"...in accordance with God’s plan of eternal progression, advancement from grade to grade within any kingdom, and from kingdom to kingdom, will be provided for. But if the recipients of a lower glory be enabled to advance, surely the intelligences of higher rank will not be stopped in their progress; and thus we may conclude, that degrees and grades will ever characterize the kingdoms of our God. Eternity is progressive; perfection is relative; the essential feature of God’s living purpose is its associated power of eternal increase.” (James E. Talmage, The Articles of Faith, p. 420-421)
"And the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."
This passage emphasizes the transient nature of human life and the finality of death. The physical body returns to the earth and the human soul returns to its Creator. It underscores a clear distinction between the divine and the mortal, challenging the notion that humans can progress to godhood.
By stating that the spirit returns to God, Ecclesiastes 12:7 implies that human destiny is to be with God in an eternal state, not to become gods themselves. The verse reinforces the historic Judeo-Christian understanding of the afterlife and divine-human relationship. It does not include the idea of humans achieving godhood.
Thus, the Mormon idea of human exaltation to godhood stands in contradiction to the biblical teaching found in Ecclesiastes 12:7. It emphasizes the separation between God and humanity. The ultimate return of the human spirit is to Him, without any further divine progression. The belief in human divinization as proposed by Mormonism is inconsistent with the theological implications of this verse.
Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." This text emphasizes the immutable nature of Jesus Christ. In the context of refuting Mormonism’s idea of eternal progression, it suggests that Jesus, and by extension God, does not change or evolve. If God remains eternally the same, the notion of humans progressing to become gods is incompatible because it implies a change in divine status.
1 Timothy 6:15-16 refers to God as the "only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light." The emphasis here is on God's unique sovereignty and eternal immortality. It implies that His divine attributes are exclusive, not shared or attainable by others. This directly opposes the Mormon belief that humans can achieve godhood.
