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Do Mormons Get Their Own Planet?



One of the most common criticisms about Mormonism is that faithful members believe they will “get their own planet” in the next life. Whenever this idea appears, the Church and its defenders move quickly to deny it. FAIR, the main apologetic group, calls the phrase a caricature: “Reducing [exaltation] to ruling a planet caricatures a profound and complex belief. Claims that Mormons hope for ‘their own planets’ almost always aim to disrespect and marginalize” (FAIR, “Gods of Their Own Planets”). 


The Church’s official Newsroom FAQ also weighs in:

 



On the surface these answers look straightforward. God does not hand out planets. Yet the very same sources go on to describe exaltation as receiving all that the Father has, which includes creative power. FAIR acknowledges that exalted beings “will share in all that the Father has including his creative powers” (FAIR) and even goes on the share a quote from church leadership which explicitly states that we can one day govern over worlds 


FAIR, “Gods of Their Own Planets”


In other words, they deny the phrasing while simultaneously affirming the concept.

Joseph Smith taught in the King Follett sermon that “the mind or the intelligence which man possesses is co-equal with God himself” (Smith 1844). God organized these intelligences into spirit children, gave them mortal bodies, and through resurrection offers perfected bodies. Those who remain faithful may achieve exaltation. 

A church manual describes exaltation this way: exalted beings “will become gods. They will have their families forever and will have all power, glory, dominion, and knowledge” (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1976, 29). 

If exalted beings are to become like God, then scripture’s description of God’s work reveals what they will do. In the Pearl of Great Price God declares: “And worlds without number have I created” (Moses 1:33). Doctrine and Covenants 76:24 teaches that “the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.” Creation of inhabited worlds is presented as central to God’s nature. By the logic of eternal progression, it becomes the destiny of those who are exalted.


Church leaders have been explicit about this point. Lorenzo Snow summarized the doctrine in his well-known couplet: “As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may be.” Bruce R. McConkie wrote: “For them new earths are created, and thus the on-rolling purposes of the Gods of Heaven go forward from eternity to eternity” (Mormon Doctrine, 1966, 257). The 2001 Gospel Fundamentals manual is even more direct: exalted beings “will be able to have spirit children and make new worlds for them to live on, and do all the things our Father in Heaven has done” (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 2001, 201).

The issue is not whether the doctrine exists. It clearly does. The issue is in the language. Saying “get your own planet” makes the teaching sound cartoonish, which is the issue FAIR seems to have. Saying “create worlds without number” makes it sound scriptural and noble. Yet both describe the same belief: exalted beings continue God’s work by creating new worlds and populating them with His children.

The official Newsroom answer tries to sidestep this tension by insisting the “planet” idea is not in scripture. That is technically true, but it ignores the scriptures and teachings that describe exalted humans inheriting God’s creative role. FAIR follows the same pattern: deny the caricature, then affirm the concept under different wording.

So... do Mormons get their own planet? According to the Church’s public-facing language, no. According to scripture, prophetic teaching, and instructional manuals, yes, exalted beings create worlds, populate them, and preside as gods. The difference is only in phrasing. In reality Latter-day Saints are not promised one planet. They are promised the capacity to create “worlds without number.”

__________

References

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1976. Principles of the Gospel. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. http://www.thearmouryministries.org/pdfdoc/gospelprinciples.pdf

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2001. Gospel Fundamentals. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Church Newsroom. “Frequently Asked Questions About Latter-day Saints.”  https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/frequently-asked-questions

FAIR. “Mormonism and the Nature of God/Deification of Man/Gods of Their Own Planets.” FAIR Latter-day Saints.  https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/Mormonism_and_the_nature_of_God/Deification_of_man/Gods_of_their_own_planets

McConkie, Bruce R. 1966. Mormon Doctrine. 2nd ed. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft. https://amzn.to/3HFYsdn (affiliate link)

Smith, Joseph. 1844. The King Follett Sermon. https://josephsmithfoundation.org/docs/the-king-follett-sermon/

Moses 1:33, 35. Pearl of Great Price. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Doctrine and Covenants 76:24. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Check Your Understanding: “Do Mormons Get Their Own Planet?”

Test how well you understand the gap between LDS public messaging and internal teachings on exaltation.

1. What common criticism of Mormonism does this article address?




2. How does FAIR initially respond to the “own planet” idea?




3. What key point does FAIR still affirm about exalted beings?




4. According to Joseph Smith’s King Follett sermon, what is said about human intelligence?




5. How does the 1976 Principles of the Gospel manual describe exalted beings?




6. What do Moses 1:33 and Doctrine and Covenants 76:24 say about God’s work?




7. What does the 2001 Gospel Fundamentals manual explicitly teach about exalted beings?




8. What is the article’s main conclusion about the “own planet” question?




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