God
If we are going to talk about religion, faith and that sort of thing, we might as well start with God.
As Latter-Day Saints, we believe that God is a loving Father-in-Heaven. His plan for us gives the opportunity for us to receive a fullness of Joy.
He knows everything. He is all powerful, and He can comprehend everything. He is literally the Father of our Spirits. (Acts 17:24-29) He is perfect (Matthew 5:48) He wants the very best for each and every Man, Woman, and Child.
He made us in His image. In other words, we look like him. (Genesis 1:26-27) He has a body of Flesh and Bone... However it is glorified and perfect unlike our mortal bodies.
He loved us so much that he sent His Son, Jesus Christ to live and die for us. (John 3:16) In the Book of Mormon, another Testament of Jesus Christ, it says "Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend. " (Mosiah 4:9)
God is indeed great. In fact, everything good comes from Him. As the scripture says, we can’t comprehend what He is able to comprehend. Time isn't measured to him. He can see everything past, present and future all at once from every angle in the universe if he wants. And He can comprehend everything He sees.
And He doesn't change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So if you are looking for something or someone to put your trust and faith into, your search is over.
Oh and yes, He loves you.
posted by Ben Tanner @ 6:29 PM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
SO, I had an interesting missionary moment on this topic the other day. A friend of mine had taken some of the discusions and said his biggest hang ups were that he did not believe that God had a body of flesh and bones, because "it would hold him back, and he is all powerful" the other thing was that he did not believe that we could become as god is. Other wise "there would be more than one god and that trumps him being the only god"
I tried to explain to him in my own stuttering way that God is much more than a God, He is our Father. And if he were to look at God as being his Father it would help him understand a little of how love comes into play and how he wants to give us everything he has. Although at the time I couldnt think of 1 scripture to back up what I had said. Because thats how my brain works, (it doesnt). I did follow up later with a list of scriptures out of the bible. (because he beleives in the bible). I dont know what will happen from here, but, truth is I didnt know that was going to happen in the first place.
I know that God is the father and he loves us. I also know that he wants to give us all that he has and that because of that All things are available to us.
I know that the priesthood was restored through the prophet Joseph and he loves us. And I know that Thomas S. Monson is Gods prophet on this earth today and he loves us. (plus his son his a falconer and thats top notch in my book)
falcon boy...
These are great questions your friend has.
Here are a couple ideas that might help your friend:
1. Since he believes in the Bible he might appreciate this article on FAIR WIKI about our belief in God as one who has a Body of Flesh and bones:
http://en.fairmormon.org/Corporeality_of_God
2. Also the bible has many passages that support the idea that we can become Gods. In addition to the bible, the earliest Christian texts (100-200 AD) talk about this idea quite a bit. And lastly, even today the Eastern Orthodox Church (the second largest Christian church in the world) believes and preaches the idea that we can become Gods. It seems that Joseph Smith hit the nail on the head with this as a principle that had been largely lost and needed to be restored. Here is another article that talks at length about this:
http://en.fairmormon.org/Deification_of_man
The BEST scripture I've found to express this point to people I've talked to is Phillipians 2:5-6
"Let this mind be in you (In other words think this way) Which was also in Christ Jesus (The reason you should think this way is because Christ thinks this way): Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. (What more can I say. No one will argue that Christ was in the image of God, and it can be argued that we are also in the Image of God and we should think the same way that Christ did, therefore we should believe that it is not robbery or blasphemy to think that we might be comparable to God, or he comparable to us. He is absolutely more perfect than us, more intelligent, more powerful, more merciful and loving, but to say we are not like God would be the same as saying a son is not as human as his father.
Todd. Thank you for your break down of that verse. I totally agree.
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