When I first started doubting the supernatural truth claims of the Mormon Church in my early twenties, I was forced into the existential void lacking a worldview-identity; and so I shopped around to replace Mormonism with first Evangelical Christianity, but then later quickly became an agnostic after studying the sciences and books on atheism. However, despite my nontheistic agnosticism I continued to be fascinated by the Bible and couldn't seem to shake its pull of higher ideals within a poeticized Reality and its general philosophy of goodness and treating others fairly. So I quickly gravitated overtime toward theologically-liberal Christians like John Shelby Spong, Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. However after spending many years absorbing their material and then being exposed to Frederick Nietzsche, I realized that they were ultimately presenting in many ways an unrealistic ideology not fit for modern competitive capitalist America. I still very much value their work and recommend it, but the fact is those authors have mostly spent their lives as clergyman or University professors and in many ways I think were out of touch with the realities of modern, competitive, capitalist America.
I quickly found that those like Jordan Peterson who mix aspects of Nietzscheanism and Christianity together made more sense. I found other books like No More Christian Nice Guy by Paul Coughlin which also takes Nietzsche's criticisms (of the emasculating versions of Christianity) seriously.
I also began to read scholarly books that clearly showed that in the early Pauline movement the goal was not to rise up in status or build your career or even have a family. Paul definitely had a masculine side but because he thought the end of the mortal world was ending in his life time he was interested more in Social Unity in preparation for the new Kingdom of Heaven come to Earth any minute. I read several books and articles by Paul Middleton and the article Antifamilial Tendencies in Ancient Christianity by Elizabeth A. Clark, and it became clear to me that the people who wrote the New Testament -- while clearly enlightened and practicing a morality which would later change the world (as Tom Holland argues successfully in his book Dominion) -- nevertheless, they often (not always) presented an overall martyr-centric ideology and often an acetic lifestyle that is problematic for today.
The fact is, we are living in a different time in America as free citizens with freedom of religion. In the 1st Century, when the New Testament was written, Jews and Christians were under the boot of the Roman government. They were told to revere Ceasar as a God-man or else. I admire the first Christians and their courage to stand up to Rome in the way they did as protesting martyrs, as they acted out a kind of psychological warfare since they didn't have the physical military power to break free of Rome rule. I interpret the New Testament as a tactical strategy through the use of religion and psychology, in that the God of Israel who many believed would send his Messiah to set the Jews free through violence, was interpreted by Christians instead aas the Suffering Messiah: who would die and resurrect as a Life-giving energy and thus conquer by replacing the corrupted temple system in cahoots with Rome (and the Mosaic Law) as the resurrected Christ: acting as an indwelling divine presence inplanting his seed (and Way of loving non-violent resistance) into hearts. Christianity proved to be effective in overcoming Roman oppression through the psychological conversion of Romans to Christianity overtime.
Thus in my view, the New Testament is a particular psychological strategy designed specifically for a first century context for dealing with Roman oppression. It was designed to prove to God that by "taking up their cross" as martyrs and spreading Jesus's message, that the second coming would arrive in their lifetime. This is why there is little to no talk about sexual or romantic love, getting married and having children, or building a business and working for retirement.
Catholicism, and most of Protestant Christianity, basically did not treat the New Testament as a first-century text, but often magnified it's celibate ideal and asceticism, often turning one into a non-capitalist and uncompetitive; with a don't fight back let God return soon and fight for you mentality. In other words, if taken literally and seriously it could in fact turn someone into something close to what Nietzsche called The Last Man: who is out of touch with modern capitalist America.
Yet I still consider New Testament Christianity to be a great work of philosophical and artistic brilliance in creating an ethic that replaces the pagan ethics of Might Makes Right. It just needs to be viewed in its proper cultural context under Roman oppression and its apocalyptic mindset.
It was at this point in my philosophical investigations that I realized that Mormonism as a Life Philosophy bridges the divide quite well: of balancing the best of New Testament Christianity with the best of the more masculine and practical philosophers of today. So that it fits well as a Life Philosophy with our modern American way of life.
