God in Mormonism
[9][10][11] This conception differs from the traditional Christian Trinity in several ways, one of which is that Mormonism has not adopted or continued to hold the doctrine of the Nicene Creed, that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are of the same substance or being.
[citation needed] This description of God represents the Mormon orthodoxy, formalized in 1915 based on earlier teachings.
Other currently existing and historical branches of Mormonism have adopted different views of God, such as the Adam–God doctrine and Trinitarianism.
[15] Founder Joseph Smith's teachings regarding the nature of the Godhead changed during his lifetime, becoming most fully developed in the few years prior to his murder in 1844.
[16][17] 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 in spirit, glory, and purpose.
[19] Mormons view their concept of the Godhead as a restoration of original Christian doctrine as taught by Christ and the Apostles.
[21] Mormons see the strong influence of Greek culture and philosophy[22] (Hellenization) during this period as contributing to a departure from the traditional Judeo-Christian view of a corporeal God in whose image and likeness mankind was created.
[23]: 18 [24] These theologians began to define God in terms of three persons, or hypostases, sharing one immaterial divine substance, or ousia—a concept that some claim found no backing in scripture,[25][26] but closely mirrored elements of Greek philosophy such as Neoplatonism.
"[33] In another passage of the Book of Mormon, the prophet Abinadi states, I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.
[41] Steven C. Harper states that because, in the 1830s, Smith privately described to some of his followers his 1820 first vision as a theophany of "two divine, corporeal beings," "its implications for the trinity and materiality of God were asserted that early".
[42] 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.
Leaders and scriptural texts of the LDS Church affirm a belief in the Holy Trinity but use the word "Godhead" (a term used by the Apostle Paul in Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20, and Colossians 2:9) to distinguish their belief that the unity of the Trinity relates to all attributes, except a physical unity of beings.
This account, published as part of the church's Pearl of Great Price states that Smith saw a vision of "two personages", the Father and the Son.
[non-primary source needed] Smith taught that there is one Godhead and that humans can have a place, as joint-heirs with Christ, through grace, if they follow the laws and ordinances of the gospel.
[59][60] Among the resurrected, the righteous souls receive great glory and return to live with God, being made perfect through the atonement of Christ.
