I read the following in the official text of Gospel Principles (2009): “Joseph Smith taught: It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God … He was once a man like us; … God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did'” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 308). What does this mean for the LDS? I don’t understand. Could you explain this text, please? May God continue to bless you.
One Response to “I read the following in the official text of Gospel Principl…”
Bruno Rubio
2010-07-25 23:55:12
A statue of Jesus Christ at temple square in Salt Lake City.
Hi Curious Protestant. I must confess that I was surprised to learn that this idea was included in the latest edition of Gospel Principles. It's not an idea that's mentioned often in our church, and it's certainly not one of our central doctrines.
Jesus Christ, God the Son, lived a mortal life in Jerusalem. He was like us in that He was mortal for a time, but He was not like us in that He was also divine. At the end of his life, Joseph Smith suggested that God the Father, like God the Son, also had a mortal experience. This makes sense given that Jesus Himself said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do" (John 5:19). However, Joseph died before he was able to explain this concept thoroughly. Mormons have been speculating about what he meant ever since.
If God the Father did live a mortal life like Jesus did, we know very little about that life. As the late President Gordon B. Hinckley once said, "That gets into some pretty deep theology that we don't know very much about..." On another occasion, President Hinckley said, "I don't know that we teach it [much]. I don't know that we emphasize it...I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don't know a lot about it, and I don't think others know a lot about it."
Some members of the church have speculated that God the Father may have once been a fallen man like us. I see little evidence of that. Joseph suggested that "the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did." Jesus Christ was not fallen; He was perfect even in His mortality. I hope this answer helps.
Jesus Christ, God the Son, lived a mortal life in Jerusalem. He was like us in that He was mortal for a time, but He was not like us in that He was also divine. At the end of his life, Joseph Smith suggested that God the Father, like God the Son, also had a mortal experience. This makes sense given that Jesus Himself said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do" (John 5:19). However, Joseph died before he was able to explain this concept thoroughly. Mormons have been speculating about what he meant ever since.
If God the Father did live a mortal life like Jesus did, we know very little about that life. As the late President Gordon B. Hinckley once said, "That gets into some pretty deep theology that we don't know very much about..." On another occasion, President Hinckley said, "I don't know that we teach it [much]. I don't know that we emphasize it...I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don't know a lot about it, and I don't think others know a lot about it."
Some members of the church have speculated that God the Father may have once been a fallen man like us. I see little evidence of that. Joseph suggested that "the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did." Jesus Christ was not fallen; He was perfect even in His mortality. I hope this answer helps.