The modern LDS scripture cited today as a proof text for
spirit birth is D&C 76:24, which testifies of Christ's universal creative
and redemptive works, proclaiming "that by him, and through him, and of
him; the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten
sons and daughters unto God." Grammatically speaking, the preposition unto
is dative, making God the indirect object of the birth mentioned. It would
require the genitive preposition of to make God the one who is giving birth.
The preposition unto is only used elsewhere in scripture when associated
with birth to describe the siring of a child by one person to be given to or
for the benefit of another. For example: "unto us a child is
born" (Isa. 9:6); "his brother shall ... raise up seed unto his
brother" (Matt. 22:24); "if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up
seed unto me" (Jacob 2:30). The implied meaning of D&C 76:24 is that
just as the worlds were created by Christ, so also are the inhabitants thereof
begotten unto God by or through Christ. That is, the birth spoken of is the
spiritual rebirth through Christ. This appears to have been the interpretation
given by the Prophet himself (Times and Seasons 4 [1 February 1843]:
82-83) and is the interpretation given in an official doctrinal exposition of
the First Presidency and the Twelve in James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith
(Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1974), 470. This clarification
is also made by Bruce R. McConkie in Mormon Doctrine (Salt Lake City:
Bookcraft, 1958), 130, 745, and in the subject matter summary for D&C
76:18-24 contained in the 1981 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, which
states that the "inhabitants of many worlds are begotten sons and
daughters unto God through the atonement of Jesus Christ."
There is no indication that the Saints viewed this
passage as a reference to spirit birth prior to their trek west. Interestingly,
Orson Pratt, who in 1852 was the first to use this passage as evidence of a
spirit birth, still acknowledged the indirect nature of this birth, stating:
"Notice, this does not say that God, whom we serve and worship, was
actually the Father Himself, in His own person, of all these sons and daughters
of the different worlds, but they're begotten sons and daughters unto God, that
is, begotten by those who are made like him .... [T]hey begat sons and
daughters, and begat them unto God, to inhabit these different worlds" (Journal
of Discourses 1:57). (Charles Harrell, “The
Development of the Doctrine of Preexistence, 1830-1844,” BYU
Studies 28, no. 2 [Spring 1988]: 95 n. 68)
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