Ask a Mormon (Mormons, America, church, Revelation)
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There is a lot of interest in the religious beliefs and practices of members of the 13,000,000 member worldwide Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the "Mormons". (A similar thread on another board drew more than 4,000 messages and 70,000 views.) So I thought I would start a thread on this board in which ALL things Mormon are open for respectful and sincere discussion within board rules.
Although I cannot speak for the LDS Church or anyone else, I have been an active Latter-day Saint for about forty years so I think that my views are representative of the average mainstream religious thinking and beliefs of many of the active Saints. It is my hope that other active Mormons on this board will also contribute their points of view and understandings.
I'll do my best to respond to questions and comments in a timely manner. Hopefully other knowledgeable active Latter-day Saints will pick up the slack when I'm not glued to a keyboard. Please understand if all the Mormons on this board don't see everything exactly the same way. We're all human beings with our own individual crosses to bear, weaknesses to overcome, capacities and talents, and understandings about the universe we find ourselves in.
My objective is to lay out the truth about the Mormons as best I and other Latter-day Saints on this board know it, and to leave it to the readers to decide for themselves if it works for them or not.
Go ahead - "Ask a Mormon".
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For anyone who is interested in learning more about the "Mormons" than is found on this board, below are some of the official websites of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Basic Beliefs and Q&A for investigators and truth seekers:
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An unofficial apologetic website that is fair to the Latter-day Saints: intelligent well-researched responses to critics of the LDS Church, its history, beliefs, religious practices, etc:
Is it true that you believe that as a good mormon you'll have your own planet someday?
No. Well, at least not necessarily. It depends on what you mean by "you."
LDS Christians believe in the doctrine of deification/theosis. In that sense, those people who are redeemed by Christ and exalted will become like Him. LDS believe that they will assist God in carrying out His work throughout eternity.
Check out my little summary of biblical statements relating to deification here.
Check out the FAIR wiki discussion of deification/theosis in ancient Christian writers here.
The most famous passage from LDS scriptures on this point is found in Moses 1:39 which reads
For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
LDS believe that God's work is vast and eternal and involves "worlds without end." For the LDS scriptural support for this you should read the full passage in Moses. Note the part that says
And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.
and also
And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words.
So LDS Christians believe that God, through the Son, has made and will continue to make worlds with people on them. Those who are redeemed will presumably be involved in that work with God.
A second belief that is relevant is that LDS Christians believe that they will have "eternal increase," meaning that they will in some way be responsible for, and able to, assist God in creating new spirits---new sons and daughters of God (and of them, too, btw).
As you can see, LDS Christians have a more developed idea about what will be happening in the eternities than most other Christians, but there are obviously many, many things that aren't known. There has been a lot of speculation over the years about what heaven will look like and what our roles will be as we become "joint heirs with Christ."
So let's go back to your question, "Is it true that you believe that as a good mormon you'll have your own planet someday?" The answer is that some LDS Christians might believe something like that, but it isn't doctrine, and I know Mormons that don't (such as myself). The phrasing of the question, which can be found on many anti-Mormon websites and in anti-Mormon literature, is intended to portray a complex and fragmentary LDS view of the afterlife in a way that sounds very sci-fi and limited---almost like a Star Trek episode. The phrasing minimizes the unity of those in heaven with God and exaggerates their independence from God, making it sound as if when Mormons get to heaven they go off on their own and start their own little fiefdoms of power.
You will also frequently see anti-Mormons in these same places claim that Latter-day Saints are motivated in their religion by pride, arrogance, greed, and a lust for power as they look ahead to becoming a god of their own planet (which, by the way, I've never seen even the slightest hint of in all my time as an LDS Christian). It is all intended to caricature LDS beliefs to make them seem limited and silly.
The final thing I'd like to address from the question is the idea of "good Mormon" receiving an eternal reward. Deification is not something that is based on whether or not you are a "good Mormon" (I'm not quite sure what that means, anyway). All those who are exalted to be with God will be entitled to the blessing of "being one with God" and participating in His work. This would include many people who were not Mormons. It would also exclude "good Mormons" who were not true followers of Jesus and were not justified and sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ. But now this is drifting into LDS soteriological doctrines and is probably outside the scope of this question.
Why did Joseph Smith have so many wives, including underaged girls and women who were already married?
LDS Christians believe that the principle of plural marriage was restored through Joseph Smith and was practiced by the Church from the 1830s through 1890, when it was discontinued by divine revelation through the prophet. LDS Christians believe that the normal form of marriage is between one man and one woman, but that there are times in history where God has sanctioned or even commanded plural marriage.
The issue of "underaged girls" is a fallacious one and is an example of presentism. You can find out more about this by reading the article "Joseph Smith and polygamy/Marriages to young women". Note particularly the discussion found after the graph giving statistical marriage information from the 1850 census.
As for the limited practice of polyandry during the first decade of the Church's practice of plural marriage, I suggest that you review the article "Joseph Smith and polygamy/Polyandry" and particularly the book chapter that is linked from that page. My personal belief is that some of it had to do with the early use of the "sealing power" (LDS beliefs relating to eternal families) in regard to linking family and friends alike into large, extended families of shared relationships. Other reasons are mentioned in the pages I have referenced.
I was tracing my family tree a few years back and found that the records of my Grandfathers ancesters are kept by the LDS church in America. My family have never been involved with your church nor are we American. Why would your church collect and keep my family's records under such circumstances? It baffled me at the time. Someone told me they had heard of this before but nobody could tell me why.
LDS Christians believe that the principle of plural marriage was restored through Joseph Smith and was practiced by the Church from the 1830s through 1890, when it was discontinued by divine revelation through the prophet.
I was tracing my family tree a few years back and found that the records of my Grandfathers ancesters are kept by the LDS church in America. My family have never been involved with your church nor are we American. Why would your church collect and keep my family's records under such circumstances? It baffled me at the time. Someone told me they had heard of this before but nobody could tell me why.
LDS Christians have a strong belief in the eternal nature of families, and they believe that it is important for all people to know their heritage and feel connected to their families and ancestors. LDS Christians have been working to collect genealogical records from all nations since just after World War II. These records are microfilmed and now computer indexed, and they are made available free to the public on-line and in thousands of Family History Centers around the world. FYI, the majority of Latter-day Saints are not American, and most LDS Christians live outside of North America. Members of the Church in all countries avail themselves of the records when working on their family histories. Members of the Church also perform ordinances, such as baptism, for their ancestors. These ordinances are done in temples.
So you're not going to live on your own planet with your wife and have lots and lots of spirit babies?
Just a simple answer will do...
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