As a practicing member of the LDS church, I always thought that the god that I worshipped was the same god described in the scriptures. However, as I have really studied things more, then I have realized this is frankly not true. In Mormonism, God may have similar qualities as the god in the Bible, however they are quite simply two completely different people.
Overview
In looking at the god of Mormonism, I really just want to briefly look at the way that God the Father is described according to the doctrines or the teachings of the church and compare it with the scriptures. Of course, everyone has a slightly different understanding of God. However, if we focus on the teachings of the leaders of the church then we can get a very good idea of what a practicing Mormon should believe in, or at least did at one time.
Of course, the leaders of the church have opinions that they state as facts. This is the tricky part of Mormonism. If we agree with the opinions, then they are facts that were received by revelation. However, if we don’t agree then they are just the opinions of well-intentioned men instead.
One thing in Mormonism though, there is no shortage of quotes or statements justifying just about anything that you want. As the church has gotten more PR savvy then things have quieted down, quite a bit. However, in the early church leaders would talk for hours and say whatever things came to their mind. This of course is a problem because several of the things that were said were not always in line with earlier teachings or even the scriptures themselves.
Brigham Young is certainly known for this. However, Joseph, with his King Follett discourse, also drastically changed Mormonism with just a simple talk. If we had better recorded talks from Joseph, then we likely would also be shocked at the many things that he said which were in contrast with the simple teachings in the scriptures. What we currently have though is shorthand style recorded phrases of talks that are not always clear.
Creation
In Mormonism, we are taught that Jesus created everything. It was of course under the direction of the Father; however, Jesus was the one who did all the work. He oversaw all of creation and made everything happen. This of course is not a problem. However, it is important to remember that in Mormonism, Jesus and God are two completely different people. Therefore, we could adequately say that Jesus created everything, and God created nothing.
This idea comes from many places; however, it was specifically mentioned in the April 16th, 1931, Millennial Star. Elder Joseph Fielding Smith said:
We learn from these writings of Moses that under the direction of His Father, Jesus Christ created this earth. No doubt others helped Him, but it was Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, who, under the direction of His Father, came down and organized matter and made this planet, so that it might be inhabited by the children of God.
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, Millennial Star, April 16th, 1931
It appears that the scripture that then, Elder Smith, was referring to was from the book of Moses, where God tells Moses about the creation of the world. In Moses 2, God says:
Behold, I reveal unto you concerning this heaven, and this earth; write the words which I speak. I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest.
Moses 2:1
Therefore, it appears that God the Father acted in a supervisory role and had Jesus do all the work. In Mormonism, this is taught as being needed because Jesus was going to advance in his abilities and so needed to do all the work. However, this doesn’t really make any sense. Jesus was a god, yet he didn’t know how to create and needed to practice under the direction of God the Father? Did Jesus make mistakes during creation? If he didn’t make any mistakes, then what was the purpose of God’s direction since it seems Jesus knew how to do it already?
The problem with this, is what is the purpose of the Father if Jesus is doing all the work? In every sense of the concept then Jesus is God, as far as creation is concerned. In this case God the Father is irrelevant in Mormonism from our perspective. God is actually much more like the CEO of heaven since it appears he attends meetings and tells everyone else what to do but doesn’t actually do anything himself. On the other hand, if God and Jesus are two modes for the same being then it makes absolute sense.
This also seems to be in contradiction to the Book of Mormon that says that God created everything. It wasn’t Jesus, who in Mormonism was a god in training, but actually God himself that did all the work. For instance, King Benjamin told his people:
Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth
2 Nephi 2:14
Atonement
The next thing in Mormonism to look at is the atonement. The atonement is the reconciliation between God and man and is what allows us to be blameless before God. However, in Mormonism, God actually had virtually no role in it at all. It was again Jesus who did all the work. For some reason God couldn’t or wouldn’t actually do anything himself and so Jesus needed to do it all. Therefore, it would be accurate to say that Jesus atoned for our sins and God did nothing.
For instance, Brigham Young in an April 24th, 1870, talk mentioned:
The Latter-day Saints believe in the Gospel of the Son of God, simply because it is true. … they believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world; they believe that all who attain to any glory whatever, in any kingdom, will do so because Jesus has purchased it by his atonement.
