Gospel Principles, Chapter 47, p. 305.
"This is the way our Heavenly Father became God. Joseph Smith taught: “It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the character of God.... He was once a man like us;.. . God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 345—46)."
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: “When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the Gospel—you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil [died] before you will have learned them. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 348).
Our Heavenly Father knows our trials, our weaknesses, and our sins. He has compassion and mercy on us. He wants us to succeed even as he did.
Imagine what joy each of us will have when we return to our Heavenly Father if we can say: “Father, I did what you wanted me to do. I have been faithful and have kept your commandments. I am happy to be home again.” Then we will hear him say, “Well done;... thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:23)."
Discussion
• Describe how you might feel to hear the Savior’s words in
• What must we do to endure to the end?
Additional Scriptures
• D&C 132:3—4, 16—26, 37 (pertaining to exaltation)
• D&C 131:1—4 (eternal marriage is key to exaltation)
• D&C 76:59—70 (blessings of celestial glory explained)
Note from Facing The Facts: No True Christian Body of Believers ever taught or believed what is highlighted in yellow above. The God of the Bible is Eternal. He is One God who is Triune. He has no beginning or ending. He did not have a mom and dad like us. He created all things and there was never a time when He did not exist. This is the main difference between Mormonism and Christianity. The Bible teaches that God became a Man. (John 1:1&14) Mormonism teaches that man became a god. This is false!