Mormon cosmology
Mormon cosmology is the description of the history, evolution, and destiny of the physical and metaphysical universe according to Mormonism, which includes the doctrines taught by leaders and theologians of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mormon fundamentalism, and other denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement. Mormon cosmology draws from Biblical cosmology, but has many unique elements provided by movement founder Joseph Smith. These views are not generally shared by adherents of other Latter Day Saint movement denominations who do not self-identify as "Mormons", such as the Community of Christ.
According to Mormon cosmology, there was a pre-existence, or a pre-mortal life, in which human spirits were literal children of heavenly parents. Although their spirits were created, the essential "intelligence" of these spirits is considered eternal, and without beginning. During this pre-mortal life, a Plan of Salvation was presented by God the Father with Jehovah championing moral agency but Lucifer countered with a plan that abolished individual choice, and promised eternal exaltation to all, regardless of individual desire. This alternative plan, while seemingly more equitable, was actually contingent on the glory of God being bestowed solely on Lucifer himself. Thus, Lucifer is referred to as "The Great Deceiver" by prominent Mormon Apostle Marion G. Romney. When Lucifer's plan was not accepted, he rebelled against God the Father and was cast out of heaven, taking "the third part" of the hosts of heaven with him to the earth, thus becoming the tempters.
According to the Plan of Salvation, under the direction of God the Father, Jehovah created the earth as a place where humanity would be tested. After the resurrection, all men and women—except the spirits that followed Lucifer and the sons of perdition—would be assigned one of three degrees of glory. Within the highest degree, the celestial kingdom, there are three further divisions, and those in the highest of these celestial divisions would become gods and goddesses through a process called "exaltation" or "eternal progression". The doctrine of eternal progression was succinctly summarized by LDS Church leader Lorenzo Snow: "As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be." According to Smith's King Follett discourse, God the Father once passed through mortality as Jesus did, but how, when, or where that took place is unclear. A prevailing view among Mormons is that God once lived on a planet with his own higher god.
According to Mormon scripture, the Earth's creation was not ex nihilo, but organized from existing matter. The Earth is said to be just one of many inhabited worlds, and there are many governing heavenly bodies, including the planet or star Kolob, which is said to be nearest the throne of God.
Divinity
In Mormonism, the concept of divinity of "exaltation" and "eternal progression": mortals themselves may become gods and goddesses in the afterlife, be rulers of their own heavenly kingdoms, have spirit children, and increase in power and glory forever. Mormons understand that there is a Heavenly Mother. However, the three persons of Godhead are to be the only objects of worship.Exaltation and eternal progression
In LDS doctrine, the goal of each adherent is to receive "exaltation" through the atonement of Jesus. If a person receives exaltation, they inherit all the attributes of God the Father, including godhood. Mormons believe that these people will become gods and goddesses in the afterlife, and will have "all power, glory, dominion, and knowledge." Mormons teach that exalted people will live with their earthly families and will also "have spirit children": their posterity will grow forever.According to the belief, exaltation is a gift available only to those who have qualified for the highest "degree" of the celestial kingdom through faith in Jesus and obedience to his commandments. As prerequisites for this "greatest gift of God", adherents believe that in the afterlife, they will become "perfect" and they must participate in all the required ordinances. Though not necessary, their exaltation can be "sealed upon them" by the Holy Ghost via the second anointing ordinance. One of the key qualifications for exaltation is being united in a celestial marriage to an opposite-sex partner via the ordinance of sealing, either in person or by proxy after they have died. In the 19th century, some leaders of the LDS Church taught that participation in plural marriage was also a requirement of exaltation. The LDS Church abandoned the practice beginning in 1890 and now teaches that only a single celestial marriage is required for exaltation.
Origin of Elohim (God the Father)
According to Mormon theology, God the Father is a physical being of "flesh and bones." Mormons identify him as the biblical god Elohim. Latter-day Saint leaders have also taught that God the Father was once a mortal man who has completed the process of becoming an exalted being. According to Joseph Smith, God "once was a man like one of us and once dwelled on an earth the same as Jesus Christ himself did in the flesh and like us."Origin of Jesus
Since the early 20th century, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has identified Jesus as the biblical god Jehovah. The faith regards the Father as the literal biological father of Jesus with Mary. Because Jesus was the Son of God, he had power to overcome physical death. Because he lived a perfect and sinless life, Jesus could offer himself as an "infinite and eternal" sacrifice that would be required to pay for the sins of all of the other children of God.Adam/Michael, under the Adam–God doctrine
According to Brigham Young and the endowment ceremony, Adam was identified as the biblical archangel Michael prior to his placement in the Garden of Eden. While the identity of Adam as Michael is accepted by the LDS Church, the pre-existent godhood of Adam/Michael is now repudiated by the LDS Church, but it is accepted by some adherents of Mormon fundamentalism. According to this interpretation of Young's teachings, Michael was a god who had received his exaltation. He took Eve, one of his wives, to the Garden, where they became mortal by eating the fruit in the garden.Although the LDS Church has repudiated the Adam–God doctrine, the denomination's endowment ceremony portrays this Adam/Michael as a participant with Jehovah in the creation of the earth, under the direction of Elohim.
