According to LookinforLucy these are the next five parts of her post, as they are all interrelated I will address them together and perhaps seperately.

The concepts are very interwoven and very misunderstood.

"2. He and his wives populated earth with their offspring.

3. His offspring worship him because they are his spirit children.

4. Man, and only man, can also become a god and attain the same as the gods did before him.

5. There are as many gods in the heaven as stars in the sky.

First we do believe that we have a Heavenly Father and that we are spirit children of Him. These are all of the scriptures I could find regarding the subject of the preexistance, and God being the Father of our spirits. As for man attaining what God has we are constantly told in the scriptures to become as God and Jesus Christ, perfect. We know we can not obtain perfection in this world so we will attain it in the next. However; we do have to try. I will let you read these texts and decide for yourselves regarding how horribly different what our Church teaches is from what the Bible teaches. i have included both sets of scripture. As for the multiple wives of God I have searched for a scriptoral reference to this. I have not found one. It does stand to reason that if we have a Heavenly Father we must needs have a Heavenly Mother. Mulitple mothers I can not prove or disprove. Not with the Scriptures available to me. Maybe Lucy can further elaborate?

Genesis 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God make the
earth and the heavens, 5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

Abraham 5:4 And the Gods came down and formed these the generations of the heavens and of the earth, when they were formed in the day that the Gods formed the earth and the heavens, 5 According to all that which they had said concerning every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew; for the Gods had not caused it to rain upon the earth when they counseled to do them, and had not formed a man to till the groud.

Psalms 82:6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together.

Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethern.

Romans 9 just read it all.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Isiah 42:5 Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it and spirit to them that walk therein:

Hosea 1:10 yet the number of the children of Isreal shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.

Zechariah 12:1 The burden of the word of the Lord for Isreal, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

The Acts 17:28 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 offsping. 29 Forasmuch then was we are the offsping of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold...

Hebrews 12:9 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?

Doctrine and Covenants 29:31 For by the power of my Spirit created I them; yea, all things both spiritual and temporal- 32 First spiritual, secondly temporal, which is the beginning of my work; and again, first temporal, and secondly spiritual, which is the last of my work-

Doctrine and Covenants 77:2 Q. What are we to understand by the four beasts, spoken of in the same verse? A. They are figurative expressions, used by the Revelator, John, in describing heaven, the paradise of God, the happiness of man, and of beasts, and of creeping things, and of the fowls of the air; that which is spiritual being in the likeness of that which is temporal; the spirit of man in the likeness of his person, as also the spirit of the beast, and every other creature which God has created.

Doctrine and Covenattns 131:7 There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes; 8 We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter.

Moses 3:4 And now, behold, I say unto you, that these are the generations of the heaven and of the earth, when they were created, in the day that I , the Lord God, made the heaven and the earth, 5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. For I the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken,, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. For I, the Lord God, had not caused it to rain upon the face of the earth. And I, the Lord God, had created all the children of men; and not yet a man to till the ground; for in heaven created I them; and there was not yet flesh upon the earth, neither in the water, neither in the air;

Moses 6:51 And he called upon our father Adam by his own voice, saying: I am God; I made the world and men before they were in the flesh.

Abraham 3:18 Howbeit that he made the greater star; as, also, if there be two spirits, and one shall be more intelligent than the other, yet these two spirits, notwithstanding one is more intelligent than the other, have no beginning; they existed before, they shall have no end, they shall exist after, for they are gnolaum, or eternal.

Abraham 3:22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; 23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou are one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. 24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;

Numbers 16:22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?

Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in man; and the inspiriation of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

Read and pray for yourselves; is LookinforLucy right or are the scriptures? Beth.

"1) 1. God is an exalted man of Flesh and Bone and worked his way up to godhood."

We do believe God has an exhaulted body of flesh and bone. See Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Clearly here it states four times that we are created in God's own image or likeness. If his image was not an exhaulted perfected body of flesh and bones why is our body of flesh and bones. Why are we not created with the ability to be everywhere and nowhere? We are created human beings given Godlike qualities in our form and nature. So why is it reasonable to think that he doesn't look like us? Moses saw the finger of God when he wrote the ten commandments. Moses also spoke face to face with God. Enoch walked with God. Why is it that these men were able to see and speak and walk with God and yet he has no body? That is just unreasonable. How could David have the heart of God, if God has not a heart?

