”If ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.” (LDS Moroni 7:19)
A popular song shares the words for all to sing, “I am a child of God”. Is this really the case?
From one perspective the lyrics may be justified because God has created all men. As king Benjamin put it, “[God] has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another” (LDS Mosiah 2:20). Is being created by God the same as being a child of God?
How did Jesus view the meaning of being a child of God? Did he consider all to be children of God because God has created them? When the Pharisees declare themselves as being children of God, Jesus directly challenges the Jewish leaders’ claim. The exchange includes this, “They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (KJV John 8:39-44)
If biology or DNA is enough for Jesus to consider the Pharisees children of Abraham and heirs of the promises God made to Abraham, why have this exchange? How does doing the works of Abraham tie into being children of Abraham and a rightful heir of the promises made to those who are the children of Abraham? Who then are the true children of Abraham, or those who will receive what God promised to his seed? What qualifies someone to be Abraham’s child?
Consider how the promise to Abraham is phrased here, “And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father” (LDS Abraham 2:10). If being the seed of Abraham and heir of the promises Abraham received relies on receiving “this Gospel”, is there a similar dependency upon being a child of God and inheriting the rights belonging to the children of God?
This claim of the Pharisees is matched by the claim of the wicked in the days of Noah. Noah preached repentance “but they hearkened not unto his words; And also, after that they had heard him, they came up before him, saying: Behold, we are the sons of God; have we not taken unto ourselves the daughters of men? And are we not eating and drinking, and marrying and giving in marriage? And our wives bear unto us children, and the same are mighty men, which are like unto men of old, men of great renown. And they hearkened not unto the words of Noah.” (LDS Moses 8:20-21, emphasis added).
These people are not ignorant of God or distant to religious or spiritual things. They see themselves as being children of God and believe the greatness of their positions in society and their lifestyle are evidence of God’s favor. They see no need to give heed to the message of Noah to repent and be born of God because they think they know their standing before God. They believe they are all ready born of God. They think they are children of God and are living lives that are like the great prophets of old. The abundance of blessings they list is evidence to them of God’s favor and recognition of their righteousness as “sons of God”. Yet they are not, and are scheduled to be destroyed.
In another place, the Lord warns the wicked that, “Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom” (LDS Moses 7:37). Is this merely figurative or is there something real about Satan being their father? If so, what makes him their father?
What does it mean to be a spiritual son or daughter of another being? Is it a matter of “spiritual DNA” that comes with being created? Or does exercising choice matter? If someone deliberately chooses to follow Satan, is Satan effectively their “father” because they heed his words and follow him? If someone acts consistent with the designs and wishes of Satan, could Satan be their father, whether they recognize him that way or not? On the other hand, if the actions of one are aligned with the teachings of Jesus, could he be a “child of Christ”, even if he does not consider himself to be a Christian?
If being created by God is enough to be considered a “child of God”, what is the difference between one who has been “born of God” and one who has not? Does being “born of God” bring a relationship with God that is different from what it was before? Am I truly a child of God?