Theosis is the primary, fundamental doctrine of God. Actually, theosis necessarily predates the ascension of our God (El, Father in Heaven); therefore, for the sake of illustration and hypothesis, theosis is the primary, and perpetual state of Intelligent Design. 1
Theosis (aka Divinization), as a functional definition, literally means to become divine, or to become god. (From Medieval Latin theōsis, from ecclesiastical Ancient Greek θέωσις [theōsis].)
Although somewhat inconceivable on a logical level, the Doctrine of Theosis is a simple concept to grasp. It is that there are multiple Supreme/Eternal Beings (Gods) “out there,” and mortal men and women can become (like; attain the same state) as God, our Father in Heaven. God was once as we are now, and He is, through the perpetual Plan, providing an opportunity for us, his children, to become like Him. Clearly, I’m over-simplifying the Plan, but there’s plenty of time to over-complicate things later. 2
The perpetuation of the human race within this universe is the functional Plan of Intelligent Design. I’ll apologize in advance for this crude and unsophisticated illustration: If you’re familiar with multi-level marketing (MLM) organizations, this Intelligently Designed Plan is not unlike building your “downline,” with the exception that instead of organizing friends and neighbors to populate the “downline,” the organization is populated by family—generations and generations of progeny—throughout eons of time. The more subsidiary “levels” you create, the stronger your organization, the larger your “downline,” the greater your “wealth.” 3
El (or definitionally, Elohim) is our God, the Father of all mankind, the Supreme Ruler within His Kingdom; however, because of theistic perpetuity, El has a Father (as well as Exalted Brothers), and that Father is an exalted Son, too, and so forth.
Prudent, at this point, would be to mention that within the Doctrine of Theosis is the realization that God has a female companion and helpmeet, our Mother in Heaven—El is a married, perfected man, and his wife is a glorified, perfected woman. 4
In summary, the Doctrine of Theosis is the primary doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ—without it every other doctrine fails—truth fails. No other doctrine matters if theosis doesn’t exist. The Doctrine of Theosis is at the very core, or center, of the perpetual Eternal Plan, and Family.
NOTES:
1.
See https://orthodoxwiki.org/Theosis , Specifically, the section subtitled “Deification in Mormonism.”
See https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/music/library/hymns/o-my-father?lang=eng , O My Father, Text: Eliza R. Snow, 1804–1887, Music: James McGranahan, 1840–1907
See also notes below, #4.
Another plausible argument for deification may be found in Intelligent Design (ID). See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_design.
See also CATASTROPHISM vs. UNIFORMITARIANISM, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catastrophism, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniformitarianism. Both concepts for the explanation of the origin of god and habitable planet design were introduced to me in 1982, during a conference held in Idaho Falls, Idaho, by Elder Hugh W Pinnock of the Quorum of the 70, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
2.
The Prophet Joseph Smith (,Jr.) himself publicly taught the doctrine the following year, 1844, during a funeral sermon of Elder King Follett: “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! … It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another, and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1938, pp. 345–46.)
3.
See https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/music/library/hymns/if-you-could-hie-to-kolob?lang=eng, If You Could Hie To Kolob. Text: William W. Phelps, 1792–1872, Music: KINGSFOLD, collected by Lucy Broadwood, adapted and arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1872–1958.
Verse 1. “If you could hie to Kolob in the twinkling of an eye, And then continue onward with that same speed to fly, Do you think that you could ever, through all eternity, find out the generation where Gods began to be?” Verse 2. “Or see the grand beginning, Where space did not extend? Or view the last creation, Where Gods and matter end? Methinks the Spirit whispers, “No man has found ‘pure space,’ Nor seen the outside curtains, Where nothing has a place.”
4.
See https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/music/library/hymns/o-my-father?lang=eng , O My Father, Text: Eliza R. Snow, 1804–1887, Music: James McGranahan, 1840–1907
Verse 3, “I had learned to call thee Father, Thru thy Spirit from on high, But, until the key of knowledge was restored, I knew not why. In the heav’ns are parents single? No, the thought makes reason stare! Truth is reason; truth eternal tells me I’ve a mother there.” Verse 4 (partial), “When I leave this frail existence, When I lay this mortal by, Father, Mother, may I meet you, In your royal courts on high?”
See https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/mother-in-heaven?lang=eng , Mother in Heaven (under Gospel Topics), also, Heavenly Parents (under Gospel Topics).
See https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/04/the-keys-and-authority-of-the-priesthood?lang=eng , The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood, Dallin H Oaks.
See https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world?lang=eng , THE FAMILY: A Proclaimation to the World, Paragraphs 1-3:
We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.
All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.
In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life…
See Doctrine & Covenants 131:
1 In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;
2 And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage];
3 And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.
4 He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase.