Tag Archives: gods

Deities. LDS doctrine teaches humans can become gods.

“For the vast majority of human history, we lived in small groups of around 50 people. Everyone knew everybody. If you told a lie, stole someone's dinner or didn't defend the group against its enemies, there was no way to disappear into the crowd. Everyone knew you, and you would get punished. But in the last 12,000 years or so, human groups began to expand from a few dozen to more than a thousand. And now it wasn't so easy to punish the cheaters and the free riders. So we needed something big, vast, an epic force that could see what everyone was doing and enforce the rules. Since individual people could no longer police gigantic groups, the policing had to be done by a force that was superhuman. That force, according to psychologist Azim Shariff, was the modern idea of a punitive God, the kind that many preachers warn can send you to hell.” - Shankar Vedantam, Creating God, Hidden Brain Podcast Episode NPR, 2018 | wasmormon.org
“For the vast majority of human history, we lived in small groups of around 50 people. Everyone knew everybody. If you told a lie, stole someone's dinner or didn't defend the group against its enemies, there was no way to disappear into the crowd. Everyone knew you, and you would get punished. But in the last 12,000 years or so, human groups began to expand from a few dozen to more than a thousand. And now it wasn't so easy to punish the cheaters and the free riders. So we needed something big, vast, an epic force that could see what everyone was doing and enforce the rules. Since individual people could no longer police gigantic groups, the policing had to be done by a force that was superhuman. That force, according to psychologist Azim Shariff, was the modern idea of a punitive God, the kind that many preachers warn can send you to hell.” - Shankar Vedantam, Creating God, Hidden Brain Podcast Episode NPR, 2018
"Gods are fragile things, they may be killed by a whiff of science or a dose of common sense. They thrive on servility and shrink before independence. They feed upon worship as kings do upon flattery. That is why the cry of gods at all times is “Worship us or we perish.” A dethroned monarch may retain some of his human dignity while driving a taxi for a living. But a god without his thunderbolt is a poor object." - Chapman Cohen, English freethinker, Atheist, Author, The Devil (1930s) | wasmormon.org
"Gods are fragile things, they may be killed by a whiff of science or a dose of common sense. They thrive on servility and shrink before independence. They feed upon worship as kings do upon flattery. That is why the cry of gods at all times is “Worship us or we perish.” A dethroned monarch may retain some of his human dignity while driving a taxi for a living. But a god without his thunderbolt is a poor object." - Chapman Cohen, English freethinker, Atheist, Author, The Devil (1930s)
“Our mental architecture plays a really big role in the way that we entertain religious beliefs and practices around the world in predictable ways... You imbue the world, the natural world, with these kinds of spirits. Mountains have spirits, and rivers can have these agentic qualities. Natural events like hurricanes or earthquakes evoke also these kinds of agentic understanding of the world. And then from there, it's a small step to then understand or conceptualize gods or spirits as being separate, but controlling these events.” - Dr. Ara Norenzayan, Professor of Social Psychology at the University of British Columbia and Author | wasmormon.org
“Our mental architecture plays a really big role in the way that we entertain religious beliefs and practices around the world in predictable ways... You imbue the world, the natural world, with these kinds of spirits. Mountains have spirits, and rivers can have these agentic qualities. Natural events like hurricanes or earthquakes evoke also these kinds of agentic understanding of the world. And then from there, it's a small step to then understand or conceptualize gods or spirits as being separate, but controlling these events.” - Dr. Ara Norenzayan, Professor of Social Psychology at the University of British Columbia and Author
“One thing that seems to be quite common around the world and throughout history is that these gods and spirits have human-like qualities. In some cultures and traditions, it could even be physical human-like qualities... But also, even if they don't have physical qualities, they surely have mental qualities that are human-like. And that is even more common around the world, which again, verifies this idea that our anthropomorphic tendencies feature prominently in the way that our religious mind operates.” - Dr. Ara Norenzayan, Professor of Social Psychology at the University of British Columbia and Author | wasmormon.org
“One thing that seems to be quite common around the world and throughout history is that these gods and spirits have human-like qualities. In some cultures and traditions, it could even be physical human-like qualities... But also, even if they don't have physical qualities, they surely have mental qualities that are human-like. And that is even more common around the world, which again, verifies this idea that our anthropomorphic tendencies feature prominently in the way that our religious mind operates.” - Dr. Ara Norenzayan, Professor of Social Psychology at the University of British Columbia and Author

Facsimile Problems with the Book of Abraham Translation Theory of Papyri as Catalyst

Apologists for the LDS Church have proposed a theory, the Catalyst Theory, to explain the translation of the Book of Abraham. This theory suggests that the Egyptian papyri Joseph Smith obtained were merely a spiritual trigger, or “catalyst,” for receiving inspired scripture. In other words, the physical texts weren’t actually translated in the traditional sense; …

