They’re sweet and kind, even helpful. In pop culture, angels
are like a best friend. Sometimes they’re more like a Jiminy Cricket, appearing
on our shoulder and reminding us not to tell a lie, and other times, they’re
better than the latest dating app, making our secret crush fall for us head over
heels. And for as sweet as angels are, demons are just plain cool. I’ve never
seen anyone with as nice facial hair as Satan.
In the Mormon Framework, these beings are also of the same
nature as God and humans. As such, who else could they be but children of God
too? As God’s children, they look like us—they have faces and eyes and arms and
legs. Although the Bible and other literature may describe angels and demons in
symbolic language with animal body parts or fantastic traits, they are in fact of
the same species as us. In other words, demons do not really have horns and
angels do not really have wings. And unlike in the cartoons, Satan does not
have a pointed tail…but he might have a suave goatee.
Class Distinction
With these different classes—humans, angels, and
demons—being of the same nature, what is there to distinguish one from another?
Why weren’t we made angels, or what
stops us from becoming demons? (Your
parents probably asked the same questions about you when you were little.)
Distinctions between humans, angels, and demons are not the
result of a difference in species, but a result of either progression or degression.
It’s determined by how we choose to exercise our free will.
Angels are honorable humans who have already completed or
have yet to start their mortal lives.[i]
Tasked with specific assignments by God, some angels can appear to humans on
earth to deliver a message or perform a work. Others never visibly appear, but
fulfill special responsibilities on earth (think guardian angel-type
assistance).
But is there any biblical support that angels are in fact
simply human? The Bible doesn’t definitively say one way or the other, but one
little hint that might push us over the fence is that the Bible never actually
mentions the creation of angels. If they are indeed a separate species of
being, then it’s odd that the Bible would skip over that. But if angels are
human, then the omission makes sense—angelic creation is no different from
human creation.
So why weren’t we made angels? Well, maybe you were, or
maybe you will be in the resurrection—all it takes is a special assignment from
God and you would qualify as a full-fledged angel!
Demons on the other hand are essentially those who chose not
to have anything to do with God from the get go, so instead of having the
opportunity of being born in the flesh, they were cast out of heaven to wander
the earth as disembodied spirits.[ii]
Their souls, being comprised of only a spiritual body, but not a physical one,
will never be complete. Satan, whose name means “adversary,” is chief of the
demons, but was formerly known as Lucifer, meaning “morning star,”[iii] or
literally “light-bearer.”[iv] As
his name change suggests, he was once a being of light and glory who then fell
from God’s grace.[v] He
now leads the demons in tempting humankind on earth and drawing them away from
God.
So what stops us from becoming demons? Fortunately for you,
you were already born on earth, meaning that you weren’t among those cast out
of heaven and consigned to wander the earth as spirits. Congratulations, you
made the right choice—you can never become a devil!
Fallen Son
Speaking of the Devil, have you ever heard anyone take a jab
at Mormon Christians for believing that Jesus and Satan are brothers?
Okay, let’s not speak of the Devil for too long…or else. But
really, what is the relationship between Lucifer, the Morning Star, and Jesus,
the bright Morning Star?[vi]
Well, by now it’s a no-brainer. Jesus and Satan are both children of God, just
like you and me and everyone else.
I think the reason this idea really drives some people up a
wall is a simple misunderstanding of framework. You see, in the Classical
Framework, if Jesus and Satan are brothers, that means they’re on the same
level. Satan is of the same substance as the Trinity, making him all-knowing
and all-powerful. The thought of having an evil person in the being of the
Trinity, or at least similar to the Trinity, is abhorrent.
But in the Mormon Framework, none of these implications
applies. Because class is distinguished by progression or degression, and not
by nature, Satan isn’t anywhere near the same level as Jesus. He used his free
will to remove himself far from God’s presence and even further from God’s
character and attributes. In fact, as in the Classical Framework, he’s even
beneath humans—he’s the lowest of the demons. In light of the Mormon
understanding of being, there’s no problem with the idea that Satan, though
unbelievably evil, is still a son of God.
And actually, if we read our Bible closely, that’s really
not too hard of a pill to swallow. Satan regularly mingled with other sons of
God. Not only did he mingle with them, but passages in the first two chapters
of Job strongly indicate that he was one of them. In the account of Satan
conversing with the Lord, 1) Satan appears with all the other sons of God.[vii] 2)
Satan presents himself to the Lord at the time appointed for the sons of God to
present themselves to the Lord.[viii]
3) His ability to face the Lord in open conversation[ix]
seems to point toward a once-intimate relationship between the two. 4) His
power is either given or acknowledged by the Lord,[x]
indicating a (formerly) high status.
So if Satan is with the sons of God, does what they do when they
do it, is familiar with God, and has power like the sons of God, then the
simplest and most likely conclusion is that he is also a son of God.
We are all brothers and sisters and we’re all children of
God—even the bad apples. To criticize this understanding does not expose a flaw
in the Mormon Framework, but only the ignorance of the critic. Within the
proper framework, it’s plain to see this doctrine for what it is—a glorious and
unambiguous declaration of the divine origins of all people.
[i]
See chapter 15 to learn more about the premortal existence of humans.
[ii] See
Revelation 12:4.
[iii]
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, Hebrew #1966.
[iv] NAS
Exhaustive Concordance, Hebrew #1966.
[v] See
Isaiah 14:12.
[vi] See
Revelation 22:16 where Jesus calls himself “the bright morning star.”
[vii]
See Job 1:6 and 2:1.
[viii]
See Job 2:1.
[ix] See
Job 1:6-12 and 2:1-7.
[x] See
Job 1:12.
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