In the dedicatory prayer for the London England Temple (September 7, 1958), we read the following which is a strong explication of genuine free will (and dare I say, key tenets of an Open Theistic perspective on God’s plans and human freedom [not that I am claiming Pres. McKay held to such a view; just such would be the consistent conclusion if one took things to their logical end):
O God, our Heavenly Father, Thou
who hast created all things, whose plans infinite and progressive,
ever serve to foster closer relationship between Thee and the human family. We,
Thy children, assemble before Thee this day in gratitude and praise. Thou hast
said that Thy work and Thy glory is "to bring to pass the immortality and
eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39).
Therefore, human beings are
engaged in life's highest activity when they cooperate with Thee in
bringing about this consummation. Earth with its barren rocks and saline seas,
and lifeless planetary systems would be purposeless without the creation of
intelligent human beings. Only in their creation and eternal destiny do we find
the answer to the question:
"What is man, that Thou art
mindful of him and the son of Man, that Thou visitest him?
"For Thou hast made him a
little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor"
(Psalm 8:4-5). Plainly Thy glory is not in lifeless formations, but in the
"immortality and eternal life of man." Temples are but one means of
man's cooperation with Thee in accomplishing this divine purpose.
. . . .
Down through the ages men have
been free to accept or to reject Thy righteous plan. History records how many
have yielded to the enticements of the flesh, and how few, comparatively
speaking, have followed the path of light and truth that leads to happiness and
eternal life!
But Thy mercy, Thy wisdom, Thy
love are infinite; and in dispensations past Thou hast pleaded, as Thou dost
now plead, through chosen and authoritatively appointed servants, for Thy
erring children to heed the gospel message and come to Thee. Holy temples are a
means of extending Thy loving mercy to Thy children even beyond the grave.
The prayer also addresses God the Father thusly:
. . . Thou, Great Elohim, and Jehovah, Thy
Beloved Son, answered the fervent appeal of the lad Joseph Smith . . .
Such would indicate that McKay understood Elohim, at least
here, as a noun, not a personal name.