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Book of Abraham, Facsimile 1: Fig. 1. The Angel of the Lord. Fig. 2. Abraham fastened upon an altar. Fig. 3. The idolatrous priest of Elkenah attempting to offer up Abraham as a sacrifice. Fig. 4. The altar for sacrifice by the idolatrous priests, standing before the gods of Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, Korash, and Pharaoh. Fig. 5. The idolatrous god of Elkenah. Fig. 6. The idolatrous god of Libnah. Fig. 7. The idolatrous god of Mahmackrah. Fig. 8. The idolatrous god of Korash. Fig. 9. The idolatrous god of Pharaoh. Fig. 10. Abraham in Egypt. Fig. 11. Designed to represent the pillars of heaven, as understood by the Egyptians. Fig. 12. Raukeeyang, signifying expanse, or the firmament over our heads; but in this case, in relation to this subject, the Egyptians meant it to signify Shaumau, to be high, or the heavens, answering to the Hebrew word, Shaumahyeem.
Book of Abraham, Facsimile 1: Fig. 1. The Angel of the Lord.Fig. 2. Abraham fastened upon an altar.Fig. 3. The idolatrous priest of Elkenah attempting to offer up Abraham as a sacrifice.Fig. 4. The altar for sacrifice by the idolatrous priests, standing before the gods of Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, Korash, and Pharaoh.Fig. 5. The idolatrous god of Elkenah.Fig. 6. The idolatrous god of Libnah.Fig. 7. The idolatrous god of Mahmackrah.Fig. 8. The idolatrous god of Korash.Fig. 9. The idolatrous god of Pharaoh.Fig. 10. Abraham in Egypt.Fig. 11. Designed to represent the pillars of heaven, as understood by the Egyptians.Fig. 12. Raukeeyang, signifying expanse, or the firmament over our heads; but in this case, in relation to this subject, the Egyptians meant it to signify Shaumau, to be high, or the heavens, answering to the Hebrew word, Shaumahyeem.

Shifting Visions of God: Unpacking Mormonism’s Developing Theology Through Joseph Smith’s First Vision Accounts

Joseph Smith’s various accounts of the First Vision provide a window into his evolving theology, particularly regarding the nature of the Godhead. The changes in each version, when looked at as a narrative through a lens to understand the thinking of church leadership at the time, show ideas developing and how these changing ideas were …

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Email to Sydney Australia Mortdale Stake: Pilot Program – Informed Consent

The members of the Sydney Australia Mortdale Stake received an email informing them the area had been selected for a Pilot Program named Informed Consent. The program announced two objectives: 1) to ensure that converts are fully informed before they commit to baptism, and 2) for all members to have a “short” lesson to make …

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New Scripture Translated From Sealed Portion – Jesus visits Macaroni and Condemns Viper Church Leaders of Last Days

A few years ago, Russell M. Nelson revealed how Joseph Smith would translate by using a rock in a hat a few years ago. Suppose, for a moment, that he could know this technique from experience. What if President Russell M. Nelson knew more about the translation process? What if he used the same technique …

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I Know The Church Is True

Nearly every speaker in a testimony meeting says “I know the church is true.” This is a nonsensical statement, but considering the Illusory Truth Effect we can see what the church may be after. We know that repetitions don’t make statements any more true, but psychologically we do tend to believe things we’ve heard repeatedly. …

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BYU Counsels Divorcees to “Fill the holes that were once filled by sex”

The Covenant Intimacy Conversations discuss the challenging transition individuals may face when moving from a state of being sexually active to sexually inactive due to divorce or the death of a spouse. It states that while it may not be possible to fully replace the aspect of sexual intimacy lost through such life changes, individuals …

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As Man Now Is, God Once Was; As Now God Is, Man May Be – Lorenzo Snow

Lorenzo Snow coined a couplet that famously explains a complex doctrine of Mormon theology which is closely tied to the idea of eternal progression. It also gets Mormon theology in deep water with most other Christian denominations. It challenges (or changes) the nature of God and our relationship with him as mankind. It proclaims that …

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President Gordon B Hinckley Interview with San Francisco Chronicle

Gordon B Hinckley, then church president, was interviewed by Don Lattin on April 13, 1997 for SFGate, the digital home of the San Francisco Chronicle. The interview was in his room at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel, just before he delivered an address to the World Forum of Silicon Valley. Here is the transcript of the interview as reported …

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Thoughts and Prayers

In his lazy learners and lax disciples talk at the April 2021 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, church President Russell M Nelson emphasized the importance of developing faith in Jesus Christ through intentional effort and action. He refers to doubters as “lazy learners and lax disciples” and blames them …

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Elder Holland’s Taffy-Pulled Devotional – Don’t You Dare Bail & Stay in the Boat!

Elder Jeffrey R Holland gave a fiery talk at a devotional in Tempe, Arizona in April 2016. Tempe Rescue This is a very dynamic address, and he’s quite emotionally charged about those who leave. Though charged, Holland does come off as more intelligent than in his BBC interview where he claims he’s neither an idiot …

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