Was God born according to Mormons?

Q:  Was God born according to Mormons?

Not too long ago, Bus wrote an excellent post aimed at answering this very question.  Here is the link: The Origins of God.

We do have quotes from some contemporary prophets that in more words or less say that God was once like man is now.  However, whether he was born, where it all began,  and so on, we just don’t know everything yet.  Nevertheless, we do have the promise from God that in the future all things will be made known (D&C 101:32-34).

Thanks for your question.

Question Box: Taking the Sacrament

Question: Say you have to work every Sunday, can a Mormon take the sacrament on a weekday or any other day besides Sunday?

A: The sacrament is administered by members of the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods under the direction of the Bishop of each ward. There are situations, such as when an individual is ill and unable to attend Sunday meetings, when arrangements are made under the direction of the Bishop for priesthood holders to administer the sacrament outside of sacrament meeting to that individual.  Theoretically, an individual can take the sacrament on any day of the week, as long as it is under the direction of the priesthood leader and administered with the proper authority. In fact, in some parts of the world, sacrament services are held on days other than Sunday, depending on the customs of the country and the needs of the individuals, but it is always administered under the guidance of the bishop or priesthood leader in the area. If an individual is unable to attend Sunday meetings, but wants to partake of the sacrament, they should discuss their situation with their Bishop.

Question Box: self-harm

Question: I was curious if we believe in self harm (cutting and slapping yourself) and I was also curious to know if we believe in having eating disorders?

A: I don’t fully understand the question. I think we believe that these are problems and we should be treating our bodies as sacred gifts from our Heavenly Father given to us to house our spirits while we are on this earth. So…don’t do self-harming. Keep your body healthy and strong so you can serve others and your Heavenly Father. We understand that these problems do exist, and we fully support getting therapy or other needed help. We don’t look down on those that struggle with these problems, but we care about them and encourage them to get the help they need to overcome these problems. If you’re not sure where to stop, visit your Bishop for some advice and counsel.

The Second Article of Faith

We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.

In line with divine justice, all men and women must be held accountable for their personal actions, and not the actions of other individuals, including Adam. That isn’t to say we are not affected by the actions of others. People are indeed blessed or made to suffer, to certain degrees, by the actions of others. Our standing before God, however, is independent of outside forces and is based on what we have done with our circumstances. The spirit of God withdraws when we turn away from Him and our access to the atonement is cut off. Without the atonement, we cannot progress toward God. That is a natural consequence of our actions, and such consequences were ones that God wished for us to avoid.

See also:

The Fall of Adam and Eve

The Original Sin

Question Box: The Mormon Bible

From the question box: Does the Mormon Bible have the book of revelation in it?

Short answer: yes.

Our church has four officially canonized books of scripture, of which the Bible is one. We use and love the Bible because it is a book that contains revealed truth about God and Jesus Christ. No other book in our canon is referred to as a “Bible”, so when you say “the Mormon Bible”, you are really talking about the same Bible used by any other Christian church. In that sense, our Bible has the book of Revelation in it just like any other Bible does.

However, when somebody refers to “the Mormon Bible”, we assume they mean The Book of Mormon, which is another book in our canon of scripture. It is the testimony of Jesus Christ as recorded by a branch of the house of Israel that emigrated from Jerusalem before the Babylonian captivity. It contains many great truths, prophecies and testimonies of Jesus Christ, but it does not have the Revelation of John referred to in the question.

For more information as well as a discussion of our other books of scripture, you can follow the links below:

More Than the Bible?

The Book of Mormon: The Mormons’ Bible?

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