A revelation in May 1833 stated
He [Christ]
received not a fulness at first, but received grace for grace; and he
received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace,
until he received a fulness—and thus he was called the Son of God,
because he received not of the fulness at first. . . .
And he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the
Father dwelt in him.
. . .
For f you keep my commandments you shall receive of is fulness, and be
glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall
receive grace for grace. (D&C 93:12-14, 17- 20)
The exchange formula is once again evident: Christ receives a
fulness of divine glory from the Father by being in the Father; we receive a
fulness of divine glory by being in Christ; and we therefore have a fulness of
unity in the Father. The repeated reference to a “fulness,” received grace for
grace, highlights the relation to the Pauline and Johannine writings that speak
of a “fulness”—a translation of the technical term πληρωμα, pleroma, meaning to be
filled with the presence, power, agency, and riches of Christ. Ephesians and
Colossians state that the fulness of θειοτη (theote), or a fulness of the
divinity or deity or Godhead that dwelt in Christ will also dwell in the
Saints. In fact, the language of Doctrine and Covenants 88 paraphrases Ephesians,
Colossians, and the Gospel of John:
That Christ
may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love
. . . and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be
filled with all the fulness of God . . .
Till we all come . . . unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the
fulness of Christ. (Eph. 3:17-19, emphasis mine)
For it
pleased that the Father in him should all fulness dwell. . . . For in him
dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye complete in him.
(Col. 1:19; 2:9-10)
And of his
fulness have we all received, and grace for grace. (John 1:17)
The concept of “a fulness” is intimately connected with the divine
glory that characterizes the divine life. “A fulness” in Joseph Smith’s revelations
refers to the fulness of life and glory that is given by the Father to the Son
and which is received by grace from one glory to another in a process of growth
and progression. It is this same fulness of glory and life that quickens those who
accept Christ and continue to grow in his grace from one glory to another.
Indeed, the fifth “Lecture on Faith” published in September 1835 makes it plain
that humans can become a part of the Godhead. It defines the attributes of the
Godhead to include perfected Saints within its unity:
And he
being the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, and having
overcome, received a fulness of the glory of the Father--possessing the same
mind with the Father, which mind is the Holy Spirit, that bears record of the
Father and the Son, and these three are one, or in other words, these three
constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme power over all things:
by whom all things were created and made, that were created and made: and these
three constitute the Godhead, and are one: The Father and the Son possessing
the same mind, the same wisdom, glory, power and fulness: Filling all in
all--the Son being filled with the fulness of the Mind, glory and power, or, in
other words, the Spirit, glory and power of the Father--possessing all
knowledge and glory, and the same kingdom: sitting at the right hand of power,
in the express image and likeness of the Father--a Mediator for man--being
filled with the fulness of the Mind of the Father, or, in other words, the
Spirit of the Father: which Spirit is shed forth upon all who believe on his
name and keep his commandments: and all those who keep his commandments shall grow
up from grace to grace, and become heirs of the heavenly kingdom, and joint
heirs with Jesus Christ; possessing the same mind, being transformed into the
same image or likeness, even the express image of him who fills all in all:
being filled with the fulness of his glory, and become one in him, even as the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one.
Thus, the Mormon doctrine of deification consists of a
fulness of the mind, power, and glory of the Father dwelling in the Son by
virtue of sharing the common mind which is the Holy Ghost, and because the
Saints dwell in the Son through the Holy Spirit, they share the same fulness of
divine mind and become one with the Father. In so doing, they are transformed
into the same image and likeness as the Father and the Son.
Blake T. Ostler, Exploring Mormon Thought: Of Gods and
Gods (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2008), 365-67
