We Believe: Doctrines of Mormonism: God: The Godhead

List of Doctrines on "God: The Godhead"

288. There is a Godhead consisting of God the Eternal Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.

289. Each member of the Godhead is physically separate and distinct from the other two.

290. The three members of the Godhead (God the Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost) are united in purpose.

291. There is but one God, or Godhead, to whom the inhabitants of the earth are subject.

288. There is a Godhead consisting of God the Eternal Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.

President Joseph F. Smith
Mark E. Petersen
Joseph Smith
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
John
Amulek
Joseph Smith
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Recorded in Matthew
Jesus

President Joseph F. Smith

We believe in the Godhead, comprising the three individual personages, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. (Address from the First Presidency of the Church to the world, delivered to and accepted by vote of the Church in general conference, April 1907) CR1907Apr(Appendix)4

Mark E. Petersen

Those who say that there was no evidence of the Trinity in the Godhead in Old Testament times simply do not have all the facts. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost have labored with and for this earth from its beginning and will do so until the end. (Isaiah for Today, p. 125) TLDP:227-28

Joseph Smith

And he being the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, and having overcome, received a fullness of the glory of the Father, possessing the same mind with the Father, which mind is the Holy Spirit, that bears record of the Father and the Son, and these three are one; or, in other words, these three constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme power over all things; by whom all things were created and made that were created and made, and these three constitute the Godhead, and are one; the Father and the Son possessing the same mind, the same wisdom, glory, power, and fullness—filling all in all; the Son being filled with the fullness of the mind, glory, and power; or, in other words, the spirit, glory, and power, of the Father, possessing all knowledge and glory, and the same kingdom, sitting at the right hand of power, in the express image and likeness of the Father, mediator for man, being filled with the fullness of the mind of the Father; or, in other words, the Spirit of the Father, which Spirit is shed forth upon all who believe on his name and keep his commandments. (Lectures on Faith delivered to the School of the Prophets, 1834-35) LOF5:2

Elder Joseph Fielding Smith

This reference [D&C 20:27-29], then, to the three as one God, must be interpreted to mean that they constitute one Godhead or Supreme Council, composed of three separate Personages, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. MPSG72-73:10

Joseph Smith

We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. (The first of the thirteen Articles of Faith; letter to John Wentworth, March 1, 1842) Articles of Faith :1

Joseph Smith

Which Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one God, infinite and eternal, without end. Amen. (Revelation on Church Organization and Government, April 1830) D&C 20:28

John

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. (John writes to the churches in Asia) 1 John 5:7

Amulek,
quoted by Mormon

[E]very thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil. (Amulek, foretelling Christ's redemption of man and the final judgment, answers the lawyer Zeezrom, about 82 B.C.) Alma 11:44

Joseph Smith,
quoted by Elder Joseph Fielding Smith

Everlasting covenant was made between three personages before the organization of this earth, and relates to their dispensation of things to men on the earth; these personages, according to Abraham's record, are called God the first, the Creator; God the second, the Redeemer; and God the third, the witness or Testator. (May 16, 1841) TPJS:190; DGSM:8

Elder Joseph Fielding Smith

It is perfectly true, as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price and in the Bible, that to us there is but one God. Correctly interpreted God in this sense means Godhead, for it is composed of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This Godhead presides over us, and to us, the inhabitants of this world, they constitute the only God, or Godhead. There is none other besides them. To them we are amenable, and subject to their authority, and there is no other Godhead unto whom we are subject. However, as the Prophet has shown, there can be, and are, other Gods. (Answers to Gospel Questions, 2:142) DCSM:41

Related Witnesses:

Recorded in Matthew

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:
17. And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Jesus is baptized by John to fulfill all righteousness) Matthew 3:16-17

Jesus,
quoted by Mormon

And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying:
25. Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. (The resurrected Jesus Christ sets forth the mode and manner of baptism to his disciples, A.D. 34) 3 Nephi 11:24-25

289. Each member of the Godhead is physically separate and distinct from the other two.

Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Smith
Bruce R. McConkie
Orson Pratt
Dallin H. Oaks
Joseph B. Wirthlin
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Jesus
Joseph Smith
Jesus
Recorded in Matthew
Joseph Smith
Mormon
Peter
Stephen