Heavenly Mother and Holy Ghost
The official doctrine of the LDS Church includes the existence of "heavenly parents", which is generally understood to refer to the goddess Heavenly Mother, who exists alongside God the Father and is his wife.God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are recognized as the three constituent entities of the Godhead. The Holy Ghost has a spirit body, in contrast with the Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, who have physical celestial bodies of flesh and bones.
Extraterrestrial life and other planets
Mormon cosmology teaches that the Earth is not unique, but that it is one of many inhabited planets, and each planet created for the purpose of bringing about the "immortality and eternal life" of humanity. These worlds were, according to doctrine, created by Jehovah, the pre-mortal Jesus. Because Mormonism holds that Jesus created the universe, yet his father, God the Father, once dwelt upon an earth as a mortal, it may be interpreted that Mormonism teaches the existence of a multiverse, and it is not clear if the other inhabited worlds mentioned in Mormon scripture and teachings refers to planets within this universe or not. Mormon leaders and theologians have taught that these inhabitants are similar or identical to humans, and that they too are subject to the atonement of Jesus.The doctrine of other worlds is found in Mormon scripture, in the endowment ceremony, and in the teachings of Joseph Smith. In addition, many LDS Church leaders and theologians have elaborated on these principles through exegesis or speculation, and many of these ideas are widely accepted among Mormons. The LDS Church teaches that after death and resurrection, that exalted adherents will continue having marital sexual relations, create worlds, and have spirit children over which they will govern as gods.
Official sources
According to a revelation dictated by Joseph Smith, Jesus is the creator of many worlds, so "that by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God." Smith's translation of the Bible also refers to "many worlds", and states that the vision Moses had on biblical Mount Sinai was limited to "only account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my powernd there are many that now stand." Another part of Smith's translation portrays the biblical character Enoch as stating that if there were "millions of earths like this , it would not be a beginning to the number of creations; and curtains are stretched out still."Finally, the portion of the LDS Church's endowment ceremony depicting the creation of the world refers repeatedly to "worlds heretofore created". In the portrayal of the Garden of Eden story during the endowment, after Lucifer has tempted Eve to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, God the Father asks Lucifer what he is doing, and Lucifer replies "that which has been done on other worlds."
Noncanonical statements by church leaders
Statements of early church leaders
According to Latter-day Saint Oliver B. Huntington, Joseph Smith said there was life on the Moon; Huntington also reported that he was promised in a patriarchal blessing given to him by Joseph Smith Sr. that he would preach the gospel to inhabitants of the Moon.LDS researchers John A. Tvedtnes and Van Hale have expressed doubt about the reliability of Huntington's claims. Regarding the first, it is likely that Huntington was repeating a description provided by another Latter-day Saint, Philo Dibble. It is unclear what Dibble's source for the statement is, because Dibble did not indicate whether the recollection was his own or something he had heard from another person. The alleged teaching was first recorded by Huntington in a journal entry after he heard it from Dibble about 40 years after Smith's death. Regarding Huntington's second claim, the official LDS Church's record of the blessing indicates that it was given to Huntington by his father, William Huntington, not by Joseph Smith Sr.
The extract from the blessing suggests a more plausible rationale, in that the events could occur at some time in the future or after mortality. Hence: "thou shalt have power with God even to translate thyself to Heaven, & preach to the inhabitants of the moon or planets, if it shall be expedient".
There are no contemporary reports, records, or any other written support of Smith's alleged views or statements on extraterrestrials, nor are there any reports of statements other than the one claimed by Huntington, which is unverified and therefore possibly unreliable. Tvedtnes and James B. Allen have pointed out that, unlike many of Smith's statements, there is no indication that Smith claimed that any such alleged opinions on extraterrestrials was revealed to him by God nor that Smith was speaking under any prophetic authority.
In a statement given on July 24, 1870, LDS Church president Brigham Young discussed the possibility that the Sun and the Moon were inhabited, but said these were his own personal thoughts. In response to a claim of his being ignorant on the matter, Young agreed, asking, "Are not all ignorant ?"
Various writings about Young's statement acknowledge that these were personal beliefs he held and that such beliefs were common in the 19th century and were even considered "scientific fact" by many at the time. For example, William Herschel, the discoverer of the planet Uranus, argued, "ho can say that it is not extremely probable, nay beyond doubt, that there must be inhabitants on the Moon of some kind or another?" Historians have said that Herschel "thought it possible that there was a region below the Sun's fiery surface where men might live, and he regarded the existence of life on the Moon as 'an absolute certainty.'"
In any event, Young's personal beliefs on the subject of "inhabited worlds" are not considered LDS Church doctrine.