Author: Hyrum M. Smith
Publisher: Forgotten Books
Published: 2018-01-22
Total Pages: 20
ISBN-13: 9780483625556
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Excerpt from The Latter-Day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 77: November 25, 1915 The Godhead, then, consists of three personages, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; God the Father and the Son possess ing material bodies, and the Holy Ghost, a body of spirit. Following the writer further, we find that he speaks of Genesis 1: 26, where God says, Let us make man in our own image, and he adds, of course, this likeness must be in some sphere of being which God possesses; it would be entirely irrational to seek it in such things as the color of our hair, for instance, or in bodily resemblance of any kind, for God is spirit, as Christ Himself told us, and hence the likeness must be in our spiritual nature. The Mormons, however, take it that God meant just what He said. He made man in His own likeness and gave us a body and a spirit, such as He Himself possesses, as is amply proved by the Bible. As to the teaching of a plurality of Gods, of which the writer accuses us, we answer that we teach nothing but what the Scriptures teach, so that the charge is directed against the Bible not against us. We also believe that as man is, God once was, and as God is, so man may become. Blasphemy! May be; but if so, then are sectarian ministers blasphemers also. In any sectarian church this is the doctrine you will hear - Christ was once a help less babe born into the world, just the same as other children are born. He grew up, passed from childhood to manhood. He died, and rose again, and is now sitting at the right hand of God, sharing His glory. In other words, He is now as God, but once He was a man. He said Himself, I am the way, and bade us follow where He led. If we do that, then one day we shall be as Christ is now, as God. But, as God is progressing, too, He will always be as much ahead of us as He is now. He will still be God of gods. Thou shalt have no other gods before me, God declared offold. What did He mean? Just what He said; that He was the God who stood at the head, and we were to place none before Him; but He never said none were to come after Him, and, as Exodus 15: 11; Deut. 10: 7; Joshua 22: 22; Psalm 86: 8, etc., speak of God as God of gods, what are we to understand, if not that God sits enthroned amidst others who have risen to the high position of gods, and that every man who will but conform to the will of God may one day become as He is now. What an incentive is here for man to strive to conquer sin to keep himself pure and unspotted from the world! Could frail, erring man only realize the latent powers within him that he has lying dormant within, surely he would arise and use those slumbering powers! Be ye therefore perfect, said Christ, and to be perfect is surely to be as God; then where is the blasphemy in teaching neither more nor less than Christ taught? About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
