Accounts denying that "God was God from all eternity:
Willard Richards Account:
refute
the Idea that God was God from all eternity— Jesus said as the father Had power in himself even so
hath the son power to do what the fathr did.— Lay down his body. & take it
up again.—— you have got to learn how to make you[r]selves Gods Kings.
Prie[s]ts.— &— by going from a small to g[r]eat capacity. . . Till they are
able to dwell in evelastig [everlasting] burni[n]g & everlasti[n]g power.—
(“Discourse,
7 April 1844, as Reported by Willard Richards”)
Wilford Woodruff Journal Entry:
In order to understand the dead for the consolation of those
that mourn, I want you to understand God and how he comes to be God. We
suppose that God was God from eternity, I will refute that Idea, or I will do away or take away the veil so you may see. It is the first principle to know that we may convers with him and that he once was man like us and the Father was once on an earth like us And I wish I was in a suitable place to tell it The scriptures inform us mark it that Jesus Christ said As the Father hath power in himself so hath the son power in himself to do what the father did even to lay down my body & take it up again do you believe it if not dont believe the bible (“Discourse,
7 April 1844, as Reported by Wilford Woodruff”)
Accounts Affirming that "God was God from all Eternity":
William Clayton Account:
In
order to understand the subjects of the ded for the consolation of those who
mourn for the loss of their friends necessary they should understand Going to
tell you how God came to be God We have imagined that God was God from all
eternity. These are imcomprehensible to some but are the first principle of the
gospel— to know that we may converse with him as one man with another &
that he was once as one of us and was on a planet as Jesus was in the flesh
("Minutes
and Discourses, 6–8 April 1844, as Reported by William Clayton")
An edited version of this account
would be published in "CONFERENCEMINUTES. Continuation of last April's Conference," Times and
Seasons 5, no. 5 (August 15, 1844):614:
In
order to understand the subject of the dead, for the consolation of those who
mourn for the loss of their friends, it is necessary they should understand the
character and being of God, for I am going to tell you how God came to be God.
We have imagined that God was God from all eternity. These are incomprehensible
ideas to some, but they are the simple and first principles of the gospel, to
know for a certainty the character of God, that we may converse with him as one
man with another, and that God himself; the Father of us all dwelt on an earth
the same as Jesus Christ himself did, and I will show it from the Bible.
Thomas Bullock Account
it
is necy. to understand the cha[racte]r. & being of God for I am going to
tell you what sort of a being of God for he was God from the begin of all
Eternity & if I do not refute it— truth is the touchstone they are the
simple & first princ[iples]: of truth to know for a certainty the char. of
God that we may conv[erse] with him same as a man & God himself the father
of us all dwelt on a Earth same as J C himself did & I will shew it from
the Bible (“Discourse,
7 April 1844, as Reported by Thomas Bullock”)
Further Reading:
