Editing King Follett discourse (section)

==Significance in Latter-day Saint theology==
The sermon was not always viewed in a favorable light by leaders of the LDS Church<ref name="BYU Studies 1978 p. 191">''[[BYU Studies]]'', vol. 18(1977–1978): p. 191</ref> or other denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement. It was not published in the LDS Church's 1912 ''[[History of the Church (Joseph Smith)|History of the Church]]'' because of then-[[President of the Church (LDS Church)|church president]] [[Joseph F. Smith]]'s discomfort with some ideas in the sermon popularized by the editor of the project, [[B. H. Roberts]] of the [[Seventy (LDS Church)|First Council of the Seventy]].<ref>J. Stapley, "A Textual History of the KFD, Part II."</ref>  By 1950, it was included in the revised edition of ''History of the Church''.<ref name="BYU Studies 1978 p. 191"/> In 1971, the sermon was published in the ''[[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]]'', an official publication of the LDS Church.<ref name="April 1971 Ensign" /><ref name="May 1971 Ensign">{{citation |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1971/05/the-king-follett-sermon?lang=eng |title= The King Follett Sermon (part 2) |journal= [[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]] |date=May 1971 |page= 13 }}</ref>

The ideas of the King Follett sermon were a precursor to the [[Adam–God doctrine]] taught by Brigham Young, second president of the LDS Church.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Buerger |first1=David John |title=The Adam-God Doctrine |journal=Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought |date=Spring 1982 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=14–58 |doi=10.2307/45225052 |jstor=45225052 |s2cid=254403590 |url=http://www.jstor.com/stable/45225052 |access-date=16 February 2021|doi-access=free }}</ref> According to this doctrine, [[Adam and Eve|Adam]] was once a mortal man who became resurrected and [[Exaltation (Mormonism)|exalted]], followed by creating the [[Earth]] and again becoming a mortal being in the [[Garden of Eden]] before returning to heaven and to serving as the God of humankind. However, soon after Young died, the Adam–God doctrine fell out of favor within the LDS Church and was replaced by a more traditional biblical [[Adam and Eve in Mormonism|Adam and Eve theology]]. In 1976, church president [[Spencer W. Kimball]] stated the LDS Church does not support the Adam–God doctrine.<ref>''Conference Report'', p. 115 (October 1–3, 1976).</ref><ref>Spencer W. Kimball, [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1976/11/our-own-liahona?lang=eng "Our Own Liahona,"] ''[[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]]'', November 1976, p. 77.</ref>

LDS Church president [[Lorenzo Snow]] succinctly summarized a portion of the doctrine explained in this discourse using a [[couplet]], which is often repeated within the church: {{quote |text= As man now is, God once was: <br /> As God now is, man may be.<ref>{{citation |last= Lund |first= Gerald N. |authorlink= Gerald N. Lund |date=February 1982 |title= I Have a Question: Is President Lorenzo Snow's oft-repeated statement—"As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may be"—accepted as official doctrine by the Church? |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1982/02/i-have-a-question?lang=eng |journal= [[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]] }}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1= Millet |first1= Robert L. |authorlink= Robert L. Millet |last2= Reynolds |first2= Noel B. |authorlink2= Noel B. Reynolds |year= 1998 |contribution= Do Latter-day Saints believe that men and women can become gods? |contribution-url= http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=45&chapid=534 |title= Latter-day Christianity: 10 Basic Issues |location= Provo, Utah |publisher= [[Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies]] |isbn= 0934893322 |oclc= 39732987 |url= https://archive.org/details/latterdaychristi00mill }}</ref>}}

The LDS Church today teaches that the King Follett discourse was "the most direct, public explanation" of unique doctrines, such as that of humanity's [[premortal existence]] and [[exaltation (Mormonism)|divine potential]], that are alluded to in Latter Day Saint scripture.<ref>{{cite web |title=King Follett Discourse |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/king-follett-discourse?lang=eng |website=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=25 February 2021}}</ref> However, with respect to the nature of God prior to creation, the church has stated that "Little has been revealed ... and consequently little is taught."<ref>{{cite web |title=Becoming Like God |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/becoming-like-god?lang=eng |website=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=25 February 2021}}</ref>