Is God Really Incomprehensible?

My wife and I have been called to serve as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we have been assigned to serve in the Indiana, Indianapolis Mission for 23 months. I have been thinking of why we want to serve this mission. My wife and I both served as missionaries before we were married and we have always planned on serving together when the time was right. We just celebrated our 43^rd wedding anniversary and I am now retired, so the time is right. Another reason for serving is we want to be an example to our grandchildren (and future generations as well) that missions are a priority for us and it should be for them as well. I believe the most important reason we want to serve our mission is we are both firm believers in the message that The Church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth again and we have living prophets and the priesthood authority to administer the saving ordinances that will allow us to return to live with our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ as families after this mortal life.

In six weeks my wife and I will begin our mission when we enter the Missionary Training Center in Provo. The first week of training will be for our individual responsibilities (Sue as the mission nurse and me as an office assistant) and the second week we will receive the same training as the younger missionaries receive before they go out to their individual missions.

Beginning today and for the next five weeks I would like to attempt to explain some of the differences between the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and those of other churches. I have wondered why traditional Christians have such a hard time understanding what we believe because to me our understanding of God and our purpose is so simple it is easy to understand and makes much more sense than traditional Christian beliefs.

The topics that I will be discussing include: the nature of God and Jesus Christ, the doctrine of the apostacy and restoration, is the bible all there is?, do we need a prophet today?, is there only one true church of Jesus Christ?, and what should Christ’s Church look like today?

I want to start this discussion with the topic of the nature of God. I do this because what members of the LDS Church believe about God is fundamental to all the other doctrines we have in the church and is one of the biggest disagreements we have with other Christian churches.

As a teenager my family attended the Methodist Church and though I tried to understand the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, it never made much sense to me? Let’s start with what traditional Christian churches teach about the nature of God.

“The Christian doctrine of the Trinity holds that God is not one but three coeternal consubstantial persons^[3] or hypostases^[4]—the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit—as "one God in three Divine Persons". The three Persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature" (homoousios).^[5] In this context, a "nature" is what one is, whereas a "person" is who one is.^[6][7][8] Sometimes differing views are referred to as nontrinitarian.

“According to this central mystery of most Christian faiths, there is only one God in three Persons: while distinct in their relations with each other ("it is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds"),^[9] they are stated to be one in all else, co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial, and each is God, whole and entire.^[10] Accordingly, the whole work of creation and grace in Christianity is seen as a single operation common to all three divine persons, in which each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, so that all things are "from the Father", "through the Son" and "in the Holy Spirit" (Wikipedia-Trinity)

And from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

“The Trinity is a mystery of faith in the strict sense, one of the "mysteries that are hidden in God, which can never be known unless they are revealed by God". To be sure, God has left traces of his Trinitarian being in his work of creation and in his Revelation throughout the Old Testament. But his inmost Being as Holy Trinity is a mystery that is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel's faith before the Incarnation of God's Son and the sending of the Holy Spirit. . .
“The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons, the "consubstantial Trinity". The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire: "The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e. by nature one God." In the words of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), "Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature."

“The divine persons are really distinct from one another. "God is one but not solitary." "Father", "Son", "Holy Spirit" are not simply names designating modalities of the divine being, for they are really distinct from one another: "He is not the Father who is the Son, nor is the Son he who is the Father, nor is the Holy Spirit he who is the Father or the Son." They are distinct from one another in their relations of origin: "It is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds. The divine Unity is Triune.

“The divine persons are relative to one another. Because it does not divide the divine unity, the real distinction of the persons from one another resides solely in the relationships which relate them to one another: "In the relational names of the persons the Father is related to the Son, the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to both. While they are called three persons in view of their relations, we believe in one nature or substance." Indeed "everything (in them) is one where there is no opposition of relationship." "Because of that unity the Father is wholly in the Son and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Son is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Son.” (The Revelation of God as Trinity)

Now compare those descriptions of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost to what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint (or the Mormons) teaches about what we believe:

“The Trinity is a common Christian belief that the Godhead is one being represented by three persons. Mormons do believe in God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit. But Mormons do not believe in the traditional concept of the Trinity. Here’s why.

“Mormons do not believe in the Trinity concept because it is not supported by scripture. It was not until the councils of Nicaea (AD 325) and Chalcedon (AD 451) that the doctrine of the Trinity was defined. The formal doctrine of the Trinity is not found in the New Testament because the idea was only introduced hundreds of years later. Mormons center their faith instead on the Godhead as three distinct personages as supported by scripture.

