And changed the glory of the uncorruptible
God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted
beasts, and creeping things. (Rom 1:23)
Some critics
of LDS theology have appealed to this text to refute the belief that God the
Father is embodied. There are problems with this, not the least is that we know
that Jesus, at the time of writing, was embodied, remaining the
"God-Man" in the Christology of our Trinitarian opponents, so if this
refutes the Father being embodied, it refutes Jesus being corporeal in heaven
at the time of the writing of Romans (as well as now) ipso facto. Additionally,
in LDS theology, the Father (and the Son) has a glorified, incorruptible body
and nature as opposed to corruptible, mortal men. Nothing in this passage, as
understood contextually, and with proper understanding of Mormon theology,
proves to be problematic. Further, Paul was condemning the pagans and those who
are evil who exchanged God and His glory for things that aren’t real like idols
(Psa 106:20; Jer 2:11). Their futile speculations were showing the pre-eminence
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the culmination of God’s glory. He wasn’t
teaching God’s alleged omnipresence or non-materiality which wouldn’t even make
sense in the context of Rom 1:23. For more on this text, see:
Interestingly,
we see something similar to this from Brigham Young. In a sermon dated June 18,
1865, he was recorded as having said that:
We bear the image of our earthly parents in
their fallen state, but by obedience to the gospel of salvation, and the
renovating influences of the Holy Ghost, and the holy resurrection, we shall
put on the image of the heavenly, in beauty, glory, power and goodness. Jesus
Christ was so like His Father that on one occasion in answer to a request,
"Show us the Father," He said, "He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father." The strongest testimony that can be borne to the minds of men
is the testimony of the Father concerning the Son, and the testimony of the Son
concerning the Father, by the power of the revelations of the Spirit, which
every man who is born of woman possesses more or less, and which, if mankind
would listen to it, would lead them to the knowledge of God, and ultimately,
assisted by the ordinances of the gospel, into His presence. (JOD 11:123)