Eternal Gospel Principles

[Skeptik]

Joseph Smith clearly taught that all intelligences are co-eternal, so I'm curious as to lds views on ultimate origins.   Were there "first gods" and how did they get their start to exaltation?  If they followed "Eternal Gospel Principles" to reach that status, where did these principles originate?  If these principles guide moral behaviors, wouldn't they have to be founded in a sentient being? That would seem to hint at some kind of "super-god" above all the intelligences striving for exaltation. 

There is also the issue of an infinite past.   If we, and all intelligences have an actually infinite past, how did we reach the present day?  If you go back to any point in the past, there is still an infinite amount of time behind it.   Most other Christian try to avoid this problem by positing that all created beings are limited in time, while God transcends it.

I'm an atheist myself, but I find Mormonism fascinating because its theology is so radically different than "traditional" christian sects, so I'm curious as to how this issue is approached in lds thought.

[JoePublic]

Name: Luke

Comments: I don't think any of us really have those answers. We know there is a plurality of gods but how far back or what is the beginning is not known at the moment.

[tragula]

Actually, both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young taught that there was never a beginning and there was never a first God.  While it is true that we all existed eternally and never had a beginning as intellligences, nevertheless, we did have a beginning as spirit children of God and as mortal beings.  Does that answer your questions?