“Mormons believe that God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct personages. They are separate beings united in the purpose of bringing all of God’s children back to His presence, but They are not one singular being. Together They comprise the Godhead.

“Remember the story in Matthew when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist? It’s a perfect example of three distinct beings acting together—as a Godhead—to accomplish the will of Heavenly Father.

“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” (Matthew 3:16–17).

“In that moment, all three members of the Godhead were present. Christ, being baptized; the Holy Ghost, as indicated by the sign of the dove; and Heavenly Father’s voice emanating from the heavens.” (Do Mormons Believe in the Trinity?)

This teaching explains that we are literally children of God, Our Heavenly Father:

“The vast family of humankind was created with divine potential and in the image of our Father, who wants His children to thrive, to become like Him, and to return to live with Him. We instinctively desire this same thing; we long for a reunion with a home and family we can’t quite remember.

“The idea of God as our Father is not allegorical; it is literal. Our mortal bodies are remarkable scientific wonders and works of art—they are widely diverse, mortal bodies patterned after God’s own glorified, immortal body, as indicated in Genesis 1:26, where God says, “Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness.” And Moses also wrote of having seen God and talking to Him “face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend” (Exodus 33:11). The New Testament likewise reveals Jesus Christ to have been begotten by God and created in His image. During His life on earth, Christ’s earthly body—which looked like ours—reflected this parentage. We are like our Father and His Son, whose combined work is to help us achieve eternal, exalted life with Them in heaven.” (What is the nature of God?)

And finally from the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith:

“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 & Covenants 130:22)

I would ask anyone to read these two definitions of God tell me that the traditional Christian teaching makes more sense than the LDS’s teaching of the nature of God. How can something that is incomprehensible and a mystery of faith and teaches that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are literally one in the same person be understood? That really is a mystery!

The LDS’s teaching is simple, beautiful, and true. Everyone who lives here on this earth lived prior to birth as spirit children of God, our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ was the Father’s firstborn and is our older brother. Under the direction of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ created this earth for us so we would be able to come here and prove that we can keep God’s commandments and receive the necessary ordinances that will allow us to return to live in the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ after this mortal life is over. Jesus Christ is the Jehovah of the Old Testament and is the “I AM” that appeared to Moses and the other prophets. (John 8:58) In his mortal ministry, Christ was born of Mary and worked out the Atonement which allows us to overcome spiritual death on condition of repentance and acceptance of him as our Savior and obedience to his commandments. Christ was crucified and rose the 3^rd day and was the first fruit of the resurrection which is a free gift to all.

We are all sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters, and we are commanded to love everyone as Christ loved us. To God and Christ there is no distinction between bond and free, male and female, wealth or stature, living or dead; they love all of us. Heavenly Father has even provided a way for those that did not know about Jesus Christ or his church and did not have the opportunity to accept his Gospel and receive the saving ordinances. All of Heavenly Father’s children will have the opportunity to hear and accept the gospel in this life or in the spirit world before the resurrection and the necessary ordinances will be performed for them in the temples of the Lord by those of us that are still here in mortality.

Everyone’s, living and dead, responsibility is to come unto Christ through baptism by those holding the proper authority, to receive the blessings of the house of the Lord to be sealed as families, and to do our best to keep the commandments and endure to the end. None of us live sinless lives and through the grace of Jesus Christ we overcome those sins and can be cleansed through his atoning blood and finally we can be found worthy to enter into the presence of God and live as eternal families.

To me this is beautiful and makes perfect sense. I would ask anyone to explain how the traditional Christian teaching of the trinity, the purpose of this life, and what the afterlife will be like makes more sense.

If you like this, I invite you to share it with your social media friends. Your comments and questions are welcome.

The Road Trip

Recently my wife went on a trip to Canada to visit her family.  She drove from Logan, Utah to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan (Central, SK); to Red Deer (above Calgary), Alberta; to Kalowna, British Columbia (South East B.C.); to Vancouver Island on the East coast of B.C; to Olympia, Washington, then a stop in Boise, Idaho to spend the last night with my brother, and finally back to Logan, Utah. The trip was more than 3200 miles and took her three weeks. To plan for the trip we got on Google maps and plotted her course and I showed her how to use the GPS on her iPhone. She also had a stand-alone GPS system and she had even purchased an Atlas so she could use the physical maps as she went. We thought we had planned every detail so she would not have any problems getting to each of her destinations, or so we thought.

