Hello, time to share some thoughts I've been having in the shower. Basically, this is just some thought experiments, just like how a Star Wars fan would try to internalize why/how the force works.

So, the whole thing about god is that you have to be clean to enter the celestial kingdom, supposedly where you'd be the most 'happy'.

Well... why? Why can't god dwell in the presence of sin?

The fact that a guy named Yeshua had to suffer and die for everyone else's sins seems a little extreme and doesn't really seem to relate to sin at all. He just got tortured and... it had no relation to sin.

For now, let's define sin. Since there's no actual objective universal reason for sin to exist, we have to say god made decides it. But on what criteria? Perhaps it's no his own criteria. After all, he loves everyone.

Now, I have to work with the restraints of assuming everything taught in church is true. So, yes, god loves everyone. If we have eternity, then shouldn't we be able to learn to become better in that limitless amount of time, instead of being judged in 110 years or less? So then why is he willing to toss people out of his presence, and even into hell, just to be away from sin?

There's another god above him.

That's the only explanation there is. Why else would god allow such awful things on the earth, and possibly cause them to go to without faith, instead of just showing himself? I mean, there's the whole 'free-will' argument, but honestly, if we're talking eternal damnation, wouldn't you sacrifice 90 years for a happy eternity?

So, there's another sadistic god above our loving heavenly father, forcing his hand to allow terrors and evil, throwing people into hell without faith, and not allowing him to appear out of the clouds to the general public.

Makes sense, right? Time to go back to church, sheeple.

Do you want Mormon God™ to exist? I'd rather worship flying butt monkeys.

Here's how I see it

If you've victimized someone, they aren't going to want to live in heaven with you

....unless you repent and ask the person and God to forgive you.

People demand justice, God demands justice which can only be given if you or someone on your behalf pays for it.

Heaven is a place for those that care for others, not for those that victimize, abuse, take advantage of...others.

It's one thing to pay for what you've done, it's another thing to have a complete change if heart from being a victimizer to one that is revolted by victimization

The Mormon god is still in his apprentice phase, and hasn't quite got the hang of it yet. So he's going to do some stupid and mean things, and get scolded by his dad until he finally gets it right (after several more universes and billions and billions more of his offspring who have had to suffer under his godship).

20,000 light years away
And the center of our Super Cluster, Laneakea, 1 miliion light years away, The Great Attractor,
Which is where we are all spinning towards, at 14million mph, South.
While following the sun clockwise.
While spinning counter clock wise, 1,000 mph, while the tidally locked moon spins counterclockwise 2,000mph, like clockwork.

He Kant

+1 !!
Clever, clever.

There's no evidence that *any* claimed god-thing exists.
None, zero, zip, nada.

The mormon variation is just another in a long line of fantasies that can't be real.

We understand and appreciate that you adamantly deny the existence of any god, creator, or intelligent design(er). But the OP is asking that, ASSUMING for the sake of argument, God--as conceived in LDS as Elohim/Heavenly Father--exists, why and how does sin exist, and does the LDS answer to that question* make sense, given the LDS concept of God?

I think Mormonism fails its own theological construct, because it was devised by an intellectually deficient author (JS & successors). JS (et al), consciously or not, devised much of the belief system in response to their political/ecclesiastical agenda, which was temporal (power, money, sex) and intrinsically dishonest. Thus, the mix of spiritual feel-good material (eternal families in the CK, etc.) with intellectually facile matters like free-floating Intelligences preceding their "organization" as spirit children on Kolob.

Pianoforte: I understand it to be an LDS tenet that there is a superior being to Elohim, and then one superior to him, and so on--the mirror opposite of "turtles all the way down." But this gets complicated, way too mystical, so it's not discussed much. Given this (ahem) "theology," it's like we sinners petty crooks dealing with the local magistrate. Don't even THINK of taking your case to the US Supreme Court--that's way too distant.

LDS is, for the most part, is "Universalistic." Few people--only the most deserving--go to "Outer Darkness," the rest get Telestial Kingdom, bare minimum. Not the CK, but endurable--as though they have a choice once there.

Now, HieToKolob, let's debate what Xenu has to say about all this!

*meaninglessly hypothetical to an absolute atheist

The thing is, Mormon god can exist.

He's a super advanced dick of an alien that pulled an awesome prank. I think Elohim brags at the bar to his douche friends about what he makes people do every day.

I'll bet that he used to be buddies with Jehovah, up until Elohim "appeared" to Joseph and stole Jehovah's lighting.

Epicurus got one thing wrong. God only has to be special to those who think he is god. He doesn't have to be both benevolent and omnipotent. The only thing that he needs is to be kindapotent.

Chew on that for a while.

Define god.

Just like any other god. In the mind of the believer, in the magical land of make belief.

Well, the Mormon god faces special challenges to actual existence that aren't faced by that of the monotheistic faiths. Specifically, Mormon doctrine has regularly embraced the idea of their god having a somewhat finite existence. There was a time when he wasn't God. That's a real philosophical problem.

The god embraced by the monotheistic faiths is usually described as self-existent dwelling outside of time. There was never a "time" when this god did not exist.

The problem with a god coming into existence is significant because it seems to rely upon the "turtles all he way down" school of eternity. That's not a plausible answer for most people, and does nothing to answer the question, "Why is there something rather than nothing?"