Mormon Handbook

A REFERENCE TO THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

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The LDS Godhead

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Who God is, is undoubtedly the most essential doctrine of the Christian faith—and where Christianity and Mormonism diverge in the most consequential way.


The Christian God


God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Holy Bible

— Jesus Christ


John 4:24

For a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

Holy Bible

— Jesus Christ


Luke 24:39

Now the Lord is that Spirit.

Holy Bible

— Apostle Paul


2 Corinthians 3:17


And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Holy Bible

— Prophet Ezekiel


Ezekiel 36:27

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Holy Bible

— Apostle Paul


1 Corinthians 3:16

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

Holy Bible

— Apostle Paul


Romans 8:9-11


Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee.

Holy Bible

— Prophet Jeremiah


1 Kings 8:27, cf. 2 Chronicles 6:18

The heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him.

Holy Bible

— Ezra

Priest and Scribe
2 Chronicles 2:6, NASB

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.

Holy Bible

— King David


Psalm 139:7-8, NASB

Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.

Holy Bible

— Prophet Jeremiah


Jeremiah 23:24

The eyes of the Lord are in every place.

Holy Bible

— King Solomon


Proverbs 15:3


God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

Holy Bible

— Apostle John


1 John 3:20


From everlasting to everlasting, thou are God.

Holy Bible

— Prophet Moses


Psalm 90:2

For the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.

Holy Bible

— Apostle Paul


2 Timothy 1:8-9, NASB


But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.

Holy Bible

— Psalm


102:27

For I am the LORD, I change not.

Holy Bible

— Prophet Malachi


Malachi 3:6

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Holy Bible

— James

The brother of Jesus
James 1:17

God is not a man, that he should lie.

Holy Bible

— Prophet Moses


Numbers 23:19

The Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.

Holy Bible

— Prophet Samuel


1 Samuel 15:29, NASB

Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man.

Holy Bible

— Apostle Paul


Romans 1:22-23


Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein.

Holy Bible

— Nehemiah

Governor of Judea
Nehemiah 9:6

All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

Holy Bible

— Apostle John


John 1:3

For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things

Holy Bible

— Apostle Paul


Romans 11:36

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Holy Bible

— Apostle Paul


Colossians 1:16-17

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God.

Holy Bible

— Hebrews


11:3

For You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.

Holy Bible

— Apostle John


Revelation 4:11, NASB


Understand that I am He: before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

Holy Bible

— Prophet Isaiah


Isaiah 43:10

To you it was shown that you might know that the LORD, He is God; there is no other beside Him.... the LORD, He is God in heaven above, and on the earth below; there is no other.

Holy Bible

— Prophet Moses


Deuteronomy 4:35, 39, NASB

I am He, and there is no god besides Me.

Holy Bible

— Prophet Moses


Deuteronomy 32:39, NASB

There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides thee.

Holy Bible

— Prophet Samuel


1 Samuel 2:2

O Lord, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee.

Holy Bible

— Ezra

Priest and scribe
1 Chronicles 17:20, cf. 2 Samuel 7:22

You alone are the LORD, You have made heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their host.

Holy Bible

— Nehemiah

Governor of Judea
Nehemiah 9:6, NASB

I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.... Is there a God beside Me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

Holy Bible

— Prophet Isaiah


Isaiah 44:6, 8

I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God besides Me.... I am the LORD; and there is none else.... there is no God else beside me... for I am God, and there is none else.

Holy Bible

— Prophet Isaiah


Isaiah 45:5, 18, 21-22

For I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me.

Holy Bible

— Prophet Isaiah


Isaiah 46:9

For there is one God; and there is none other but He.

Holy Bible

— Evangelist Mark

Disciple of Apostle Peter
Mark 12:32

We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.

Holy Bible

— Apostle Paul


I Corinthians 8:4

There is... one Spirit... One Lord... One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Holy Bible

— Apostle Paul


Ephesians 4:4-6


God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto to Himself.

Holy Bible

— Apostle Paul


2 Corinthians 5:19

Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.

Holy Bible

— Apostle Paul


1 Timothy 3:16

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Holy Bible

— Apostle Matthew


Matthew 1:23

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father).

