| Response |
First of all, exaltation to godhood does not come to Mormon's just because they belong to the LDS church. It comes
to men and women who live faithful and righteous lives, who keep all of God's commandments, who learn to treat
their fellowmen the way that they want to be treated, and who will love and honor God with all of their heart, might,
mind and strength. In the King James version of the Bible, Isaiah 45:5 says "I am the LORD, and there is none else,
there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me." This agrees specifically with the first of
the Ten Commandments which were given to Moses. It says "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints preaches exactly that doctrine. Regarding God and our relationship
to Him, no one, not even our beloved Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is or ever will be above God. He is our Eternal
Father, He is the Supreme Being, He is all knowing and He is all wise and all powerful. The Godhood that you speak
of is an obtainment, which we hope to achieve over an untold period of time as we grow and progress. As we are
taught by Him in His celestial kingdom and learn all that He knows, we will be in a position to do godlike things.
None of us will ever be equal or ever take His place. But we love His commandments found in Matthew chapter
5:48, which says "To be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
You also said in your letter "I know for a fact that when LDS members pray to Heavenly Father they are praying to
a God which they believe is named Elohim. This leads me to believe that you are not praying to the God Jehovah of
the Bible and it is telling me that your religion teaches polytheism."
When we pray, we pray to God our eternal Heavenly Father, who's name is Elohim. We agree exactly with John,
who said in chapter 17:3 "And this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom
thou hast sent." The Bible does not contain the name of God our Father in Heaven. It was revealed to us as Elohim
in the latter-days, by the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Now, regarding your statement that the LDS church teaches polytheism, I have no idea what you mean by us
teaching polytheism. But to clarify, what we teach is that God our Heavenly Father is a Supreme Being, as referred
above. Along with His son Jesus Christ, He created the worlds and the heavens and everything in them. He sent His
son to earth to establish His gospel and give His life to redeem all of us from our sins.
When Christ completed His work on the earth, He returned to God and took His place at God's right hand (see Acts
7:55-56 and Hebrews 1:1-3, Genesis 1:26). We know from the scriptures of the Bible that these things are true, and
that there is no one greater than the Father.
My suggestion to you, is to take sometime over the next couple of months and carefully study the Book of
Mormon. In it you will find all of the fullness of the gospel as well as the answer to every question which you have
regarding the nature of God, and our relationship to Christ. The Book of Mormon is a second witness for Jesus
Christ. He speaks to you and me through His prophets. As you know He came to the inhabitants of the Americas
after He was crucified and resurrected in Jerusalem, to personally preach His gospel to those people. I hope you can
accept my challenge but I will refer you to James 1:5-6 then to Moroni 10:4-5, and 2 Nephi 32:3. If you pray with a
sincere heart, with real intent and actually have faith in Jesus Christ, He will manifest the truth of all of
these things to you by
the power of the Holy Ghost. Then you will know for yourself the truth which you seek.
Sincerely,
Donny Osmond
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