Godhead (Latter Day Saints)
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Latter Day Saints teach that the Godhead consists of three separate and distinct beings who are one in purpose.
- And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
- And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.[1]
In response to an inquiry on the beliefs of the church, Joseph Smith, Jr. wrote what came to be called the Wentworth Letter, the last section of which was canonized as The Articles of Faith. The first article states the essence of Latter Day Saint belief concerning the Godhead.
- 1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
Latter Day Saints believe that both the Father and the Son have glorified physical bodies, and the Holy Ghost has a body of spirit. It is also common among Latter Day Saints to accept the possibility that there may be other divine persons in the eternities. However such other persons are not the object of worship. Some claim this is a form of henotheism, but Mormons generally reject this claim given the commandment to worship only the one true and living God (see D&C 20:19). The perceived differences between this doctrine and that of the trinitarianism, believed by the majority of other Christians, has set much of Mormonism apart from the rest of Christianity. See Mormonism and Christianity.
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[edit] The Godhead in Early Latter Day Saint History
Most early Latter Day Saints came from a Protestant background, believing in the Trinity. In contrast, Smith taught that the Father and the Son were distinct personal members of the Godhead as early as 1832 (See D&C 76:12-24). Smith's public teachings described the Father and Son as possessing distinct physical bodies, being one together with the Holy Ghost not in material substance but instead in spirit, glory, and purpose (See D&C 130:22).
Some Latter-day Saint denominations, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (by far the largest denomination), teach the doctrines which were taught publicly by Smith, with various elaborations by Smith's successors. Other denominations, such as the Community of Christ (the second-largest denomination), teach other doctrines, such as a more conventional interpretation of the doctrine of Trinity.
[edit] Teachings
The Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants both describe God the Father, his Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost as being "one God" [2], though Latter-day Saints generally understand this oneness to be in purpose, desire, and all divine attributes while maintaining their physical and personal distinctness. They are not, however, considered to be one in substance as many Trinitarian Christians believe. A number of sections of the Book of Mormon, for example, show Jesus appearing with a body of spirit before his birth, and with a tangible body after his resurrection.
Prior to Jesus's birth, The Book of Mormon depicts Jesus as a spirit "without flesh and blood", although with a spirit "body" that looked similar to that as Jesus would appear during his physical life. (Ether 3). Moreover, Jesus described himself as follows: "Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters." (Ether 3:14). In another passage of The Book of Mormon, the prophet Abinadi stated,
- "I would that ye should 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." (Mosiah 15:1-4).
After Jesus's resurrection and ascension into heaven, The Book of Mormon states that he visited a small group of people in the Americas, who saw that he had a tangible body. During his visit, he was announced by the voice of God the Father, and those present felt the Holy Spirit, but only the Son was seen. This depiction of Jesus is similar to that described in the New Testament during Jesus' baptism by John. Jesus is quoted,
- "Father, thou hast given them the Holy Ghost because they believe in me; and thou seest that they believe in me because thou hearest them, and they pray unto me; and they pray unto me because I am with them. And now Father, I pray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on their words, that they may believe in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one." (3 Nephi 19:22-23).
The Book of Mormon states that Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit are "one" (See 3 Nephi 11:36). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints interprets this "oneness" as a metaphorical oneness in spirit, purpose, and glory, rather than a physical or bodily unity. On the other hand, some Protestant-oriented Latter Day Saint sects, such as the Community of Christ, consider the Book of Mormon to be consistent with trinitarianism.
Most modern Latter Day Saints do not accept the idea of a two-"personage" Godhead, with the Father as a spirit and the Holy Spirit as the shared "mind" of the Father and the Son.
In 1838, Smith published a narrative of his First Vision, in which he described seeing both God the Father and a separate Jesus Christ in a vision.
In public sermons later in Smith's life, he began to describe what he thought was the true nature of the Godhead in much greater detail. In 1843, Smith provided his final public description of the Godhead before his death, in which he described God the Father as having a physical body, and the Holy Spirit, also, is a distinct personage: "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).
During this period, Smith also introduced a theology that could support the existence of a Heavenly Mother. The primary source for this theology is the sermon Smith delivered at the Funeral for King Follett (commonly called the King Follett Discourse). In the Church today, it is generally believed that a Heavenly Mother exists,[3][4][5] though it is not a doctrine that is often spoken about or acknoweldged.
[edit] Conceptions of the Godhead after the Death of Joseph Smith
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints currently holds Joseph Smith's 1843 explanation of the Godhead as official doctrine, which is to say that the Father and the Son have physical, glorified bodies, while the Holy Ghost has only a body of spirit. This official doctrine is supported with the circumstances surrounding the baptism of Jesus, as recorded in the Bible: the Father spoke from heaven, the Son stood on Earth in the water, and the Holy Ghost appeared separately (Matthew 3:16-17). The First Vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith[6], in which young Joseph saw the Father and the Son as two personages, also illustrates the Church's official doctrine on the Godhead.
The existence of a Heavenly Mother, the wife of the Heavenly Father (God the Father), is an official doctrine of the LDS Church. There are no other teachings about her except that she exists, or (as it is usually phrased) that we are born of heavenly parents.
Some Latter-day Saints, Mormons and Latter Day Saints as well as members of other faiths that comprise the Latter Day Saint movement, have posited additional theories on the nature of the Godhead, some of which appear in the following lists.
[edit] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The current prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gordon B. Hinckley, offered a declaration of belief in a July 2006 Ensign magazine article entitled, "In These Three I Believe," wherein he reaffirmed the teachings of the LDS Church regarding the distinct individuality and perfect unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. He affirmed that God the Father is "the Father of the spirits of all men," "the great Creator, the Ruler of the universe," whose "love encompasses all of His children, and it is His work and glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of His sons and daughters of all generations." He affirmed that Jesus Christ, the Son of God and "the one perfect man to walk the earth," is the "Firstborn of the Father and the only Begotten of the Father in the flesh," and that He fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy that "his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6) He affirmed, "He is the Savior and Redeemer of the world," through whose loving atoning sacrifice is extended to "every son and daughter of God, the opportunity for eternal life and exaltation in our Father's kingdom, as we hearken to and obey His commandments.... I worship Him as I worship His Father, in spirit and in truth.... We approach the Father through the Son. He is our intercessor at the throne of God." He affirmed that the Holy Ghost is a distinct spirit being who is the Comforter and the Testifier of Truth, and that the "perfect unity between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost binds these three into the oneness of the divine Godhead."
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Matthew 3:16,17
- ^ Mosiah 15:1-23,2 Nephi 31:21,Alma 11, highlighted verses,Mormon 7:7,Doctrine and Covenants 20:17-19
- ^ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Chapter 2: Our Heavenly Parents", Gospel Principles, 11 (1997).
- ^ Spencer W. Kimball, "The True Way of Life and Salvation", Ensign, May 1978, 4.
- ^ Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, #292, "O My Father".
- ^ Joseph Smith's History:11-17
[edit] The Community of Christ and Protestant-Oriented Denominations
- Trinitarianism
[edit] Alternative Latter Day Saint Conceptions of the Godhead
The following theories are not official doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but rather ideas suggested by individuals:
- Brigham Young's Adam-God theory
- Theory of God as a polygamist
- Theory of a married Jesus Christ