Holy Bible

— Apostle John


John 1:1, 14

He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father... the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me... Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me.

Holy Bible

— Jesus Christ


John 14:9-11

Christ Jesus: who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself.

Holy Bible

— Apostle Paul


Philippians 2:5-8, NASB

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Holy Bible

— Apostle Paul


Colossians 2:8-9


From Monotheism to Polytheism

Modern Mormonism teaches polytheism—the belief in many gods. This doctrine is aligned closer with Eastern religions than the Abrahamic faiths, which are all monotheistic—there is only One God.


Monotheism — One God Polytheism — many gods
Judaism Hinduism
Christianity Buddhism
Islam Mormonism

Early Mormonism — Monotheism


During the development of his religion, it is significant to note that Joseph Smith’s view of the Godhead evolved. His earliest works, including the Book of Mormon (1830), the Inspired Version (1833), and his earliest collections of revelations—Book of Commandments (1833) and Doctrine and Covenants (1835)— all reflect monotheism. The handbook will contrast the early teachings with the modern teachings below.



The Mormon gods


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.

Doctrine and Covenants

— Doctrine and Covenants


130:22

And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit? And he said, Yea. And Ammon said: This is God. And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth? And he said: Yea.

Book of Mormon

— Alma


18:26-28

There are two personages who constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme power over all things—by whom all things were created and made, that are created and made, whether visible or invisible: whether in heaven, on earth, or in the earth, under the earth, or throughout the immensity of space—They are the Father and the Son: The Father being a personage of spirit.

Doctrine and Covenants

— Doctrine and Covenants

(1835 - 1921)
Lecture on Faith, Lecture 5:2


The idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false.

Doctrine and Covenants

— Doctrine and Covenants

(1843)
130:3

And this I know, because the Lord hath said he dwelleth not in unholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he dwell.

Book of Mormon

— Alma


34:36


Some would have us believe that God is present everywhere. It is not so.

Brigham Young

— Brigham Young

Second Mormon prophet
"Human and Divine Government, etc."
Salt Lake City Tabernacle
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 345


The Lord is everywhere present by His ministering angels... and He knows everything. How? When His angels and ministers tell Him of it, like any other ruler.

Orson Hyde

— Orson Hyde

Mormon apostle
"Gathering the Saints, etc."
General Conference, Salt Lake City Tabernacle
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 2, p. 64


God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man.... for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea.... He was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth.

Joseph Smith

— Joseph Smith

Mormonism founder
"The King Follett Sermon"
General Conference, Nauvoo
Ensign (1971, April), churchofjesuschrist.org

Remember that God, our heavenly Father, was perhaps once a child, and mortal like we ourselves, and rose step by step in the scale of progress, in the school of advancement; has moved forward and overcome, until He has arrived at the point where He now is.

Orson Hyde

— Orson Hyde

Mormon apostle
"The Man to Lead God’s People, etc."
General Conference, Salt Lake City Tabernacle
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, p. 123

He is our Father—the Father of our spirits, and was once a man in mortal flesh as we are, and is now an exalted Being.

Brigham Young

— Brigham Young

Second Mormon prophet
"Progress in Knowledge, etc."
General Conference, Salt Lake City Tabernacle
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 7, p. 333

GOD IS AN EXALTED MAN.... our Father in heaven at one time passed through a life and death and is an exalted man.

Joseph Fielding Smith

— Joseph Fielding Smith

10th Mormon prophet
Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1, Ch. 1, p. 10

Mormon prophets have continuously taught the sublime truth that God the Eternal Father was once a mortal man who passed through a school of earth life similar to that through which we are now passing. He became God—an exalted being....

Yet, if we accept the great law of eternal progression, we must accept the fact that there was a time when Deity was much less powerful than He is today.... Thus He grew in experience and continued to grow until He attained the status of Godhood.

Milton R. Hunter

— Milton R. Hunter

Mormon Seventy
The Gospel Throughout The Ages, pp. 104, 114-15

For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.

Book of Mormon

— Moroni


8:18

For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?

Book of Mormon

— Mormon


9:9

For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Book of Mormon

— 1 Nephi


10:18


God is progressing

God is not progressing

God himself is increasing and progressing in knowledge, power, and dominion, and will do so, worlds without end.