After spending some time absorbing Nietzsche's philosophy, I began to find value in his pro-Living action oriented philosophy. Yet I also read other books criticizing his philosophy and realized that while much of his philosophy is powerfully affirmative of Real Life and helpful for individuals dealing with our modern age, and inspiring in many respects, it nevertheless has a "dark side" that I find problematic.
It was at this point in my philosophical journey that I began to realize that Mormonism actually covers many of the positive aspects of Nietzsche's philosophy, but does not contain the problematic elements of Nietzscheanism.
What I began to see is that Joseph Smith quite successfully balances Agon and Agape, the will to power and the power of love. Joseph Smith created a unique theology and philosophy about not being a docile cow chewing the cud or groveling before a deity and despising your body; but instead, Joseph Smith created a philosophy and theology that was true to our lifeward humanity, our basic organic drives to thrive, as well as our desire for compassionate synergizing and hiving. Below I will analyze Nietzsche's concept of the Will to Power and how it manifests in Mormonism.
The Will to Power
Nietzsche describes the will to power in his book, Thus Spake Zarathustra, part 2, section 12. On Self-overcoming (Kaufman translation):
… the will to power-the unexhausted procreative will of life.
Thus Spake Zarathustra, part 2, section 12. On Self-overcoming (Graham Parkes' translation):
… Where I found the living, there I found will to power; and even in the will of one who serves I found a will to be master.
… And wherever there is sacrifice and service and loving glances: there too is the will to be master. By secret paths the weaker slinks into the fortress and into the very heart of the more powerful–and there steals power.
And this secret did Life herself tell to me.* ‘Behold,’ she said, ‘I am that which must always overcome itself. ‘Indeed, you call it will to procreate or drive for a purpose, for what is higher, farther, more manifold: but all this is one and one secret.
‘I would rather go under than renounce this one thing: and verily, where there is going-under and falling of leaves, behold, there life sacrifices itself–for power!
‘That I must be struggle and Becoming and purpose and conflict of purposes: ah, whoever guesses my will also guesses along what crooked ways it has to walk!
‘Whatever I create and however much I love it–soon I must oppose both it and my love: thus my will wills it.
… ‘Only, where Life is, there too is will: though not will to life, but– thus I teach you–will to power!
Before I continue my analysis, I recommend the YouTube video by Empire of the Mind, titled, Star Wars | The Will to Power | Analyzing the Philosophy, Psychology, Myths & Archetypes of the Saga. The video does an excellent job explaining the Nietzschean will to power as a hypothesis of the nature of the universe that has great explanatory power. The concept is also useful in psychology. For example, the video points out that Alfred Adler disagreed with both Frankel's will to meaning and Freud's will to survive and sexually reproduce, as the underlying driving forces of humanity. Instead, according to Adler, what drives us is a desire for power. The video illustrates this with an analysis of scenes from the movie Star Wars. I recommend this video as an introduction to understanding the will to power.
This drive for power is not just a Nietzschean view, but is also part of the psychology of Alfred Adler. Yet Adler opposed seeking power to dominate, harm, and exploit others. Instead he promoted empathy and social cohesion. He focused on the individual's drive for power to avoid feelings of inferiority. According to merriam-webster.com, Adlerian (pronounced Ad·le·ri·an) is defined thus:
of, relating to, or being a theory and technique of psychotherapy emphasizing the importance of feelings of inferiority, a will to power, and overcompensation in neurotic processes.
According to Simplypsychology.org, Adler taught:
… First-born children have inherent advantages due to their parents recognizing them as “the larger, the stronger, the older.”
This gives first-born children the traits of “a guardian of law and order.” These children have a high amount of personal power, and they value the concept of power with reverence.
Second-born children are constantly in the shadow of their older siblings. They are incessantly “striving for superiority under pressure,” driven by the existence of their older, more powerful sibling.
If the second-born is encouraged and supported, he will be able to attain power as well, and he and the first-born will work together. ...
Early interaction with family members, peers and adults help to determine the role of inferiority and superiority in life. ...
