General Conference talk on the understanding of the Godhead

[GoCeltics]

On 7/1/2026 at 3:41 PM, InCognitus said:

This of course does not change the fact of what I said, which was, "According to Joseph Smith's view, God was God (divine) before he was once a man."

Who created him as a man?

[Calm]

6 hours ago, GoCeltics said:

Who created him as a man?

What makes us human is eternal imo.  Do you mean who gave him a physical form as I believe that is what Joseph meant?

We assume if the Father went through mortality as the Son did…which seems logical from what Jesus himself said (John 5:19…btw, how do nonLDS Christians explain this passage?)…the Father had parents and a family life like Jesus.

Edited Friday at 08:05 PM by Calm

[InCognitus]

On 7/3/2026 at 7:19 AM, GoCeltics said:

Who created him as a man?

What Calm said.

God has created worlds without number (Moses 1:33).  And God created the world that he would dwell on, and he created the first man and woman on that world and was born unto parents on that world.  That's what fits according to the revelations (scriptures) and what Joseph Smith taught.

Edited Sunday at 11:31 PM by InCognitus

[theplains]

On 6/28/2026 at 8:46 PM, InCognitus said:

Right, there is nothing in the Bible to indicate that God is God from all eternity.

Ok, so you believe Heavenly Father became a God before he became the God and Heavenly Father of us.  
Is that correct?

I can't remember the thread where you mentioned deification.

Others besides Irenaeus had similar ideas about deification, most notably Clement of Alexandria.

He wrote: "The Word of God became man, that thou mayest learn from man how man may become God."
(Exhortation to the Greeks 1)

Another famous passage: "He who obeys the Lord... becomes a god while still moving about in the 
flesh" (Stromata VII.10).

I believe they erred in their interpretation of scripture.  Could there be a greater temptation 
than wanting to be a god?  I would say no.

LDS theology takes it further; teaching members that they may become Gods who create and populate 
their own worlds. Another twist is that Latter-day Saints are taught they will be made "equal in 
power, and in might, and in dominion" as Heavenly Father himself (Doctrine and Covenants 76:92-95).

Orson Pratt added a few more qualities - "All these Gods are equal in power, in glory, in dominion, 
and in the possession of all things; each possesses a fulness of truth, of knowledge, of wisdom, 
of light, of intelligence ; each governs himself in all things by his own attributes, and is filled 
with love, goodness, mercy, and justice towards all. The fulness of all these attributes is what 
constitutes God. "God is Light." "God is Love." "God is Truth." The Gods are one in the qualities 
and attributes".

"Each person is called God, not because of his substance, neither because of the shape and size 
of the substance, but because of the qualities which dwell in the substance" (The Seer).

If this is what constitutes God, then this further re-enforces the LDS teaching that Heavenly Father 
was not God from all eternity to eternity.

[theplains]

On 6/29/2026 at 10:43 AM, InCognitus said:

Read the King Follet discourse carefully.  According to Joseph Smith's view, God was God (divine) before he was once a man, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to lay down his life and take it up again as he says he did in that discourse (the same as Jesus Christ did).

Back on March 2, I provided 10+ LDS teachings, beyond the King Follett Discourse, which show Heavenly 
Father and Heavenly Mother were not always Gods and they were not always heavenly parents. None 
of these LDS teachings are supported by scripture.  

Joseph Smith's view that you mentioned above does not square with all the provided teachings. LDS leaders
seem to have thrown several things at the wall to see which would stick.

You never did explain how you believe Heavenly Mother became a God and under what circumstances.

The Family: A Proclamation to the World says, "All human beings—male and female—are created in 
the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, 
each has a divine nature and destiny".

But I don't equate this to you being a deity in embryo right now.  Apparently you become a deity
in the future, in the first resurrection. It seems you can also become a god in the second 
resurrection too ("Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first 
resurrection, in the next resurrection" ... Doctrine and Covenants 132:19-20).