Mormon Home Evening - Tonights Lesson - Too Many gods

Mormon Home Evening

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The Other Gods of Deuteronomy by Staci Lee

Posted: 14 Jun 2010 02:23 PM PDT

An LDS man who wanted to convince me that the Bible validates the notion of multiple gods used Deuteronomy 32:8 as a proof text. In the RSV (the translation he wanted to use for this verse) it says:

"When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of men, he fixed the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.";
The LDS man made three claims: that "sons of God" is the more accurate translation; that these sons-of-God are gods themselves; and that these sons-of-God/gods are part of a "heavenly council of gods" to the "Most High God."

To see if the man had a reasonable argument, I first went back to the Book of Deuteronomy and studied it carefully. As it turns out, Deuteronomy has A LOT to say about other gods. The following is a presentation of what I found. PLEASE take the time to read these verses so you will know that my representations and conclusions are fully supported by the Biblical text.

(And keep in mind that Bible translators use the all-caps word "LORD" for the Hebrew word יְהוָה which means "The Existing One." "YHWH," "Yahweh," or "Jehovah" are the English renderings of יְהוָה For this reason, I will substitute "Jehovah" for "LORD" below).


"...Thou shalt have none other gods before me..."

Deuteronomy teaches that:

1 - The LORD God (Jehovah elohim) is the god of the nation of Israel, but other peoples/nations have/worship other gods (Deut 5:6; Deut 29:25-26; Deut 32:12)
2 - The LORD God is adamant that His people not have anything to do with the other gods, nor try to worship Him in the same way as the other people worship their gods (Deut 5:6-8; Deut 6:14; Deut 7:3-5; Deut 8:19; Deut 11:16-17; Deut 11:28; Deut 12:2; Deut 28:14-15; Deut 30:16; Deut 31:16-17)
3 - The god-worship done by the other nations includes “every abomination to the LORD” (one given example is the burning of their children) (Deut 12:31; Deut 20:18; Deut 29:18; Deut 31:18) and
4 - The LORD God is superior to all other "gods" (Deut 3:24; Deut 10:17)


"...These curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee...The LORD shall bring thee... unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone..."

Deuteronomy tells us more about the gods of the other nations. It goes on to show that:

5 - The other "gods" being worshiped are just wood and stone -- graven images/the work of men’s hands (Deut 28:36; Deut 28:64; Deut 4:25, 27-28; Deut 29:16-18; Deut 12:3)
6 - The other "gods" being worshiped are the sun, moon, and ‘host of heaven’ (Deut 17:2-5; Deut 4:15-16,19) and
7 - The other "gods" being worshiped are demons! (Deut 32:16-17)


Perhaps some of the "gods" are not really gods, but are some real?

No.

“For the LORD shall judge his people... he shall say, 'Where are their gods... let them rise up and help you, and be your protection! See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me...'" Deut 32:36-39

“Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.” Deut 4:35

“Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is none else.” Deut 4:39


Perhaps, according to Deuteronomy, Jehovah God is the only real god for our heaven and earth; but there are other real gods for other 'heaven and earths'? Is this possible? No, for two reasons.

First, in all of Deuteronomy, and in fact, in all of the Bible, though the issue of "other gods" is brought up many, many, many times, NOT ONE TIME is any mention made of any other REAL god.

Second, should there be any confusion, the "I am the only God" verses in Deuteronomy have been restated and further clarified elsewhere in the Bible (eg., Isaiah 43:10, 44:6,24).


Mormon friend, it boils down to this. Given what is revealed about Jehovah -- the LORD God, in the Bible -- for you to claim or believe that there are other real gods anywhere (even in other universes, if they exist) you must believe that: 1 - Jehovah conceals the existence of other real gods, 2 - Jehovah is ignorant, or 3 - the Bible is not true (is not reliable/has been mistranslated). Since we were trying to use A BIBLE VERSE to prove the existence of other real gods in the first place, it is pointless to take the position that the Bible is not true/accurate. Next, throughout the Bible, not only does Jehovah repeatedly state that He is the only God, but He takes great care everywhere else in the Bible to say that the "other gods" are but idols. We cannot get around the fact that Jehovah God has clearly spoken on this issue. Lastly, could Jehovah be ignorant? Dare we assume Jehovah is not great enough to know of His peers? Only if we think we are greater than He is. “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4).

We must conclude that IF the 8th verse of the 32nd chapter of Deuteronomy is really talking about "gods," then they are only so-called gods, wrongfully worshiped, to a person's detriment.

And the Most High God? Yeah, that's Jehovah.

"...I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD (Jehovah), the most high God (elyon el), the possessor of heaven and earth..." (Genesis 14:22)

"I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD (Jehovah) most high (elyon)." (Psalm 7:17)

"Know therefore this day, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other." Deut 4:39

"If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams... saying, Let us go after other gods (elohim)... that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD (Jehovah) your God (elohim)..." Deut 13:1-5

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Mormons Believe They WILL be Gods!!!!

"19. And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them--Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths--then shall it be written in the Lamb's Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.
20. Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them." D&C 132
""Here, then, is eternal life--to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power....
[Such persons are] heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. What is it? To inherit the same power, the same glory and the same exaltation, until you arrive at the station of a god, and ascend the throne of eternal power, the same as those who have gone before." (Teachings, pp.345-347)
Again: "Every man who reigns in celestial glory is a god to his dominions." (Teachings, p.374)
(Mormon Doctrine, Bruce R. McMonkie, Bookcraft, 1979, 321-322)
""Mormons believe that they can become gods and rule over their own planets." This is a mischaracterization of LDS belief. This is a scared topic that we do not speak of lightly. It is not something that can be explained in short sound bytes. It is not an established doctrine of the Church, but it is a common belief held by the majority of the members that we participate in the creation process and become as God." (Mormon FAQ/Myths and Questions, http:/www.fairmormon.org)

Fairmormon says that people are to become AS gods. It also says that the topic of becoming a god is not doctrine. The Mormon Doctrine and Covenants says that people who obey the laws will become gods. (See D&C 132:19-20) I think they need to read their own scriptures. Their own authorities have written about the subject as well. (See above quote)