Elder Joseph Fielding Smith

I make bold to say that there is not within the lids of the Bible one single passage which can properly be construed to uphold the popular but erroneous doctrine that the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are in substance one, a spirit, or essence, and without body or parts or passions, incomprehensible and invisible. To the contrary, I maintain that throughout the scriptures there is ample evidence in numerous passages, teaching that the Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are separate entities, perfectly distinct and in person independent from each other. This is the doctrine clearly stated by our Savior. It is their epistles to the ancient saints. Any doctrine to the contrary contradicts what is plainly written and is a misinterpretation of these teachings. (The Restoration of All Things, pp. 51-52) TLDP:228

Joseph Smith

There is much said about God and the Godhead. The scriptures say there are Gods many and Lords many, but to us there is but one living and true God, and the heaven of heavens could not contain him; for he took the liberty to go into other heavens. The teachers of the day say that thy Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, and they are all in one body and one God. Jesus prayed that those that the Father had given him out of the world might be made one in them, as they were one; [one in spirit, in mind, in purpose]. If I were to testify that the Christian world were wrong on this point, my testimony would be true. Peter and Stephen testify that they saw the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. Any person that had seen the heavens opened knows that there are three personages in the heavens who hold the keys of power, and one presides over all. (At the Stand, Nauvoo, Ill., June 11, 1843) HC5:426

Bruce R. McConkie

We learn these truths relative to the Gods we worship:
1. They are three in number, three separate persons: the first is the Father, the second, the Son; and the third, the Holy Ghost. They are three individuals who meet together, counsel in concert, and as occasion requires travel separately through all immensity. They are three holy men, two having bodies of flesh and bones, the third being a personage of spirit.
2. They are one and dwell in each other, meaning: They have the same mind one with another; they think the same thoughts, speak the same words, and perform the same acts—so much so that any thought, word, or act of one is the thought of the other.
3. They possess the same character, enjoy the same perfections, and manifest the same attributes, each one possessing all of these in their eternal and godly fulness.
4. Their unity in all things, their perfect oneness in mind, power, and perfections, marks the course and charts the way for faithful mortals, whose chief goal in life is to unite together and become one with them, thereby gaining eternal life for themselves.
5. Our Lord is the manifestation of the Father, meaning: God is in Christ revealing himself to men so that those who believe in the Son believe also in the Father, and into such the Father gives the Holy Ghost, and they being thus purified in Christ are fit to dwell with him and his Father forever. (The Promised Messiah, p. 120) TLDP:228-29

Orson Pratt

Dallin H. Oaks

In common with the rest of Christianity, we believe in a Godhead of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. However, we testify that these three members of the Godhead are three separate and distinct beings. We also testify that God the Father is not just a spirit but is a glorified person with a tangible body, as is his resurrected Son, Jesus Christ. (CR 1995Apr; Apostasy and Restoration, Ensign, May 1995, p.84)

Joseph B. Wirthlin

One distinctive principle is a true concept of the nature of the Godhead: “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” (A of F 1:1.) The Godhead consists of three separate, distinct personages who are one in purpose. The Father and the Son have tangible bodies of flesh and bone while the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit. (CR 1991Oct; Fruits of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, Ensign, November 1991, p.15)

Related Witnesses:

Joseph Smith

It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. 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 (Vision of the Father and the Son, spring of 1820) JS-H 1:17

Joseph Smith

And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives 23. For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—
24. That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God. (Vision to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, Feb. 16, 1832) D&C 76:22-24

Jesus,
quoted by John

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. (The risen Christ appears to Mary Magdalene) John 20:17

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. (Revelation, April 2, 1830) D&C 130:22

Jesus,

recorded by John
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (Jesus offers the great intercessory prayer for his Apostles) John 17:3

Recorded in Matthew

Joseph Smith

The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell.
2. I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire;
3. Also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son. (Vision to Joseph Smith in Kirtland Temple, Jan. 21, 1836) D&C 137:1-3

Mormon

Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him. (God the Father testifies of his Beloved Son, A.D. 34) 3 Nephi 11:7

Peter

Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
34. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand. . . .
36. . . . God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Peter addresses the people on the day of Pentecost when about 3,000 people were baptized) Acts 2:33-34,36

Stephen,
recorded in Acts

But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56. And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. (Stephen is stoned and receives a vision of the Father and the Son) Acts 7:55-56

290. The three members of the Godhead (God the Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost) are united in purpose.

