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I said:IF we believed that, then it might be a problem, but since we don’t, it isn’t. I thought we had agreed not to tell people what they believe…

You said:OK. It's "correction" time on my assumptions. Please correct my following assumptions, since you indicate they are in error (open invite to set me straight):

Very well, I accept (princess bride :)

My assumptions are based on the following:
Assumption (a) The Heavenly Father of the LDS has a body of flesh & bones as he was born of physical parentage;

Really simplified, but really really close too.

(b) Either his parents were gods (of which there is a line of authority) [See Mormon Doctrine, p. 516: "This doctrine that there is a mother in heaven was affirmed in plainess by the First Presidency of the Church...when...they said..'that all men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother'"]...Note: since many LDS use "image" of Genesis to assign divinity to humanity, I suppose we can infer that when an LDS apostle talks about "similitude" re: Heavenly Father to his parentage, that they, too, were divine.

There is a patriarchal order, of which if and when you become a God you would be part of. But (and it’s a big but too) that has nothing to do with God’s authority over you as a creation of his.

I had a friend who had a company, in the company his wife was a VP and a Director (as in board of). She had a disagreement with another VP about how he was running his department. He in essence told her to go jump in a lake (politely of course) she got really mad and said “I am a Director, you WILL listen to me!” He responded, the Board only has power when it takes a vote and instructs the CEO and the CEO will give me direction. Outside the Boardroom you are a VP, just like me. She asked the CEO (her husband) to come in and said “Do you know what he just said to me?” He responded I hope it was what I told him to say when you pulled the Director bit again. The next board meeting is in one week, we will discuss it then.

He had a rocky marriage for a week.

In the board meeting, she was outvoted 11 to 1, it took a while, but eventually she acccepted it.

You are confusing God the father’s authority. As “Father”, with his authority as “Creator”

It all boils down to perspective, you have to have the right perspective or Mormon teachings will be gobbledygook to you. The eternal nature of things for example, Eternal does not always mean the same thing in the scriptures. Eternal is one of God’s names so an eternal covenant (Like Moses’ covenant) was with God, not supposed to be forever, Jesus when he fulfilled it really messed up the Jews who understood it to mean forever. David was told he would suffer eternal punishment, and then later was promised that God would not leave his soul in hell. Sounds contradictory, but if eternal punishment is “God’s punishment” then no problem. Many of the “Problems you are citing here are problems only from your perspective, not mine, and not God’s.

{snip of redundant verbiage}

OR the god Heavenly Father was/is subject to was of a previous generation of men or gods (in which a line of authority also existed).

(c)The fact that we know there's a "family" of gods out there is that Joseph Smith freely talked about a "divine council" of gods...referenced it in D&C 121 + the LDS Book of Abraham talks about gods counseling "among themselves" (chptr 5)

Again, this is a perspective problem, not a knowledge one.

“God called the Council of Gods” could also be read “God called a council of his children” or the “King of Spirits called a council of all the spirits”, I got more for this…

God the Father called the council and we as future Gods (as children of a God) were in attendance. This is the Council where Jesus was selected as Savior by God and Satan tried to usurp his calling by taking away our right to choose. This is the Council where We were all told all about our callings and the dangers we would face here on earth Temptations, flaws, everything. God laid out the plan for the universe and we as his children under Jesus would be working on creating the universe. This was where the war in heaven spoken of by John the beloved started and Satan was cast out. This was that council and you were there too.

With such a "council of gods" we know that councils and forming worlds (as is the discussion of the book of Abraham) are done with order (vs. random or chaos). Therefore, order implies authority. Design implies Designer. Some Designer had either final or original authority--even if you say it was "collectively" done.

God the Father had all the original authority he needed to create us, the universe (spiritually and physically) and start the plan of salvation with Adam and Eve. As well as carry the plan of salvation to completion. God the father is self contained he did not start the building process until all the material, manpower and whatever Gods use to create a universe with was there.

So, simply put, an orginal god or a council of gods authorized the progression of others to join them as either a "greater council" or gods, or to progress from man to god. [Either way, it was "authorized"]

Now you are going off the path here. God the father authorized it. This is his universe; he needs no permission from anyone.

So, please set me staight. I am simply and utterly confused how a church that puts so much absolute emphasis on priesthood authority can somehow look up at the heavenlies, and say that "lines" of authority don't exist beyond our god(s), even tho we know he wasn't the original one.

I really am trying to set you straight here, honest

It’s all in the perspective.

God is the creator of all we can see, or detect with our scientific instruments, every star, every Galaxy, everything. He is in absolute authority over his creations as he should be.

God is also our Father, he is part of a great family (as you have alluded, but he has not told us much about it because as mortals we can’t understand much and we don’t need to know. Besides, when we die and cross over to the other side of the veil we will remember it all anyway because we already knew.) An earth like ours is an eternity tested method for giving your children a body so that they can become like you, Gods.

