Power

Everyone's heard the saying, "Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely."  (Paraphrased from John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton)

I decided I don't agree with that.  I don't think power corrupts, I think it merely exploits or exacerbates existing corruption.  It's like putting pressure on a stone--the stone will eventually crack along existing imperfections or fault lines.

Taking it a step further, the more power granted, the smaller the imperfections that become a problem. Following it to the conclusion, absolute power would cause anyone with the slightest corruption--anyone less that a perfect being--to be destroyed.

Mormons differ from other Christian religions in our beliefs concerning the afterlife.  For one thing, we take very literally the idea of being children of God and joint-heirs with Christ.  As such, those who fulfill to perfection their responsibilities on Earth will (as joint-heirs with Christ) obtain all that God has and become all that He is. 

Now we see the need for a judgment.  That inheritance includes absolute power--the power to create and destroy worlds without number.  The power to create and destroy life itself.  No sane person, no matter how degenerate they personally were, would want that power given to anyone with the least predilection for evil.  Imagine the potential for destruction.

No, most of us would agree that there should be a stringent teaching process (life), including frequent tests (trials), followed by a final judgment as to worthiness (and who knows--perhaps many more millenia of learning), before such an awesome power should be granted to anyone.