Questions: Members of the Restored Church
say that God is my Father. Is that just
a generic term for my creator or caretaker, or is God really my Father?
“Ye were also in the beginning with the Father; that which is Spirit, even the Spirit of
truth.” Doctrine and Covenants 93:23
“And he said unto me, Knowest thou the condescension
of God? And I said unto him: I know that
he loveth his children. …” 1 Nephi 11:16-17 The Book of Mormon
Members of the Restored Church believe
that God is the loving Father of the spirits of all humanity.
You are a
human. You think that this is your
species. However, humanity is only one
stage of your life. It is one part of a
greater whole. Your species has three
stages. They are called the first estate, the second estate, and the third
estate. In the Bible’s letter to the
Hebrews we learn about the three estates, although throughout the entire
collection of books and letters in the Bible they are discussed.
It begins by
discussing faithful people written about in the book of Genesis.
“These all died in faith, not having received the
promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and
embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly
that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country
from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have
returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly:
wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for
them a city.” Hebrews 11:13-16
These faithful
people in the Bible admitted that they were strangers and pilgrims on Earth and
that they first came from somewhere else. This was the first estate. It was a good place, or state, to be in. If they could have remembered where they had
come from they might have wanted to return.
But they were not mindful of the place they came from, because of the
veil that covers the Earth. Mortality underneath the veil is the second estate. Promises of even a better place, or state,
had been made to them. This is the third estate. These promises were also made
to you. You are also a stranger and
pilgrim on Earth.
“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war
against the soul.’” 1 Peter 2:11
Just like these
faithful people in the Bible, you have been, you are, and you will be.
In the first estate
you existed as a spirit child of the Father, of God. You may know about God. He is all knowing, all powerful, all wise,
merciful, kind, and just. The Mighty
God. He is also your literal father. By Earthly parents God formed you, created
your body, in the womb.
“Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb. …” Isaiah
44:2
There is more to
the story. God told the prophet Jeremiah of an existence he had before his
birth.
“Before I formed
thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb
I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
Jeremiah was known,
sanctified, and ordained by God before he had physical form. This tells us that Jeremiah was with God in
some form before his time on Earth. You were also formed before you entered the
womb. You are a spirit, a pure
intelligence, and existed with God before you came to Earth, and you will
return to God after this life.
“But
there is a spirit in man. …” Job 32:8
“[T]he spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7
God is the actual
Father of your spirit.
“Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which
corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the Father of spirits,
and live?” Hebrews 12:9
The Bible uses very
precise words to describe your relationship with God.
“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might
feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in
him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets
have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead
is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked
at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.” Acts 17:27-30
You are the
offspring of God. Because of Him you
live and move, and as His offspring that lives and moves, He also must live and
move. Although He may seem distant from you, you can find Him because He is
never far from you. You may have been ignorant of this before, and God allowed
it thus, but now He wants you to know.
Christ tells us plainly
who we are. Jesus begins by saying:
“My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all;
and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are
one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many
good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye
stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but
for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus
answered them, Is it not written in your
law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God
came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou
blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?” John 10:29-36
Christ identified
Himself as being the Son of God, and the Jews began to stone Him for
blasphemy. Jesus tells them, but the
law tells us that you (to whom the law came) are gods, and it is unbreakable
scripture! Yet you want to stone me
because I said I am the Son of God? You
are all sons and daughters of God! God has many children.
“[W]hen I laid the foundations of the earth … When the
morning stars sang together, and all the sons
of God shouted for joy?” Job 38:4, 7
For us there is
only one God the Father. We have only one literal spiritual Father.
“For though there be that are called gods, whether in
heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father,
of whom are all things. …” 1 Corinthians 8:5-6
Though there are
many beings that might be called divine in heaven, for us there is only one
divine Father, by whom all things exist. Additionally, Jesus Christ gave us
this incredible command:
“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48
How could you possibly be perfect like God,
like your Father in heaven, if you were not to be able to? When you are training a dog, you don’t expect
to train that dog to be able to become like a human. Or to do humanly things like become a doctor,
mechanic, lawyer, etc. The most you hope
for is to train up a good dog. Why would
Jesus Christ tell you to be perfect, like God, if it were not in your ability
to be so?
How can you
possibly become perfect like God? You can because you are not a dog.
Humanity is not some whim creation made by a
bored deity looking for something to entertain Himself with. You are a child of the Most High God. God is your Father, and right now He is
raising you up. He is a concerned,
loving, and perfect parent. You are supposed to become like Him, by seeking
Him, by knowing what He is. We can
learn what God the Father is by His Son, Jesus Christ.
“Jesus saith … he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.
…” John 14:9
“Who [Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God. …” Colossians 1:15
“[S]eeing you have put off the old man with his deeds;
And have put on the new man, which is
renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. …” Colossians
3:9-10
“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of
the knowledge of the Son of God, unto
a perfect man, unto the measure of
the stature of the fulness of Christ…”
Ephesians 4:13
God is a glorious,
perfected, personage. You are His
child. You belong to the same
species. This time on Earth is part of
the process of your development. Like a
caterpillar, into a cocoon, then emerging as a butterfly.
You can know this yourself.
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that
we are the children of God.” Romans
8:16
Think of your
Father in Heaven, the Father of your spirit, your origin. Consider that He loves you perfectly. Think about your own self, small, weak,
mortal, but with that spirit that comes from Him. If you could remember Him,
being separated from Him may be more than you could bear. If you could but start to remember Him,
wouldn’t your soul want to cry out, Abba! Father!
“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the
Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba,
Father.” Galatians 4:6
Because you are a
son or daughter, God sent His Son Jesus Christ, and His Son’s Spirit will
kindle something within you to make your heart cry out, “Father!” The Bible tells us that you are God’s actual
offspring, His precious child. God is your actual Father, and you are designed
to be made in His image.
You are a divine
and beloved child.
Next Chapter
Watch- Am I a Child of God?