Law of Elohim

Law of Elohim

The "Law of Elohim" is a Mormon law which Mormon men are sworn to obey in the LDS Temples. There is no biblical reference to a "Law of Elohim" so it is derived from the King Follet Sermon given by the Mormon founder Joseph Smith on April 7, 1844, in Nauvoo, Illinois in front of a crowd of 10,000 or more. Numerous people at the sermon wrote down what Joseph Smith said. This is the famous sermon from which Mormon polytheism and doctrine is derived.

In the King Follet discourse Joseph Smith redefined Elohim, one of the names of God in Judaism and traditional Christian Theology, as a "council of gods":

"I suppose I am not allowed to go into an investigation of anything that is not contained in the Bible. . . . I will go to the old Bible and turn commentator today. I will go to the very first Hebrew word--BERESHITH--in the Bible and make a comment on the first sentence of the history of creation: "In the beginning. . . ." I want to analyze the word BERESHITH. BE--in, by, through, and everything else; next, ROSH--the head; ITH. Where did it come from? When the inspired man wrote it, he did not put the first part--the BE--there; but a man--a Jew without any authority---put it there. He thought it too bad to begin to talk about the head of any man. It read in the first: "The Head One of the Gods brought forth the Gods." This is the true meaning of the words. ROSHITH [BARA ELOHIM] signifies [the Head] to bring forth the Elohim. If you do not believe it, you do not believe the learned man of God. No learned man can tell you any more than what I have told you. Thus, the Head God brought forth the Head Gods in the grand, head council." Joseph Smith, King Follet Sermon.

This sermon is regarded as one of the most dramatic sermon's ever given in America due to its radical change in traditional Christian theology, and since has served as the foundation of the polytheist view in Mormon doctrine that God was once a man and that men can also become Gods. This redefinition is considered inaccurate by Scholars of ancient Hebrew. A recent article written on the well known "Jews for Judaism" website, however, contradicts Joseph Smith's transliteration of Genesis 1:1, "Proclaiming belief in the Bible as originally written, as opposed to a corrupt contemporary version, assumes a knowledge of the original biblical text. As such, was Smith able to reestablish the “original” biblical text or, at least, the extent to which the Bible is “translated correctly”? Perhaps the best way to test his knowledge and abilities is to study his textual criticism of Genesis 1:1."

The significance of the "Law of Elohim" in the Mormon Temples was summarized by the second Prophet of the Mormon Church, Brigham Young:

"For unbelievers we will quote from the Scriptures— “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” Again— “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God.” I will now give my scripture— “Whosoever confesseth that Joseph Smith was sent of God to reveal the holy Gospel to the children of men, and lay the foundation for gathering Israel, and building up the kingdom of God on the earth, that spirit of God; and every spirit that does not confess that God has sent Joseph Smith, and revealed the everlasting Gospel to and through him, is of Antichrist, no matter whether it is found in a pulpit or on a throne, nor how much divinity it may profess, nor what it professes with regard to revealed religion and the account that is given of the Saviour and his Father in the Bible. They may say that they acknowledge Him until doomsday, and he will never own them, nor bestow the Holy Spirit upon them, and they will never have visions of eternity opened to them, unless they acknowledge that Joseph Smith is sent of God. Such people I call unbelievers. They tell about believing in Jesus Christ, but they might as well talk about birds understanding the Hebrew language. This statement is no more positive than true. (Journal of Discourses 8:176-177)."

The logical conclusion of the doctrine of Elohim given by Joseph Smith, and acknowledged by LDS Church leaders, is that Joseph Smith is now a God on the "council of gods" and that Mormon men swear to obey him, as he has more of a Salvific role in this the "last dispensation" of world than Jesus. Due to the revelatory doctrine of the Mormon Church, unlike traditional Christianity, Mormonism believes that its prophets speak for God and therefore cannot lead Mormons astray. So the "Law of Elohim", in essence, is swearing obedience to the "council of gods", of which Mormon men believe their leaders are and will be a part of, and which they aspire to join.

Song of God

There is a sect of Mormonism founded by self-proclaimed prophet Azrael Ondi-Ahman which delves deeper into the polytheism of councils of gods. In the scripture of this sect, called the "Song of God" there is a 1st Book of Endowment. Within this book the ideas of councils of gods are further explored:

"For I beheld The One from whose bosom all things glorious are made to flow, and there was stretched out before him, in all holy array, the Councils of the Seven Lights, which Councils are: the Council of Elohim, the Council of Elolam, the Council of Elkashie, the Council of Shem El Koreem, the Council of El Ramadee, the Council of El Kolobree, and the Council of El Jor El also." Song of God, Chapter 2 Verse 4.