Can Men Really Become Gods?

I ask this question to Latter-day Saints on the street ALL the time. Sometimes, they reply, “no! Of course not!” Other times, people say “Yes, of course we can…doesn’t God want us to be like Him?” So…which is it?

Historically, the LDS Church has taught that men – by performing sacred Mormon rituals – can become gods. As LDS President Lorenzo Snow taught,

“As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may become.” 

And believe it or not – the Bible actually has a lot to say about this issue! In this video, I want to show you why Scripture rejects the LDS doctrine of exaltation.

Isn’t Mankind Like God?

Doesn’t God want us to be like Him? Yes! Of course! God wants us to display all the godly attributes he has commanded of us (holiness, justice, kindness, love, mercy, goodness, etc.). Jesus even said,

“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

And elsewhere,

“You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16).

But hold on—is imitating God with good works the same thing as becoming like God in every way? No!

How God is a Unique Being

There are many things that necessarily distinguish us from God. For example—we, as humans, change! We grow, we age, we’re different every day! But God says of Himself:

“For I the Lord do not change” (Malachi 3:6).

A changeable being can never go back and become unchanging!

Additionally, we are created beings, but God is uncreated. Moses tells us this in Psalm 90,

“from everlasting to everlasting, you are God” (Psalm 90:2)

No created being can become uncreated. You’re either eternally uncreated, or created. We learn things from other people, we receive gifts—like the gift of salvation! But Romans 11 says of God,

 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” (Romans 11:34-35).

No one has ever counseled God or given a gift to Him…because God is the Most High God! No one is like Him!

We can never go back and become untaught by other people, or go back and unreceive every gift we’ve been given. We can never become an unchangeable being! Only God can have these attributes. 

All of this simply means that God created us with the capacity to share some of His attributes…but not all of His attributes!

Yet all of these things are peripheral verses—let’s look at what the Bible CLEARLY teaches about this issue. Can men become gods? What has God said?

Well, God tells us that no god was ever formed before or after Him:

 “…Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.” (Isaiah 43:10)

He says that he is the first and last, and that there’s no God BESIDES Him:

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. (Isaiah 44:6)

But get this: God even says that he doesn’t KNOW of any other gods:

…Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.” (Isaiah 44:8) 

Now, let’s think about this for a second: If you were exalted to godhood, and wrote your own Scriptures to your Spirit Children, could you honestly say that you don’t know of any other gods…?

You would at least know of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. To say you didn’t know of other gods would be dishonest.

1. God revealing that he doesn’t know of other gods tells us that He was never a man like us who had his own Heavenly Father.
2. It tells us that Jesus is not a separate exalted being.
3. It tells us that God isn’t aware of other exalted beings (like spirit children).

But God doesn’t stop there, he also says that He will not give his glory to another:

I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. (Isaiah 42:8)

God tells us that he saved His people, not for them, but for his own glory:

For my name’s sake I defer my anger; for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off….For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another. (Isaiah 48:9–11)

He even declares that in the end, he alone will be exalted

And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. (Isaiah 2:17)

This is not a complicated or confusing topic—the Lord is quite clear: there only ever has been and ever will be one Creator God.

The Gospel of Christ is not that men become gods….but that God became a man. And He died on a cross, that all who believe in Him should not perish under the weight of eternal wrath, but shall have eternal life.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14)

“He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” (John 1:12)