26 Apr
1st Article of Faith: The Godhead
We abelieve in bGod, the Eternal Father, and in His cSon, Jesus Christ, and in the dHoly Ghost.
The Godhead is made up of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. From the Prophet Joseph Smith’s account of the First Vision and from his other teachings, we know that the members of the Godhead are three separate beings. The Father and the Son have tangible bodies of flesh and bones, and the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit (see D&C 130:22).
Although the members of the Godhead are distinct beings with distinct roles, they are one in purpose and doctrine. They are perfectly united in bringing to pass Heavenly Father’s divine plan of salvation.
God
God is the Supreme Creator, Ruler, and Preserver of all things. He is perfect, has all power, and knows all things.
One of life’s great questions is “Who am I?” A beloved Primary song helps even little children answer this question. We sing, “I am a child of God, and he has sent me here.” The knowledge that we are children of God provides strength, comfort, and hope. As member of the Church we refer to Him as Heavenly Father because he is literally the Father of our spirits. We were spiritually begotten in the premortal life. Just as an earthly parents loves each of their children, and knows them individually, so does our Father in Heaven. I know that he knows me by name, and understands everything I am personally going through.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints frequently sing a song titled “I Am A Child of God”:
I am a child of God,
And He has sent me here,
Has given me an earthly home
With parents kind and dear. …
Lead me
Guide me
Walk beside me
Help me find the way
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday
I am a child of God,
Rich blessings are in store;
If I but learn to do his will
I’ll live with him once more.
From a talk by Elder Boyd K. Packer:
Those lyrics teach a basic doctrine of the Church. We are the children of God. That doctrine is not hidden away in an obscure verse. It is taught over and over again in scripture. These clear examples are from the Bible:
“All of you are children of the most High.” (Ps. 82:6.)
And: “We are the offspring of God.” (Acts 17:29.)
Doctrinal truths are interrelated. There is an old saying that if you pick up one end of a stick, you pick up the other end as well.
If you concede that we are His children, you must allow that God is our Father.
That, too, is repeated over and over again in the scriptures. There are so many references that I could not even begin to read them to you.
But I make this point: Christ did not speak only of the Father, or my Father; He spoke of your Father, and our Father. He even put them together in one sentence, saying, “Your Father, and your God, and my God.” (D&C 88:75; italics added.) God is addressed universally in the Christian world as Father. Were we not commanded to pray “Our Father which art in heaven”? (Matt. 6:9.)
We believe God has a body. President Gordon B. Hinkcley spoke of the experience he had while teaching this doctrine:
I remember the occasion of more than 50 years ago when, as a missionary, I was speaking in an open-air meeting in Hyde Park, London. As I was presenting my message, a heckler interrupted to say, “Why don’t you stay with the doctrine of the Bible which says in John [4:24], ‘God is a Spirit’?”
I opened my Bible to the verse he had quoted and read to him the entire verse: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
I said, “Of course God is a spirit, and so are you, in the combination of spirit and body that makes of you a living being, and so am I.”
Each of us is a dual being of spiritual entity and physical entity. All know of the reality of death when the body dies, and each of us also knows that the spirit lives on as an individual entity and that at some time, under the divine plan made possible by the sacrifice of the Son of God, there will be a reunion of spirit and body. Jesus’ declaration that God is a spirit no more denies that he has a body than does the statement that I am a spirit while also having a body.
I do not equate my body with His in its refinement, in its capacity, in its beauty and radiance. His is eternal. Mine is mortal. But that only increases my reverence for Him. I worship Him “in spirit and in truth.” I look to Him as my strength. I pray to Him for wisdom beyond my own. I seek to love Him with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. His wisdom is greater than the wisdom of all men. His power is greater than the power of nature, for He is the Creator Omnipotent. His love is greater than the love of any other, for His love encompasses all of His children, and it is His work and His glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of His sons and daughters of all generations (see Moses 1:39).
Jesus Christ
We are Christians. We believe in and worship Jesus Christ.
On January 1, 2000, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued the following declaration. Titled “The Living Christ,” this declaration bears witness of the Lord Jesus Christ and summarizes His identity and divine mission:
“As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.
“He was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New. Under the direction of His Father, He was the creator of the earth. ‘All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made’ (John 1:3). Though sinless, He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He ‘went about doing good’ (Acts 10:38), yet was despised for it. His gospel was a message of peace and goodwill. He entreated all to follow His example. He walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our premortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come.
