restoration

The Doctrine of Exaltation, Godhood or Deification

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.

Earliest Reference to Nauvoo-Era Temple Endowment?

4 Comments
Urim & Thummim or Interpreters, as described by Joseph Smith and others. Steve Reed, OneClimbs.com.

The Urim & Thummim or Interpreters, as described by Joseph Smith and others. (Steve Reed, OneClimbs.com)

One of the most interesting presentations, at least to me, at this year’s 2012 FAIR Conference in Sandy, UT, was Don Bradley’s “Piercing the Veil: Temple Worship in the Lost 116 Pages,” for obvious reasons; it dealt with the temple. I have not been acquainted with Don Bradley’s work before, so this was an excellent introduction.

Bradley is working on a Master’s thesis at Utah State University, and the focus of his study is the lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon, and he is also planning to publish in a book on the subject, which is sure to be a fascinating read. I have since learned a bit more about Don Bradley, who has a unique history in and out of the Church. The Salt Lake Tribune published an article yesterday interviewing Bradley, and his experience with the Church. Of his unique gifts Don’s mentor at Utah State, Philip Barlow, said, “Intellectually, Don is uncommonly brilliant… In a roomful of Ph.D.s, he’d be among the smartest and most well-read. His writing and the thinking behind it are superlative.”

Bradley’s presentation at FAIR focused on what we might learn about the temple, and temple worship, among the Nephites, particularly from those insights gleaned from details uncovered in the lost 116 pages. Great stuff, which we’ll summarize a bit here.   [Read more…]

The Promises Made to the Fathers

3 Comments
Elijah Appearing In The Kirtland Temple, by Dan Lewis.

Elijah Appearing In The Kirtland Temple, by Dan Lewis.

My father is on the High Council in the Riverton Utah Stake, and this past Sunday he was asked to speak in a ward about the temple and family history work.  He sent me his talk, and I thought it was good and thought provoking.  I thought you might like it too.  -Bryce

By Mark Haymond
November 15, 2009
Riverton 11th Ward

At the first of October, just last month, I had the privilege of traveling with other members of our stake and even President and Sister Higbee back to the important sites in early Church history. We visited the birthplace of Joseph in Sharon, Vermont. We visited Harmony, Pennsylvania, where the Prophet Joseph and Emma first lived after they were married. In the home in Harmony most of the Book of Mormon was translated and revelations were received. Just behind that home, not fifty yards, are the banks of the Susquehanna River where John the Baptist laid his hands on Joseph and Oliver’s heads and the authority of the Aaronic Priesthood was bestowed upon them. While Joseph and Emma lived in Harmony, the Apostles Peter, James and John came to the earth and laid their hands on the heads of Joseph and Oliver and bestowed upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood and the holy Apostleship.  [Read more…]

Temple Worship by Elder John A. Widtsoe

12 Comments
Elder John A. Widtsoe (1872-1952)

Elder John A. Widtsoe (1872-1952)

Occasionally you encounter a talk or book or article that is a classic.  Elder John A. Widtsoe‘s talk on “Temple Worship” given at a meeting of the Genealogical Society of Utah at the Assembly Hall in Salt Lake on October 12, 1920, is one of those talks.  There are portions of this talk that many will recognize that are still frequently quoted today in connection with the temple.  His treatment of the temple is fairly basic, yet it is powerful in its plainness and insight.  Elder Widtsoe has given us a lot to ponder here.

Thank you, Steve, for sharing this talk with us! – Bryce

Temple Worship

My brethren and sisters, when those in charge of this work were planning the program, I urged upon them that they do not call this meeting for the Assembly Hall. I felt sure the congregation would be so small that we would all be unhappy. I am happily disappointed; and I am quite sure that neither the drawing power of Joseph Fielding Smith nor myself is the cause of this large attendance, but that the conviction in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints that all that pertains to temples and to temple work, to the salvation for the dead, is of tremendous worth. I regret, of course, that Elder Joseph Fielding Smith is not here tonight. I am sorry for those of you who came to hear him speak, for you will have to come again, because he speaks tomorrow. He is filling an important engagement, and we simply exchanged evenings. I regret, however, for my own sake, that he is not here, because what I have to say needs as a background the splendid talk that he has for us. He will deal with the spirit and the mission of Elijah. I was asked to speak about temple worship. He was to take up the great generalization, the great body of principles upon which this work rests; and I was to take one small part of the application of the work, for my theme. I feel just a little embarrassed to speak on temple worship without the background of Elder Smith’s discourse. I am embarrassed also because I realize how utterly impossible it is to deal with so vast and comprehensive a subject in the few moments that I can take tonight, especially in the presence of so many of you who have spent your lives in temple service and who understand the subject so well. But, like you I am willing to obey orders and to do the best I can; and with the assistance of your faith and your prayers, I shall try to discuss with you some of the high points pertaining to temple worship which all should understand, whether we have received the blessings of the temple or whether we are candidates for temple blessings. It is to be an elementary, non-technical discussion.  [Read more…]

The Doctrine of Continual Revelation

15 Comments
President Thomas S. Monson

President Thomas S. Monson

The emails I receive these days give me ample opportunity to teach the gospel. Below is my response to a fundamentalist.

I will explain why you do not understand the doctrine of continual revelation, and why it is leading you away from the truth.

First, a scripture:

And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.

Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written. (2 Ne. 29:9-10)

Revelation can be a nebulous thing.  It is not always so clear cut that it builds on top of prior revelations and is in harmony with them.  Every prophet that has ever lived on the earth was rejected by his own generation because they thought he did not conform to the “old revelations,” that they changed them, and gave them something new.  Joseph gave us the script.  And I repeat.  [Read more…]