As soon as she crossed the border into Canada, her iPhone stopped working; not because of the carrier but because her iPhone was an older model and the type of phone she had did not work in Canada. She no longer had access to the technology she needed to get her from one place to the next – her GPS. When she tried to use the stand alone GPS, the maps were out of date and did not have the correct maps for Canada. She only had the Atlas to help her find her way and those maps did not have the detail she needed when she got into the towns to find her way to her family’s homes. Fortunately, she did know her way around Prince Albert her first destination because she grew up there and her family still lived on the family farm that she was raised on so all she needed to do was get to Prince Albert and she was fine.

Though inconvenient the loss of her iPhone was as big of a problem as I thought. When she got to her first stop she was able to call her family at then next stop and get directions and she was able to call me each day and let me know how the trip was going. Since cells phones are only about 30 years old and we both are older than that we know what it is like to travel without one. It was inconvenient but not impossible.

On her second leg of the trip from Prince Albert to Red Deer in Alberta, she ran into the next problem – no road signs. Even though she had the names of the streets she was supposed to turn on, the streets were not marked and she ended up on a three-hour side tour of Alberta before she found her way to Red Deer. The side tour ended up being quite the adventure because a very large Moose (as she described it) ran across the road in front of her car and then she came across a flock of Snow Canadian Geese that she thought was absolutely beautiful.

While there were several adjustments that needed to be made because of the technical difficulties she managed to make it to each destination and have a wonderful time visiting family and friends and eventually made it back home safely. It was a trip she will always remember.

This is not the first time we have experienced problems with GPS technology. A few years ago I went on a trip to Chicago for some training for work and my wife went with me. One day while I was in meetings she decided to go to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. I programed the GPS with the address to the museum which was on Lake Shore Drive. She took off and I went to my meeting. About two hours later she called me and asked how long it was supposed to take to get to the museum. I said about 45 minutes. When she told me she was still not there I asked what the last sign was that she passed. She told me Des Moines, Iowa; she was headed back to Salt Lake City! I told her to click on the return to start button and head back to the hotel. When she got back I looked at the GPS and even though I thought I had put in Lake Shore Drive, Chicago; it had defaulted to Lake Shore Drive, Utah. Needless to say I still have a distrust of GPSs and their accuracy.

We can compare my wife’s road trip to our time here in mortality. There is a purpose for our birth here at this time. We did not just pop into existence when we were born and we will not cease to exist after we die. We lived before this life as spirit children of our Heavenly Father and he provided a plan whereby we could come here and gain physical bodies, develop faith in him and His Son, Jesus Christ; learn to keep the commandments he gave us; and receive the ordinances that would enable us to return to his presence and live with him eternally. Our lives do not end at death, they will go on but the type of life we have there will depend on the roads we travel and if we follow the proper route that will get us to the final destination – back to Heavenly Father’s presence.

Many people have no idea what their destination is, they are just driving along taking whatever road they think looks interesting. Others may know the destination but have no idea which road to take; they have no functioning GPS, their GPS does not have the correct maps, their Atlas does not have the detail they need,  or there are no road signs to follow. Others may think that they are on the right road and are listening to the GPS directions but do not realize they are in reality headed to the wrong “Lake Shore Drive”, they get lost on a three-hour diversion because they think they know the directions and don’t listen to the GPS, or they are not following the maps or the directions that they were given.

All roads do not lead to Heaven and the Savior has said that the way is straight and narrow. If we do not follow the correct route we may find that when we arrive at our final destination that it was not where they wanted to go. Michael Goodman speaking to the students of BYU said: “We are here on earth to learn what we need to learn so that we can become what we are intended to become and return to the presence of our loving Heavenly Father and Mother for eternity". (“Become a Seeker: They Way, the Truth, and the Life”) In other words we need to know what roads will take us on our road trip that will lead us back to that destination to live with Heavenly Father and we must avoid the side roads that will only lead us away from that destination.

The Lord has not sent us here without the proper directions to get us back home to him. He has given us a variety of GPS instruments, maps, and other things to help us along the way. They come to us through the scriptures, living prophets, Apostles, and other church leaders, our family, friends. He has provided commandments as road signs to follow to keep us safe and provided us the Holy Ghost to help us stay on the right road or to warn us if we make the wrong turn. He has provided all of the ordinances that will qualify us to return and live with him.

