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In the summary of Noah on the lds.org site, it states that Joseph Smith taught that Noah is, in fact, the angel Gabriel. How exactly is this believed to have progressed?
Did Noah exist as an angel first and then become a man? Or did Noah eventually become an angel? If he became an angel, does that mean he did not attain godhood?
Is it a common believe that men become angels or angels become men?
According to LDS doctrine, it's not so much that men or angels "become" one another, as that they are the same order of creation.
From the same reference, under Angels, we read:
There are two kinds of beings in heaven who are called angels: those who are spirits and those who have bodies of flesh and bone. Angels who are spirits have not yet obtained a body of flesh and bone, or they are spirits who have once had a mortal body and are awaiting resurrection. Angels who have bodies of flesh and bone have either been resurrected from the dead or translated.
There are many references in scripture to the work of angels. Sometimes angels speak with a voice of thunder as they deliver God’s messages (Mosiah 27:11–16). Righteous mortal men may also be called angels (JST, Gen. 19:15). Some angels serve around the throne of God in heaven (Alma 36:22).
The angel Gabriel is primarily known to Christians through his role in informing Mary and Zacharias about the important roles that their unborn children would play. Genesis 9:29 informs us that Noah died, and as these events (as well as certain events in the book of Daniel that mention Gabriel) took place before the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, it's safe to say that he was, at this point, one of the spirits who "once had a mortal body and are awaiting resurrection."
The distinguishing characteristic seems to be not so much one of nature as of vocation; an angel is a servant of God--generally a non-mortal one (the one exception mentioned in the reference article refers to the messengers sent to Lot in Sodom, which is a somewhat ambiguous case)--with some special mission or duty to perform.
Much of the Christian world regards Michael the archangel as Jesus Christ in a pre-mortal entity. They also attribute the name Ancient of Days to Jesus. This is because many do not understand that as Jehovah in the Old Testament, Jesus created the earth and dealt directly with the prophets and mankind as their spiritual God (the presence on Mt. Sinai, etc.)
Michael is Father Adam's pre and post mortal entity. In fact, Adam/Michael himself is the Ancient of Days spoken of in Daniel and will yet return to the earth to help prepare the world and usher in the second coming of Jesus. Gabriel was also an angel of high importance in Jewish, Christian and Islam tradition. He is the angel that was responsible to oversee the coming of the Messiah and His messenger--and although it is not specifically stated--he probably was one of the angels that announced the resurrection of the Lord as well and may have been on of the two that appeared at the Ascension to question and console the apostles.
According to Islam, Gabriel delivered the content of the Koran to Mohammed in a vision induced trance state. Back to Michael, according to The Creed, Jesus Christ was not a created Being but co-existed with the Father from the beginning. King David states that man was created a little lower than the angels inferring that the angels were also created a little higher than man.
Michael, as an angel, was a created being and therefore cannot be Jesus/Jehovah (who is not). Michael is the mighty general-prince in charge of the Hosts of Heaven that leads the battle against Lucifer, a fallen angel of highest rank. As a result, Lucifer is cast out/down along with one third of the spiritual inhabitants of heaven to the earthly realm without the benefit of receiving a physical body or sharing in real life experiences as a human being.
A living soul is the combination of a spirit from God's presence, and a tabernacle of clay made from earth's elements. Together they form the soul--a living soul--and the tabernacle of clay becomes a Temple of God.
Raphael is mentioned in the apocryphal book of Tobias and intervenes in his unusual case to cast out seven demons that plagued the previous marriage(s) of Tobias' wife. Something to do with a liver of a great fish when thrown at the demons causes Raphael to intervene and free Tobias and his new wife from the destructive influence of evil. Brigham Young taught that our guardian angels are our dear grandmothers and others who have gone on before who have a vested interest in our earthly lives. Here is the precedence of post-mortal entities inventing in the lives of progeny.
On the Mount of Transfiguration, post-mortal Moses, Elijah and Elias conversed freely with Jesus whose own glory was unveiled and witnessed by Peter, James and John. Some scholars assert that Noah, in addition to being Gabriel, was also the elusive Elias. In Joseph Smith/LDS history Jesus' apostles Peter, James and John as glorified beings (angels) appeared to him in June of 1829 to restore the priesthood of the Holy Order of the Son of God. Previously, an intact post-mortal/glorified John the Baptist came to restore the power to perform authorized baptisms in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
So, in this discussion, we can see that both pre-mortal and post-mortal entities have intervened in the affairs of man under the direction of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ (with the assistance of the Holy Ghost).
February 1996 Ensign found on lds.org: Noah, the Great Preacher of Righteousness by Joseph B. Romney,
“After his death, Noah continued his role as a great preacher of righteousness. In his role as the angel Gabriel, he visited Zacharias to announce the birth of John, called the Baptist, and to Mary to announce her calling as mother of the Savior (see Luke 1:18–19, 26–27). Less well known is Noah’s appearance to Daniel to instruct him about the coming of the Messiah in the last days (see Dan. 8:15–19; Dan. 9:21–23). 13 Later, Noah was surely among the “noble and great” preachers the Savior prepared to “carry the message of redemption” to those who because of their rebelliousness did not see the Savior in his postmortal spirit world ministry (see D&C 138:21–22, 37–38, 41).”
Bible Dictionary---lds.org
"We find angels mentioned by name in Dan. 8:16; 9:21; 10:13, 21; 12:1; Luke 1:19, 26. In latter-day revelation we learn that the angel Michael is Adam, and the angel Gabriel is Noah (HC 3:386)." History of the Church volume 3 page 386.