It should be realized that God is not progressing in knowledge, truth, virtue, wisdom, or any of the attributes of godliness. He has already gained these things in their fullness.

Wilford Woodruff

— Wilford Woodruff

Fourth Mormon prophet
"Blessings of the Saints, etc."
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 6, p. 120

Joseph Fielding Smith

— Joseph Fielding Smith

10th Mormon prophet
As cited by B. H. Roberts, Mormon Doctrine (1958), p. 221


And we shall go on from one degree of perfection to another, advancing as our Father in heaven advances, for there is progress for our father and for our Lord Jesus. There is no such thing as standing still in the eternal work of our God. It is endless progress, progressing from one degree of knowledge to another degree.

George Q. Cannon

— George Q. Cannon

First Presidency Counselor
Millennial Star Vol. 61, No. 8, p. 117




The Lord organized elements that had already existed (Abraham 3:24). He did not create the world "out of nothing," as some people believe.

LDS.org

— Gospel Topics

"Creation"
lds.org

And I saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it; And the Lord said unto me: These are the governing ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me, for I am the Lord thy God: I have set this one to govern all those which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest.

Pearl of Great Price

— Book of Abraham


3:2-3

Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God.

Pearl of Great Price

— Book of Abraham


Facsimile 2, Figure 1

Kolob (where day is 1000 of our years), the planet nearest unto the habitation of the Eternal Father.

Brigham Young

— Brigham Young

Second Mormon prophet
"Proclamation: For a Day of Praise and Thanksgiving for the Territory of Utah"
Ensign (1971 Nov.), churchofjesuschrist.org

In this passage will be found the germ of that system of the construction and movement of planetary systems that make up the universe, set forth in the teachings of Joseph Smith. Here it may be seen that there are many great stars—the "governing ones," near together, and from among them rises one pre-eminent in greatness—Kolob—which governs all the rest that are of the same order as that to which our solar system belongs.

B. H. Roberts

— B. H. Roberts

Mormon Seventy and Church Historian
A New Witness for God, Ch. XXIX

Thou longed, thou sighed and thou prayed to thy Father in heaven for the time to arrive when thou couldst come to this earth, which had fled and fallen from where it was first organised, near the planet Kolob.

John Taylor

— John Taylor

Third Mormon prophet
Liahona, the Elders’ Journal, Vol. 5, No. 38, pp. 1001-2

For there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.

Book of Mormon

— 2 Nephi


2:14

Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth.

Book of Mormon

— Mosiah


4:9

And Aaron said unto him: Yea, he is that Great Spirit, and he created all things both in heaven and in earth. Believest thou this? And he said: Yea, I believe that the Great Spirit created all things.

Book of Mormon

— Alma


22:10-11, cf. Alma 18:28-29

All things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.

Book of Mormon

— Alma


30:44

But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.

Book of Mormon

— Mormon


9:11

There are two personages who constitute the great matchless, governing and supreme power over all things—by whom all things were created and made, that are created and made, whether visible or invisible: whether in heaven, on earth, or in the earth, under the earth, or throughout the immensity of space—They are the Father and the Son.

Doctrine and Covenants

— Doctrine and Covenants

(1835 - 1921)
Lectures on Faith, Lecture 5:2


We shall go back to our Father and God, who is connected with one who is still farther back; and this Father is connected with one still further back, and so on.

Heber C. Kimball

— Heber C. Kimball

First Presidency Counselor
"Temple and Endowments, etc."
General Conference, Salt Lake City
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 5, p. 19

The Prophet taught that our Father had a Father and so on.

Joseph Fielding Smith

— Joseph Fielding Smith

10th Mormon prophet
Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1, p.12

Our God is a natural man... Where did he get his knowledge from? From his Father, just as we get knowledge from our earthly parents.

Heber C. Kimball

— Heber C. Kimball

First Presidency Counselor
"The Gospel Commission, etc."
Salt Lake City
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 8, p. 211


The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all human beings, male and female, are beloved spirit children of heavenly parents, a Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother.

