Mormonism Research Ministry’s website contains a 2011 article sparked by Mormon denials (including a pointed and clear denial found on lds.org) of the long-standing doctrine in Mormonism that exalted Mormons will one day create and populate their own worlds. The article contains many quotes from Church manuals and Church leaders that prove the doctrine is not mere “folklore” as some claim. What follows are few more instances of the teaching from official Mormon sources that suggest the doctrine is more than just a popular myth.
All are dated within the past 17 years except the first quote in the list. The first one is older, from a 1959 Sunday school course. Even though it’s almost 55 years old, I’ve included it because, according to Apostle Boyd K. Packer, “The doctrines [of the Church] will remain fixed, eternal…” (Quoted in Teachings of the Living Prophets, 7).
ABRAHAM’S BLESSINGS MAY BE YOURS…[Abraham’s descendants] would be privileged to dwell with and become like God, sharing with him the rule of the universe. They should have an everlasting inheritance upon this earth, even after it becomes a celestial kingdom. Through their children born on earth and their spirit children born to them after the resurrection, they should have the power of eternal lives or eternal increase, eventually being able to create worlds and people them with their own spirit offspring. These earthly and spirit children will constitute the kingdom over which they shall rule.” (Archibald Bennett, Family Exaltation, Course 20, Genealogical Training Department for the Sunday Schools of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1959)
“Exaltation means godhood, creatorship. ‘As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may be.’” (Apostle L. Tom Perry, “Learning to Serve,” Ensign, August 1996, 15, quoting Spencer W. Kimball)
“[When we receive eternal life] our spirits will be changed. We will become able to want what God wants, to think as He thinks, and thus be prepared for the trust of an endless posterity to teach and to lead through tests to be raised up to qualify to live forever in eternal life.” (President Henry B. Eyring, “Adversity,” Ensign, May 2009, 24)
“[Peter’s and John’s] righteous lives opened the door to godhood for them and creation of worlds with eternal increase. For this they would probably need, eventually, a total knowledge of the sciences… After our feet are set firmly on the path to eternal life we can amass more knowledge of the secular things. [[A highly trained scientist who is also a perfected man may create a world and people in it, but a dissolute, unrepentant, unbelieving one will never be such a creator in the eternities.]] Secular knowledge, important as it may be, can never save a soul nor open the celestial kingdom nor create a world nor make a man a god, but it can be most helpful to that man who, placing first things first, has found the way to eternal life and who can now bring into play all knowledge to be his tool and servant.” Apostle L. Tom Perry, “The Tradition of a Balanced, Righteous Life,” Ensign, August 2011, 51, quoting Spencer W. Kimball. The text in double brackets is found in the original source quoted by Mr. Perry (as quoted by him in his August 1996 Ensign article referenced above), but Mr. Perry replaced it with ellipsis in this article. While the idea of creating and populating worlds is clearly present without the omitted text, I’ve included it for context as an aid to the reader.)