Becoming Gods

Becoming Gods?

Each area that I'm transferred to, the first concern that I hear about the Mormon church is almost always the same. Ok the second one.. (they all wonder what number of wife we are). The second thing they ask is "Don't y'all think you can become gods?" At first this question shocked me a little bit. This was doctrine that I didn't think was something people knew right off the bat, yet it was something everyone seemed to be wondering.

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." -Romans 8:16-17 

Paul testifies that we are to become like God in this life, and the life to come. We are joint-heirs of His kingdom! What do you think of when you hear the phrase "joint-heir"? I think of learning how to be just like my Heavenly Father. Of Him teaching me how to be like Him and how to be a loving parent.
  

"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 
-2 Peter 1:4
In 2 Peter, Peter talks to the saints about the promises that God gives us.We are to be partakers of His divine nature! Isn't that the most amazing promise? To be divine is to be like God. We will be like Him! He wants this for us. He wants us to become like Him because He is perfect.

Do Latter-day Saints believe they can become “gods”?
Latter-day Saints believe that God wants us to become like Him. But this teaching is often misrepresented by those who caricature the faith. The Latter-day Saint belief is no different than the biblical teaching, which states, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Romans 8:16-17). Through following Christ's teachings, Latter-day Saints believe all people can become "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4).

I can understand where the miscommunication comes from. Some people have explained to me that they believe we aren't supposed to become like God because He is OUR God! That is completely right! We are only supposed to have one God that we worship, so is it offensive that we believe we will become like Him? Well here is a little analogy.

Harry has two wonderful parents. They love him and cherish him and want the best for him. Harry's parents each have a good job, and are able to provide well for their son. Well, Harry is now entering the young adult stage. He must make choices on where to go to school, what career he wants, who to marry, and how to raise his children. Harry's parents have done that already! They want him to make good decisions so that he can one day have a loving, well-functioning family too. Harry makes all the right decisions (with the wonderful support from his parents) and 10 years late he has a family of his own. Harry is now a parent! But.... he still has parents of his own. They will always be
his parents. They will always be the ones that raised him and helped him through life. But now he gets the chance to do that for someone else. And his parents are so proud that he does.

This is the same idea as us becoming gods and goddesses after this life. Heavenly Father wants us to become like Him. He wants us to become perfect! If we become like Him, then we will be royalty as well. But He will always be the one that we worship. He will always be there for us. Us becoming gods and goddesses will never diminish the fact that He is our King, our Father, our Lord. 

I know that Heavenly Father loves us so much. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints know that He will always be our God and that He deserves to be worshiped with every fiber of our being. We do not obey so that we can become Gods. We obey because we love our Lord and we will never be able to repay Him. I know that the reason we are on this earth is to be tested. If we make the right decisions, we will be able to live with our family and Father in Heaven for eternity. He will teach us to become like Him. We will become joint-heirs!


Mormon Newsroom Article
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormonism-101#C13