LDS.org

— Gospel Topics Essays

"Mother in Heaven"
lds.org

When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him.

Brigham Young

— Brigham Young

Second Mormon prophet
"Self Government, etc."
General Conference, Salt Lake City Tabernacle
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, p. 50

We have now clearly shown that God the Father had a plurality of wives.

Orson Pratt

— Orson Pratt

Mormon apostle
"Celestial Marriage"
The Seer, Vol. 1, No. 11, p. 172

If none but Gods will be permitted to multiply immortal children, it follows that each God must have one or more wives.

Orson Pratt

— Orson Pratt

Mormon apostle
"Celestial Marriage"
The Seer, Vol. 1, No. 10, p. 158

The Scripture says that He, the Lord, came walking in the Temple, with His train; I do not know who they were, unless His wives and children.

Brigham Young

— Brigham Young

Second Mormon prophet
"Gathering the Poor, etc."
Ogden Tabernacle
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 13, p. 309


I will preach on the plurality of Gods... I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit, and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods.

Joseph Smith

— Joseph Smith

Mormonism founder
History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 474

This is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.

Book of Mormon

— 2 Nephi


31:21

Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God.

Book of Mormon

— Alma


11:44

Unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God.

Book of Mormon

— Mormon


7:7

And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God.

Book of Mormon

— Testimony of Three Witnesses



The appointment of Jesus to be the Savior of the world was contested by one of the other sons of God. He was called Lucifer, son of the morning. Haughty, ambitious, and covetous of power and glory, this spirit-brother of Jesus.

Milton R. Hunter

— Milton R. Hunter

Mormon Seventy
The Gospel Through the Ages, p. 15

Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son.

Book of Mormon

— Ether


3:14

Now Zeezrom saith again unto him: Is the Son of God the very Eternal Father? And Amulek said unto him: Yea, he is the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth.

Book of Mormon

— Alma


11:38-39

Understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people. And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son— The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son—And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God.

Book of Mormon

— Mosiah


15:4

For if there be no Christ there be no God; and if there be no God we are not, for there could have been no creation. But there is a God, and he is Christ.

Book of Mormon

— 2 Nephi


11:7

And because he said unto them that Christ was the God, the Father of all things, and said that he should take upon him the image of man, and it should be the image after which man was created in the beginning; or in other words, he said that man was created after the image of God, and that God should come down among the children of men, and take upon him flesh and blood, and go forth upon the face of the earth.

Book of Mormon

— Mosiah


7:27

There are two personages who constitute the great matchless, governing and supreme power over all things—by whom all things were created and made... They are the Father and the Son: The Father being a personage of spirit... The Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, a personage of tabernacle, made, or fashioned like unto man... possessing all the fulness of the Father, or, the same fulness with the Father... and is called the Son because of the flesh... possessing the same mind with the Father, which mind is the Holy Spirit, that bears record of the Father and the Son, and these three are one.

Doctrine and Covenants

— Doctrine and Covenants

(1835 - 1921)
Lectures on Faith, Lecture 5:2

1830 Original Edition 1837 and subsequent editions

1 Nephi 11:18

And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin which thou seest, is the mother of God, after the manner of the flesh

And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.

1 Nephi 11:21

And the angel said unto me: behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Eternal Father!

And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!

1 Nephi 11:32

And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people, yea, the everlasting God.

And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God.

1 Nephi 13:40

The Lamb of God is the Eternal Father and the Savior of the world.

The Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world.

King James Version
Luke 10:22
Inspired Version (1833)
Luke 10:23

No man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son.

No man knoweth that the Son is the Father, and the Father is the Son.


I will preach on the plurality of Gods.... The heads of the Gods appointed one God for us.

Joseph Smith

— Joseph Smith

Mormonism founder
History of the Church, Vol. 6, pp. 474, 476

A Council of the Gods. In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it.

Joseph Smith

— Joseph Smith

Mormonism founder
"The King Follett Sermon"
General Conference, Nauvoo
Ensign (1971, April), churchofjesuschrist.org

If we should take a million of worlds like this and number their particles, we should find that there are more Gods than there are particles of matter in those worlds... One world has a personal God or Father, and the inhabitants thereof worship the attributes of that God, another world has another, and they worship His attributes.

