It is our divine destiny to be heirs of eternal life, to become 'priests and kings . . . [and] gods, even the sons of God . . . [and to] dwell in the presence of God . . . forever and ever.'
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"I am a man of virtue, and I will be virtuous in all things."
"And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, who shall be marshaled and disciplined for war."
"The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead."
"The only way for you to grow in grace and truth is to come up and obey all the commandments of God."
"You have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you, namely, by going from a small degree to another, from grace to grace, fr…"
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Humans are not simply mortal beings awaiting judgment but are destined for divine transformation — literally becoming god-like heirs who dwell eternally with God. This envisions existence as a trajectory toward exaltation, not mere salvation from sin. The destination is co-heirship with Christ: ruling, reigning, and dwelling in God's presence forever. It frames human life as a divine apprenticeship culminating in eternal, glorified existence.
Smith's theology placed human deification — called eternal progression — at its core. His 1844 King Follett Discourse declared God himself was once mortal, making human ascent to godhood doctrine, not metaphor. He constructed an entire sacramental architecture — temple endowments, celestial marriage, priesthood ordinances — to enable this exaltation. This vision of radical human potential was the capstone of his revelations and set Mormonism apart from every other Christian tradition.
Smith preached this during the Second Great Awakening (1790s–1840s), an era of intense American religious ferment, frontier optimism, and widespread rejection of Old World church authority. New denominations multiplied; ordinary people claimed direct access to God. This culture prized unlimited self-improvement and destiny. Smith's claim that humans could become divine aligned perfectly with emerging American exceptionalism — a nation that felt its own destiny was cosmic, unlimited, and divinely ordained.
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