Objection · Case 11 · Mormonism
The essay is the church’s most careful public statement. Earlier leaders, including Smith himself, said much more, including that God was once a man. Doesn’t citing only the polished essay let the church define the doctrine at its most palatable?
One objection from the free evidence repository at apologetics.pro.
Response
Both belong together. The 2014 essay affirms the Snow couplet while declining to elaborate on the Father’s past; the King Follett discourse and Brigham Young’s sermons say plainly what the essay leaves quiet. The Christian concern is with the doctrine as taught by the founding prophets and still affirmed, not with the tone of the current essay. Reading the earlier statements from LDS sources keeps you from caricaturing the doctrine and from soft-pedaling it.
About this exhibit
This objection is to “Becoming Like God,” Gospel Topics Essays.
The 2014 essay teaches that humans may become like God, and insists this is not many gods in competition: “God’s children will always worship Him.” It calls the “own planet” image a caricature few…