All human behavior is goal orientated and motivated by striving for superiority. Individuals differ in their goals and how they try to achieve them.
A natural and healthy reaction to inferiority is compensation: efforts to overcome real or imaged inferiority by developing one's own abilities.
If a person is unable to compensate for normal feelings of inferiority, they develop an inferiority complex.
The overarching goal of Adlerian psychotherapy is to help the patient overcome feelings of inferiority.
… Adler thought that the basic psychological element of neurosis was a sense of inferiority …
… Adler (1917) uses the ancient Greek figure Demosthenes, who had a terrible stutter but ended up becoming the “greatest orator in Greece” (p. 22).
Here, Demosthenes started off with an inferiority due to his stutter, and overcompensated by not just overcoming his stutter, but taking up a profession that would normally be impossible for a stutterer. …
Overcompensation can lead to the development of an inferiority complex. This is a lack of self-esteem where the person is unable to rectify his feelings of inferiority. …
The superiority complex occurs when a person has the need to prove that he is more superior than he truly is. …
… the overarching goal of Adlerian psychotherapy is to help the patient overcome feelings of inferiority. … goal, defined as “an imagined, compensatory, self-ideal created to inspire permanent and total relief, in the future, from the primary inferiority feeling” … Feeling of community; Level and radius of activity;
Scheme of apperception; Attitude toward occupation; love and sex; and other people;
… The process of encouraging the client helps them reduce feelings of inferiority. The therapist can start by acknowledging courage that the client has already shown, and continue by discussing small steps the client can take towards getting to a more confident place.
For instance, if the client has a limited radius of activity, the client and the therapist might discuss ways to broaden their activity.
The second crucial aspect of this phase is to clarify the client’s core feelings and beliefs regarding the self, others, and life in general.
… Now that the client and the therapist have recognized the issues with the client’s style of life, the task becomes to redirect the style of life towards life satisfaction.
This involves reducing and productively utilizing feelings of inferiority, changing the final goal, and increasing feelings of community.
… [in short] Behavior is motivated by social influence and striving for superiority. Present behavior is shaped by the future (goals orientation).
As we can see every individual naturally strives for superiority (or personal power) according to Adler. According to this article by vision.org, Adler
differed from Nietzsche in that Adler combined both the unifying principle of Love Thy Neighbor with the individual's Drive for Power and to feel and become God-like. It's my understanding that the liberal theologian Paul Tillich reworked Nietzsche's Will To Power into a more Christian version with God as the ground of Being. Like Adler and Tillich I find a similar balance of Love and Power in Joseph Smith's philosopical-ethos: in that Joseph balanced the Dream of Zion with what I've termed the Call to Dominion (which I will discuss below).
So to be clear, I'm not endorsing Nietzsche's philosophy of Will to Power wholesale. In fact, if the reader is uncomfortable with my use of the phrase Will to Power, consider other later philosophers and psychologists who were influenced by Nietzsche but used a different language. Again, for example, the Christian Theologian Paul Tillich used the phrase the ground of Being. The Theologian John Dominic Crossan once refered to God as the Beating Heart of the Universe. As just mentioned Adler used the phrase "the striving for superiority." In the TV series Greenleaf, the character Grace "Gigi" refers to The Trying Part of Everything (see Video clip here: Greenleaf, Season 1 Episode 1). Wayne Dyer has a PBS Talk on "The Power of Intention" where defines the the cosmic creative Energy expanding everything in the Universe as the divine Source; that we can align with and tap into for our own personal growth. Napoleon Hill spoke of Cosmic Habit Force. Author Nassim Nicholas Taleb uses the term Antifragile (or Antifragility). The cartoon movie The Lion King refers to the Circle of Life. Eckhart Tolle refers to the One Life.
In his synthesis of modern psychology, MindOS, Dr. Paul Dobransky M.D. explains that biological Life is Irritabile, meaning all living organisms make decisions. Hence to live is to choose and act in the world. All life strives for power and becoming. In Dobransky's overall self-improvement system the aim is personal boundary vitality via well-being and confidence (self-esteem). For men, the goal is boundary-expansion via Masculine Momentum (the opposite of what he calls Depresculinity). Mature Masculine Power is gained by increasing or gaining in Territory, Rank, and Power (Dobransky defines power as "energy per unit of time"; i.e efficient effectiveness).
