Is God Subject to or the Creator of Eternal Law?

Authors

James McLachlan

Keywords

BYU Studies, eternal law, God

Abstract

Whether God is subject to law or whether God created all law is a question long debated in priesthood quorums, Relief Society meetings, Gospel Doctrine classes, and around Latter-day Saint dinner tables. Both sides claim the scriptures and the Prophet Joseph Smith. The divide usually lines up with, on one side, Joseph Fielding Smith and Bruce McConkie teaching of God’s power over all things and, on the other, B. H. Roberts, John Widtsoe, and James Talmage seeing God as the revealer of laws that even God must follow. Not only is the question open and unsettled as a matter of doctrine, but whether these brethren line up so neatly on either side is itself a question.

Recommended Citation

McLachlan, James (2021) "Is God Subject to or the Creator of Eternal Law?," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 60: Iss. 3, Article 5.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol60/iss3/5