Orson Pratt

— Orson Pratt

Mormon apostle
"The Holy Spirit and the Godhead"
Salt Lake City
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 2, p. 345

How many Gods there are, I do not know. But there never was a time when there were not Gods and worlds.

Brigham Young

— Brigham Young

Second Mormon prophet
"Progress in Knowledge, etc."
General Conference, Salt Lake City Tabernacle
Journal of Discourses, Vol. 7, p. 333

But if God the Father was not always God, but came to his present exalted position by degrees of progress as indicated in the teachings of the prophet, how has there been a God from all eternity? The answer is that there has been and there now exists an endless line of Gods, stretching back into the eternities.

B. H. Roberts

— B. H. Roberts

Mormon Seventy and Church Historian
New Witness for God, Ch. XXX

God, angel and similar terms denote merely intelligent beings of varying degree of development. The thought, however, that there is a plurality of gods and other divine beings of varying grades, is of fundamental truth.

John A. Widstoe

— John A. Widstoe

Mormon apostle
Rational Theology, p. 66

And Zeezrom said unto him: Thou sayest there is a true and living God? And Amulek said: Yea, there is a true and living God. Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God? And he answered, No.

Book of Mormon

— Alma


11:26-29

See that ye remember these things; for he said there is but one God.

Book of Mormon

— Alma


11:35

And the people... testified that there was but one God.

Book of Mormon

— Alma


14:5

Book of Moses (1833)
Chapter 2
Book of Abraham (1842)
Chapter 4

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and I caused darkness to come up upon the face of the deep; and my Spirit moved upon the face of the water; for I am God,

2 And the earth, after it was formed, was empty and desolate, because they had not formed anything but the earth; and darkness reigned upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of the Gods was brooding upon the face of the waters.

3 And I, God, said: Let there be light; and there was light.

3 And they (the Gods) said: Let there be light; and there was light.

4 And I, God, saw the light; and that light was good. And I, God, divided the light from the darkness.

4 And they (the Gods) comprehended the light, for it was bright; and they divided the light, or caused it to be divided, from the darkness.

5 And I, God, called the light Day; and the darkness, I called Night; and this I did by the word of my power, and it was done as I spake; and the evening and the morning were the first day.

5 And the Gods called the light Day, and the darkness they called Night. And it came to pass that from the evening until morning they called night; and from the morning until the evening they called day; and this was the first, or the beginning, of that which they called day and night.


A Comparison of God(s)

Christianity Mormonism
God is a spirit. Heavenly Father possesses a physical body of flesh and bones.
God has always been God and was never a man. Heavenly Father was once a mortal and sinful man who through obedience became a God—an exalted man.
God is Creator of the Universe. He transcends time, space and matter. The Godhead are citizens of the universe and organized existing elements to form the heavens and earth that are under their domain. Heavenly Father lives near a planet or star named Kolob.
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are One God *manifest in three persons. This definition is often called the ‘Trinity’.
  • The Bible records that God manifested as a burning bush, a pillar of fire, a cloud, an angel, a dove, and even talked through a donkey. Apostle John teaches about the Seven Spirits of God (Rev. 1:4, 3:1, 4:5, 5:6). Each manifestation does not require separate and distinct gods as we define it in human terms.
Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three separate and distinct gods united in common purpose over this planet. Mormons call this cooperation the Godhead.
Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh and thus is the Creator of Satan. Jesus Christ and Lucifer are brothers, being the first and second born spirit sons to Heavenly Father respectively.
There is only One God. There are countless gods beyond the LDS Godhead throughout the universe. Heavenly Father has a father, and so on. Heavenly Father is married to Heavenly Mother(s).
Believers become like Jesus in character (i.e., love, patience, kindness, etc.) and in some attributes (i.e., immortal, sinless, etc.) but God remains the sole Deity. Loyal and obedient Mormons who fulfill certain requirements may becomes gods themselves and rule over their own planet. This is called Exaltation.
Who God is doesn’t change according to the whims of a church leader. Brigham Young, the second and longest serving Mormon prophet, taught that Adam is God. The LDS church rejects this doctrine today.
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Exaltation
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