As one see Nietzsche did not invent the will to power, he simply gave the procreative expanding nature of organic and creative reality a name. No matter what you call it there is this expanding force of plenty at the heart of reality.
Even if one rejects Nietzsche's philosophy, and I myself don't agree much of what Nietzsche says (and find him very problematic in certain areas), I don't think one can deny that there is a cosmic drive to thrive, an organic power dynamic in all aspects of growing and dying forms of Life. Jordan Peterson refers to Being as cosmic Order & Chaos manifesting itself within dominance hierarchies.
In the Hebrew Bible, Jehovah is described as the ultimate Power: a man of war and the cosmic voice that creates Order out of Chaos. The heroes of the Hebrew Bible express will to power and dominance gaining dominion. Whether it's Joseph being sold into slavery and then rising to power, or David slaying Goliath and then becoming King. In all these stories the hero is in alignment with the cosmic drive to thrive, the organically and cosmically expanding force of plenty.
In the translation of the Old Testament, The Hebrew Bible by Robert Alter, in the introduction to the Book of Numbers, Alter writes (words in bold my own for emphasis):
I would like to propose that these fragments of old poems are introduced into the narrative of Numbers at least in part in order to produce an “antiquity effect.” There is no way of knowing whether Hebrew audiences in, say, the ninth century B.C.E. were still familiar with the Book of the Battles of YHWH, or whether it was already a lost work, surviving only in remembered fragments or perhaps tag ends of manuscript. The point, in any case, of the fragmentary quotation, triggered in context by the geographical references, would have been to evoke a distant moment in early Israelite history, suffused with the aura of the historical era of the story’s setting in the thirteenth century B.C.E.
One may surmise that the Book of the Battles of YHWH was deemed too anthropomorphic or too mythological in character to be included in the canon that was evolving, perhaps (to judge by the title) featuring a warrior-god wielding lightning as his weapon, as in some of the Psalms and in Ugaritic poetry, leading the assault against Israel’s enemies.
The enigmatic lines cited from this ancient text conjure up an era of fierce martial energies when Israel first established itself among the peoples of Canaan as a conquering nation. (The early-twentieth-century Hebrew poet Saul Tchernikhovsky would capture something of the spirit of this era by referring to the primordial deity of the Hebrews in a programmatically Nietzschean poem as “El, god of the conquerors of Canaan in a whirlwind.”) The Song of the Well might possibly recall a particular incident of discovering water in the wilderness, but, more prominently, it evokes a whole nomadic way of life in the desert, and in its extreme brevity, it looks more like the refrain of an old song than the complete text.
Loc 14900s
According to the New World Encyclopedia in the entry on Yahweh/Jehovah we read:
A Desert Deity?
View from Mount Sinai:
"The Lord came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. (Deut. 33:2)
…The symbolic or spiritual meaning of God's name is the subject of debate in several religious traditions. In one of these, Yahweh is related to the Hebrew verb הוה (ha wah, "to be, to become"), meaning "He will cause to become."
… Sections of the Bible thought to be among the earliest...portray Yahweh in a more primitive way. One such example is Psalm 18, in which Yahweh, far from being a transcendent being abounding in love, could easily be confused with a pagan storm deity or warrior god:
The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. YHWH thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, [sent] great bolts of lightning and routed them. (Psalm 18:7-14)
The association of Yahweh with storm and fire is frequent in the Hebrew Bible. The thunder is the voice of Yahweh, the lightning his arrows, the rainbow his bow. The revelation at Sinai is amid the awe-inspiring phenomena of tempests. … (note the contest between Yahweh and Baal on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18).
Source: newworldencyclopedia.org
One could then say that Jehovian energy is the energy source of nature's Power, the personified Source of all force and Becoming.
