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God

God

Mormons believe that:

• God is an exalted, perfected man
• God has a physical body
• There is more than one God
• Human beings have the potential to become like God
• The Godhead consists of 3 separate and distinct beings, united in purpose

They believe that God the Father is the all powerful and all knowing supreme being.

Mormons believe that God is immortal and that God was once a man.

One God or three

Mormons believe that God consists of 3 beings, united in purpose. They call this the Godhead.

The Mormon view of the three persons who make up the Godhead is that they are in fact 3 separate beings.

But these three beings are so united in the way that they work that they function as one Godhead. This is because they "function with complete harmony of will, purpose, love and covenant."

Jesus wanted his disciples to work together with a completely united and shared purpose in the image of the way the beings of the Godhead work together.

• God the Father, also called Elohim.
• Jesus Christ, who is also the Jehovah of the Old Testament
• The Holy Ghost

God has a physical body

A key Mormon belief is that God has a physical body.

This doesn't limit God's ability to be with human beings since his Holy Spirit fills the whole of space, enabling God's influence to be everywhere.

Mormons don't think that having a physical body makes God less holy, or less awe-inspiring, and they point out that the fact that Christ had a bodily resurrection didn't make him seem any less holy to the apostles.

God the Father

God the Father

Mormons believe that God the Father is the all powerful and all knowing supreme being who created the world.

God the Father is a being called Elohim, who was once a man like present day human beings, but who lived on another planet.

Over time this man made himself perfect and became God, with a knowledge of everything, and the power to do anything.

God became perfect by following the rules laid down by his God.

God's humanity

God is literally the father of every human being. He has a body, and emotions like human beings.

Since God is a being who has a history, and who has lived in some way like us, he is much easier for human beings to understand.

Because God has shared in our experience of growing through life he is able to get very close to us.

The result is that it is possible for there to be a very close and personal relationship between God and each individual.

God the eternal

When Mormons speak of God as eternal they don't mean that God has always existed in the same form, but that God has lived for so long that it's impossible to imagine a time when God did not exist.

Since God has a body, he can only be in one place at a time.

God as creator of the universe

God created this world out of material that already existed by organising it into the proper forms.

God the Father had the work of creation done by Jesus Christ.

Unlike the ideas of some other religions, God in Mormon thinking does not create time and matter out of nothing. Instead he works with matter and spirit that already exist and organises them into the created universe.

In many ways this idea of God is less difficult to understand than the concept of a being who exists beyond time and matter, and who in some unexplained way brings both into being.

If you think about this creation story in detail it turns out to have many problems, but so do the creation myths of all religions. Their truth is spiritual and poetic, rather than a mechanical account of what actually happened.

Literally Our Father

God also plays a very personal role in the creation of each human spirit.

The Mormon founder Joseph Smith said that the spirit of man has always existed in some form and is in some way made into individual spirits by God.

One idea of how God does this is that human spirits are conceived and born into spirit children, who at some point in their existence are born as human children on earth - in the same way that God himself is the spirit child of another God.

Jesus Christ

An overview of Mormon Jesus Christ

Mormons regard Jesus Christ as the central figure of their faith, and the perfect example of how they should live their lives.

Jesus Christ is the second person of the Godhead and a separate being from God the Father and the Holy Ghost.

Mormons believe that:

• Jesus Christ is the first-born spirit child of God
• Jesus Christ assisted God the Father at the Creation
• He was known as Jehovah to the people of the Old Testament
• He was the literal, biological Son of God, and of Mary
• Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again on the third day
• Jesus Christ has a physical body
• He will return to earth and rule for 1000 years
• Complete salvation is only possible through the life, death, resurrection, doctrines and ordinances of Jesus Christ

They believe that after the resurrection, Jesus visited America, where he taught and performed miracles.

Premortal life

Jesus was the first spirit child of God the Father. He is the eldest brother of all the spirit children - and thus the eldest brother of all human beings.

Jesus created this and other worlds at the direction of God the Father. He did this to make possible the mortal state that is an essential stage in enabling spirit children to achieve eternal life.

Jesus was known to the people of the Old Testament as Jehovah. He became Jesus Christ when he was born on earth.

Life on Earth

Jesus was born on earth to Mary in Bethlehem, as related in the Bible. He lived his life on earth without sin, and in total obedience to God the Father.

Unlike Christians from the unrestored churches, Mormons do not believe that Jesus was "begotten by the Holy Ghost". They believe the father of Jesus was God the Father.

Postmortal life

Between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection Jesus' spirit spent time in the spirit world, where the disembodied spirits of the dead wait to be reunited with their bodies.

While he was there, Jesus ministered to the righteous spirits, and trained them to teach those spirits that were still handicapped by sin or ignorance. By doing this Jesus extended his ministry on earth into the afterlife.

With his resurrection Jesus began the resurrection of those righteous dead who had lived between the time of Adam and his own time.

Jesus now makes possible the bodily resurrection of all who have ever lived, or will ever live on earth.

Jesus in America

Mormons believe that the resurrected Jesus ministered to the Nephites in America. He appeared before a congregation in their temple, and allowed them to feel the wounds in his hands and feet.

He stayed with them for several days, teaching and healing.

He called and ordained twelve disciples, and gave the people various commandments and the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Jesus Christ also appeared to Joseph Smith in New York State in 1820 in what is known as the First Vision. He appeared to Joseph Smith on several other occasions.

Jesus Christ has appeared to other Church leaders, for example in 1898 and in 1918.

The Holy Ghost

The Holy Ghost

The Holy Ghost is the third part of the Godhead. He is a separate being from God the Father, and Jesus Christ.

Although the Holy Ghost does not have a body and is spirit only, he looks like a man.

Because he is a person he can only be in one place at a time, like God the Father and Jesus Christ. However the power and influence of the Holy Ghost are everywhere.

Mormons use an analogy with the sun to explain this.

The sun itself can be in only one place at a time. But the heat, light, and energy that radiate from it fill the entire solar system at once.

Similarly, the Holy Ghost as a person can be in only one place at one time, but his influence and power can and do fill the immensity of space.

The divine guide and comforter

Mormons regard the Holy Ghost as a divine guide who shows people the truth about God the Father and Jesus Christ, and also as a being who calms and comforts people when things go wrong.

The Holy Ghost can also give people the strength to obey the commandments of God the Father.

Mormons don't think that the Holy Ghost often speaks to them in words. The communication is most often a strong feeling as to whether something is true or not.

Find out more

• Jesus in Christianity
• Mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity