SECTION 1: CONCLUSION

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=90 BGCOLOR="#CC9900" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="043005a0dwnjzk.gif"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="EDWARD WATSONS WEBWORLD"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B> | </B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>EDWARD WATS</B><B>ON'S WEBWORLD</B></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id61.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION"><U><B>SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1"><U><B>1</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id66.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2"><U><B>2</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id67.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="3"><U><B>3</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id68.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="4"><U><B>4</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="5"><U><B>5</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id69.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="6"><U><B>6</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id59.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="7"><U><B>7</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id71.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="8"><U><B>8</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id72.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="9"><U><B>9</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="10"><U><B>10</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id73.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="11"><U><B>11</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id74.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="12"><U><B>12</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id75.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="13"><U><B>13</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id76.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="14"><U><B>14</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id77.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="15"><U><B>15</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id78.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="16"><U><B>16</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id79.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="17"><U><B>17</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id80.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="18"><U><B>18</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id81.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="APPENDIX"><U><B>APPENDIX</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><B>SECTION 1: CONCLUSION</B><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id65.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ABBREVIATIONS"><U><B>ABBREVIATIONS</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>[MORMONISM. The Faith of the Twenty-first Century. Volume 1. Edward K. Watson. (Liahona Publications. Copyright © 1998 Edward K. Watson.) pp. 232-232. MORMONISM: Section 1, Conclusion. All rights reserved.]</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>CONCLUSION</B></div> <bR> <div>      To avoid any misunderstanding, I would like to clearly state how I understand the Mormon concept of God and our relationship with him so that the honest investigators will not be deceived by the misrepresentations of our critics:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">He is a spirit entity inseparably united to an immortal body which is in  anthropomorphic form just as we are spirits united to mortal bodies which we will leave at the time of our deaths. We are also created literally in his image.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >1</FONT></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">He knows everything  (omniscient) and is all-powerful  (omnipotent). He isn't everywhere present (he's not ontologically  omnipresent) but can be if he wishes (he's  functionally omnipresent). His knowledge and power extend throughout all of the universe. i.e., he has an   omnipresent omniscience and an omnipresent omnipotence.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >2</FONT></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">He is the literal Father of ou r spirits and we are literally his offspring. We have a portion of the  divine in us.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >3</FONT></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">He was once a  mortal entity and lived on a particular world who eventually achieved perfection and was exalted. Subsequently, he directed  Jesus Christ in creating this universe and everything therein.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >4</FONT></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Because of his existence in another universe, he in turn has a Father who in turn has his Father and so forth.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >5</FONT></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.gif" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Because of our nature as his spirit  offspring, we in turn can progress and achieve a state of perfection just like him and attain a level where we too can be exalted and do what God does provided we obey him.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >6</FONT></div> <bR> <div>      The arguments of the opponents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints against our concept of God the Father are in reality, dead-end arguments because <B>the Bible doesn't mention what God was doing before he created the universe.</B> Since it doesn't claim to contain all truth and doesn't mention which books are authentic, we can't limit ourselves to only what is contained within it.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Is it wrong to view God as an exalted “Man”?</B></div> <bR> <div>      Is it blasphemy to conceive of God as a glorified, exalted “Man”? No, for a number of reasons:</div> <bR> <div> 1) The Bible describes an anthropomorphic God - i.e., God has a humanoid physical body. The earliest portions of the OT clearly describe God as having a human three-dimensional form. The “image of God” man is made after <I>includes</I> physical resemblance.</div> <div> 2) Jesus referred to himself as the “Son of Man” over 80 times in the NT, which shows “Man” is one of the names of God the Father, just like some would refer to themselves as the “son of Mike” or the “son of Fred.”</div> <div> 3) What was God before creating the universe? Does the Bible say he never was a humanoid mortal who became “God” in another universe, prior to the Big Bang?</div> <div> 4) Whatever Jesus is, Heavenly Father is also. If Jesus has the “Man” nature as well as the “God” nature; likewise does God the Father because Jesus is an exact <I>duplicate </I>of God the Father and <I>imitates</I> what the Father did. </div> <div> 5) The entire notion of God being foreign to the “Man” nature isn't from the Bible or ancient Hebrews, but is from Greek philosophy that modern theism accepts without question.</div> <div> 6) Finally, the Bible <I>never</I> says God <I>can't</I> be viewed as a glorified exalted “Man.”</div> <bR> <div>      The doctrines that Heavenly Father was once a “man” and of him being unchanging isn't a contradiction because they reflect different stages of his existence. One was before he created this universe and the other after this universe was made. Any concept of God once being a mortal entity must be put in its proper location -before our time and our universe were created.</div> <div>      <B>The Mormon concept of Heavenly Father is clearly supported by an honest examination of the Bible.</B> It is actually surprising that we are the only ones who believe God has a physical anthropomorphic form. This fact shows the authenticity of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as being the only true church. I testify to all that it is and invite all to join it.</div> <bR> <div> <B>[ENDNOTES]:</B></div> <bR> <div> 1.John  4:24; D&C  93:33; (Luke  24:39; Acts  1:9-11; Jas  2:26; Rom  6:9; Matt  5:48; Heb  5:8-9; Phil  2:5-6; Heb  1:2-3 ***whatever Jesus has, so has Heavenly Father***); Gen  1:26-27; Ps  110:1; Acts  7:55-56; Col  3:1; D&C  130:22.</div> <div> 2.Gen  1:1; Ps  89:11;  90:2;  115:3; Isa  42:5;  44:24; Isa  40:28; Heb  4:13; Ps  139;  147:5; 2 Chr  6; Ex  25:8;  29:45; Acts  7:48; Rom  8:9; 1 Cor  3:16; 2 Cor  6:16; 1 Jn  4:12; Matt  5:16,45,48;  6:1,9;  7:21;  10:32-33;  12:50; Mark  11:25-26; Luke  11:2; etc.</div> <div> 3.Heb  12:9; Acts  17:29; Luke  3:38; Ps  82:6; Rom  8:16-17; 1 Jn  3:2; John  20:17; Rom  8:29; D&C  46:26;  76:24.</div> <div> 4.TPJS. pp. 345-347; John  5:19;  17:5;  1:1-14; Heb  1:8-10;  1:2; Eph  3:9; Col  1:13-17; 1 Cor  8:6; Mosi  3:5-8; D&C  19:15-20.</div> <div> 5.TPJS. p. 373. I would think this would be the logical course of thought if Heavenly Father resided upon a world in another universe before becoming “God” and of him having his own Father. As to where it all began, I don't know and I'm certain I will never know in this life. Just because I can't comprehend the eternal order of things doesn't mean it isn't true. My testimony is sufficiently strong for me to accept this thought without being able to understand it.</div> <div> 6.Ps  82:6; John  10:34-35; Acts  17:29; Rom  8:16-17; Matt  5:48; 2 Cor  3:18; Gal  4:7; 2 Pet  1:4; 1 Jn  3:2; Rev  3:21; Rev  21:7; John  17:21; 3 Ne  28:10; D&C  76:58;  88:107;  131:2;  132:20.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="mailto:ewatson@shaw.ca" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:ewatson@shaw.ca"><U>e-mail me!</U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>