I did not grow up in the Mormon church (officially known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Thus, I had a rather confused image of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
But no wonder. Modern-day voices declare many different things about God – and the Godhead. This dissension has evolved throughout history. When Christ was on the earth His church, His gospel, His teachings were all quite clear.
But Christ was crucified. After resurrection, He returned to His disciples to continue to instruct them in the saving ordinances of the gospel. But eventually the people of the time also rejected them and murdered them. The remaining Christians were left to their own interpretations of God’s will, since no prophets nor apostles now remained on the earth.
Interestingly, though, it wasn’t until the 4th century that Christians began believing in the “Trinity.” Up until that point, doctrine was rather clear that God the Father and His Divine Son were two distinct individuals.
But apostasy had set in and eventually by the 4th century, the Christian church held much contention within its ranks. Finally, a forced convention or council was called and church leadership were required to come up with a definition of God that pleased everyone.
What resulted was the Nicene Creed – a brief and, to me, murky statement established in 325 A.D. It attempted to declare that God the Father and Jesus Christ were “God of God” – one essence. Even after its establishment, there continued to be arguments amongst different branches of churches.
This continuing argument is why another document eventually surfaced in 385 A.D. These documents required people to believe as the council had established “belief.” If one did not follow this belief of the time, he was declared a heretic and could be murdered for such utterance.
But even after its establishment, the controversial document continued to cause disagreement. Today not all Christians accept the Nicene Creed, some stating rejection of it because it was not part of the original Bible.
Mormons also do not accept the Nicene Creed as correct. In fact, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, serving as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, declared in October 2007,
“We declare it is self-evident from the scriptures that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate persons, three divine beings” (October 2007).
The one way to figure this out on your own is to study the scriptures and to ask God which of all these beliefs are correct. The Lord answers all sincere prayers.
In fact, is was just such a sincere prayer that initiated the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith was a young man living in the 1800s. He too saw the confusion amongst the churches, some proclaiming “truths” that conflicted completely with “truths” of other churches in the area.
To learn how he resolved his confusion, click here. But I testify to you that God the Father and His Divine Son Jesus Christ are two different individuals. The New Testament is full of examples of this. But you do not have to take my belief as your own. That is the exciting part of the gospel – the Lord answers all sincere prayers and He will answer yours!
[For further reading, feel free to read the talk, “The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent,” given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 2007.]
