who? when? did someone proclaim themselves a God? i missed those headlines.
What did Marion G. Romney, cousin of his father George, espouse as one of the Top Three Head Haunchos of the entire church?
"We all know that like begets like and that for the offspring to grow to the stature of his parent is a process infinitely repeated in nature. We can therefore understand that for a son of God to grow to the likeness of his Father in heaven is in harmony with natural law. We see this law demonstrated every few years in our own experience. Sons born to mortal fathers grow up to be like their fathers in the flesh. This is the way it will be with spirit sons of God. They will grow up to be like their Father in heaven. Joseph taught this obvious truth. As a matter of fact, he taught that through this process God himself attained perfection. From President Snow's understanding of the teachings of the Prophet on this doctrinal point, he coined the familiar couplet: "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become." This teaching is peculiar to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ." - Elder Marion G. Romney, General Conference, October 1964
Romney is a 6-generation Mormon. Who is he descended from? Parley P. Pratt, who became LDS the same year the Book of Mormon was published. Parley Pratt, who became an “apostle” of the LDS church 5 years later, converted & baptized his brother, Orson, in 1830. Who was Orson Pratt in LDS contexts? According to Signature Books,Publisher of The Essential Orson Pratt, Pratt was the first to write and publish an account of Smith's famous "first vision," and he authored one of the earliest confessions of Mormon doctrine, which Smith later used in composing his own "Articles of Faith." Pratt edited the Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, The New York Messenger, The Seer, and The Prophetic Almanac, the latter consisting of astrological observations, folk wisdom, theological essays, and one of the first LDS statements that humans could become gods.
Pratt wrote: "...men, through obedience, attain to the fullness of all knowledge and become gods...they exist first as spirits, then as men clothed with mortal flesh, then as gods clothed with immortal tabernacles." LDS Apostle Orson Pratt, The Seer, p. 130, 1853.
At least two LDS "prophets"--John Taylor--the one who was converted to the LDS faith by Romney's ancestor, Parley P. Pratt, taught that man is a "god-in-embryo"...Spencer W. Kimball, LDS prophet, also reiterated this phrase as applied to temple-worthy Mormons in 1969.
What does Mitt Romney say about the faith of his fathers?
"I believe in my Mormon faith and I endeavor to live by it. My faith is the faith of my fathers – I will be true to them and to my beliefs….[I] will not...disavow one or another of its (faith of his fathers) precepts...." (Mitt Romney, Dec. 6, 2007)
Earlier in 2007 he said: II know there are some people hoping that I will simply declare in some way that my church is all well and good, but that I don't really believe it and I don't try to follow it. That's not going to happen. I'm proud of my faith. I love my faith. It is the faith of my fathers and mothers. I do my best to live by its teachings."
Mitt Romney is his own words--saying he tries to do his best to live by its teachings! The LDS hierarchy doesn’t just let anyone become a 2-time LDS bishop and one time stake president.
On top of that, Romney's temple oath he took to the LDS church was one where he would "consecrate himself, his time, talents and EVERYTHING he now has, or WILL HAVE IN THE FUTURE, for the building up of the Kingdom of God here upon the earth, and FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ZION.”
Allow me to define "Zion" as the LDS PR Web site defines its primary meaning: "membership in the [LDS] church."