Christians and Adoption

God Adopts

A dear friend of mine recently shared this thought on his social media: "God adopts. If you're a Christian and have never thought about adopting; think about it. Pray about it..."

My initial thoughts upon reading this were bewilderment, and intrigue. I would never go through the legal process of adopting my own son or daughter because they are already mine; it would be an unnecessary and useless endeavor. As my children are mine and I need not adopt them, so too, am I already God's, and adoption would be equally unnecessary (I am of the learning that I lived with God as a spirit before I was born into this physical body; he is my Heavenly Father). I have pondered this for hours, discussing it with a few friends along the way, and just wanted to share what I came to learn.

I asked this friend what he meant by his statement that God adopts, and he sent me the link to an article he had written. I loved much of what I read in it, but it was still new to me. I needed to investigate it further and from a familiar place. I'm well aware that sin separates us from God, and that we are to draw near to him again through repentance and acceptance of His son, Jesus Christ. But to be "adopted by God" was like no way I've ever heard it phrased before.

A few biblical references for adoption include Rom 8:14-24, 9:4, Gal 4:5, and Eph 1:5

What Does the Book of Mormon Teach?

Having looked at the provided biblical references, I wanted to see what the Book of Mormon taught. Here are a couple of passages in support of this idea of divine adoption:

"And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters [emphasis added]" (Mosiah 5:7).

"And now I say unto you, who shall declare his generation? Behold, I say unto you, that when his soul has been made an offering for sin he shall see his seed. And now what say ye? And who shall be his seed? Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the words of the prophets, yea all the holy prophets who have prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord - I say unto you, that all those who have hearkened unto their words, and believed that the Lord would redeem his people, and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their sins, I say unto you, that these are his seed [emphasis added], or they are the heirs of the kingdom of God" (Mosiah 15:10-11).

"And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters [emphasis added]; And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God." (Mosiah 27:25).

"Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ [emphasis added]" (Moroni 7:19).

Christ Adopts

At this point in my study and discussions, a doctrine of my own faith, a new phraseology, was becoming clear: I am in fact adopted by God. But by my understanding, it is not God the Father who is adopting me as I interpreted my friends post to mean. I am eternally God's. Although at times I may be distanced because of poor choices, my relationship with Him is not severed; just like no choice my children will ever make could sever the relationship I have with them as their father. I don't adopt them, He doesn't adopt me.

God the Son is who adopts me. This still sounds strange to me, because I've never heard it phrased that way, but why not? Adoption is defined several ways: 

• "legally take another's child and bring it up"
• "choose someone to receive special recognition"
• "formally approve or accept"
• "accept responsibility for the maintenance of" 

When I was baptized, I took upon me the name of Jesus Christ. By coming out of the water, I am symbolically/spiritually reborn in Christ, and am thus His. When I take the sacrament each week, I am renewing that baptismal covenant to always remember Him; to always remember whose name I bear; to always remember whose family I am now a part of. With the partaking of that sacrament, a promise is returned to me that I'll always have His spirit with me, to help guide me.

Why It Matters

Members of the LDS church maintain that we all existed as spirits before we are born here, and thusly have the responsibility to procreate and provide more of God's spirit children an opportunity to obtain bodies (see the Plan of Salvation). However, this is not possible for all, and adoption becomes necessary.

Christ extends His family through adoption- the process of God's children accepting and living His son's teachings, and then striving to be like Him. We can extend our families similarly, through adoption. We become Christ's; that child becomes yours. I have a newfound appreciation and respect for the route of adoption. While the process of adoption may differ from that of the Savior's, the hope of a brighter future for the child does not and is nothing to be ashamed of.