Brigham Young, April 24th, 1870
I am certainly not suggesting that Jesus didn’t atone for us. I believe the scriptures are quite clear that he did. However, it seems a little strange to imagine God’s entire plan was to create us and then have someone else clean up our mess. If Jesus would have said no though, then does that mean we would be permanently damned? This certainly seems a little problematic since Jesus presumably had agency at that point.
In this case, it might be natural to lay the blame at Brigham’s feet for this. However, during the Nauvoo era Joseph clearly taught the separation of the Godhead. If we actually look at the history of this idea, then we can see the concept of the Godhead slowly change over time in Joseph’s teachings. In a February 16th, 1841, talk, Joseph mentioned:
Joseph said Concerning the God-head it was Not as many imagined— three Heads & but one body; he said the three were separate bodys, God the first & Jesus the Mediator the 2d & the Holy Ghost & these three agree in one & this is the manner we should aproach God in order to get his blessings
Joseph Smith, February 16th, 1841
This also seems to be in contradiction to the Book of Mormon that says that God redeemed his people. God didn’t have someone else do it because he was unable to or just simply too busy that day. Abinadi mentioned:
I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.
Mosiah 15:1
Having Jesus atone for us, instead of God himself is again like God being the CEO of heaven and personally removed from the gospel itself. Of course, if Jesus was God made flesh, then it would make perfect sense. God would be the one to have created us and God would be the one to have brought us back into alignment with his course of action. God wouldn’t need someone externally to sacrifice for his children because he was perfectly capable and willing to do it himself as the scriptures said he did.
Holy Ghost
In Mormonism, the Holy Ghost is seen as an unembodied spirit physically separate from God. It is the Holy Ghost that testifies to us of the truth and that is how we understand God. It is interesting however, because, in Mormonism, the Holy Ghost specifically needs to be a spirit for him to do this. For instance, God can’t or won’t perform this role as the Holy Ghost must do it. It is thought, in Mormonism, that since God is a physical person and the Holy Ghost is not, then the Holy Ghost can do things that God can’t.
Joseph in an April 2nd, 1843, talk mentioned that the Holy Ghost is an entity that can only exist at one place at one time however his affect can be everywhere since he is a spirit entity. Joseph mentioned:
The Holy Ghost is a personage, and a person cannot have the personage of the H. G. in his heart. A man may receive the gifts of the H. G, and the H. G. may descend upon a man but not to tarry with him.
Joseph Smith, April 2nd, 1843
Scripturally, it seems entirely unclear as to why the Holy Ghost can affect everyone everywhere, while God can’t. It honestly seems rather limiting to me. What if the Holy Ghost said no or simply wanted to take a break? Would God no longer be able to communicate with his children in the same way?
In another talk just a few weeks later, Joseph was speaking about the Holy Ghost and mentioned that the Holy Ghost was in a period of testing. If the Holy Ghost succeeded, then he would advance to the next level which would be that of being a Jesus on another world. Joseph mentioned:
Joseph also said that the Holy Ghost is now in a state of Probation which if he should perform in righteousness he may pass through the same on a similar course of things that the son has
Joseph Smith, August 27th, 1843
It is unclear to me how the Holy Ghost can be a god, on the same level as God the Father, yet still be in a state of probation. Is God in a period of testing as well? Is Jesus? If the Holy Ghost is in a period of testing, then it is also unclear to me why God needs him in order to testify of truth to his children. Is this something that God can’t do?
If the Holy Ghost makes a mistake, can we then hold God accountable? Are we also to believe that the Holy Ghost has powers and abilities that God does not? When the Holy Ghost finally gets a body does this then mean that God can’t testify to his children anymore? There are so many questions, and frankly this whole concept doesn’t even make any sense.
Children
The final point to consider is how God creates his spirit children. It is thought that in Mormonism, God needs polygamist wives because he creates spirit children through sexual intercourse with them. This obviously has a number of issues and is frankly incredibly limiting for a god. However, this is what was taught in the early church. For instance, Brigham Young in an April 20th, 1856, talk mentioned that Adam was created the same way that humans are created. Brigham mentioned:
You may read and believe what you please as to what is found written in the Bible. Adam was made from the dust of an earth, but not from the dust of this earth. He was made as you and I are made, and no person was ever made upon any other principle.
