1. History

Mormonism is a dynamic tradition characterized by continual re-evaluation of long-held doctrines. Throughout our history, we have revisited core beliefs and decided whether to uphold, modify, or abandon them based on evolving spiritual and cultural needs.

Not even the conception of God was immune from this re-evaluation, and Joseph Smith Jr. went through many during his 15-year ministry. His last conception was articulated in the sermon now known as the “King Follett Discourse”.

In this groundbreaking sermon Joseph Smith introduced transformative ideas about the nature of humanity and divinity. Smith taught that human spirits are eternal, uncreated, and co-eternal with God. He proposed that humans have the potential for exaltation – achieving godhood – through gaining knowledge and progressing eternally. Eternal life, according to Smith, was deeply tied to understanding the true nature of God and becoming like Him.

After Joseph Smith Jr.’s death came the Succession Crisis, and with it the Mormon movement’s conception of God also fractured. Some took on a more Trinitarian point of view, while others expounded upon Joseph’s late theological innovations. Some notable theologians during this time were Orson Pratt and Brigham Young. While both Pratt and Young agreed upon the concept of spiritual procreation – departing from Smith’s idea of uncreated spirits – they differed significantly in other areas.

Pratt preached that the Holy Spirit was “Prime Mover” – which Pratt called “The Great First Cause”- which organized the first gods on another planet. God lived a mortal life where He took on Divine attributes and was exalted. In this exalted state God could grow and learn no more. Pratt also taught that people who had these attributes, to some degree, were gods who may be worthy of worship.

Conversely, Brigham Young rejected the notion of a “Prime Mover” and introduced the idea of an “infinite regression” of gods. According to Young, gods eternally produce spiritual children who can achieve godhood through obedience to their own deity. Each god is worshipped only by their direct spiritual offspring, reinforcing a patriarchal hierarchy in the heavens.

Both of these were unique approaches to Mormon theology, and both had appeal within the Utah branch of Mormonism. However, these theologians’ viewpoints were largely at odds with one another, and they often fought within the public sphere. In the end, Brigham Young held more hierarchical sway, and Orson Pratt’s theology was condemned and Pratt retracted his statements out of fear of excommunication.

One of Young’s most controversial teachings, known as the Adam-God Doctrine, posited that Adam is “our FATHER and our GOD, and the only God with whom WE have to do” (Journal of Discourses 1:50). This teaching was quite divisive, and eventually even Brigham Young stopped pushing it in public. By the 20th century, theologians like B.H. Roberts defended it openly, whereas Joseph Fielding Smith claimed it had never been official church doctrine, asserting it was simply misunderstood. Ultimately, the Adam-God concept was largely discarded, although the broader teaching of infinite regression and spiritual procreation remained influential.

2. The Dance Continues

Before discussing my own interpretation of our theological mythology and cosmology, I’d like to highlight three significant quotes from Brigham Young that underscore the Mormon approach to revelation and theological diversity:

“I do not believe that there is a single revelation, among the many God has given to the Church; that is perfect in its fullness. The revelations of God contain correct doctrine and principle, as far as they go, but it is impossible for the … inhabitants of the earth to receive a revelation from the Almighty in all its perfections. He has to speak to us in a manner to meet the extent of our capacities.” (Journal of Discourses 2:314)

From this, we can see that Brigham Young took a Special Conceptual perspective on revelation. Read my recent post “The Gift of Revelation” for more information on this type of revelation. In short, revelation – and thus the very understanding of God – is contextualized to the people, culture, and time that it came from.

Brigham Young also said:

“Were the former and Latter-day Saints, with their Apostles, Prophets, Seers, and Revelators collected together to discuss [the nature of Deity], I am led to think there would be found a great variety in their views and feelings upon this subject … It is as much my right to differ from other men, as it is theirs to differ from me, in points of doctrine and principle, when our minds cannot at once arrive at the same conclusion.” (Journal of Discourses 2:123)

From this, we can see that even within the Mormon tradition Brigham Young anticipated that there would be a vast array of understandings about God.

And finally, Brigham Young also said:

“I could tell you much more about [the Adam-God Doctrine]; but were I to tell you the whole truth, blasphemy would be nothing to it, in the estimation of the superstitious and overrighteous of mankind. However, I have told you the truth as far as I have gone… I have given you a few leading items upon this subject, but a great deal more remains to be told.” (Journal of Discourses 1:51)

This quote highlights that even within Mormon theology, certain teachings have complexities that go beyond mainstream acceptance, suggesting that deeper, perhaps unique insights remain to be explored.

Now, the final quote I would like to recount is from George Q. Cannon, who said:

“[God] has not called us to be like other people, but to become a peculiar people” (Journal of Discourses 22:278-285)

Indeed, Mormonism’s strength lies in its unique theological perspectives, embracing rather than suppressing its peculiar nature. Yet, there are some branches of Mormonism who seek to reject their peculiarity in an effort to be more accepted by Christians. We have even seen the LDS church, who has a legacy of carrying on the Nauvoo theology, distance itself from the full scope of the doctrine of exaltation.

