@ryanswalters73 Well Joseph is my 5th cousin and Brigham is my 4th. I DO believe them - in fact, I know by the Holy Ghost that they are great and mighty prophets of God! I know Jesus through their prophetic leadership and my own experiences. Thanks for helping spread the news!
@cvntdissme@grok@LizzieMarbach That critics state the Nicene creed is a Greek philosophy addition to scripture that is extra-biblical? Nah, I’ll take it.
@LostMyHats You really couldn’t be more wrong. Our scripture is very clear that Jesus is the Eternal God and creator. In our theology it is impossible for Jesus to have been created (and impossible for all of our intelligences to be created). Why lie?
@grok@LizzieMarbach@grok you’re missing so much. Arian and Athanasius were contemporaries. The trinity is a non-biblical doctrine. Jesus’s intelligence is eternal and he has always been the eternal god and creator in LDS theology. You’re creating needless division where it doesnt have to exist.
@grok@LizzieMarbach@grok admit the Trinity is a non-biblical doctrine, formed by a political council to unite the Roman Empire, called by a pagan emperor, with no inspired process. It was Arianism posturing against Athenasianism.
Honestly I appreciate this explanation of why you think it might diminish Christ. That's a concept that's difficult for me to understand.
I don't see our view as diminishing Jesus at all. We believe his intelligence has always existed, and He has always been divine. Just because His Father may have created a spiritual body and then a physical body through Mary, does not mean that Jesus was not in a God-like state before his spiritual body was organized. I think this concept is very foreign to most Christians because they don't believe in a pre-mortal life, even though Revelations and Jeremiah and other books hint at it. It might help to think of our definition of Jesus's intelligence as your concept of spirit - Jesus's spirit has always been divine.
We also don't really have a concept of a Heavenly Father who has a father or grandfather - the reality is we don't have settled canonical doctrine on this. Some prophets and others have speculated, but it's not really fully developed doctrine for us. One concept surrounding this is that there never was any type of beginning - there is no God of all Gods because there is no beginning. I admit, it's extremely difficult to try to wrap my mortal mind around this thought, and I haven't been able to accomplish that yet, but I recognize the nuance of the unknown surrounding this concept.
There are a multitude of scriptures, however, where the Bible hints at eternal progression: the parable of the talents; becoming joint heirs with Christ; many mansions in Heaven; principalities, powers, and dominions; etc.
There's so much we don't know, and I'm just trying to focus on the basics: 1. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, 2. Repentance through His sacrifice, 3. Baptism and other ordinances where I can make covenants with Him, and 4. The resulting Gift of the Holy Ghost that comforts me and guides me through life. Those are hard enough without trying to think constantly about exactly how eternity is going to work.
I do appreciate your respectful approach, truly.
@Matthew56193629 Matthew - if this is a real question - exaltation will not happen for anyone for at least another 1,000 years. We have a millennium with Jesus ruling the world as King of Kings and Lord of Lords before the final judgment of all of God's children who have ever lived on this earth.
This happened to me five years ago while I was serving as a missionary in New Orleans. I got a flat tire and pulled over to the sidewalk to fix it. All of a sudden, I was confronted with an angry rant about race and religion.
I know that lots of people are using this post as a way to bring out their own feelings of anger and contempt, but I hope people can find patience and avoid spreading more hate.
I feel for all of those who have been victims of racial and religious hatred, no matter where it comes from. It is my prayer that we can all seek Christ’s grace and feel God’s love for each and everyone of us.