Eventually like my wife we will all return home from our road trip. If we use the “technology” that the Lord has provides us we will arrive at the proper destination safely.

Your comments and questions are welcome. 

I Am a Child of God

One of my favorite primary songs is “I Am a Child of God”, the first verse & chorus says;

I am a child of God,
And he has sent me here,
Has given me an earthly home
With parents kind and dear.

Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

(“I Am a Child of God”)

At one time or another most of us have asked who am I and where did I come from? I decided to ask Siri (Apple’s personal assistant) that question and she came up with several answers:

1.              Some YouTube videos on sex Education

2.              Man’s Origin—Where Did I Come From? Middletown Bible Church

3.              A song by Montgomery Gentry “Where Did I Come From”

In the Middletown Bible Church’s discussion on the Origins of Man they discuss the theory of evolution (which they say is false) and the theory that man’s origins are from Aliens from other worlds (which they also say is false). The third idea is that God created man; and the first man and woman was Adam and Eve. (“Man’s Origin—Where Did I Come From”)

I believe the account of the creation that is found in Genesis, but it does not give the full story nor does it answer the second question “Where did I come from?” To find that answer we need to go to other biblical scriptures as well as the writings from other prophets of God. The Lord tells Jeremiah that he knew him before he was born and that he was ordained to be a prophet:

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5)

If our lives started at birth, how could the Lord have known Jeremiah before he was born and how could he have been ordained a prophet? The Book of Mormon prophet Alma tells us how Jeremiah was ordained before he was born.

And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such. (Alma 13:3)

The Prophet Abraham was also shown a vision of the premortal life and he was taught that we were all lived in heaven as spirit children of God:

Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;

And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.

And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;

And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; (Abraham 3:22-25)

With these teachings in mind we have a better understanding of what Paul meant when he said that we should be subject to the Father of our spirits:

Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? (Hebrews 12:9)

Before we were created physically we lived as spirit sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ was not only the only begotten Son of God in the flesh, but he was the first-born spirit of our Heavenly Father. What a wonderful teaching to understand. Not only are we not here by chance or evolution, but we are children of God and have come to earth to prove ourselves worthy to return to live with Him and His Son for all eternity with our families that we have here on earth. God’s work  and glory is the exaltation of his children:

And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine.

And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words.

For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Moses 1:37-39)

President Gordon B. Hinckley speaking at a special broadcast to the children of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints taught that God is the father of our spirits:

“You have an earthly father. He is your mother’s dear companion. I hope you love him and that you are obedient to him. But you have another father. That is your Father in Heaven. He is the Father of your spirit, just as your earthly father is the father of your body. And it is just as important to love and to obey your Father in Heaven as it is to love and obey your earthly father.” (“You Are a Child of God”, Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference, April 2003)

On the YouTube Mormon Channel there is a video “I Am a Child of God” that starts with a small child singing that primary song. As the video continues other youth and adults join in singing. That video has been viewed 1.5 million times and has about a thousand comments from people all over the world of many different faiths. The Mormon Channel blog had this to say about some of the comments:

One person wrote, “This song made me feel the spirit so much, I cried. I don’t get spiritual a lot, but this was another very good experience for me. :)”

Emily Grace admitted, “This song always moves me somehow.”

Russell Mathews listened and wrote, “It was amazing. It was just so great.”

And Susan Remington shed “tears and tears of joy” from listening to the song and feeling its message.

The video has been viewed more than a million times, and there are close to a thousand comments from people who say, “beautiful,” “touching,” “fantastico,” “bello,” and others. It’s a testament to the universal message of the song.

While the song is a favorite among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, what is amazing are the comments from people of all religions.

“You don’t have to be Mormon to love this song,” Lucille Gauthier posted. “You don’t even have to be Christian. I love the first part. That’s so beautiful.”

Ana de Coss said she was “Catholic, but this is a beautiful song.”

Angharad Bottomley commented, “I’m not LDS, but I love this beautifully worded song. Thank you.”

And Gervie Acain summed it up with “We are sons and daughters of God, all of us, regardless of our religion. I love this song and it radiates how the Savior loves us.” (“I Am a Child of God”, Mormon Channel Blog, Thursday, January 15, 2015)

I invite to watch the 3-minute video and then share your comments and questions in the comment section below.