To be a god vs. a God

Today, I would like to dive into the God we know, what it means to be a god, and how there are varying degrees of godhood.

First off, I am going to define in the most pure form what it really means to be a god and the difference between a god and a God: To be a god means that priesthood power has been given unto you by a God, and that the intelligences honor the power that has been given unto you. Now, depending on the degree of the power given unto you entitles you the ability to command the intelligences, the elements, and matter to organize, to create, to change, or to destroy. In this regard there are varying degrees of bestowal and authority. While, at the same time a God receives his priesthood power from the intelligences themselves, and acts independent of other Gods because of the honor the intelligences have given unto him (D&C 29:36). A God of this nature has all power and authority given unto him to command and organize the intelligences, however, it is much more difficult to reach this nature of Godhood. To do so you have to prove yourself by showing that you will not only obey the higher laws of eternity with exactness now, but will do so for the eternities. If not, you will be stripped of your Godhood and removed from your office. The intelligences will no longer honor you, and your power will become void (Alma 42:13).

Diving in further, I will now discuss the how it is that Satan is a god, and the differences with how Christ is a god, how we are gods, and how oneday Christ will become a God and we will too.

1. The godhood of Satan
Satan is very proud of the fact that he has priesthood powers given unto him. He parades himself about on the earth calling himself the god of this world. Through priestcraft and false means, he persuades men and women to give him more power and honor, by subjecting their will unto his. He encourages men to create their own gods of worship, and deny the true and living God. He teaches all manner of false doctrine, and vanities, and encourages all who heed his voice that the laws of eternity are not real, nor in effect. In this manner he teaches that there is no God, no sin, and therefore no consequence. By his cunning and craft, he carefully leads his followers down into hell and spiritual bondage. Now is Satan really a god? The answer is yes. He has power and priesthoods given unto him by a God. Why has he be given such power we might ask? The answer is: for the greater designs of God and his plan. Satan is a key player in this plan. He does not realize that his power is only temporary though, and it will be stripped from him by God and Christ at the completion of this plan, and according to the laws of eternity and justice, which he has failed to honor.

Now the power given unto enables him to have power over the waters, and the ability to perform miracles like those shown unto Moses (Ex 7:11-12, 20-22; and 8:5-7), and the ability to tempt and try men. Because Satan has priesthood powers (in proper terms priestcraft powers)--enchantments, sorcery, magic, healing, and miracles can be performed. This is why miracles could be performed in the name of Beelzebub, and have them come to pass. However, Satan's power over the intelligences is limited to those that follow him. He does not have the honor of all intelligences. Thus when his miracles are performed they are lacking in perfection and completion and cannot be made whole except by the insertion of one of his subjects (demons) into that thing. He performs these "miracles" through priestcraft (false priesthood power) means by bestowing his subjects with temporal bodies into those mortals he subjected and brought under his reign. For this reason, anytime a demon was cast out, the miracle ceased and the man was placed back as he was before, and his imperfection (broken arm or leg, or whatever it was, suddenly became manifest again). (Now at the same time if a demon was cast out, and the individual was commanded to be healed in the name of Christ, then the intelligences, honoring the representative of Christ and true priesthood power, obeyed and became whole and complete as they were meant to function. In the words of Cleon Skousen in the Meaning of the Atonement: "You have not performed as you ought to of since the birth of this man. Into your proper places now!"  In this manner, the elements and intelligences became whole and complete in a perfect manner, according to the perfection of this Telestial world).

This is why we are warned over and over again, to not fall into temptation and give Satan any power over us. For as soon as we are in his power, and have given our will over to his, he can do with us as he wishes, and even place multitudes of demons within us. This was a problem since the beginning (with him gaining power over the serpents and tempting Mother Eve), and is still prevalent today in every country in the world. The priestcrafts of Satan, as well as his demons are still present today and practiced by his servants throughout the world today.

2. The godhood of Christ
Now, how is Christ a god? And how is his godhood different from Satan's?

First off, Christ is different from Satan, in that everything he has done and does, is in line with the Father's will, and the laws of eternity. Because of this, in the premortal realms he, along with many of us, were given power and priesthoods on loan from the Father. Under the direction of the father, we commanded and helped organize the intelligences, spiritual element and matter into orderly, beautiful things. As we were faithful, and acted in accordance with higher laws, treating our priesthood powers with respect and reverence, the Father gave us additional priesthoods and powers. Now in our growth and progression in the premortal realms, there came a point when we had grown as far as we could achieve with God's priesthood power, acting as god's under his reign, that it was time for us to become as he is: God's of our own. To do this, a grand council was set in place. One in which was proposed a plan to become a God. However, for it to work, one of us had to perfectly satisfy the demands of justice and make a purchase us from it's demands. Once this payment was made and completed in it's entirety, that individual would be granted Godhood by the intelligences, and to those who had also honored all the covenants, laws, and ordinances set forth by God, would be granted Godhood as well.

Thus, at the completion of this plan, there would be another grand council (graduation ceremony) in the which Christ would become a God and those of us, who had walked up to every law, ordinance, and covenant we had made on this earth and had entered into the new and everlasting covenant of celestial marriage would be granted Godhood as well. As we become Gods ourselves, we will be crowned with the ability to to organize, form and create spiritual matter and element into things of celestial order, and beauty (D&C 75:5).

We will graduate from being gods with priesthood power on loan from God, to God's ourselves, where the honor the intelligences give unto us will be our own power.

Those who have not walked up to every ordinance, covenant, and law and have instead lived lesser laws of a telestial, and terrestial nature, or even have only made covenants of baptism and endowment, will not receive this level of Godhood at this time, and instead will remain as angels to God.