The Book of Mormon likewise describes God in this way, for example in 1 Nephi 19:11-12 we read:
... The Lord God surely shall visit all the house of Israel at that day, some with his voice, because of their righteousness, unto their great joy and salvation, and others with the thunderings and the lightnings of his power ...
… “and the rocks of the earth must rend; and because of the groanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles of the sea shall be wrought upon by the Spirit of God, to exclaim, ‘The God of nature suffers.’ ”
According to the Blue Letter Bible, Jehovah is described as:
The Lord of Hosts, The Lord of Powers.
... Jehovah Sabaoth is first used in 1 Sam. 1:3. Strong's Reference: H6635
... Jehovah is translated as "The Existing One" or "Lord." The chief meaning of Jehovah is derived from the Hebrew word Havah meaning "to be" or "to exist." It also suggests "to become" .... Sabaoth means "armies" or "hosts." Jehovah Sabaoth can be translated as "The Lord of Armies" (1 Sam. 1:3). ... The Lord of Hosts is the king of all heaven and earth. (Psa 24:9-10; Psa 84:3; Isa 6:5). …
… Yahweh-an alternative transliteration is Jehovah. Yahweh refers to "the self-existent, eternal God" the name God revealed to Moses:
And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. And He said, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you' (Exodus 3:14).
Moses [allegedly] later wrote.
The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name (Exodus 15:3).
… Jeremiah wrote.
Therefore I will teach them - this time I will teach them my power and might. Then they will know that my name is the LORD (Jeremiah 16:21).
The prophet Amos wrote.
He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns blackness into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land - the LORD is his name (Amos 5:8). …
Yahweh Sabaoth - The Lord Of Hosts
He is also known as the Lord of Hosts [meaning Armies].
Now this man would go up from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:3).
This combination occurs at times with reference to warfare. It occurs mostly when the nation Israel is in some type of crisis. For example we read.
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold (Psalm 46:7).
It also speaks of God' power and glory.
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory (Psalm 24:10).
The primary idea behind, "hosts" is the angels but the name also refers to the divine power that is available to meet the need of the Lord's people.
… He is called the Lord our banner.
And Moses built an altar and called it, The LORD is my banner (Exodus 17:15)
… The Divine Qualities Are Stressed With His Name
There are also a number of the divine qualities or attributes of the Lord that is stressed. These include the following.
The Lord Is Mighty
The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man; he shall stir up his zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; he shall prevail against his enemies (Isaiah 42:13).
Source: blueletterbible.org
From an anthropological perspective, it is clear to me that Jehovah is a description of Nature's Power; as well as a symbol of harnessing the cosmic drive to thrive, drawing strength and vitality from Life and the Universe to overcome adversity and flourish; as we read in Jeremiah 51:20:
You [God] are my hammer and weapon of war: with you I break nations in pieces; with you I destroy kingdoms;
Of course there are other images and descriptions of God in the Hebrew Bible as a nurturing and loving presence; yet the passages of God as Warrior and Source of Power are too numerous to ignore.
Consider these quotes before we discuss the New Testament strategy in the first century:
“Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:
1 He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
2 He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
3 He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
4 He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
5 He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
“If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected .”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Being under Roman oppression, Paul realizes a violent revolt would result in great loss, and so he emphasizes a Suffering Messiah and the Path of Agape Love as the way to power. In other words, by lowering your status (in the Roman world of hyper divisive hierarchies), not being strong and dominant (in the Roman world that exploited other humans as subhuman slaves), but instead spreading the ethic of agape-love (caring hospitality) and boasting in your weakness and persecution, and not fighting back violently, you will gain greater power and status in the afterlife (to the point that you will even judge angels); and as for those who persecuted you and harmed you in this life? By being "kind" to them the cosmic Eyes of Justice will see this and they will not go unpunished for their cruelty in the face of your kindness; for God will take vengeance on them for you in the afterlife.
This was an effective psychological strategy for a people under the boot of Roman oppression who were dealing with a superior Force. In the words of the Art of War, they were dealing with a superior Force so they evaded their enemy with kindness, they pretended to be weak even though they were infused with the Divine Energy of the most powerful deity in the cosmos. They attacked where Rome was unprepared, where they did not expect within the psychological realm of a counter-cultural religion.