In light of these, I wanted to propose a new conception of Divinity which is uniquely Mormon. I have written about this conception in The Book of the Lavens, The Doctrine and Covenants of a Reform Mormon, and in various blog posts like “A New Approach to Exaltation”, but I wanted to put it in a bit more clear and concise terms here, so I can join with my predecessors in pondering about the nature of God. I call this understanding the “Heavenly Parents Doctrine”.

3. The Heavenly Parents Doctrine

Before the beginning, there was a Prime Mover, known to us as the Holy Spirit, and was a pantheistic presence which permeates all of reality. Over eons, this Spirit gathered scattered intelligences and shaped them into an advanced species called “The Elohim”. These beings, though powerful, found themselves spiritually stagnant due to their lack of growth through experience.

Recognizing their limitation, the Elohim convened a council at Kolob where they decided that their progression required joy and sorrow that only mortality could provide. In this mortal state, they would relinquish all their Celestial knowledge they had. However, one Elohim would retain their Celestial knowledge to comfort, guide, and lead them in their human forms. After their mortal probation, each person would progress to one of three communities based on their spiritual growth: Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial.

Two Elohim, Jehovah, the Beloved Son, and Lucifer, the Morning Star, volunteered to be this Comforter. Jehovah’s plan honored agency, allowing genuine spiritual growth through individual choice, whereas Lucifer aimed to take power by removing choice and promising universal exaltation without suffering in the process. After a war of words, the Elohim chose Jehovah, enraging Lucifer who departed from Kolob with his followers. To safeguard the plan for their happiness, the Elohim created sacred tokens, only obtainable through mortal experience.

Sophia, the Lady of Wisdom, and Michael, the Ancient of Days, were chosen to lead the design of the planet where mortality would occur, including the bodies that the Elohim would inhabit. The first humans would remain in a paradisical garden called Eden until they grew accustomed to their mortal forms. They would indicate that they were ready to leave the garden and experience true mortality by eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The Council of Kolob was so pleased with the work of Sophia and Michael that they asked them to be the first Elohim to take on these mortal forms. In the garden, Sophia and Michael renamed each other “Eve, the Mother of All Living” and “Adam, the Son of the Earth”. Eve tended to the plants of the earth and Adam tended to the animals.

After only 8 years, Lucifer – now known as Satan – tempted them to partake of the fruit prematurely. He did this not so they would be empowered or to help them progress, but to watch them suffer. Adam and Eve struggled in the lone and dreary world, where Satan continued his attempts to decieve them. However, the Council of Kolob sent messengers to guide them and teach them laws, help them make covenants, and give them tokens.

Adam and Eve had many children, the oldest of which were the twins Cain – the tiller of the earth – and Abel – the keeper of sheep. Abel offered the best of his flock to the Council of Kolob, who received these gifts with happiness. Cain, however, sacrificed the worst of the ground to the Council, keeping the best for himself. The Council rejected Cain’s sacrifices because it showed that Cain did not want to draw near unto them. Cain withdrew to his fields in his anger, where Satan flattered and enticed him with power. Cain devoted himself to Satan, and took a new name – Mahan – and killed his brother to claim his flocks.

Abel, now in the spirit world, told the Council of Kolob that he had not yet learned enough in mortality, and petitioned for an amended plan allowing for multiple mortal probations. The Council, moved by his wisdom, agreed. Abel was reborn as Seth.

After 930 years, Adam and Eve’s mortal probation concluded, and neither felt a desire for another. At the veil, they presented the tokens they learned in mortality. Despite not living another mortal probation, they realized they deeply miss their mortal bodies, recognizing their value in experiencing the dualities of life. Eve proposed that exalted beings should be allowed to take up perfected, immortal bodies, which the Council unanimously approved. To signify their exaltation, Eve renamed Herself “Asherah” and Adam renamed Himself “El”. Asherah and El set another example in their exalted state: they sought to help guide their children on earth to also reach their own exaltation. In doing so, they became our first Heavenly Parents.

I believe that this version of our myth allows for equal veneration of Heavenly Mother and Father, and also enables us to see other cosmic figures as Parents who are helping us cultivate these Divine attributes so that we too may become a Heavenly Parent.

4. Conclusion

Mormonism has never been a static tradition; it thrives precisely because it dares to question, innovate, and even discard theological concepts that no longer serve the spiritual growth of its adherents. As we’ve seen, the evolution of Mormon conceptions of divinity – from Joseph Smith’s uncreated spirits and human potential for godhood, through Pratt’s ‘Prime Mover,’ Brigham Young’s ‘Adam-God’ teachings – clearly illustrates this dynamic nature.

What remains constant, however, is the tradition’s profound engagement with questions of identity, Divinity, and progression. By acknowledging the inherent variability and imperfection of revelation, Mormonism creates space for continuous dialogue and personal revelation, inviting each generation to reimagine and reconstruct its relationship with the Divine.

The conception of deity presented here, drawing from historical teachings and modern spiritual insights, affirms the unique Mormon legacy of ongoing revelation, eternal progression, and our shared journey towards becoming Heavenly Parents. Embracing our peculiar heritage, we can confidently continue the dance, allowing new truths and deeper understandings to lead us forward into ever-expanding spiritual horizons.