Sunday, March 22, 2009

Children of God

One of the most exciting teachings of the LDS church is that we are literally children of God. He is the father of our spirits and we lived with him before we came to earth. Every man, woman, and child on this earth is a son or daughter of God.

Knowing that we are all brothers and sisters truly affects my interactions with other people. God loves each of his children with a love more perfect even than the love that I feel for my own children and he does not give up encouraging any of us to repent and return to him. If what we feel for those we love is even a sample of what God feels for us, how could we not feel the desire to help lift the burdens of his other children? How can we not desire for others the same blessings and privileges that we enjoy? Knowing that everyone I meet is part of my family and dearly beloved by my perfect and loving Heavenly Father makes me want to be a kinder and better person. Knowing that I am His child gives me hope that I can become more like him.

“…he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.” 2Ne. 26:33

5 comments:

  1. I agree that we are all God's children and that we should love and encourage one another and that God loves us more than we could ever imagine. I think that where we differ in our beliefs is how we as children of God were created. I do not believe that we were created through a relationship that God had with a "spirit wife". I believe that God is enough himself to create what He wills. I also believe that we are children of God through the spirit of adoption. Ephesians 1: 5 says that "he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will" As Gentiles, we become children of God when we repent of our sin and are saved by confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives and that we are soley dependant upon Him. It is only through Him that we can ever achieve salvation and one day enter His kingdom in heaven. When we do this, we share in the spiritual blessings which rightfully belong to those who are Jewish. It is our responsibility as Christians to share the gospel with all who will listen!

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  2. I completely agree that those who accept Christ are adopted as his children. -- John 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.--I also agree that it is only through Christ that we are saved. The idea that God has a spirit wife, as you say, does seem an absurd notion to me too, especially since I believe that God has a perfect and immortal body. I do not pretend to know the process by which our spirits are created, but I do know that all humans are part of God's family and that he loves all of us, even those who choose evil, and he wants all of his children to return to him. I definitely plan to discuss LDS views on God, redemption, and the eternal nature of the family in more detail in later posts.
    A question for you:
    I noticed that you said that we must repent of our sin--did you intend 'sin' to be singular? If so, what does that mean?

    Thank you for your comments. I love you!

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  3. To answer your question about the word sin, I meant for it to be plural. Sorry for the mistake. Maybe I used the wrong terminology when I spoke of God's "spirit wife". The LDS church does teach that God has a wife doesn't it? I guess my issues with what your church teaches run a lot deeper than just basic beliefs about God. I do not believe that people will be married in heaven (read Matt. 22: 23-33) and I do not believe that God has a wife. Where in scripture does it say that He does?

    Love you!

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  4. There are some things in the LDS church that we don’t talk about much, not because they are a secret, but because they are sacred. So it is with our heavenly parents. Of course we believe that we have a mother too. I think is it possible that God has chosen to guard her from the kind of irreverence and mockery from the world that he himself is subject to. I don’t believe that scriptural silence on a subject proves anything other than that the matter was either not revealed to or not recorded by man during the time that the scriptural sources were being written.

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  5. I believe that every belief must be backed up by scripture. Otherwise, people could make up anything they wanted to about God.

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