LDS/Evangelical Dialog: Does it matter whether God sinned?

FAIR (LDS apologetics group) says that, "The idea that God may once have been a sinner is speculation. Many Latter-day Saints find the idea impossible, while others consider it a possibility."
It goes on to ask, "Does it really matter all that much?" www.fairlatter...
UCRC is hosting a dialog between Aaron Shafovaloff (evangelical; associate with Mormonism Research Ministry) and Connor Smith (Latter-day Saint; founding member of the BYU Apologetics Club) on that very question.
Does it matter whether God sinned?
More info: www.mrm.org/go...

[@justinbosley692]

I think the key word to understand is "eternal" and "everlasting". I will argue that these words are given in the perspective of the time frame of our current universe only and cannot be extended outside of that time frame. These things were said to contrast himself with the pagan God's of the surrounding religions who constantly warred and were subject to death. We can both agree that God's intelligence is eternal and everlasting and was never created. We believe all intelligences are truly eternal and were never created. He also will never die like the pagan gods. In that sense is is truly eternal.
However, If God created our universe, and we both agree he did, what are we to think that God was doing before that time? Either he had an infinite amount of works before this one, there was a point where he was not the same creator God as he is now, or He did basically nothing for an infinite amount of time before. I have heard other Christians say that He "loved his son" for eternity. I am not sure what that means, I guess they just played a game of catch for an infinite amount of time.
Eternity is something that humans cannot fully grasp so God has not bothered to try to explain to us all the details before or after the life of this universe. Clearly our knowledge is limited to the life of this current universe and things have to have been different before this universe began and will be different after it ends.

[@dooooder]

This is the problem with modern LDS prophets. You must take their word as authoritative, but only their words they speak as prophets. Too much explaining away going on by Conner, it's all too common. Very curious why he can even make these assertions/interpretations about the KFD because he's not even in an authoritative position to do so.

[@lindamartinez7006]

Who said God came to a world and sinned? Jesus said anything you see me do my father has done before me .

[@UtahChristianResearchCenter]

BYU professor Rodney Turner:
“[O]pinion is divided as to how closely the Son’s career paralleled that of his Father . . . These and the Prophet’s earlier remarks are believed by some to infer that our God and his father once sacrificed their lives in a manner similar to the atonement of Jesus Christ. It is argued that the Prophet’s words suggest that these gods did not simply live and die as all men do, they ‘laid down’ and ‘took up’ their lives in the context of sacrifice . . . This extrapolated doctrine rests upon a somewhat inadequate, if not shaky, foundation. Indeed, it is highly doubtful. The basic process of laying down and taking up one’s life is similar for all even though it is not identical for all (“The Doctrine of the Firstborn and Only Begotten,” in The Pearl of Great Price: Revelations from God [Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1989], 91-117).”