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STEPHEN - Thank you for your wonderful website. I have a question regarding the plan of salvation. We have been taught that in our universe, there is a pre-existence, then earth-life, life in the spirit world, the resurrection, then a judgment and finally the assignment to the various degrees of glory for the finite number (in the billions I suppose) of spirit children that our heavenly parents have created. I’m sure that He will also take time to help those who are worthy of exaltation to become as He is and assigning new universes to the new Gods being developed. At some point perhaps thousands of years later, do you think that it is possible that our heavenly parents will start the process over by creating spirits for other universes and so on and on throughout eternity? Because of Christ’s atonement, I tend to think that the process thus far is only into the first of an infinite number of possible universes that our Heavenly Parents will create – that is of course assuming that Christ’s “infinite” atonement will be sufficient for all of His Heavenly Parent’s creations throughout all of eternity.
JOEL - One can only speculate about this as you are doing and as I am about to do by giving an opinion on it. The way I understand it is that God the Father is the creator of and Father over our universe and that His son Jesus is the co-creator and Savior only for this universe. Our God the Father has a father who created and is Father of his own universe with a Savior and so on in the eternal past and eternal future. If we become gods we would create our own universes; not just be assigned to a universe created by our Father.
Here are some relative scriptures and quotes:
"Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them." (D&C 132: 20)
"And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord; For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth my Father; and he that receiveth my Father, receiveth my Father's kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him." (D&C 84:35-38)
"When they receive their crowns, their dominions, they then will be prepared to frame earths like unto ours and to people them in the same manner as we have been brought forth by our parents, by our Father and God." (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 18:259, October 8, 1876)
"All those who are counted worthy to be exalted and to become Gods, even the sons of God, will go forth and have earths and worlds like those who framed this and millions on millions of others." (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 17:143, July 19, 1874)
If we really are to become gods and obtain all that the Father has, then we should be able to create our own universes like He did. Of course our Father will always be a step ahead of us in glory and dominion.
It's hard to comprehend how or where these other universes exist outside our own.
I don't think our Father will Himself create more universes and more spirit children, but in an indirect way he does that through the subsequent universes and spirit children that are created by His children in the future; hence the concept of eternal increase and added glory to Himself. I am not the creator of my grandchildren but I count them as an increase to my posterity and my mortal glory on earth.
The First Presidency once said:
"So far as the stages of eternal progression and attainment have been made known through divine revelation, we are to understand that only resurrected and glorified beings can become parents of spirit offspring. Only such exalted souls have reached maturity in the appointed course of eternal life; and the spirits born to them in the eternal worlds will pass in due sequence through the several stages or estates by which the glorified parents have attained exaltation. (The First Presidency, "The Father and the Son," 1916 Aug:942)
So there's my opinion on the matter and I would bet if you asked any general authority about this you would get a variety of answers, some of which might match up with yours. We just don't have a lot of details from God about this.
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