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Sustaining and Defending the LDS Temple

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The Doctrine of Exaltation, Godhood or Deification

November 8, 2012 by Bryce Haymond 3 Comments

Some criticize the Church because of one doctrine we hold most dear, which is exaltation.  This has also been referred to at different times and places as godhood, deification, divinization, taking upon the divine nature, making divine, or theosis (also theiosis, theopoiesis, theōsis; from the Greek Θέωσις).  It is, in its most basic description, that man may become like God.  Many of our fellow Christians see this as the ultimate blasphemy and heresy.  How could man ever become like God?  Why would he want to do so?  Doesn’t this go against everything God has taught through his holy word?  The reality is that this concept has been a fundamental part of Christian thought since early Christianity, found throughout the Bible and in early Christian writings.  Unfortunately, this Christian teaching has been largely lost over the ages.

God restored the doctrine of exaltation through the Prophet Joseph Smith, as part of the restoration of the church of Jesus Christ.  Some have thought that Joseph’s teaching of this concept was a rather late invention of the prophet, near the end of his life.  However, the doctrine can be found even in the Book of Mormon, which was published before the church was formally organized.

I recently came across two great articles that were published that discuss this topic.

  • Daniel C. Peterson, “Defending the Faith: Exaltation isn’t a new doctrine,” Deseret News, 8 November 2012.  Peterson shows in this article how the doctrine of exaltation, or theosis, was not a late revelation in the restoration of the Church, but is found throughout the teachings of Joseph Smith.
  • Elder Tad R. Callister, Presidency of the Seventy, “Our Identity and Our Destiny,” BYU Devotional Address, Campus Education Week, 14 August 2012.  Elder Callister fantastically presents five witnesses of the truth of the doctrine of deification: the testimony of the scriptures, the witness of the early Christian writers, the wisdom of poets and authors, the power of logic, and the voice of history.

I highly recommend these two articles.  If you want even further in-depth study, then I also suggest William J. Hamblin’s excellent recent publication in the Interpreter journal, “‘I Have Revealed Your Name’: The Hidden Temple in John 17,” where Hamblin discusses the chapter of John 17 in fine detail, revealing the strong temple concepts embedded in the text, including theosis.  He also includes an appendix with a bibliography of twenty-three recent scholars’ books on the subject of deification, published just in the last decade, all of them Christian, that you may dive into to learn more about this very Christian teaching.

Posted in: General Authorities, Scholarship, Texts Tagged: bible, bibliography, book of mormon, BYU, christ, christian, daniel c. peterson, deification, early christian, exaltation, god, godhood, jesus christ, joseph smith, poet, restoration, revelation, scholars, scriptures, tad r. callister, theosis, transhumanism, william hamblin

Who are we, really?

September 26, 2012 by Bryce Haymond 5 Comments

I came across an interesting blog post the other day, that gave eight philosophical questions that man believes we may never solve.  One of the questions is, “is our universe real?”  I researched many different facets of this question in my 45 page paper, “A Modern Worldview from Plato’s Cave.”

In this blog post it states:   [Read more…]

Posted in: Tidbits Tagged: children, christ, glory, greek, life, light, philosophy, questions, transhumanism, universe, veil, worship

Jesus’s High Priestly Prayer: A Temple Discourse

September 8, 2012 by Bryce Haymond 2 Comments

Above is a film portrayal of the prayer of Jesus from John 17, which is a conclusion of his Last Discourse given to his disciples on the eve of the Passover. This discourse stretches from John 13 through chapter 17, with the prayer at the end, comprising chapter 17. This scene comes from a 2003 film entitled “The Gospel of John,” and takes it’s text from the American Bible Society‘s Good News Bible, which loses some of the intricate meaning in Christ’s words, but otherwise I think it is well done. I’m looking forward to the Church’s version when it is added to the collection of Bible Videos, which will use the King James Version directly (here you can see the Last Supper, which is the beginning of the discourse from John 13).

I just finished reading Professor William Hamblin‘s recent paper in Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture entitled, “‘I Have Revealed Your Name’: The Hidden Temple in John 17.”  It is an excellent commentary on John 17 viewed in the light of the temple. This chapter represents what is often called Jesus’ Intercessory Prayer, but also Jesus’s High Priestly Prayer, suggesting the temple theology that is central to it. [Read more…]

Posted in: Scholarship, Texts Tagged: bible, celestial, christ, clement of alexandria, early christian, eternity, film, glory, gospel, intercessory prayer, john, name, prayer, purpose, saints, temples, theosis, video, watch, william hamblin, youtube

The Future State of Kings and Priests of the Order of Melchizedek

July 15, 2012 by Bryce Haymond 6 Comments
Cover page of Levi Rightmyer's book The Light of Truth as Revealed in the Holy Scriptures

Cover page of Levi Rightmyer’s book The Light of Truth as Revealed in the Holy Scriptures

I again return to a former post I wrote in 2008 about an obscure book I stumbled across entitled The Light of Truth as Revealed in the Holy Scriptures, published in 1916 by one Levi Rightmyer, a hefty book at 967 pages, and freely downloadable from Google.  I have still been unable to find any more information more about this author Levi Rightmyer, unfortunately, and would be interested to know more about his background if anyone is aware.  Although not LDS (although he does mention the Mormons once in the book), he came very close to approximating many of the more esoteric LDS beliefs regarding Melchizedek, the priesthood, the temple, the judgement, theosis or deification, and the afterlife.  It seems that Levi had an experience similar to Joseph Smith, which caused him to turn to the scriptures to find the truth, this from the preface:

Familiar with many of the conflicting religious beliefs of these and former days, Mr. Rightmyer was early filled with an earnest determination to search the Scriptures for himself, and if possible to find out the truth contained therein. (Preface)

Here are some of the more interesting points that Rightmyer notes in his section on Melchizedek (my commentary added in brackets):   [Read more…]

Posted in: Texts Tagged: altar, altar of incense, apostasy, ark of the covenant, book, christ, christian, crown, holy of holies, king, kingdom, kings, life, melchizedek, prayer, priest, priesthood, resurrection, saints, sin, theosis, throne, truth, veil

The Temple is a Fortress of the Lord

March 28, 2009 by Bryce Haymond 4 Comments

Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone

Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone

Note: Below is an excerpt from a book entitled “The Incomparable Christ: Our Master and Model” by Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone, an emeritus member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, that he entitled “Holiness to the Lord.”  The book was published in 1995.  It is powerful in its vision of the future need of temples as a refuge from a wicked world.  After being released from the Seventy, Elder Featherstone served as the president of the Logan Utah Temple. (The emphasis below is my own.)

The season of the world before us will be like no other in the history of mankind. Satan will unleash every evil scheme, every vile perversion ever known to man in any generation. Just as this dispensation of the fulness of times brought the restoration of all that is good and holy, so also did it bring the fulness of evil. As parents, spouses, children, and members of Christ’s church, we must find safety. Unfortunately, many will struggle mightily before recognizing this bitter truth: there is no safety in this world—wealth cannot provide it, enforcement agencies cannot ensure it, even membership in the Church will not guarantee it.  [Read more…]

Posted in: General Authorities, Temples Today Tagged: attendance, christ, covenant, election, ensign, evil, faithfulness, garments, protection, purpose, satan, second coming, seventy, trials, visit
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