And, can it be lost? If so, how?

From Wikipedia...

Well, since it is a made-up concept, you can say it is whatever you want it to be.

Just sayin'...

touché

Sure, but if you want to keep church standing, you cannot veer off the party line too loud or persistently.

I used to be able to get on board with the concept of eternal baby-making, but then again I'd also let myself imagine that there'd be enough time to zoom around the universe, watch "movies" of the history of all time, and get to know the celestial version of all the people I loved and hated who end up there.

Actually exaltation is found in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis. Reading it with the Restoration Eye we see that God created man in his 'likeness and image' meaning in his glory as well as his image. But these were male and female and these two were commanded to multiply and replenish the earth and in the next chapter they had finished all the hosts thereof. And THEN this pair were placed into the physical Garden of Eden and given to assimilate the gross elements of that sphere of existence called 'clay'. And after Adam had assimilated this gross tether that diminished his power of an exalted being trapping him upon this earth the same element was taken from Adam's side to assimilate the same within the woman. And I suppose in a kinder and gentler assimilation of the same tether to keep them in the Garden. Problem was that Eve had no conceptions.....why?.....because she had just finished all of them in the pre-earth commandment to multiply and replenish where they had finished all the hosts thereof. (that would be in the many billions).

The FALL therefore was required so that the woman could have her conceptions multiplied unto her and these then would be physical bodies because of the change already made upon them assimilating the grosser elements of this world.

Bottom line here for the faithless is that Joseph Smith did not make up exaltation. Being God's living prophet who had received the gift and power of the Holy Ghost he expounded truths that had been included from the beginning. Can I get an AMEN?

I forgot to mention that when the man and woman were first 'made' which was actually their resurrection to eternal life, they were ALREADY MARRIED as they were not afterwards given to each other before being commanded to multiply. THERE IS THE BIG CLUE.

Eternal condescension.

Which is the greater condescension? Believing too much or believing nothing at all?

Strawman.

I believe that if there is a God, God is not expecting me to believe other people speak with God's authority. I would have more reverence for God than that.

In Mormonism, it is the same type of concept as OTIII in Scientology. A feel good made up goal designed to keep the masses obedient.

I challenge any believer to come up with an in depth description of what actually happens in the average day of an exalted being and why such a description isn't any more ridiculous than what Scientology teaches.

What does an exalted being from LDS theology do on day 85 of year 1,542,685,265,862,792,547,963 of his existence that he has not already done billions of times before?

Really, all LDS theology promises for exaltation is the ability to make babies forever. Think about it. We are Elohim's kids. On this earth alone there have been hundreds of billions of His kids, and He has created worlds without numbers. So we are the sons and daughters of some god who has trillions of kids.

That makes us special.

It reminds me of the case of the fertility doctor who used his own sperm to father over 75 kids. How special those kids must feel to know they all share the same dad.

Exaltation is a concept design to milk money and obedience from the gullible.

You condemn yourself with your own logic. Having experience with God is not speaking for him. It is simply telling the truth.

You've crossed that line many times here, Nightlion. I won't do it, personally I find that claiming expertise about others' relationship to God is irreverent. That's my experience, and I hold myself to that standard and expect the same reverence of others who would share their experiences of the Divine.

Here is an example of the process of exaltation:

During November of this year, Charles M. Manson will be eligible to have his Temple Work done at either the Manti or the Logan Temples following the one-year wait policy. He is tentatively scheduled to be sealed to Sister L. Squeaky Fromme. His sponsor will be President Theodore R. Bundy of the West Haven Paradise Mission. Upon arrival at the West Haven Paradise Mission, Elder Manson will be given a patriarchal blessing by Mission Patriarch, Grigori Y. Rasputin. It is expected that he will join the spiritual promotions law firm of DeSade McConkie.

Hope that helps.

Meanwhile, folks like Tom Phillips and William Law are on their way to Outer Darkness because their integrity compelled them to leave the church.

So the advantage I see in having moved past belief is how easy it is to see the silly nature of many of the concepts in Mormonism. I can actually enjoy a conference talk now because I see it in a completely different light. (I said "a talk", more than that puts me right to sleep). What you are seeing at conference is nothing more than a highly produced sales pitch. As you listen to a talk, phrases like "exaltation" just jump right out at you, because no one really knows what that means, but hey it makes things sound really important.

Consider the recent efforts by Durrant and Cook to coin new important sounding phrases, like "ponderize" and "non-consensual morality". These are just misguided attempts to add more words to the LDS lexicon of words that don't mean anything but sound really important. They should be commended for their efforts, because in the end what this conference is all about is giving the masses new vague concepts that they can spend the next year discussing.

In Mormonism what "exaltation" really means is our God loves us more than your God.