"There is no end to race."

[Moliere]

What the? What did I miss on getting rid of Eternal Progression? That would be a big problem for me.

You need to follow CUF more closely. First off, you have GBH's interview with Larry King where GBH seemed unsure if we ever taught that doctrine. Then you have the church's reenactment of the King Follett discourse that excludes the vital part of eternal progression doctrine. Now in my neck of the woods it seems to be popular to simply say we will be kings and priests and not Gods, and if we become gods it will be with a little "g" and not a big "G".

The Methodists came by my house today. They brought me cookies and invited me to their Xmas eve services. I'm thinking about going just to hasten the day where our church will no longer be noticeably different than theirs (I know it's a stretch but the Great Assimilation is taking its toll on the church's identity).

[PaloAltoCougar]

I have to say it's weird to see a nearly four-year old thread reappear, but if it brings forth some interesting comments (including one from the 'vine), I'm cool with it.

[Armenag]

Same tune is used in "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say":

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rr_4M5LQLo"]I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say (Kingsfold) — Choir of Manchester Cathedral - YouTube[/nomedia]

and "The Star of the County Down":

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GbdB7PlGtc"]Van Morrison and the Chieftains - Star Of The County Down - YouTube[/nomedia]

I like each.

[MormonMystic]

I have to say it's weird to see a nearly four-year old thread reappear, but if it brings forth some interesting comments (including one from the 'vine), I'm cool with it.

I hope my answer helps with your original question. I did want to point out that in Battlestar Galactica, we have "Kobol" and not "Kolob." :-P

Best,
MormonMystic

[Maximus]

You need to follow CUF more closely. First off, you have GBH's interview with Larry King where GBH seemed unsure if we ever taught that doctrine. Then you have the church's reenactment of the King Follett discourse that excludes the vital part of eternal progression doctrine. Now in my neck of the woods it seems to be popular to simply say we will be kings and priests and not Gods, and if we become gods it will be with a little "g" and not a big "G".

The Methodists came by my house today. They brought me cookies and invited me to their Xmas eve services. I'm thinking about going just to hasten the day where our church will no longer be noticeably different than theirs (I know it's a stretch but the Great Assimilation is taking its toll on the church's identity).

The current gospel doctrines manual says God was once a man and etc.

Joseph Smith taught: “It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God. … He was once a man like us; … God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 345–46).

http://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-47-exaltation?lang=eng

I doubt they would keep that in there if they are beginning to think it isnt true.

[Sullyute]

The current gospel doctrines manual says God was once a man and etc.

http://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-47-exaltation?lang=eng

I doubt they would keep that in there if they are beginning to think it isnt true.

So are you trying to say that Pres. Hinckley needed to attend sunday school more often?

[Katy Lied]

I don't care much for the song, as its minor key and repetitious, even hypnotic, refrain, sound weird to me

This is one of the most beautiful hymns in the book and sometimes makes me cry. It is adapted from Dives and Lazerus, an english and scottish folk ballad. (Which explains why Van Morrison released a version).

This is a crappy version, listen to the original on the Lower Lights Album 1. Listening to it, I can almost hear the creaking as the conestoga wagon wheels turn, out on the prairie.

[YOUTUBE]QtxJQxH413M[/YOUTUBE]

[Moliere]

The current gospel doctrines manual says God was once a man and etc.

http://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-47-exaltation?lang=eng

I doubt they would keep that in there if they are beginning to think it isnt true.

That JS quote has nothing to do with OUR eternal progression.

[LA Ute]

The current gospel doctrines manual says God was once a man and etc.

http://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-47-exaltation?lang=eng

I doubt they would keep that in there if they are beginning to think it isnt true.

I like this take from By Common consent.

I agree with Pres. Hinckley that Mormons don’t generally broach the topic of God once being a man, with all the sticky theological questions it raises. Divine embodiment, more than questions of sin, seems paramount. Aside from questions about the overall place of Lorenzo Snow’s famous couplet as a point of emphasis within Mormonism over time, it seems to me Pres. Hinckley himself was claiming Mormons don’t know/talk much about God’s past, rather than humanity’s future. As for that future, he directly affirmed the teaching that Mormons do believe they can become gods.

[MormonMystic]

The current gospel doctrines manual says God was once a man and etc.

http://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-47-exaltation?lang=eng

I doubt they would keep that in there if they are beginning to think it isnt true.

Mmm. The Gospel Doctrine manual used to teach that we were "born of heavenly parents." That was removed, if I recollect it right. Does this suggest that Mormons are beginning to think it isn't true?

In the chapter you mention, it does speak of us becoming "gods," but if I am reading this right, there is a strong movement among some Mormons to redefine what this means in a way that is more like early Christian divinization concepts: i.e., that we become "gods" by "participation in God." I would point out that such theological notions are still found in the Roman Catholic catechism, in Greek Orthodoxy, and peppered here and there in Protestantism. Most Mormons, I think, would be satisfied with the idea as it is advocated by C. S. Lewis, over the traditional Mormon articulations by Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, et. al. So, we still believe it, but HOW we believe it slowly changes over time.

Perhaps this is unavoidable: maybe Armand Mauss is correct that we go through periods of assimilation and retrenchment, but the inevitable move is towards our assimilation into the greater society. Mormonism moving in the direction of a greater acceptance of mainstream Christian culture and concepts: they just want to be recognized as "Christians, too."

And so "If you could Hie to Kolob" becomes "If you could Hie to Heaven," and "there is no end to race" becomes "there is no end to grace." :-)

Ah, well. These are minor compared to changes in the past.

Kindest,
MormonMystic