Years later the gospels were written In the New Testament, Jesus battles the invisible Nephilim by casting out their evil energy and dying as the Suffering Messiah to gain power over them. Hence Jesus is the hero in the Gospels not as a military Messiah but the hero who conquers Sin, Death, and the Nephilim; and replaces the Rule-based Law and the Roman controlled Temple system and pharasaical religion with a new inside-outward character-driven way to be religious.
So as we can see, even in the Bible there is this underlying power dynamic always at play. With God himself as the ultimate source of all power, the ultimate alpha male as we see in the book titled Alpha God.
Disclaimer:
The following analysis of D&C 132 may be triggering to some. Note that I'm examining these passages through a non-literal/metaphorical paradigm. I am in no way supporting or endorsing the language and rhetoric literally.
I see Joseph Smith as a creative spiritual philosopher, just like Paul and the Gospel authors were, in that he was synthesizing both the New Testament and the Hebrew Bible. So that, in many ways, he sought to restore the cosmic Voice of order and power (or Jehovahian Energy) and the power dynamics of the Hebrew Bible, with it's more honest and raw power dynamics. Rather than the heavy emphasis on martyrdom, asceticism and celibacy (as one finds in some authors of the New Testament), Smith instead melded Paul's compassionism (which became Smith's Dream of Zion) with a more pro-bodied philosophy and theology: that merged the Song of Solomon type pro-sexuality with Jehovian Energy (the cosmic drive to thrive, the organic drive to power). We see this clearly in the following sections of Joseph Smith's revelations (note the power dynamics):
D&C 76:91:
And thus we saw the glory of the terrestrial which excels in all things the glory of the telestial, even in glory, and in power, and in might, and in dominion.
Note the upward trajectory that matches the expanding Force of Plenty we find in the reality of the cosmos.
Instead of a denial and negation of the masculine drives (as one finds in certain versions of emasculating ascetic forms of puritanical Protestantism), Joseph Smith merged agape and eros with the pro-masculinity of the Hebrew Bible and the example of the virial ancient Patriarchs. Note how Old and New Testament theology is synthesized in an artistic expression of the drive to power combined with agape and eros in D&C 132 (My words in bold for emphasis):
7 And verily I say unto you, that the conditions of this law are these: All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, … associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed...of him who is anointed…the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power (and I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold this power in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred), are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead.
13 And everything that is in the world, whether it be ordained of men, by thrones, or principalities, or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, that are not by me or by my word, saith the Lord, shall be thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord your God.
15 Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word, and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world.
16 Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory.
17 For these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity; and from henceforth are not Gods, but are angels of God forever and ever.
18 And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife ... through him [Joseph Smith] whom I have anointed and appointed unto this power, then it is not valid neither of force when they are out of the world, because they are not joined by me, saith the Lord, neither by my word; when they are out of the world it cannot be received there, because the angels and the Gods are appointed there, by whom they cannot pass; they cannot, therefore, inherit my glory; for my house is a house of order, saith the Lord God.
19 And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word...by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths— ... and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the Gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.
20 Then shall they be Gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be Gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.
39 David’s wives and concubines were given unto him of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servant [See: 2 Samuel 12:7-8], and others of the prophets who had the keys of this power; and in none of these things did he sin against me save in the case of Uriah and his wife; and, therefore he hath fallen from his exaltation, and received his portion; and he shall not inherit them out of the world, for I gave them unto another, saith the Lord.
… 44 And if she hath not committed adultery, but is innocent and hath not broken her vow, and she knoweth it, and I reveal it unto you, my servant Joseph, then shall you have power, by the power of my Holy Priesthood, to take her and give her unto him that hath not committed adultery but hath been faithful; for he shall be made ruler over many.
45 For I have conferred upon you the keys and power of the priesthood, wherein I restore all things, and make known unto you all things in due time.
59 Verily, if a man be called of my Father, as was Aaron, by mine own voice, and by the voice of him that sent me, and I have endowed him with the keys of the power of this priesthood, if he do anything in my name, and according to my law and by my word, he will not commit sin, and I will justify him.