“He instituted the sacrament as a reminder of His great atoning sacrifice. He was arrested and condemned on spurious charges, convicted to satisfy a mob, and sentenced to die on Calvary’s cross. He gave His life to atone for the sins of all mankind. His was a great vicarious gift in behalf of all who would ever live upon the earth.
“We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary. He was the Firstborn of the Father, the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, the Redeemer of the world.
“He rose from the grave to ‘become the firstfruits of them that slept’ (1 Corinthians 15:20). As Risen Lord, He visited among those He had loved in life. He also ministered among His ‘other sheep’ (John 10:16) in ancient America. In the modern world, He and His Father appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, ushering in the long-promised ‘dispensation of the fulness of times’ (Ephesians 1:10).
“Of the Living Christ, the Prophet Joseph wrote: ‘His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:
” ‘I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father’ (D&C 110:3–4).
“Of Him the Prophet also declared: ‘And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
” ‘For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—
” ‘That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God’ (D&C 76:22–24).
“We declare in words of solemnity that His priesthood and His Church have been restored upon the earth—’built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone’ (Ephesians 2:20).
“We testify that He will someday return to earth. ‘And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together’ (Isaiah 40:5). He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords, and every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him. Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.
“We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles, that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son” (Ensign, Apr. 2000, 2–3).
Jesus Christ provided the only way for mankind to return to live with Heavenly Father once again. He is your redeemer, and my redeemer. He lived a perfect life, one that I am continually striving to emulate.
The Holy Ghost
The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit, without a body of flesh and bones. He is often referred to as the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, or the Comforter.
The Holy Ghost works in perfect unity with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, fulfilling several roles to help us live righteously and receive the blessings of the gospel. He “witnesses of the Father and the Son” (2 Nephi 31:18) and reveals and teaches “the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:5). We can receive a sure testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ only by the power of the Holy Ghost. His communication to our spirit carries far more certainty than any communication we can receive through our natural senses.
He is the Comforter (John 14:26). As the soothing voice of a loving parent can quiet a crying child, the whisperings of the Spirit can calm our fears, hush the nagging worries of our life, and comfort us when we grieve. The Holy Ghost can fill us “with hope and perfect love” and “teach [us] the peaceable things of the kingdom” (Moroni 8:26; D&C 36:2).
Through His power, we are sanctified as we repent, receive the ordinances of baptism and confirmation, and remain true to our covenants (see Mosiah 5:1–6; 3 Nephi 27:20; Moses 6:64–68). He is the Holy Spirit of Promise (see Ephesians 1:13; D&C 132:7, 18–19, 26). In this capacity, He confirms that the priesthood ordinances we have received and the covenants we have made are acceptable to God. This approval depends on our continued faithfulness.
I have felt the witness of the Holy Ghost time and time again in my own life. There is nothing worse than the withdrawal of his presence because of sin, something I have sadly felt many times in my own life. The constant companionship is the greatest gift that God has provided for each of us, as a guiding light to lead us back to Him.
I would love to hear what you believe about the nature of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, or to answer any questions you might have about what I have discussed here.
Also:
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
Could you explain more about why you believe that God the Eternal Father has a body? My guess is that it is based on Joseph Smith’s vision, but many other faiths believe that God can appear in forms that do not capture the essence of God. So it seems unlikely that one vision would be the entire answer for a doctrine this different from traditional Christianity. As far as I remember, God never appeared in human form in the Bible, except in the person of Jesus Christ. Do you believe that God the Father really *did* appear to the Jews, but their scriptures are just corrupted? Or did something change?
Also, why doesn’t the Holy Spirit have a body?
I would answer your question and go into my beliefs, but they are simply the standard found in the creeds. Typing that, I realize that I should probably clarify rather than assume. Somewhere along the way did you have to learn the specific ways in which your faith differed from traditional Christianity and why? I’d actually be interested in a post about that, in whatever form (stories about childhood encounters, a class you took in college, whatever it was).
Jenna Reply:
April 28th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Now remember that my answers should not be considered the absolute end all to this doctrine. These are definitely weighty topics, and I can’t always find the answers on lds.org, but I’m going to try to answer what I can.
