Exploring the Divine Nature, Man and Creation, Part 1

Understanding LDS views on the nature and the purpose of creation

I actually want to talk about Sin and Atonement, but before we can do that, I need to compare and contrast the LDS and Orthodox perspectives on the nature of God and the purpose of man. As this was getting too long, I’ve split it into two shorter articles, with today’s covering the LDS theology and next week presenting the Orthodox position.

God as exalted man - LDS Theology

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are separate individual beings. The Father with the Hebrew name Elohim, the Son known as Jehovah or Jesus Christ. These three are “one” in that they are united in purpose, power, desire, and will. Christ and The Father have separate physical bodies, but the Holy Spirit does not.

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. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us. (D&C 130:22)

In Joseph Smith's “first vision,” the Father and the Son appeared to him with human bodies.¹ Jesus Christ has a physical body by virtue of being born of Mary, but The Father is believed to have had a body before the creation of the earth. Lorenzo Snow, 5th president of the LDS church, said, "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become."

Christ was the first spirit child created by heavenly parents² The rest of God’s children were created after, hence, he is viewed as an elder brother. LDS pray only to the Father, but in the Son’s name. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are recognized as the Godhead but are unified in purpose, not substance or essence.

“It is true the Father, the Son, and the Hold Ghost are on in mind and power and glory. Indeed, they are infinitely more one than they are separate; they just happen to be separate personages.”³

It's unclear to me why seeing God in human form implies that's His only shape. If God is truly omnipotent, He can appear in any form, like a burning bush⁴. Why assume He's permanently embodied because Joseph Smith saw Him that way?

Understanding the LDS Metaphysical Framework

Non-LDS readers may struggle to understand this belief system because the LDS faith operates on a completely different metaphysical framework than the rest of Christianity.

Almost all of this theology comes from The Book of Abraham - an additional scripture believed to be “translated”⁵ by Joseph Smith from Egyptian papyri and later canonized in an LDS scripture called “The Pearl of Great Price.” This happened in what is referred to as the Nauvoo period (roughly between 1839-1844.) This period was a significant time of theological innovation by Joseph Smith⁶, who introduced many unique doctrines into the LDS Church, especially concerning the nature of God, Exaltation, and Temple theology and ordinances. In a pivotal sermon at general conference, April 1844, called the King Follett discourse⁷, Joseph Smith presented a greatly expanded view of God than had been previously taught.

Prior to the Nauvoo period, early Mormon theology was more closely aligned with mainstream Protestant views, with distinctions. The Book of Mormon, published in 1830, emphasizes the distinctness of the Father and the Son, as do the Orthodox, and the language used aligns more closely with traditional trinitarian descriptions, although some view them as modalist⁸ a perspective LDS apologists refute⁹.