As we can see "this power" that is repeatedly spoken of is the power to bind a man by law to multiple wives in order that he can increase his seed and be rule; thus he becomes a potential God because he is enlarged by the wealth of wives and concubines (in order to increase his seed/progeny). Note the clear acceptance of and utilization of the realities of organic Life and expansion through the male seed (as positively endorsed and emphasized in the Old Testament) being projected into the cosmic Realm.
Rather than an attitude of subjugation, asceticism, and celibacy being emphasized, the Latter-day Saint acquires higher status and wealth of wives and concubines just like King David. Because of this he will be above all and the angels will be subject unto him. In other words, the man gains the power and the rank of a king in the Heavenly Court. He and his wives gain power and glory over all things and have servants that are single below them, because they have gained their exaltation through plural marriage; the ultimate affirmation of the reproductive nature of male and female sexuality.
Thus we see the clear pro hierarchical power dynamics in this myth-making, with an energy of will to power pouring forth upon the page. Thus, from the metaphorical interpretive lens, we see here the affirmation of the Life Energies of Will to Power.
At its core Joseph Smith's Mormonism was a form of Muscular Christianity; a restoration of the more masculine pursuit of power, territory, and status, just as one finds in the Hebrew Bible. In the Hebrew Bible there is a clear dominance hierarchy among the Israelites, with their priests, and competition amongst men and Jewish Heroes rising to power. In short, it was a patriarchal system. Joseph Smith seeks to restore this in many respects.
The non-mormon Scholar on early Mormon polygamy, Dr. Larry Foster, speaking on the podcast Gospel Tangents, episode 337: comparing Mormon shakers in Oneida Community part 3 of 6) said the following (my words in bold for emphasis):
If you're not married under the authority of the Mormon priesthood on earth you won't be married in heaven. You'll be a lesser figure, sort of like a perpetual servant class serving the people who do have families and have continuing progeny. And the afterlife is a finer state of matter, it has a real existence, it's not just imaginary [immaterial]. In the afterlife people who are married for eternity in this life under the proper authority of the Mormon priesthood will continue to be married and continue to procreate in the spirit world after death. The patriarchal system there is very heavily involved with the power and prestige you'll have in the afterlife. It's definitely a patriarchal system. Women cannot be married for eternity to two men, for the man could be married to two or more women. This would increase the larger number of children in the families of the best men and so forth and so on.
This was introduced originally as a connection to encourage people [suffering loss], there was a high death rate in Nauvoo ... there was a lot of death and a lot of suffering and people really wanted to believe that something was going to continue and Joseph Smith came up with this and this idea and this set of ritual practices that were connected with eternal sealing for eternity, not just for a given [mortal] life. Again when they were talking about this for eternity, again you try to bring it back to this life. If you can do it in eternity why can't you do it in this life, if it's the heavenly model why wouldn't you want to do it now …
As we can see, even a non-mormon acknowledges that Joseph Smith's motivations were not merely toward restoring the power dynamic and pro-sexual attitudes of the Hebrew Bible, but there was also a component of overcoming the emotional pain at the perceived finality of death; and him seeking to bond everyone together and provide a ritual providing solace and connectivity. For more on this see the book: In Heaven as It Is on Earth: Joseph Smith and the Early Mormon Conquest of Death by Samuel Morris Brown.
What Joseph Smith's plural marriage did, from a practical and metaphorical perspective, was restore the status ordering of the cosmos and life itself and the rank ordering you find in Nature and the Hebrew Bible. All is combined, the dominance hierarchies of evolving Life; all sustained within a ritual practice harkening back to the Hebrew Bible. Thus affirming both organic Life, the religion of Jesus, and the polygamist lifestyles of Abraham, David, Jacob, and Moses.
The restoration of the Hebrew mindset that saw sex as natural, holy and good; and wives and concubines as a holy practice toward producing progeny and thus gaining greater power and dominion.
