LDS Freedom Forum

I was reading thru the Adam God thread, and I do believe that I had an insight that many here will think is painfully obvious - but it struck me quite powerfully. I believe it is a fundamental eternal law.

We become gods to those we serve, if we truly selflessly serve and only have their best at heart. (In other words, you cannot serve someone with the intention of beoming a god over them or the reverse will happen.) Those who seek to dominate will become subject to those that they seek to dominate. Those who seek to serve - I would not say they come to dominate, but thru their service they gain a degree of stewardship over those they care for. Christ did not sacrifice Himself in order to become Lord over us, but the fact that He loved us so much that he performed the sacrifice, to some degree that act made him Lord over us.

This is a message I am seeing repeatedly thru the Adam-God thread. To an extent my father is my God, my mother is my goddess. President Monsen is my god, my bishop is my god, my home teacher is my god. Not gods to be worshipped, but gods or rather saviors nonetheless.

Please don't accuse me of going all new agey spiritualism - the opposite really. The new age stuff says exert your will for you are a God and you can get what you want. The gospel teaches us that we become god by serving as God's hands - we perform the miracles - as we do His will we become one with Him.

Anyway, I am sure I did not convey that well, and people will probably be freaking out. It really is quite a simple principle, the first will be last, and the last will be first, He who descended beneath everything is the one who will be set above everything. (But again, my impression is that intention is everything, and there's the rub - you can;t go into it seeking your "eventual" reward - the mroe you lose sight of that and start working for other people's eventual reward, and lose yourself in that - that's when you are on the path.

Not doctrine, that's my interpretation, my opinion, my inspiration. I can see now that Adam can be seen as god, but he also had a god that he prayed to and offered sacrifice to, who banished him out of the garden. I think we want to be careful in understanding in this area, there are things that I am still very confused about and need to work out. I do think that there is only one God that we worship, but is that God the being referred to as "El", is it the plural "Elohim", is it "Jehovah", is it Michael, is it Jesus, is it Adam? Or any of many other names I could give? Which of these names refer to the same individual? Which are distinct? How much does it really matter at this point? (There are at least a few quotes in the Adam-God where I get the impression that it is said that it really doesn't matter, and I get the impression much of it will need to be sorted out for us on the other side of the veil. Not that we should cease from trying to understand now (and I will admit that I don't at the moment, I amm getting hints and ideas that I feel that although maybe not perfect are at least pointing me in the correct direction.)

Anyway, I am rambling and wandered off the topic. Just wanted to share that "aha!" moment with you all. Again, some will say that is a "welcome to kindergarten" level of understanding, some will even say I am incorrect, most likely. Ah well, we each need to learn in our own way and in our own time.

I think your ideas are on the right track OI. In D&C 121:45 we receive the instruction to "Let [our] bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish [our] thoughts unceasingly." If we follow this instruction we receive a number of promises in verses 45 and 46 that I'll list below:

1. "[Our] confidence wax strong in the presence of God."
2. "the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon [our] soul as the dews from heaven."
3. "The Holy Ghost shall be [our] constant companion."
4. "[our] scepter [will be] an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth."
5. "[our] dominion shall be an everlasting dominion."
6. "without compulsory means it shall flow unto [ur] forever and ever."

With the power of the priesthood comes the power of governance, but not the type of governance we generally think of on this earth. Notice that our dominion flows to us without compulsory means. To me that means that the spirit children we eventually hope to have will attach themselves to our dominion voluntarily, just like we have attached ourselves to our Savior and Heavenly Father.

There are those among Heavenly Father's children who rejected his dominion, and while he has more power than they, he will not subject them to himself by force. They are no longer his subjects, although he does and will continue to limit the power he allows these evil spirits to exert over the children under his stewardship.

Priesthood governance, whether in this life or the next operates based on the principles discussed in D&C 121. As we have charity and are longsuffering in the service of our fellow men, our dominion or influence increases.....not because we dominate any one, but because they choose to allow us to influence them.