In addition to these testimonies we can find further testimonies of the nature of God in these scriptures from the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price:

2 Nephi 2:14 And now, my sons, I speak unto you these things for your profit and learning; for there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon.

Doctrine and Covenants 130:22 The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is personage of Spirit. Were it not so the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.

Moses 6:9 In the image of his own body, male and female, created he them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created and became living souls in the land upon the footstool of God.

Abraham 4:27 So the Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them.

Joseph Smith History 1:11 While I was laboring under the extreme diffaculties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistile of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of god, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 12 Never did any passage of scripture come with mroe power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine...13 At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is ask of God...14 So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired tothe woods to make the attempt...I hd never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally. 15...I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarecely done so, when immediately I ws seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction. 16 But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of theppowerof this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction -not to an imaginary ruin, but to thepower of some actul being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being-just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually untill it fell upon me. 17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brighness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said pointing to the other-This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

What more do you need to know that shows that God has a perfected body of flesh and bones just as Christ does? Beth.

LookinforLucy recently posted the following. I will attempt to clarify or correct what she has incorrectly written. As usual she has taken some truths and morphed them into untruths:

"Mormonism is Not Christianity according to the Bible

This is a list of some things that are taught in the LDS Church that are not found in the Bible. Mormonism or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, have every right to be LDS/Mormon by their choice.

I want you to know that if you chose to be a Mormon, that you are choosing a religion that is not Christian. I once was a Mormon – Here are some of their teachings. Beside not believing in the Trinity - they believe that there are three (3) separate gods in their godhead not one God as the Bible states in three persons.

If this is what your after – here are some other things you will be taught.

1. God is an exalted man of Flesh and Bone and worked his way up to godhood.

2. He and his wives populated earth with their offspring.

3. His offspring worship him because they are his spirit children.

4. Man, and only man, can also become a god and attain the same as the gods did before him.

5. There are as many gods in the heaven as stars in the sky.

6. Women, who become the wives of gods – are most often pregnant forever, populating their husbands' planet.

7. Temples are for doing “works” such as Baptizing for the Dead – Sealing for eternity husbands and wives together in marriage and sealing families together to have their homes in heaven. Continually speaking with dead spirits, whom they believe are past friend and relatives, who want this ‘work’ done for them by proxy (stand-ins) at the temple. Secret garments they wear are given to each that protects them from their adversaries.

8. Joseph Smith, (not Jesus) will call the men of the church out of their graves by the secret names they are given in the Temple.

9. The Men of the church will then (if they want to) call each wife from the grave by their Temple given secret name, they may have more than one – (they marry by proxy also – plural wives are now attained by marrying spiritually in the future for the afterlife) - Living wives fight over who is going to be First wife called – she is the head wife and given more prestige.

10. Joseph Smith will judge his Mormons first – even before Jesus judges at the end times.

As you can see – I could go on and on but just these facts should make you think a little. In fact – I hope you think a lot. Your eternal soul depends on it. You can be a Mormon – But know it is not Christianity or Biblical."

Now as this is a lengthly list I will address them in groups so that I may adequetly inform people on the blogstream as to what Mormons believe. Not what people who left the church over 20 years ago believe.

Beth.

I have previously posted this on Stealtharachnid's blog, but I will post it here as well.

As much as I had wanted to keep this strictly about me, my past and my future; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is, my past, my present and my future. So I feel compelled to dispel any negative statements or outright disinformations on it.

I still have one more post and then I'll let you guys off the hook for as long as others let the church alone.

Church Responds to Questions on TV Series
6 March 2006

Over the past few weeks, Church Public Affairs has received numerous calls from newspaper, magazine and TV entertainment writers about a new television series called Big Love. In the series, set in a modern suburb of Salt Lake City, the main character keeps up a deceptive life in a fringe world of polygamy with his three wives and households. Journalists want to know what the Church thinks of the program, the subject matter and HBO’s decision to promote it.

In responding, Church spokesmen have made three major points:

1. Concern for abuse victims
The Church has long been concerned about the illegal practice of polygamy in some communities, and in particular about persistent reports of emotional and physical child and wife abuse emanating from them. It will be regrettable if this program, by making polygamy the subject of entertainment, minimizes the seriousness of that problem and adds to the suffering of abuse victims.

2. Confusion over the continued practice of polygamy
The central characters of Big Love are not “Mormons,” or, more properly termed, Latter-day Saints. HBO has said the script makes it clear that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints don’t practice polygamy. Still, placing the series in Salt Lake City, the international headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is enough to blur the line between the modern Church and the program’s subject matter and to reinforce old and long-outdated stereotypes.