Note that I'm not looking at this through a modern 21st century ethical perspective. I'm not encouraging taking wives and concubines in the modern world. I'm simply analyzing early Mormonism without judgment, looking at it objectively and anthropologically through the lens of organic Life; like someone visiting Africa and seeing organic Life play out before them with all its splattering of blood as teeth and claws rip into flesh within dominance hierarchies as life feeds on life. From this organic life perspective, Joseph Smith simply synthesized the rawness of Nature's dominance hierarchies and the way of the Hebrew Bible with the compassionism and theosis of the New Testament.
Yet Joseph Smith did not remain fused completely to the patriarchal mindset. As a restorationist he took liberties and expanded previous attitudes. For example, in his theology the role of women is elevated so the woman is not the mere property of the man (as in the Hebrew Bible), but instead the woman achieves Godhood with the man, and they together become Gods; which is absent in Catholicism and Protestantism (where there is no feminine divine). In fact, the attitude of some of the early Christian sects, was that all of the angels are male; and so you find passages like this toward the end of the noncanonical Gospel of Thomas:
[114]. Simon Peter says to them: "Let Mary go out from our midst, for women are not worthy of life!" Jesus says: "See, I will draw her so as to make her male so that she also may become a living spirit like you males. For every woman who has become male will enter the Kingdom of heaven."
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In Joseph's theology, the angels are both male and female and the woman does not need to become male to enter Heaven. Instead, in Joseph theology, a sexually loving union with a woman was the means through which the man became divine. And women were equally made divine through such a sexual union; in the enlarging of their co-souled-boundary came the continuation of the lives (D&C 132: 19) and their co-equal expansion as procreative Gods (D&C 132: 63); with the power to co-rule within their sphere of dominion (D&C 130: 8-11). Today, only in the LDS-Christian Church is "God" often referred to as "Heavenly Parents."
In the book Nauvoo: the City Beautiful by Susan Easton Black, Glenn Rawson, and Dennis Lyman, on page 32 they quote LDS member Wandle Mace who asked Joseph to speak and heard him say, "The pleasing joys of family ties and associations, ... contributes to the happiness, power and dominion of those who attain to the celestial glory." The path of the Nauvoo Saints was both genders engaged in co-power expansion (propagation) and dominion (thrones/status) through the organic sensual body; and the joy and happiness that comes from it (as Joseph Smith explains to Nancy Rigdon) was to be endorsed and celebrated not negated and denied.
From this we can see that Joseph Smith's Mormonism is the combination or mix of egalitarian Christianity and to a certain degree Nietzschean will to power. In other words, Joseph Smith had special concern for the poor and the needy and encouraged egalitarianism in Zion; and yet he did not deny his masculine instincts and innate drive for power and dominion.
Robert Alter's translation of Genesis 1:28 reads (my words in italics):
And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and conquer it, and hold sway over the fish of the sea and the fowl of the heavens and every beast that crawls upon the earth."
In his book, The Unseen Realm, Evangelical scholar, Dr. Michael Heiser explains that according to the Bible, man is to conquer or have dominion over the earth because to be made in God's image is a status designation. Mankind is an extension of Yahweh’s household of Divine Beings: one celestial (the Divine Council above in heaven) and one terrestrial (humanity as God's earthly imagers): God breathed into Adam’s nostrils to become an animated clay imager of the almighty Creator God. Hence, earthly man has the high status of just below the Divine Beings and is called to create justice and order on earth with the help of the Divine Council. Heiser's work goes on to point out that the goal of man is to join the Divine Council through deification or theosis.
As we can see, Smith's midrashic retelling of Paul's theosis, with men becoming Gods and Kings in the Heavenly Court/Council, is not far off from the biblical texts themselves.
Like the Hebrew deity Yahweh/Jehovah, a man of war (the Lord of Armies), and the patriarchs like Abraham, Moses and King David, Joseph sought to express his Jehovahian energies (as an imager of God) outwardly and expand his power and dominion just as the Bible says God intended in Genesis 1:28; while also forming genuine friendships and bonds of affection with families and friends within consensual dynastic unions of plural marriage.
