| Response |
The first question concerned our belief that God has a body of flesh and bones. You believe that He is only a personage of spirit, and
that because of sin in the world, He had to come to earth in the form of a man to be able to bring His children back to Him, and thus He
came as Jesus Christ. You said, "If God was in a flesh and bone state, then what would be the reason to come back down in the form of
a man (His only Begotten Son Jesus Christ) to be a mediator between us and God?"
In your question, you have identified a major difference between what we believe and what you believe, and that is whether God, our
Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ, His Son, are the same individual being. So the answer to your question will be in two parts. First,
let’s examine what the scriptures have to say about whether God is both the Father and the Son, or whether they are two separate
individuals. Let’s begin with Gen. 1:26, which says, "And God said, let us make man in our own image and after our likeness." The first
thing we know, by looking in the mirror, is that we have a physical form. If we believe the Bible to be the word of God, we must then
agree, just from this scripture at the start, that His likeness and His image is just like us. He has a physical form, not some spiritual
essence that exists in a distant heaven. Then, let’s read Ex. 33:11. We can see there that Moses spoke to God face to face. We now
know that God has a face. From there, let’s examine Matt. 3:13-17. As you can see from that scripture, our Savior Jesus Christ was on
the earth in the river Jordan, having just been baptized by John. The Holy Ghost descended from heaven in the form of a dove and
alighted upon His shoulder, and our Heavenly Father in the heavens spoke so that those attending the baptism could hear: "This is my
Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."
From there, let’s go to John 17:9-11. If God, our Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ, His Son, are one and the same, why is He praying
to Him? The necessity for that prayer would be meaningless since He would be talking to Himself. The specifics of the prayer make it
perfectly clear that the "oneness" that much of the Christian world believes in is not a oneness of physical being, but a oneness of
purpose. Notice whom He’s praying for…the eleven apostles. (Judas was not there.) In asking that they be made one just as Christ and
God are one, should we believe that Christ was asking the Father to make His eleven apostles one conglomerate individual, or rather as I
have said above, one in purpose? To clarify that perspective, let’s read on in John 17:20-23. The question there would be, whom was
He praying about? The answer: all those of us who would ever hear and believe in the words of His apostles; that is, the entire Christian
world. Should we think that there is a oneness of being possible in all of the millions of Christians who have ever lived? No. As can be
clearly seen, having read these verses, it surely is a oneness of purpose. Finally, I would refer you to Heb. 1:1-3, which clarifies the
nature of God and the separateness of the Father and the Son in their physical being: "…when He had finished His work, sat down on
the right hand of the Majesty on High."
In your second question, you said you believed that we believe in a heavenly mother and wanted to know if there was a Biblical
reference. There is no Biblical reference to it, but I would ask you this question. If we have a Father in Heaven, and if He is the creator
of our spiritual bodies, isn’t it logical that we would have a mother there too? In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we
believe that there is a mother of our spirits. She is so beloved by our Father in Heaven that He does not provide us with any information
about her, her name, or anything at all. I suspect that’s true so that her glorious name would never be blasphemed or taken in vain, as
His own name and that of His Son are regularly blasphemed and taken in vain.
Your third question is that you understand that we believe we can become as God. You also said you believe that we are transformed
after our death, that we will know God and be perfect like Him, but that there is only one God. You asked if in our religion, will God
always be higher, or will we be gods?
In Matt. 5:48, it says, "Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect." What a glorious ideal that is! I do not
think that it is possible to actually become perfect while we are in this mortal life. But, our Father in Heaven expects us to strive for
perfection, inasmuch as it is possible. By so trying, and by learning more and more over aeons of time, we will finally become like He is.
We will know what He knows. He, however, will always be the Supreme Being, the Eternal One. No one, no matter what they ever
learn or do, can ever take His place; but rather, it glorifies Him as we strive to become like Him.
Your fourth question had to do with the possible brotherhood of Christ and Satan. You yourself have stated that Satan was an angel who
was taken out of heaven because of his rebellion. You are exactly right. If he were in heaven with us in our pre-earthly existence, what
would he then have been? He would have been a spirit child of our Heavenly Father, just like Jesus, you and me, and countless billions
of others. But as the scripture clarifies (which you have already cited from Rev. 12:7-9), Satan rebelled and was cast out of heaven. He
has spent the last 7,000 years trying as best he can to tempt us and lead us away from our Heavenly Father and His teachings.
Your next question is somewhat confusing in its scope. You say, "If all are God’s children, then would that not void the plan of
salvation, because Jesus died on the cross so that all may receive life and have it more abundantly? He was the bridge between God and
man."
Specifically, the plan of salvation is that our Father in Heaven, who loved us and created our spiritual bodies, prepared this earth with the
help of "the noble and great ones." He did this so that He could send His spirit children down here so they could receive physical bodies
by being born into mortality. Here, they can learn to keep His commandments, overcome the trials of this earth, and prove themselves
worthy. They prove their worthiness by faith in His Son Jesus Christ and by accepting Him fully through baptism, after repenting of their
sins. This then qualifies them to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost as a constant companion and guide. They must then endure all the
tests of their lives until the end thereof, and thus literally earn the right to return to dwell with Him throughout the eternities. That is the
plan of salvation. Nothing that happened to Satan would void that plan, and as you have rightly said, the bridge between God and man is
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because our physical bodies are subject to death, Christ’s death and subsequent and resurrection
opened the way for all of Heavenly Father’s children to be resurrected. His atoning sacrifice for all of our sins provides a way for us to
overcome those sins. If we will be faithful to all of the commandments, the atoning sacrifice makes the way for us to return to our
Father at the end of our lives.
Thank you for stating your belief that "the only way to heaven is to repent of your sins and ask Christ in your heart." You have rightly
said that "you must live and have Christ the center of your life, and live for Him, and everything else good He will bless you with."
You have a good heart and a very good understanding of things generally. I would love to offer you a copy of The Book of
Mormon. If you would be so kind as to request it, I’ll have a couple of representatives from our church deliver it to you. In it, you will
find the fullness of Christ’s gospel. You will also find the answers to the questions you have posed, and many others that you probably
have on your mind. These representatives who bring you the book, if you will allow, will explain to you what we believe and why. This
is not just another religion. This is the church of Jesus Christ, and He is at the head of it. Please let me know if you would like to
know more about that.
Sincerely,
Donny Osmond
See related multimedia presentations
|
