Exaltation (Mormonism)

Exaltation is a belief among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) that mankind can reach the highest level of salvation, to eternally live in God's presence, become gods themselves, and continue as families.[1] Exaltation is believed to be what God desires for all humankind. The church teaches that through exaltation believers may become joint-heirs with Jesus Christ as stated in Romans 8:12 and Revelation 21:7.[2] The objective of adherents is to strive for purity and righteousness and to become one with Jesus as Jesus is one with God the Father.[3] A verse in the canonized Doctrine and Covenants states that those who are exalted will become gods,[4] and a 1925 statement from the church's highest governing body said that "All men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother ... [and are] capable, by experience through ages and aeons, of evolving into a God."[5][6][7] A popular Mormon quote—often attributed to the early apostle Lorenzo Snow in 1837—is "As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be."[8][9]

Required ordinances

According to LDS beliefs, certain ordinances are required of all those who hope to obtain exaltation. The ordinances that are required for exaltation are called "saving ordinances". The saving ordinances are

The endowment, celestial marriage, and sealing to parents take place in temples.

Latter-day Saints are taught that they can receive exaltation through performing saving ordinances. Performance of the saving ordinances does not guarantee exaltation. Rather, individuals must do their best to be faithful to the covenants that the ordinances represent.

For those who have lived and died without having received these ordinances, it is believed that exaltation will be available through LDS Church vicarious temple work. Latter-day Saints perform the saving ordinances on each other in temples on behalf of those who are dead. Latter-day Saints believe that all individuals will have an equitable and fair opportunity to hear the "fullness of the gospel" and that those who did not have an opportunity to accept the saving ordinances in this life will subsequently have the opportunity to accept them in the spirit world.

Acceptance of the saving ordinances by those who have died is voluntary and does not take away the agency of those individuals. Should an individual who is in the spirit world subsequently reject saving ordinances performed for them, it would be as if these ordinances were never performed. It is taught that some will accept them, and others will reject them.[10][11]

Nature of exaltation

The LDS Church teaches that those who receive exaltation will (1) live eternally in the presence of God the Father and Jesus Christ; (2) become gods; (3) be united eternally with their righteous family members and will be able to have eternal offspring; (4) receive a fulness of joy; and (5) be given everything that God the Father and Jesus Christ have—all power, glory, dominion, and knowledge.[12]

A 2020 manual for Sunday School teachers quotes Wendy Watson Nelson as stating that marital sex "will continue eternally".[13]

Different kingdoms

Those who reject the ordinances are still believed to have the opportunity to inherit a kingdom of glory distinct from and of less glory than the celestial kingdom: the terrestrial kingdom or the telestial kingdom[14] Exaltation in the celestial kingdom is the ultimate goal of faithful LDS Church members.

In an LDS scripture, the Book of Moses 1:39, God tells Moses that "this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." God shows Moses a vision depicting some of His vast creations including a vast number of worlds created for other people, a sampling of what God created in the past and what he will continue to do forever. Each world was prepared and peopled by God for the purpose of bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of all of His children. Immortality refers to personal resurrection by which each individual can continue to enjoy a perfect, physical body forever. Exaltation refers to living in the presence of God and Jesus Christ; to becoming like God both in terms of holiness or godliness and sharing in God's glory.[15]

It is commonly believed by members of the Church that as God's children, people may, through the merits and mercy accorded all through the Atonement of Christ, become like God the Father. As Paul taught the Romans, "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."[16] Eternity will be spent in a process of eternal progression becoming more like the Father (God).

Latter-day Saints posit that God has the power to exalt mortal man and even that without the possibility, there is little reason for mortality.[17] They also point to comments made by Christ and Psalmists among others that refer to the Divine nature and potential of humans as children of God.[18] They include passages in the Book of Revelation that describe the joint heirship with Christ of those who overcome by faith in Jesus Christ.[19]

gollark: In python? Amounts so large that I would have to sit here for ages for my computer to print them.
gollark: Anyway, in 100 or maybe 50 chars you could implement arrow notation or some insaner derivative.
gollark: That just looks like that cubed.
gollark: ```pythonprint("1"*9**9**9**9)```
gollark: BIGLY.

See also

Notes
  1. "Topic Definition – Eternal Life", Official LDS Church Website 9 June 2008.
  2. "Romans 8". scriptures.lds.org.
  3. Joseph Smith, "King Follett Discourse".
  4. "Doctrine and Covenants 132". scriptures.lds.org.
  5. The Origin of Man & Organic Evolution (PDF). Rexburg, Idaho: Brigham Young University-Idaho. 2004. pp. 2–3. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  6. "'Mormon' View of Evolution". Improvement Era. 28 (11): 1090–1091. September 1925. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  7. Grant, Heber; Ivins, Anthony; Nibley, Charles (18 July 1925). "'Mormon' View of Evolution". Deseret News.
  8. Lund, Gerald N. (February 1982), "I Have a Question: Is President Lorenzo Snow's oft-repeated statement—"As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may be"—accepted as official doctrine by the Church?", Ensign
  9. Millet, Robert L.; Reynolds, Noel B. (1998), "Do Latter-day Saints believe that men and women can become gods?", Latter-day Christianity: 10 Basic Issues, Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, ISBN 0934893322, OCLC 39732987
  10. "Baptisms for the Dead", churchofjesuschrist.org, LDS Church, retrieved 10 November 2011.
  11. Condie, Spencer J. (July 2003), "The Savior's Visit to the Spirit World", Ensign, LDS Church, retrieved 10 November 2011, No one will be coerced into accepting ordinances performed on his or her behalf by another. Baptism for the dead offers an opportunity, but it does not override a person’s agency. But if this ordinance is not performed for them, deceased persons are robbed of the choice to accept or reject baptism.
  12. "Chapter 47: Exaltation", Gospel Principles, (Salt Lake City, UT: LDS Church, 2011).
  13. "Alma 39–42 'The Great Plan of Happiness'", Come, Follow Me—For Sunday School: Book of Mormon 2020 (Salt Lake City, UT: LDS Church, 2019).
  14. The celestial kingdom is reserved for the members of the Church who have a testimony of Christ and live a Christian life. The terrestrial kingdom is for the honorable and virtuous people of the world as well as those who reject the gospel. The telestial kingdom is for the murderers, robbers, and liars. The celestial kingdom has two separate classes, those who are married and those who are not, who will be servants to others. (DC 130:5, 1 Corinthians. Gospel Topics – Kingdoms of Glory, Official LDS Church Website
  15. "Doctrine and Covenants 132". scriptures.lds.org.
  16. Romans 8:17
  17. The object of our earthly existence is that we may have a fullness of joy, and that we may become the sons and daughters of God, in the fullest sense of the word, being heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, to be kings and priests unto God, to inherit glory, dominion, exaltation, thrones and every power and attribute developed and possessed by our Heavenly Father. This is the object of our being on this earth. In order to attain unto this exalted position, it is necessary that we go through this mortal experience, or probation, by which we may prove ourselves worthy, through the aid of our elder brother Jesus – "Melchizedek Priesthood Manual", Official LDS Church Website 9 June 2008.
  18. John 17:20–23, Psalms 8:4,5
  19. Rev. 21:7,3:21

References
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