Have a great day,

Sister Lilia Valdez

That is only true by a technicality.
I was taught that God knows all – past, present and future.
God created Satan fully knowing Satan’s future.
If God did not want that “evil being”, he would not have created Satan.

This page answered my question about Mormons and Communion, but now I’m curious why it specifically mentions Catholics but not protestants.

My dear brother and friend,

From the long list of scriptural references that you have cited, it appears to me that you are not so much trying to disapprove that Christ and Satan are brothers, as much as you are presenting a case that Jesus Christ is the Son of the True and the Living God which is indeed a firm belief of the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All of the scriptures that you have cited present solid proof of that point. Therefore, I am a bit confused by the real point of your discussion. Perhaps, I need a little more clarification on your statement, “He is not our brother, or a created being. He was with the Father from the beginning.”

Satan certainly was a created being as attested to in the Bible. We learn from scriptures that Satan and one third of the host of Heaven rebelled and were cast out. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, through modern revelation, we know that there was a grand council in Heaven, and both Jesus Christ and Satan were present at that council. In the course of that council, the Father presented the plan of salvation and asked whom He should send to carry out that plan. Lucifer or Satan replied that he would go, however, it was his purpose to bring glory unto himself. Jesus Christ responded that He would go, and His purpose was to bring glory to the Father. The Father chose Jesus Christ to go and carry out the plan.

Furthermore, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ, we believe that when Christ cried “It is finished!” upon the cross at Calvary, the gulf that had existed between a loving Heavenly Father and His children because of their sin and rebellion was finally bridged allowing a way for each of us to return home to Him. We further believe, as you have stated that the atonement of Jesus Christ paid the price for the sins of all humanity – past, present, and future – once and for all.

Thank you for your comments. God bless.

John 8:23 Jesus said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:14 – “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 5:18 – “For this cause therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.”

John 8:24 – “I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins.”

Note: In the Greek, “He” is not there.

John 8:58 – “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.'”

Exodus 3:14 – “And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’; and He said, Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

John 10:30-33 – “I and the Father are one.” 31The Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” 33The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”

John 20:28 – “Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

Col. 2:9 – “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.”

Phil. 2:5-8 – “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Heb. 1:8 – “But of the Son He says, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.”

Quoted from Psalm 45:6, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Thy kingdom.”
Update : Isaiah 44:6 – “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me.”

Rev. 1:17 – “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”

He is not our brother, or a created being. He was with the Father from the beginning.

When Jesus died on the Cross he cried “It is Finished”.
There was nothing to restore. Jesus did it all.

Dalton~
These are actually excellent, thoughtful questions. Thank you for posing them so decently. Taking them in order (and some may overlap), here is a brief response. (I’d be happy to SKYPE and/or talk by phone if you like, or to have representatives come to you and answer these and further questions–whatever works best for you.)

1)Yes, Satan rebelled and took with him 1/3 of the hosts of heaven as stated in the Book of Revelation. Those spirits are fallen angels, or devils, or demons. It was by their own choice and rebellion that they fell, and as a result, they will never gain a mortal body, and thus have the experience of mortality. That’s why they are jealous of our bodies and often seek to take possession of earthly bodies.

2) Yes, those who followed Christ and the Father’s plan to have Christ atone for our sins, are those who are present in this, our second estate, mortality. Though obedient in the ‘sight and presence’ of God there remained an additional test to pass before entering into eternal life, or life in God and Jesus’ presence, and that of loved ones. That test is mortality. While it was easier to be obedient with our Heavenly Parents present, and without having a physical body through which certain tests can only be experienced in full, this test is more difficult. Not all who were obedient in the first estate or pre-mortal sphere will be obedient here. With repentance, we can become clean through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

3) Yes, some angels are pre-mortal spirits waiting to take upon themselves bodies. There are others known as angels as well. I’ve done a video podcast on this subject that would answer these questions more completely: Angels Around Us

4) Jesus as God. This statement has been misconstrued since prior to the Nicene Creed. Jesus was advanced as a spirit Brother of ours. We were all created as spirit beings, literal spirit children of Heavenly Father and Mother. You, me, everyone here, and even Jesus Christ. We were born in a pre-mortal realm as spirits and could only progress so far there. Jesus had progressed further than any as spirit children and was the Firstborn. He was heir to all the Father had. For more specifics on the pre-mortal nature of Jesus prior to this life, see this article: http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/jesus-christ-son-god-savior/3-premortal-godhood-christ-restoration-perspective
Jesus was literally the Firstborn Son of God and is distinct from God, so saying he was God in pre-mortal life refers to His advanced state of being and intelligence and doesn’t mean that He was literally the Father. The Father and the Son are distinct and separate.

5) Yes, Jesus was and is the Great High Priest, but He also did exercise His agency in volunteering to become the Son of God and atone for our sins. We had to exercise faith that He would actually carry that out in mortality. Because He was born of a mortal mother and Immortal Father, He alone had the power to lay down His life and literally take it up again. He was unique. He remained sinless. He completed the atonement. He is the Great High Priest who was the one who mediated for our sins, weaknesses, infirmities, as Hebrews and as Zachariah declare, and as the Book of Mormon witnesses.

Again, these are excellent questions. I would encourage you to also start from the beginning of the message of the Restoration and work into it as well as working this direction, from the questions you’ve formulated as you’ve read certain pieces about the doctrine. I witness that the Savior restored His full gospel and authority to the earth in our day, and it’s a glorious message.

God bless you. I hope to hear from you again.

Kindest,

Karen