Thesis: Like a soldier acting in his assignment will lead to victory in the battlefield, so a humble family centered life is the key to fulfilling God’s plan, including the attainment of Godhood for all who qualify. Jesus Christ & Lucifer are prototypical examples of how any person can select either exaltation or damnation.
The Master taught that the way to salvation is the plain road.
The kingdom of god is thus: A military commander needs 1,000-foot soldiers, 2 air soldiers, 2 computer soldiers, 1 supply soldier, etc. If the foot soldier lusts for a different position than his assignment, the commander is short 1 needed foot soldier, and loses the war. Foot soldiers are not negotiable. what your life calling is, it must be done. no calling is to be taken lightly, each is needed. unnecessary zeal for a thing results in frustrating the plans of the commander, and you aid not him like you could have. to render the full aid one is capable of rendering is to lift where assigned.
God needs millions even billions of men of family, 1 man of administration, and 1 man of science, and a few other branches. the majority are in place not because they can’t measure up to the administrative or some other role, but because the role of the men of family is so large, that the vast majority of men have been assigned to it. if one leaves his assignment, he jeopardizes the plan, and one more humble than he must step in and attempt to fill the role of 2 men of family because of the neglect of the other. this is a source of frustration to the commander, yet a reality which is dealt with.
The scripture says that “to obey is better than to sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams”. This means that if we want to leave our duty to do some fancy special thing which in our view is better than our assigned duty, it is less serviceable than attending to the simple duty we had been asked to fulfill in the first place. Whatever our ideas of ideal, they are skewed when held up the ideas of the great commander in chief, Jesus Christ.
By things that seem “small and simple” to us, Christ brings world peace. Satan sews seeds into the field, lies suggesting that some path other than duty is the key to world peace. He can be very convincing. What are these seemingly small and simple things rather which Christ uses? They are the commandments. They are family centered lives where father and mother’s chief preoccupation is the welfare (not the spoiling) of the children, and the colorful feathers of fancy fall by the wayside, the vision being set on the goal. They are trees which nourish only the branches, letting the weeds die of thirst.
What must a man give to save his soul? His time.
What is the usual affliction of the soul of man? He doesn’t give enough time to appropriate causes. The fear of myself and every other person in this world is “have I given what I was ordained to give?” This is healthy fear, the type of fear spoken of in the scriptures known as “the fear of God” which is “the beginning of wisdom”.
Of course, whenever someone gives their time to a/the worthy cause, it is given back to him usually 10-fold in this life, but always 1000 fold in the resurrection. This goes on until the obedient person has all, knows all, and has power over all, being a creator for the sake of the created.
The battle in this life is led by Jesus Christ, the God of this world. Mankind may wish to lead battles, it is only natural for the children of God to wish to behave like God and be the commander themselves, seeking a different role. This current battle calls us for ranking soldiers. Yes, all things will come in their time.
Is it too large of an aspiration to want to become a God? Answer this question: Do you love children? If you’ve answered yes, then you want to be a God. If no, then let’s just say I invite you to reconsider your priorities. The prophets have made it clear that the only condition wherein a person will be able to have children in eternity is in the condition of exaltation, meaning Godhood. Are you catching on? The exciting news is that to be a parent is to be a God! Family life is the lifestyle of the Gods! Will the wicked have children or a spouse in eternity? Neither. The Doctrine and Covenants 131:1-4 reveals, “In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]; And if he does not, he cannot obtain it. He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase.” It’s that simple: children are so precious that they are the essence of the reward of the exalted! Being a God is no more strange than being a parent.
The scripture says that Paul hoped for and urged us toward becoming Gods. He said, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God” (Philippians 3:14). This means that he wanted to be in ONE OF the positions (plural) called “God”. He didn’t want to take Gods place. In other words, he is a son (we are all children of God) who looks up to his dad (Jesus instructed us to pray “Our FATHER who art in heaven”) and wants to be like dad when he grows up (this takes a while, including some time after mortal life). We must not abandon our duties today for more seemingly meaningful things. This is because the only way to find the max potential is in acting obediently in each stage.
Since God has infinite posterity and those posterity can qualify for infinite posterity (the promise to Abraham), the potential number of Gods is endless. Paul knew the office called “God” could come for him and everyone else who “applied unto it”. Being a God is an office of the priesthood. There are Deacons Teachers Priests Elders High Priests Seventies Apostles and Gods. God is the highest priesthood office, and it is not limited enrollment!
Suffering is the school of the Gods. Let me explain what I mean by ‘suffering is the school of the Gods’. Salvation is about what Christ did for us, but exaltation is about what we do for others. Whenever you do something for someone else, it is inconvenient, and a form of suffering. Of course the Holy Ghost comes and turns much of what would be suffering into supernal delight. Additionally, the family is Gods ordained factory for humans to learn to suffer for each other’s welfare out of pure love.
Lucifer wanted to be like God, but he sought it in the wrong way, without sacrifice, without suffering, without the depth of love which is only created in suffering for someone else’s welfare. Lucifer attempted a shortcut to Godhood. He took up enrollment at a different school called The University of Entitlement. The reason Lucifer wanted to take away the agency of man so he could organize ‘easy salvation’, and eliminate the need for atonement on both large and small scales. “If no one was allowed to make mistakes, everyone would be perfect, and no sins would need be paid for” he thought. But he missed this critical element: though man could be sinless if he had no agency (a state similar to the garden of Eden), he could never progress. (see Elder D Todd Christofferson BYU 2017 Christmas devotional for a majestic presentation on the ideas of this paragraph)
Lucifer was satisfied with himself being God, and the rest of humanity being subordinates the rest of eternity. He wanted to replace God instead of grow to become like God in the same ordained path that God used too become God. As more children are born and earths created to house them, there will be space for plenty of Gods. We need not fight over it. A wicked person wants to climb to more power more quickly than he ought, so seeks to subvert it in ways not respectful to the human race. A righteous person also wants power, but they seek and obtain it in the timing and methods which Heavenly Father has established.
Heavenly Father’s plan (of which Jesus Christ (whom we are called to follow) is the engine) is the plan which had always existed, the plan which allowed the ONLY scenario which enabled humans to progress to the divine. We call the plan “Heavenly Father’s Plan” because Heavenly Father endorsed the plan, just like His Fathers had. This plan would of course would require a Savior (Jesus Christ), and at some point, interested candidates would start becoming little saviors themselves until they would, as according to the plan from the beginning, grow “unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). To think that the desire for Godhood is evil is to think that light is darkness and darkness light. It’s all about the technique: will you force your way into Godhood like Lucifer attempted, or will you go through the appointed proper channels like Jesus Christ? Though Christ was the only sinless person, others have reached Godhood including Abraham Isaac and Jacob. D&C 132:17 says that these men have become Gods: “Abraham…as Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods.”. We can be saved and exalted through obedience to the laws of the gospel, which fortunately for us, includes the law of repentance. No wonder we use the word “gospel” meaning good news to describe Heavenly Father and Jesus Christs’ plan for us!
God can’t just exalt whoever he wants. Exaltation (becoming a God) is, by the laws of the universe which have existed longer than even the amount of time which Heavenly Father has held the rank of Eternal God, yes, these eternal laws of the universe which God obeys, these eternal laws demand that the only way progression occurs, is by choices (see Elder D Todd Christofferson BYU 2017 Christmas devotional for a majestic presentation on the ideas of this paragraph). So Lucifer went to a bogus university (or just skipped class at the true university) which taught the idea that the eternal laws of the universe could be bent to accommodate him. The graduates of this school of thought were not offered positions as Gods. It was a bogus degree, offering something which it couldn’t deliver. They were the 1/3 cast to outer darkness, the Sons of Perdition.
If someone tries to save mankind in a way other than the ordained plan of God, he will lose his exaltation (his eventual eternal Godhood). This is why we take God’s family-based commandments seriously. This life is the testing grounds. This is the point of no return. Our entire eternity is calculated upon our performance in these handful of years, like a class with a 1-hour exam at the end, so is pre-mortality leading into mortality.
