I guess the Church teaches the couplet again ....

[_Coggins7]

For some reason my comment that this was Michael Fordham of FAIR didn't make it into the text.

That's who it is.

[_Coggins7]

Do you really think that the ideas of the KFD and God once being a man have really never been emphasized? Can you say that with a straight face. Careful, your already tenuous credibility is really on the line here.

My credibility being on the line here is tantamount to Robert Bork's credibility being on line at the ACLU. Of course its on line. Its always on line here because that's the kind of place this is. If my credibility weren't on line here I would be more than seriously concerned.

What should worry you Jason, is the credibility of the people that have credibility here; people you support and defend. You are known, for good or ill, by the company you keep.

As to emphasis, I used to emphasize this idea all the time when I taught Gospel Doctrine. Its a true principle so I taught it. Has the Church emphasized it? Not in my life time, not officially. Had they emphasized it in the past. Maybe. If so, so what. A number of things were emphasized in the past that are still part of the Gospel but not emphasized.

You're problem here Jason is that, like so many other of your tempests in proverbial teapots, your worries have to do with precisely nothing. There is no contradiction when Hinckley's words are taken in context. He didn't deny the doctrine, only its importance in the general scheme of all things Mormon at the present time.

[Anonymous]

The doctrine of exaltation has always been taught in this church. That is, that a man becomes a God through a process of entering mortality, obedience to the gospel and whatnot, and redemption by a savior. It has been taught that that is how we can become gods, and it has been taught that this process isn't just for us only, but that Father in Heaven went through it too, as did his father, and his father, etc. It was turtles all the way down.

For anyone in the church to try and say this hasn't been taught by the church, and do so with a straight face, is really bizarre.

edit: by "always" I mean something like "ever since the days of Joseph Smith", and not, literally, since April 6th 1830. At some point Joseph Smith introduced the concept of exaltation, and from that point on it's been taught.

[_cksalmon]

And it's still acknowledged by the missionaries, however tentatively. When last I was visited by the missionary elders, I asked them, "Do you believe that God was once a man?"

The lead elder's response: "Well, that's pretty deep doctrine." He went on to suggest that it is much more important to grasp the basics and suggested that I continue reading Book of Mormon, while abstaining from certain vices, and ask God if it is true.

CKS

[_Yoda]

(Note: those Gen-Xers, public school graduates, Mercury,and Zoid, who's eyes glaze over at the sight of text any longer than the "system requirements" label on your newest Sony Playstation game, just skip this):

LOL!

Thanks for giving me a good chuckle tonight, Cogs! You make some good points with the text you quoted as well, which I'll comment on later.

Great stuff!

;)

[_barrelomonkeys]

(Note: those Gen-Xers, public school graduates, Mercury,and Zoid, who's eyes glaze over at the sight of text any longer than the "system requirements" label on your newest Sony Playstation game, just skip this)

I'm a Gen X, public school graduate and I've never played a Playstation. I was however a PacMan champ on the Atari.

I skipped the text.

[_Sethbag]

He is telling the truth. I doubt God has laid out for him how men become gods, what that entails, how it works, etc.

Nehor, the question was not "please give me a detailed theological discussion about the mangod you believe in". The question was "Do you believe that God was once a man". Quit trying to obfuscate the original question.

He was just following advice and answering the question the interviewer should have asked. Which was apparently something like "Do you crazy Marmins believe you can have your own planet someday?" ;-)

[_Yoda]

I'm not saying that GBH did not hedge the issue--so would I have under the same circumstances. That isn't something you discuss on Sixty Minutes. The important thing is that Hinckley did not deny or contradict the doctrine as critics claim. The full context of the exchange, which was edited from the original and which Rollo is not going to give you, make that plain.

Coggins, I just finished reading the text that you quoted from FARMS. What I take issue with is that I saw the interview on Larry King. There weren't any elipses that could have been taken out of context. This was a live interview.

[_The Nehor]

He is telling the truth. I doubt God has laid out for him how men become gods, what that entails, how it works, etc.

Nehor, the question was not "please give me a detailed theological discussion about the mangod you believe in". The question was "Do you believe that God was once a man". Quit trying to obfuscate the original question.

He was just following advice and answering the question the interviewer should have asked. Which was apparently something like "Do you crazy Marmins believe you can have your own planet someday?" ;-)

Pssshh.....just one? Some people think so very small.

[_moksha]

"Do you crazy Marmins believe you can have your own planet someday?" ;-)

Remember, the larger the planet the "More Moons" it has, hence the name, Marmins. It's all there in fractal geometry for anyone to see.