I read a book called Citizen of the galaxy, in it the protagonist Thorby, is on a ship “Joining a free trader family” (this is extremely rare) the family is run by both a corporation and a family which are the same people. In this book you have some interesting conversations and they explain that the title you use to address someone, determines the context of the conversation. If you have a man and his younger brother where the man is captian/CEO and the younger brother is the engineer, the captain can say engineer, do X. The engineer might say, Brother, I don’t think that is a good idea. The captain may say Do it anyway, engineer, and he will say OK and do it. If he had said Captain, I don’t think that’s a good idea, he would have been in the brig.

Different hats, just like the difference when we address god, or Father.

Sometimes with Mormon Doctrine you have to look at who is being addressed how, it’s tricky, but very rewarding once you “Get it”

All of the different names for God are all the different perspectives that we would have to understand to comprehend Him. (and we don’t know them all either)

I hope I did not blow your mind, but this is what I believe, and Jesus Christ is my savior and the only hope I have of progression to become like my Lord, My God, My Father.

There is a patriarchal order, of which if and when you become a God you would be part of. But (and it’s a big but too) that has nothing to do with God’s authority over you as a creation of his.

Finally getting around to following up on this. You seem to keep bringing the convo back to God's authority over me; and I keep trying to bring the convo back to God's derived authority--something He didn't inherently have.

Eternal does not always mean the same thing in the scriptures. Eternal is one of God’s names so an eternal covenant (Like Moses’ covenant) was with God, not supposed to be forever...

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. [This one's for Tantiboh, too, based on his earlier invite to "explore common ground" as to how Joe redefined terms]. Joseph redefined "damnation" as being all "damned up"--as stoppage, not as eternal hell fire. The problem is that you've never read the Bible and the Book of Mormon with this "new" def of "eternal" or "damnation." (Just try it). The prob is that the same "adjective" (be it eternal, everlasting, etc.) is applied to heaven just like hell. If hell can be stopped; if spirit prison is just a lousy vacation at a scumbag motel; then that doesn't say much positive about the longevity of heaven, now does it [Because the same exact qualifiers used to describe hell in the BoM & the Bible are used to describe heaven].

So much for "perspective." [What? You can't even read the Bible or BoM w/out a JoeSmith decoder ring to find out what "plain" meanings have been changed from the BoM. I'll I can say is how utterly misleading that is to someone reading the BoM...to not have the D&C passage where Joe redefines "damnation" so that they could realize that "No, the BoM, REALLY IS different than the Bible."]

Me: So, simply put, an orginal god or a council of gods authorized the progression of others to join them as either a "greater council" or gods, or to progress from man to god. [Either way, it was "authorized"]

You: Now you are going off the path here. God the father authorized it. This is his universe; he needs no permission from anyone....God the Father is self-contained.

Let me introduce some other quotes (which also) has "educated" me on what LDS believe:

“The doctrine of a plurality of Gods is prominent in the Bible. The heads of the Gods appointed our God for us...you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves…the same as all Gods have done before you…” Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 370-372, 346

Question: Doesn't your Heavenly Father, having rec'd an "appointment" as God, mean that He rec'd His authority from these "plurality of Gods?"

“We shall go back to our Father and God, who is connected with one who is still farther back; and this Father is connected with one still farther back, and so on.” Heber C. Kimball, JoD, vol. 5, p. 19

This further emphasizes my previous "so on" comment. How is this quote above distinct from my "computer language" comment about infinite regression of gods?

“our God is a natural man...where did he get his knowledge from? From his father, just as we get our knowledge from our earthly parents (JoD, vol. 8, p. 211)

Doesn't LDS directly tie "knowledge" and "authority?" Doesn't this tell about a divine generation upon generation of both knowledge & authority?

“our Father in Heaven was begotten on a previous heavenly world by His Father; ‘He was begotten by a still more ancient Father; and so on from generation to generation, from one heavenly world to another.” Orson Pratt, The Seer, p. 132

Yet another "so on" comment similar to my previous comment.

Orson Pratt taught that “The Gods who dwell in heaven…were once in a fallen state….” The Seer p. 23 [whereas Mormon 9:19; Moroni 8:18; Mormon 9:9-11 all say unchangeable]

“We believe in a God who is Himself progressive...whose perfection consists in eternal advancement...a Being who has attained His exalted state” (A Study of the Articles of Faith, pp. 430, 1952 James Talmage

There we have it. If you have a "fallen being" God...one who progressed and will advance eternally, as Talmage wrote; obviously, the "un-advanced"--the "lower degree progressives" at one point held less authority. And, I would point out, "fallen beings" could not have had much authority at all--certainly not divine authority.

All of this de fact proves a line of authority extending beyond your God.