Adopted by God

13 April

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” John 1:12

When I tell people who are unaware that two of my three boys are adopted they’re often curious about the process, and the reasons behind our choice to adopt. Being an adoptive parent has taught me many things, but most of all its taught me about love. I love all my boys the same, and I couldn’t imagine our family without them.  Adopting my children has also given me an incredible picture of adoption from God’s point of view.

I was adopted into God’s family four years ago when he called me out of Mormonism, and into his family. Being adopted into God’s family was a foreign doctrine to me at first; it was so different when compared to what I learned in the Mormon Church. It was there that I was taught the Mormon doctrine of being automatically born a child of God,  the doctrine also taught me how I lived with God and Heavenly Mother in what’s called the pre-existence before I was sent to earth to receive a mortal body.

Through classes and lessons I was told how everyone who has ever lived, including Jesus Christ were first created spiritually by some sort of “union” between God, and his goddess wife.  Something I didn’t know as a Mormon was that Brigham Young taught how God created all of his “spirit children” in the pre-existence in the same manner mortal parents conceive their children.

He stated, “[God] created man, as we create our children; for there is no other process of creation in heaven, on the earth, in the earth, or under the earth, or in all the eternities, that is, that were, or that ever will be.” (Journal of Discourses vol 11 page 123)

Clearly this is a false doctrine, there’s nothing in the Bible to suggest that God needed have a female counter part to create our spirits, that we are reincarnated versions of our former spirit selves, or that we are automatically born his children. What we do learn is that we are adopted into his family. Ephesians 1:3-5 reads:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself.”

Because Mormons reject the Biblical doctrine of original sin they can’t understand the need for us to be adopted by God. Their doctrine teaches that we aren’t born with a sin nature, and can’t knowingly sin until we reached the “age of accountability”, which according to Mormonism is 8 years old. Furthermore it teaches that it’s only after we are baptized at this age can we receive the Holy Ghost and would fully know wrong from right. Because of this false doctrine they can’t understand that we are all not born children of God, and into his family but are born children of wrath. Paul points out in Ephesians 2:3.

“Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

It’s only through the Holy Spirit that we truly became children of God. When we repent of our sins, and put our full trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation we have divine life implanted in us. We no longer have to be slave to our sins, and live in fear of God’s wrath, but we can go to him freely knowing he will forgive us when we sin. Romans 8:15 reads:

“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out Abba! Father!”

God is calling all of us to be a part of his family, to be his children. Sadly many will refuse his call in their hearts desiring to follow the worlds call or the call of false doctrine that tickles their ears and would separate them from him for eternity.

In Christ,

Melissa Grimes

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6jO7xhU_Pw]

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