What do members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe about God? This is a huge question. While it may have a simple answer, its implications are far-reaching. If we truly know God, who He is and what His role is in our lives, we can understand who we are and what His plan is for us.
Latter-day Saints believe that God is real, that He created the world and all of us on it, and that he is literally our Heavenly Father. He has a glorified and perfected body (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22). Humans, His spirit children, were created in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). This means that we were formed in His likeness. So, when we want to know what God looks like, we need only look at each other for the initial answer.
God’s body is glorified and perfected, unlike those mortal bodies we have here and now. We do believe in a literal resurrection, when we will one day all rise again with glorified and perfected bodies of our own. This is made possible through the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
According to the first Article of Faith, as articulated by Joseph Smith, “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” We believe in all three of these members of what we call the Godhead. We see these three members as unified in purpose, working together to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39, in the Pearl of Great Price). God is our Father, Christ is our Savior who atoned for our sins and works to bring God the Father’s purposes to pass.
Both of these beings have bodies, but the Holy Ghost does not. “Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22). The Holy Ghost whispers truth to us in our hearts and minds, testifies of truth, and comforts us in times of need. While these three glorious beings are one in purpose, they are three distinct personages. God the Father and Jesus Christ each have their own distinct bodies. Joseph Smith bore witness of this in his First Vision:
When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other — This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! (Joseph Smith History 1:17; found in the Pearl of Great Price)
Joseph Smith’s First Vision
God is not a disinterested or uncaring being. Rather, He is our loving Father who does all things for our eternal good. He has provided a Savior to atone for our sins, and has given us scriptures, prophets, families, a wonderful world on which to live, and the gift of prayer through which we may always approach Him.
For more information on God and His plan for us, visit mormon.org.
