The God-Man theory

Theory best summarized by the couplet:

As we are now, God once was,
As God is now, we can become

Commonly used by anti-mormons to scare people away from the Mormon Church. A common claim is that the Church hides this idea from its members and outsiders. In fact, this isn't true at all. Most mormons I know are very familiar with it.

The basis of the theory is that Mormons believe we are literal children of God, and therefore can inherit all the characteristics of our Heavenly Father. Something else to consider the statement (paraphrased), "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect". Would God give us a commandment that cannot be followed?

I named this the God-Man theory since it's not solid Mormon Doctrine. It has never been fully explained, and is something of a fringe belief.

I always thought this was peculiar to Mormons but in fact it's believed by many Christians such as C.S. Lewis and St. Augustine.

Anyone who has been a Mormon for some time is familiar with this "couplet". However, the Mormon church does in fact hide this idea from outsiders. It is not included in the six missionary discussions given before baptism. In addition, Gordon B. Hinckley, the church's president, recently said to an outsider in relation to this principle, "I don't know that we teach it". Being the prophet, he has to be aware that it has been taught in the church since the 1830s. This is evidence that he is uncomfortable with the teaching and didn't want to discuss it with an outsider.

This principle was expounded by Joseph Smith, the founder of the LDS church, in his famous "King Follet discourse". Everything that Joseph Smith taught is accepted as doctrine by Mormons, and therefore so is this principle, although it seems that in recent times there has been a tendency away from it, and it is no longer discussed as often as it once was.