3. Polygamy was officially discontinued by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1890. Any Church member adopting the practice today is excommunicated. Groups that continue the practice in Utah and elsewhere have no association whatever with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most of their practitioners have never been among its members.

Unfortunately, this distinction is often lost on members of the public and even on some senior journalists. When ABC network’s Prime Time recently aired a program focused on the secretive polygamous community of Colorado City, the reporter repeatedly referred to members of the community as “Mormon polygamists.” In response, the Church points to the Associated Press style guide for journalists which states: "The term Mormon is not properly applied to the other ... churches that resulted from the split after [Joseph] Smith's death." In other words, polygamous communities should never be referred to as "Mormon" polygamists or “Mormon” fundamentalists.

Concern over the moral standards of television entertainment
Despite its popularity with some, much of today’s television entertainment shows an unhealthy preoccupation with sex, coarse humor and foul language. Big Love, like so much other television programming, is essentially lazy and indulgent entertainment that does nothing for our society and will never nourish great minds. Parents who are casual about their viewing habits ought not to be surprised if teaching moral choices and civic values to their children becomes harder as a result.

For that reason and others, Church leaders have consistently cautioned against such entertainment, joining with other religious, education and government leaders in inviting individuals and families to follow a higher road of decency, self-discipline and integrity.

Beth.

Are there homosexuals in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

Of course they are there. We also have child molesters, wife beaters, and people who murder. Why? Because these people exist in all aspect of society.

It would be unreasonable to think that just because you are in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that you are safe. In fact several of our bi-annual conference talks, given by the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speak of such topics.

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles has clearly stated that we can not allow our children to be unattended in the church buildings. We can not assume they will be safe. We should not to allow them to go to the bathroom alone, as you never know who is outside the room you are in.

This is a significant statement. I personally know this to be true. My ex-brother in law' brother in law was the Scout leader for our ward. He was a child molester. He molested my niece and all four of his sons, his nephew and several of the boys in the ward. Now my ex-brother in law's mother knew about the abuse and she worked for the Department of Family Services in MO, the day we moved from Granby MO the both of them along with the oldest boy of the family were arrested for the abuse they inflicted upon the boys of the area.

This man literally lied for years, as did his mother-in-law. She was disfellowshipped and he lost his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The son also lost his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Now on a different note. Toby Keith had joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, if he is a member in good standing I would doubt it. He has smoked pot with Willie Nelson and drank wiskey until they got drunk in the video Wiskey for my Men and Beer for my Horses. Gladys Knight has given up her ways of fame and joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has integrated it into her music. Her latest albulm includes several hymns and she is backed up by members of her ward in Las Vegas.

Ted Bundy was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it was only after it was discovered that he had killed 8 young women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that he was removed from the rolls. He left town before he could be excommunicated. He was removed postumusly. After his excution.

Now as for the gay men I have known in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, four of them when I knew them were members in good standing. Three have died from AIDS. Those three gave up the lifestyle to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The fourth is still very much alive and very active. He admits to his feelings and is willing to live a life with the Law of Chastity rather than living a life with out The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I find that very admirable. He has not said he would never marry and is working with his church leaders to see if he can discover why he has these feelings.

See with the induction of the DSMR III it became illegal for anyone in the psychological community to help a homosexual become a hetrosexual. So if they want to change they must work within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that has programs set up for this purpose. It is not a requirement to change.

It is a requirement that all men have no sexual realationships with anyone other than the woman to whom they are legally and lawfully married. It is also a requirement that all women have no sexual relaionships with anyone other than the man to whom they are legally and lawfully married.

Sexual relationships are defined as any sexual contact of any kind or any kind of sexual gratification. Pornography (soft or hard core), masturbation, heavy petting, humping, oral sex, anal sex, and of course vaginal penetration are all forbidden if you are not married.

If you are married vaganial penetration by the penis is what is in conformity with the Law of Chastity.

I am sorry to be so graphic but we are all adults here and people don't understand what we believe so here it is. If this lifestyle seems a bit rigid, don't become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

However this Law of Chastity has been in effect since the inception of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The only difference is when for a brief period of time when the practice of allowing multiple wives was allowed. Still at no time were the wives allowed to participate in multiple partnered sex. If they did it is in direct violation of the Law of Chastity.

Beth.