Brigham Young, April 20th, 1856
It is unclear as to why God needs to use sexual intercourse to create spirit children. It is also unclear as to why God has a physical body, but in turn creates spiritual bodies that then need physical bodies. Wouldn’t it make a lot more sense that God’s physical body creates other physical bodies like humans do? If human creation was similar to the way that God supposedly creates his children, then humans would give birth to humanoid entities which need to undergo a separate rebirth process to actually become human. This of course is not how it is done so it is confusing as to why God can’t create physical bodies if he is a physical person.
In a talk three years earlier, Brigham was speaking about the birth of Christ and mentioned that Jesus was also conceived in the same way that human children are conceived. This of course is a problem since it would mean that God would have engaged in sexual intercourse with his own daughter. Some have surmised that Mary was in fact one of his wives, however this would mean that perfected resurrected beings could be reborn as mortals, which is supposedly not possible according to Alma 11. However, trivial things like that don’t seem to matter when trying to justify certain beliefs. Brigham mentioned:
I believe the Father came down from heaven, as the Apostles said He did, and begat the Savior of the world; for he is the only begotten of the Father, which could not be if the Father did not actually beget him in person.
Brigham Young, July 24th, 1853
We really don’t know much about how our spirits were created. However, believing that God needs sexual intercourse to create spirits is highly problematic. Brigham also seemed to forget an earlier statement from Joseph who said that we have existed eternally with God. In a June 26th, 1839, talk Joseph mentioned:
The Spirit of Man is not a created being; it existed from Eternity & will exist to Eternity. Any thing created cannot be Eternal & earth, water &c—all these had their existence in an elementary state from Eternity.
Joseph Smith, June 26th, 1839
This of course makes more sense than Brigham’s statement about how God created spirit children. However, this is ultimately just as confusing since it, along with the Book of Abraham, imply that at one time God along with us were all just raw intelligences or plain spirit beings. God then elevated himself somehow beyond us and now wants to help us to do the same.
If this is possible then we frankly don’t need God for anything as he didn’t need a God for his advancement. We would just need to follow the same pattern that God did and elevate ourselves. If we are eternal beings, then we have eternity to work things out which should be possible. This of course doesn’t make sense. However, this is what happens when you tweak eternal truth here and there. You get a bunch of confusion and doctrinal creations in order to explain the confusion.
Conclusion
The god of Mormonism certainly does seem to be a different god than taught in the scriptures, and frankly appears kind of weak. Of course, this could be because of “further light and truth” as many members would suggest. However, it could also be because of a critical deviation from the truth.
For instance, in Mormonism:
- God needs someone else to create things for him
- God needs someone else to atone for his children’s sins
- God needs someone else to testify of truth
- God needs a physical act with a wife to create a spirit offspring
If these things are in fact true, then what exactly does God do? From our perspective it certainly seems that God does almost nothing. Of course, we may just have a skewed perspective, however I don’t understand the point of perfecting yourself to the level of a god, and then just being a figurehead. This also is even worse because according to Joseph, in the King Follett discourse, our god has a god and what does that god do? It seems by design you infinitely go up the chain and you do infinitely less. This is exactly what Joseph Fielding Smith taught in the Doctrines of Salvation. He mentioned:
The Father has never dealt with man directly and personally since the fall, and he has never appeared except to introduce and bear record of the Son.
Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:27
This means that God created us and then essentially turned us completely over to someone else. This is exactly what deadbeat dads do today to their children, and it is frankly very sad. The scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, speak about God’s people going astray quite often. However, today it is generally assumed that this is not possible. It seems either we have gone astray and there is a fundamental error in our view of God, or the god of Mormonism is different from the god of the scriptures, including the Book of Mormon.
If the true god is different from the one described in the scriptures, then we need to be corrected and we need to better understand the truth. It certainly doesn’t seem like it is going to be an easy correction, either way. The key though to understanding God better is to let go of the dogmas and false traditions of our fathers that have held us captive for so long. Today, with so much knowledge available we should be the most enlightened people in history. If the scriptural prophecies are correct, then we are actually among the most deceived people in history.