I was doing some searching and came across this argument that you might find interesting:
Actually John 4:24 should be translated “God is Spirit” rather than “God is a Spirit,” for there is no indefinite article (a, an) in the Greek language, and it is always a matter of subjective judgment as to when the translator should add one. The consensus among biblical scholars is that there should not be an indefinite article at John 4:24. C. H. Dodd insists that “to translate [John 4:24] ‘God is a Spirit’ is the most gross perversion of the meaning.” 27 According to Raymond E. Brown the passage at John 4:24
is not an essential definition of God, but a description of God’s dealing with men; it means that God is Spirit toward men because He gives the Spirit (xiv 16) which begets them anew. There are two other such descriptions in the Johannine writings: “God is light” (1 John i 5), and “God is love” (1 John iv 8). These too refer to the God who acts; God gives the world His Son, the light of the world (iii 19, viii 12, ix 5) as a sign of His love (iii 16). 28
Just as God is not limited to being light and nothing else by 1 John 1: 5, or to being love and nothing else by 1 John 4: 8, so he is not limited to being spirit and nothing else by John 4:24-unless one assumes with the Greeks that spirit and matter are mutually exclusive, opposing categories. That God is spirit does not limit him to being a spirit any more than his being worshipped in spirit (John 4:24) requires worshippers to first jettison their physical bodies.
Found here: http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/response/qa/god_spirit.htm
Brigham Young spoke about God creating man in the likeness of Himself:
“What resemblance did our father Adam bear to his God, when he placed him in the Garden of Eden?” Before he had time to reply, I asked him what resemblance Jesus bore to man in his incarnation? and “Do your believe Moses, who said the Lord made Adam in his own image and after his own likeness? This may appear to you a curiosity; but do you not see, bona fide, that the Lord made Adam like himself; and the Saviour we read of was made to look so like him, that he was the express image of his person?” (Journal of Discourses, Vol.6, p.317 - p.318, Brigham Young, April 7, 1852, emphasis added)
Joseph Smith also commented on this: If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible,—I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with him, as one man talks and communes with another. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Six 1843–44, p.345)
It is important to remember that we as an LDS faith believe Joseph Smith’s testimony to be absolute fact: “For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it.” No matter what the
doctrines of the rest of the Christian world might be, we believe what he said to be the truth.
Why doesn’t the Holy Spirit have a body? I do not know. Very little has been revealed in this dispensation (or in others) about who the Holy Ghost is and where he came from. Was he one of our spirit brothers in the pre-existence? I seem to remember being taught that was the case when I was young, but I couldn’t find any quotes to back it up for my post. We know he doesn’t have a body because of what Joseph Smith told us in the D&C
“The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit.” (D&C 130:22.)
As far as when I started to notice differences between my faith and others, I would say it was about the time when I was in high school. There were a lot of mormons in my hometown though, so I was still pretty sheltered and didn’t encounter many of other faiths who actually went to church.
Allison Reply:
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Thanks for posting this reply, Jenna! I’d never read or heard those quotes.
R Reply:
May 5th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Thanks so much for the thoughtful reply!
It isn’t so much the biblical references to God as spirit that make me question LDS teaching as the larger philosophical implications of being embodied. I’ve actually never seen John 4:24 translated with “a”. I wonder which versions have that…
Anyway, it is very interesting to know what you believe. Thank you for explaining!
Ryan Weed Reply:
May 3rd, 2009 at 4:16 pm
How about Exodus 33:11? “And God spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.”
R Reply:
May 5th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
But if you read the whole passage it seems the strongest argument against God being really seen by a human…
“But my face you cannot see, for no man sees me and still lives.”
Ryan Weed Reply:
May 6th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
I don’t see that… you mean in Exodus 33? Not that I disagree. Certainly Moses had to be translated, or transfigured, in such a way that his comparably frail human body could withstand the presence of God. In another sacred book we consider scripture, an alternate account from Moses has him describing it this way, “But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him.”
Oh, and sorry for the double comment, but will you also expound upon your faith’s process for reconciliation with God after sin? I am guessing that it is something a lot of people would be interested in since, regardless of our faith, most of us have dealt with the feeling of being “in the wrong” in a cosmic sense.
Obviously I would have phrased it differently since I believe that the Holy Spirit *is* God, but I really love the essence of your last paragraph before your invitation to share.
Jenna Reply:
April 28th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Is it alright if I address this one in a future post? I think it warrants more than a comment can handle. And a larger audience.
R Reply:
May 5th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Of course! I look forward to it. And, while I’m sorry for some of the crazy confusion in comments on your last Sunday post, it is great that many people can read your explanations.
I understand what you are saying. But I still have a hard time undertanding this. In my faith we believe that there are three. God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. With that I am getting a better handle on it.. But I didn’t not grow up believing this way so it has been hard for me to truly understand! Thanks for the post! You are doing great with helping us understand your beliefs. I love being educated about things I don’t know about,
3I believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as 3 representations of the same God. From what I’ve read from you, LDS believe that these 3 are separate beings, and your idea of heaven is based off of this. It’s truly a fundamental difference, but I very much enjoy learning more about your faith!
