Mormonism: The Family of Gods - A Proclamation to the World

The First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints promulgated a statement entitled "The Family A Proclamation to the World,"1 which "is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ."

The proclamation states that all human beings are,
"a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose. In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their eternal Father."

The first thing to note is the reference to a premortal existence. You do remember your premortal existence don't you? No, well neither does the Bible mention any such thing. Sometimes Mormonism has attempted to read the entire doctrine of a premortal existence into Jeremiah 1:5 which states, "Before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I consecrated you, and I ordained you a prophet to the nations." Have you ever met someone with whom you have a mutual friend and they say something to the likes of, "I feel as if I already know you."
There is such a thing as one-sided knowledge, which is the case in the Jeremiah text. Notice what the text does and does not say: God tells Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the belly I knew you," God tells Jeremiah, "I knew you," and not, "We knew each other," nor, "You knew me."
Moreover, in Genesis 2:7 we find that, "the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." He was not a living soul already who came into the body that God had made, but was nothing until God created a body and only then created the soul.

Notice that while we have "heavenly parents"-plural, the "spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their eternal Father"-singular. Who is our mother? What is her name? Why do we not worship her? She is a goddess after all.

The proclamation further states, "Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally." This is a wonderful concept and one which contains much truth-we certainly can enjoy each other's presence for eternity. But the Mormon concept goes far beyond this into what a typical Mormon marriage certificate refers to as, "Marriage for Time and Eternity." Allegedly, it was our married heavenly parents who gave birth to our spirits and then made bodies for us.
Interestingly enough, Jesus was specifically asked about marriage in the afterlife:
"On that day the Sadducees came to Him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked Him, saying, Master, Moses said, If a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up seed to his brother. Now there were with us seven brothers. And the first, when he had married a wife, died. And, having no issue, he left his wife to his brother. The second also did likewise, and the third, to the seventh. And last of all the woman also died. Therefore in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be, of the seven? For they all had her. Jesus answered and said to them, You err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in Heaven" (Matthew 22:23-30).
Early (and modern fundamentalist) Mormonism may have responded that she would be the wife of them all (although polygamy is generally one man with many women). In any case, Jesus was asked about a woman who had had many husbands and so to whom will she be married in the afterlife? To no one, because in the afterlife there is no such thing as marriage. She we will enjoy relationships with her earthly spouses but it will not be a marriage as we know it.

In conclusion, we were told that the Mormon proclamation was "based on the teachings of Jesus Christ." The proclamation does not contain one single quotation from Jesus Christ. Moreover, we cannot even say that it is based on, since Jesus' actual teachings contradict those that are claimed to be based on His teaching. The Mormon church has gotten a long way based on their perception as upholding strong family values, but let us not fall for absolute pragmatism. Family values are great but let us base them on the Bible and not on false doctrines that are merely claimed to be based upon Jesus Christ.

1. 1. The First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Family A Proclamation to the World (Intellectual Reserve, Inc., 1997)