Friends have often expressed curiosity as to what brought me to believe in Mormonism in the first place. I thought it might be a good time to start addressing this question, though it will take more than just this one article to provide a complete answer.
However, if I had to sum it up in a single sentence it would be something like this: We are literally children of God, and as such, have the opportunity to become like Him. The title that Mormons often give to this concept is “eternal progression.”
I don’t know why, but a lot of people, both Mormons and non-Mormons, seem to gloss over the significance of this doctrine, or even ignore it completely. Mormon critics even attack this doctrine and try to say that it is blasphemous to even suggest that we are literally children of God, and have a divine potential to develop and become more like Him. This has always been strange to me, almost as if they are saying that our potential is limited and finite.
Before I developed faith in the other doctrines of Mormonism, I believed in the idea of eternal progression. I didn’t know what we were to develop into, but I believed that there was no limit as to what we could become. I believed that some clearly developed more rapidly than others, and at times, there were even some who seemed to “devolve” in their own spiritual progression.
As I begin to look into the beliefs of Mormonism, I realized what a unique claim their doctrine made. Rather than limiting our human definition, they openly proclaimed their belief in our limitless human potential. They taught of a God who is literally the Father of every human being. They taught that as a Heavenly Parent, He is intimately concerned with our development. While respecting the importance of free will, He has given us every piece of information necessary to become like Him. It is our decision to use this information or not, and thus our progression is determined by us.
I realized that although this doctrine seemed to be preached only by the Mormons, it is laced throughout ancient scripture and the Bible. Take these examples, which stress the literal nature of humans as sons and daughters of God:
The 82nd Psalm says: “…Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.” In the New Testament, Jesus Christ made reference to this scripture when he said: “Is it not written in your law…Ye are gods? If he called them gods…the scripture cannot be broken.” (John 10:34-35).
It isn’t just religion that teaches this principle. We are echoing this truth in what we are teaching our children. Whenever you tell a child that they can become “anything they want to become,” or encouraging them to “reach for the stars,” we are making reference to this fundamental truth about our nature.
Focusing on the importance of this truth helps us to see the world in a completely different light. Instead of problems, we begin to recognize more opportunities. Instead of enemies, we recognize others as our literal brothers and sisters.
I know that we are not perfect, but we have the potential to become perfect. In fact, Jesus encouraged us to become perfect when He summed up His Sermon on the Mount with these words: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48).
I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on the doctrines of eternal progression and our true nature as divine children of God. For more scriptural references from the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants, click here.
3 comments:
First!
This is way too weird, because that's basically why I believe as well. I have gotten away from that a little in recent years, so I'm glad for the reminder.
(distant, thoughtful look)
I was a teenager, and I thought about the question of the purpose of life long and hard, and decided that it's pretty arbitrary, but I would go with the whole concept of eternal progression. Progressing as I am, and getting smarter and abler until I know it all and can do it all. This would give me a reason to live. This would also give me a reason to live right.
Then, I reasoned, if this concept of eternal progression was revealed to the leaders of The Church, then I would have to take it on faith that the rest, i.e. how to live right, is also true, since ontologically, a prophet is someone who is always right when speaking prophetically (except John Taylor).
The idea of eternal progression was also instrumental in the development of my faith. I asked, as David did in Psalm 8, "What is man that thou art mindful of him?" Eternal progression is certainly a unique concept in Christianity, but the concept is not completely foreign to many Eastern religions and philosophies. The idea of eternal progression is definitely very different in Eastern religions (i.e., reincarnation), but the basic concept is far from foreign. That's why I like to call Mormonism "Zen Christianity".
I really appreciate this post and the comments made so far. I think no matter the religion, when you talk about man's progression, and his eternal nature, you can find connections with those around you. While the concept of becoming a god comes across presumptuous for some religions, I don't think they are intending to limit man, and what he may become... rather they feel there is a line between respecting God and offending him. To presume you can become as He is often looks and feels like crossing that line.
For me, when I think of the people I love (family, friends, acquaintances) it is natural for me to instantly want to include them in all that I have. The desire to share and help and lift others becomes stronger the more I come to know and respect others. I can only imagine this sentiment is multiplied in terms of how God must feel. He doesn't hold precious things far up... out of our reach, rather he reaches out to help us obtain all that he has. We do it too... for our children, friends in need, family members. So, why not God?
For those who do not recognize a "god-like" figure, there is still some concept of progression, isn't there? I believe that it is part of our nature, the desire to progress. What we are progressing toward may differ based on belief or concepts of reality, but I think we're all still progressing toward something. It's the knowledge that we are indeed progressing, the choosing of what we want to become and indeed heading toward that goal that defines and solidifies us to ourselves of our existence (who we are, why we're here, etc.).
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