The doctrine of completely emulating Jesus is very difficult for people to hear and believe. When Jesus had performed a cascade of public miracles, he accumulated many who were excited to hear his teachings. He quickly repelled them by teaching them that they must be like him in order to come to the Father:
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? (John 6)
Modern readers assume that those who heard this sermon had difficulty with it because of the imagery of eating the Lord’s flesh and drinking his blood, but it was actually because the Jews who heard him knew what he meant by this. Like many today, they believed that living their outward rules, showing up to religious events, and participating in religious rites entitled them to God’s blessings, but Jesus taught that they actually had to become like God. Like most Christians today, they were not interested in changing their desires or giving up the wicked things outside of the defined rules of their faith that they knew were wrong.
Some erroneously think that believing that a person can become like God somehow degrades God. Those who contend that a man could never be like God think they are making a statement about the baseness of human nature, not realizing they are simultaneously minimizing the power of God, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the efficacy of his gospel. The assertion that God is mighty enough to enable man to become more like him is not blasphemous—it is quite the opposite. It doesn’t demean God to believe that he has the power to make us more like he is. It actually glorifies him!6
Any increase in goodness in any person can only be from the Father through Christ. As such, any increase in goodness in any person glorifies rather than blasphemes God. God does not lose goodness when more of his goodness is adopted by his children.7
To believe that God is mighty enough to make it possible for anyone to choose to be more like him than they are is to believe he is much more powerful than most Christians believe. Given the utter default depravity of mankind, the willingness and ability of God to provide all things necessary to lead any who will follow him to become like him is the greatest possible testament to his power and goodness.
Belief in the divine potential of man is not a statement of the goodness of man, who is fallen, but a statement of the goodness of God, who in his endless mercy and tremendous power finds a way to make holy that which was once unclean.8 Do not repeat the mistake of Peter in calling unclean what God has cleaned in his own precious blood.9
It is not heresy to believe that we can become like God is. Those who deny that we can become like God directly contradict what Jesus taught and demonstrated. Remember, those who killed Jesus accused him of blasphemy for teaching that a person was capable of obtaining the character of the Father.10
People fight the idea that we can grow towards God in order to gratify their pride, not because it denigrates God. Those who fight the idea that we can become like God pretend that they are protecting God’s reputation, but they are actually motivated by a desire to protect their own. God being willing to exalt sinners magnifies his glory, but also removes the self-righteousness of those who refuse his gift. Those who continue to sin willfully even though they profess to believe in Jesus are indicted by the idea that their continued sin is due to their own rejection of God and not God’s inability to make them holy.
Footnotes
- 1. The differences between us and God are described in the scriptures as the “everlasting gulf of misery” (see Alma 26:20, Helaman 3:29-30, and 1 Nephi 15:28) that is crossed through learning what God is like and becoming like him. ↩
- 2. Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise. (2 Nephi 2:8) ↩
- 3. For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him. (D&C 18:11) ↩
- 4. [I am] the light and the life of the world; a light which shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not; The same which came in the meridian of time unto mine own, and mine own received me not; But to as many as received me, gave I power to become my sons; and even so will I give unto as many as will receive me, power to become my sons. And verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth my gospel receiveth me; and he that receiveth not my gospel receiveth not me. And this is my gospel—repentance and baptism by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which showeth all things, and teacheth the peaceable things of the kingdom. (D&C 39:2-6) ↩
- 5. The atonement of Christ is defined by others in terms of our ability to obtain forgiveness of sins through the mortal sacrifice of Christ. However, our forgiveness is only a part of the sacrifice of Christ and the benefit thereof. Without the revelation of Christ through his earthly advent, and the lifelong sacrifice this entailed, forgiveness of sins would not result in any eternal improvement for us, because we would have no example from which to learn more about how God is and be that way ourselves. ↩
- 6. For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Moses 1:39) ↩
- 7. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11) ↩
- 8. Levitical priests who touched what was unclean became unclean themselves (see Leviticus 5:3). However, what Jesus touched became clean. For example, Jesus raised a dead girl back to life by touching her (Matthew 9:25), and healed the lepers by touching them (Matthew 8:2-3). ↩
- 9. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. (Acts 10:15) ↩
- 10. The Jews killed Jesus because of their hatred of the idea of men becoming like God: "But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” (John 5:17-19) ↩