Sons and Daughters of God

Before the world was created, everyone was a child of God. However, in the fullest sense of the term, the real gospel objective is to elect whether or not one will become sons and daughters of God. This new acknowledged status means being accepted by God into His family.¹ Christ said of Himself in Ether 1:13 CE: I Am the one who was prepared from the foundation of creation to redeem My people. I Am Jesus Christ, I Am the Father and the Son. In Me all mankind, who believe in My name, will have life, and they’ll have it eternally; they’ll become My sons and daughters. And they shall become my sons and my daughters. This is the way men and women may become sons of God. The One who redeems them becomes their Father, and therefore, He who is the Only Begotten of the Father in turn begets many sons and daughters (see T&C 69:5).² “The Father declares what is right and true, and His Son obeys. Thus, the Son became the Word of God because He did what the Father asked Him. Do you want to be a son or daughter of God? Do what He asks. This is what we must do to worship Him.”³ Abinadi declared Christ would be called the Son of God (Mosiah 8:6). He explained He was “called” because He subject[ed] the flesh to the Father’s will. “We cannot be the Son of God the Father unless we subject our will to Him. We are His ‘Son’ when we are like Him because we obey Him. This was how Christ defined Himself.”⁴ Abinadi understood God. Now I ask you: Who will identify His sons and daughters? I tell you that after His life has been made a sin offering, He’ll reclaim His children. Now, what do you say? Who will be His children? I tell you that whoever has believed the prophet’s words — moreover, all the holy prophets who have prophesied about the Lord’s coming, I tell you that all those who have followed their words and believed that the Lord would redeem His people and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their sins, I tell you that these are His children, or they are heirs of God’s kingdom. These are the ones whose sins He has borne; these are the ones He has died for, to redeem them from their transgressions. And now, are they not His children? And the prophets, every one who’s proclaimed His messages, who hasn’t fallen into transgression — I mean all the holy prophets since the world began — I tell you that they are His children (Mosiah 8:8 CE).⁵ The Holy Order after the Order of the Son of God makes those who inherit it, by definition, the sons of God. Therefore, in a way, calling it the Holy Order after the Order of the Son of God is a way of identifying the recipient as someone who has become one of God’s sons.⁶ Even though a couple may be mortals in the flesh, they are by definition “sons of God” if they belong to the Order. It is the nature of this Holy Order that it is conferred upon the man and woman jointly (see 1 Corinthians 1:44).⁷