of men. The word of the Lord declares that Adam was "the first man of all men" (Moses 1:34), and we are therefore in duty bound to regard him as the primal parent of our race. It was shown to the brother of Jared that all men were created in the beginning after the image of God; and whether we take this to mean the spirit or the body, or both, it commits us to the same conclusion: Man began life as a human being, in the likeness of our heavenly Father.
True it is that the body of man enters upon its career as a tiny germ embryo, which becomes an infant, quickened at a certain stage by the spirit whose tabernacle it is, and the child, after being born, develops into a man. There is nothing in this, however, to indicate that the original man, the first of our race, began life as anything less than a man, or less than the human germ or embryo that becomes a man.
Man, by searching, cannot find out God. Never, unaided, will he discover the truth about the beginning of human life. The Lord must reveal Himself, or remain unrevealed; and the same is true of the facts relating to the origin of Adam's race --God alone can reveal them. Some of these facts, however, are already known, and what has been made known it is our duty to receive and retain.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, basing its belief on divine revelation, ancient and modern, proclaims man to be the direct and lineal offspring of Deity. God Himself is an exalted man, perfected, enthroned, and supreme. By His almighty power He organized the earth, and all that it contains, from spirit and element, which exist co-eternally with Himself. He formed every plant that grows, and every animal that breathes, each after its own kind, spiritually and temporally -- "that which is spiritual being in the likeness of that which is temporal, and that which is temporal in the likeness of that which is spiritual." He made the tadpole and the ape, the lion and the elephant but He did not make them in His own image, nor endow them with Godlike reason and intelligence. Nevertheless, the whole animal creation will be perfected and perpetuated in the Hereafter, each class in its "distinct order or sphere," and will enjoy "eternal felicity." That fact has been made plain in this dispensation (Doctrine and Covenants, 77: 3).
Man is the child of God, formed in the divine image and endowed with divine attributes, and even as the infant son of an earthly father and mother is capable in due time of becoming a man, so the undeveloped offspring of celestial parentage is capable, by experience through ages and aeons, of evolving into a God.
The creation was two-fold—firstly spiritual, secondly temporal. This truth, also, Moses plainly taught—much more plainly than it has come down to us in the imperfect translations of the Bible that are now in use. Therein the fact of a spiritual creation, antedating the temporal creation, is strongly implied, but the proof of it is not so clear and conclusive as in other records held by the Latter-day Saints to be of equal authority with the Jewish scriptures.
“Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.”
All men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity … It shows that man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming on the earth in a temporal body to undergo an experience in mortality.
He made the tadpole and the ape, the lion and the elephant, but He did not make them in His own image, nor endow them with godlike reason and intelligence. Nevertheless, the whole animal creation will be perfected and perpetuated in the Hereafter, each class in its ‘distinct order or sphere,’ and will enjoy ‘eternal felicity.’
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, basing its belief on divine revelation, ancient and modern, proclaim man to be the direct and lineal offspring of Deity. God Himself is an exalted man, perfected, enthroned, and supreme.
Patriarchal blessings, contemplate an inspired declaration of the lineage of the recipient and, when so moved upon by the Spirit, an inspired and prophetic statement of the life mission of the recipient, together with such blessings, cautions and admonitions as the patriarch may be prompted to give for the accomplishment of such life’s mission, it being always made clear that the realization of all promised blessings is conditioned upon faithfulness to the gospel of our Lord, whose servant the patriarch is.
Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose. We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.
Under the leadership of the president of the church we meet in council to determine the direction of the church and what are called in the world, the policies of the church. Some of those things called policies are doctrine, some of them are practices, some of them are temporary directions like the age of missionary service. But they come out of council.
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