Well, I think there are differing grades of intelligence among us all. I think that intelligence, ie knowledge and truth, are something we acquire. I don't believe that any one simply has all knowledge and wisdom without acquiring it. Thus progression from a lower to a higher state is needed of us all to reach the highest possible state of knowledge. It is the same as we experience in this world. The non-LDS Christian does not believe we can ever acquire the knowledge and goodness of God. The atheist does not believe that a God exists. LDS believe that God is an exalted man. Those are the big differences. Climbing the latter of knowledge and goodness may have its similarities with the atheist but I don't think the atheist believes that his behavior has much to do with exalting himself. All of us believe that we can acquire more knowledge from those who are around us who have more knowledge to impart. The atheist, however, does not believe there is an exalted man who directs us toward goodness and knowledge. So in some ways you can claim that we are the same as atheists but in many other ways we are not.Shawn Henry wrote: ↑February 2nd, 2023, 1:31 pmThanks for that. As I see it, based on your view, Red Pill's point would still stand. There was a time when all Gods started out at the bottom rungs of the intelligence ladder just like us, which means who was the first God and how did he become such. Where did it all start?onefour1 wrote: ↑February 2nd, 2023, 12:31 pmJoseph Smith suggested that the Father may have been a Christ on his own planet. So there is a slight variation of those who come to worlds. The vast majority tend to be those who come short of the glory of God and are fallen mankind. However, the Christ is a special kind of being who is able to come to the world and live sin free. So what makes a Christ so much more advanced than all the rest of us? I can only attribute it to two things. First, the intelligence of a Christ was probably way more advanced than the average intelligence. Second, a Christ is the very first born of a God and probably receives a greater degree of one on one attention from the Father and is able to become the creator (organizer) of all things before ever coming to an earth. Perhaps given these two things, a Christ uses their free will to advance much more quickly than other offspring of a God. Christs are much more advanced than the rest of us so maybe as an intelligence they spent their time advancing much quickly than the rest of us before being selected as a Christ. So it appears that there are a few among the vast number of intelligences that are advanced enough to become Christs. The ability of the Gods to know the end from the beginning must allow them to choose a Christ and know that they will not fail.Shawn Henry wrote: ↑February 2nd, 2023, 10:16 amWhich way do you see it? Did God start out as we are doing?
I think all of us have opportunity to advance but this must be respected through each one's free will. Some never choose to advance to become a God. Those who do make it to godhood, vary in how long it takes depending on how quickly they are willing to receive the knowledge and how quickly they are willing to bend their will to become one. The vast majority of us do not qualify to be a Christ but we still have the opportunity to advance. So to answer your question, I do believe that we are all from the same cloth. The big difference is that there are those who choose to apply themselves at a more rapid pace than others and tend to excel much faster. It may be that they realize the true path much faster and are willing to take that path more quickly than others. I don't believe that Gods are a totally different species than man. I believe we are the same and the big difference is self motivation and will.
I imagine that sometime in the distant past the most motivated of all intelligences, as you stated in a previous post, figured out how to take upon themselves spirit matter and then physical matter. Perhaps this was through obedient intelligences obeying them, we don't fully know. But somehow the elements of spirit matter were organized into the shape of a man or woman and may have taken eons and eons to come about. Somehow the means of procreating came about and that knowledge tends to only be given to the Gods. I don't think those of other kingdoms or the demons procreate. mortal man is given this power temporarily as part of the plan of salvation. Abusing this power in eternity appears to be something the Gods wish to avoid. I am sure the Gods have their ways of trying and testing all to be sure that those who truly take on the path to godhood are the only ones who make it. Those who become Gods receive all power that is capable to be received and control the universe(s). That's my take.
We do not have much to go on in this life in understanding how it all began and how long ago it began. My best guess is that the knowledge was acquired. I don't believe that someone always had the knowledge and wisdom to impart it to others. That would imply a first God who never had to acquire goodness and knowledge but had it his/her entire existence. That would imply that he/she never started out as just an intelligence but already had an exalted body of flesh and bones along with all the other things that the rest of us need to acquire godhood. So if atheists believe they can eventually make themselves gods, then yes we do have that in common, but the way in which to achieve it varies greatly. LDS don't believe the atheist path will ever bring them into godhood.
This brings up a host of other questions which we simply don't have the answer to. For example, if, as I suppose, man first had to acquire the knowledge and goodness to be a God in the first place, then at first, no overall law was ruling the universe and sin may not have existed. No Savior was required for the first God to be exalted. It seems that if all intelligence were separate from all matter, then part of becoming a God was learning to combine the two to have a greater degree of joy and happiness.
Doctrine and Covenants 93:33-34
33 For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;
34 And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.
I would imagine that being an intelligence combined to element no matter what you exist as would also bring you a greater amount of joy. So, rocks, plants, animals, and man and all of the creations of God would receive greater joy by being an intelligence combined with matter. Perhaps the first Gods figured out how this combining could work and told other intelligences that they could receive greater joy by doing as I command and then proceeded to combine them with matter. Perhaps over the eons laws were established to maintain the confidence of the many intelligences and as we progressed the intelligences required one to be of the utmost character before they would obey another intelligent being. Once law began to be established, then broken laws meant punishment and from there it became necessary for a savior to bring about forgiveness of sin to allow the progression of law breakers. Now I'm just rambling on with my imagination but I do believe that Godhood did evolve originally and this is probably familiar to atheists way of thinking since evolution is probably one of their primary tenets of belief. If all matter were combined with intelligence, then all matter could then be obedient to a law giver. Trust and fairness seems to be something that would be a desirable trait in one who you would give obedience.