4I also believe that the father, the son, and the holy spirit are of the same God. I loved your description of the Holy Spirit, though, as a comforter.
You may have already covered this, but I’m assuming that you believe in angels as many religions do—but do you believe that angels come to earth and give signs to people?
Also this was really really random but I was getting coffee one morning and thought of you—are you allowed to have decaffeinated drinks? Or does the trace of caffeine that is still found in most of them prevent you from having them? I read your description of why you don’t drink/eat caffeine once, so I would guess that since it is so that your body does not become dependent on an outside substance, you are allowed to have decaf drinks? Sorry it is so random but I was just wondering.
Jenna Reply:
April 28th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
We most certainly believe that angels come to the earth! Such appearances are found throughout the Book of Mormon, as well as during the life of Joseph Smith. It was an angel names Moroni who appeared to Joseph Smith and told him where to find the Book of Mormon.
Am I “allowed” to drink decaf? Sure, I guess, but drinking decaf coffee reminds me of a woman I knew back home who started rinking non-alcoholic beer. It wasn’t long before she started drinking alcoholic beverages, and left the Church altogether. Drinking the non-alcoholic beverage made it that much easier to move to the alcoholic one, just as drinking decaf coffee might make it that much easier to move to the caffeinated one.
There is a story frequently told in the Church about two men who went in for a job interview as a truck driver. The manager asked how they would manage driving on a dangerous cliff, with the rock wall on one side, and a fence separating them from a dangerous dropoff on the other. The first man bragged about his ability to drive right next to the fence, without anything happening. The second man spoke about how he would stay as far away from the fence, and as close to the rock wall as possible. Who do you think got the job?
Speaking specifically of coffee, there are many alternative drinks I could have. I don’t see any reason to let myself develop a taste for it (which would be the equivalent of driving right next to the fence) becase one day it might get too easy to say “Man, I could use a jolt from my java today!”
I do however, drink herbal tea. I realize it’s complicated, but I think it’s important to evaluate personally what you feel most comfortable with and go with that.
I believe in the traditional Christian trinity as three persons, one God. But I wanted to let you know that I am impressed with the effort you put into this post and I do appreciate it. I have had many Mormon friends over the years, still do, and am grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the faith!
6This First Article reminds me a lot of the Apostles Creed. I am very much looking forward to hearing more about the other 12 Articles.
As for my beliefs; I believe in 3 persons, 1 God; a Holy Trinity. They are separate beings but also the same being; never fully comprehended by our human minds. I thought it interesting that you see God the Father as having a body. I grew up in the church and always heard him referred to as Father. I’ve met several people who hesitate to assign the male gender to God b/c of bad experiences with their father, uncle, grandfather, etc. I don’t think God the Father has a specific body, be it male, female, human, non-human, flesh, spirit. But I like to think of and refer to him in the male context.
Throughout scripture God appeared as a man, a burning bush, a pillar of fire and cloud, in dreams and visions. I suppose in a sense I do see him as having form/body transcendent of anything we can comprehend. It’s just that he chooses to appear to us in forms we recognize to help us better understand him.
7I loooooovvveee reading your posts about your faith. I find Christianity fascinating and even more so from a sect of it with which I’m not familiar.
My question is more general — what experiences have you had that tested your faith, in a very fundamental way, that may have lead you to believe even more passionately?
Jenna Reply:
April 28th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
A good topic for a future Sunday post I think! For it is most definitely more than I can handle here.
Jenna — I would like to link to you Articles of Faith posts — are you going to give them a separate label so they all have one link?
9I’ve enjoyed reading your posts and learning more about your faith! So, if God has a body, when/if you reach the CK will God be the only one with a body and everyone else will be spirits? Or will mortal bodies ascend to Heaven like Christ ascended? Also, will do you believe that if you’re a member of the LDS church, receive all of the sacraments, and strive to have a Christ-like life that you will automatically go to the CK?
Jenna Reply:
May 11th, 2009 at 10:39 am
We believe that after the Resurrection all bodies and spirits will become united once again, and that ALL people will have their bodies and spirits united forever, even those who didn’t make it to the Celestial Kingdom.
I wouldn’t call the reward of the CK after having joined the Church, received all of the ordinances, and lived the best life possible “automatic” by any means, but if a person successfully repents of their sins and lives the best life they can after joining the Church and participating all of the ordinances, then yes, they will go to CK.
What is the celestial kingdom, according to the Mormon church, in detail?
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