James E. Talmage
Joseph Smith
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Orson Pratt
Bruce R. McConkie
Marion G. Romney
John
Amulek
Nephi, son of Lehi
Jesus

James E. Talmage

This unity is a type of completeness; the mind of any one member of the Trinity is the mind of the others; seeing as each of them does with the eye of perfection, they see and understand alike. Under any given conditions each would act in the same way, guided by the same principles of unerring justice and equity. The one-ness of the Godhead, to which the scriptures so abundantly testify, implies no mystical union of substance, nor any unnatural and therefore impossible blending of personality. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are as distinct in their persons and individualities as are any three personages in mortality. Yet their unity of purpose and operation is such as to make their edicts one, and their will the will of God. AF:37

Joseph Smith

Which Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one God, infinite and eternal, without end. Amen. (Revelation received April 1830; the Holy Ghost bears record of the Father and the Son) D&C 20:28

Elder Joseph Fielding Smith

There is a oneness in the godhead as well as a distinctness of personality. This oneness is emphasized in the sayings and writings of prophets and apostles in order to guard against the erroneous idea that these three may be distinct and independent deities and rivals for our worship. (IE1901Jan:228) DGSM:8

Orson Pratt

The Godhead may be further illustrated by a council, consisting of three men—all possessing equal wisdom, knowledge, and truth—together with equal qualifications in every other respect. Each person would be a separate distinct person or substance from the other two, and yet the three would form but one council. Each alone possesses, by supposition, the same wisdom and truth that the three united or the one council possesses. The union of the three men in one council would not increase the knowledge or wisdom of either. Each man would be one part of the council when reference is made to his person; but the wisdom and truth of man would be the whole wisdom and truth of the council, and not a part. (Masterful Discourses and Writings of Orson Pratt, p. 313) TLDP:229

Bruce R. McConkie

Related Witnesses:

Marion G. Romney

As a member of the Godhead, and being one with the Father and the Son, the Holy Ghost is, as are the Father and the Son, omniscient. He comprehends all truth having a knowledge of [all] things. (D&C 93:24) ("The Holy Ghost," EN1974May:90) MGSP:7

John

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. (John writes to the churches in Asia) 1 John 5:7

Amulek,
quoted by Mormon

Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil. (Amulek, foretelling Christ's redemption of man and the final judgment, answers the lawyer Zeezrom, about 82 B.C.) Alma 11:44

Nephi, son of Lehi

And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen. (Nephi's writings, between 559-545 B.C.) 2 Nephi 31:21

Jesus,
quoted by Mormon

And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one. (The resurrected Jesus Christ addresses his Nephite disciples, A.D. 34) 3 Nephi 11:27

291. There is but one God, or Godhead, to whom the inhabitants of the earth are subject.

Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Bruce R. McConkie
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Paul
Amulek
John
HYMNS Written by Prophets
Parley P. Pratt

Elder Joseph Fielding Smith

Bruce R. McConkie

Our Godhead consists of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. They are supreme over all, and though they administer their kingdoms through a hierarchy of appointed angels who also are exalted, one of whom is Adam or Michael, in the ultimate sense these members of the Eternal Godhead are the only Gods with whom we have to do. We worship the Father, in the name of the Son, by the power of the Holy Ghost. We follow the Son as he follows his Father. We labor and strive to be like the Son as he is like the Father, and the Father and Son and Holy Ghost are one. For these holy Beings we have unbounded love, reverence, and worship. (The Promised Messiah, p. 13) TLDP:228

Joseph Smith

Which Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one God, infinite and eternal, without end. Amen. (Revelation on Church Organization and Government, April 1830) D&C 20:28

Joseph Smith

We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. (The first of the thirteen Articles of Faith; Letter to John Wentworth, March 1, 1842) Articles of Faith :1

Related Witnesses:

Paul

For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 6. But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. (Letter to the church at Corinth, Greece, about A.D. 55) 1 Corinthians 8:5-6

Amulek,
quoted by Mormon

[E]very thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil. (Amulek answers the lawyer Zeezrom foretelling Christ's redemption of man and the final judgment, about 82 B.C.) Alma 11:44

John

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. (John writes to the churches in Asia) 1 John 5:7

HYMNS Written by Prophets Applicable to this Topic

Parley P. Pratt

Jesus, Once of Humble Birth

HYMNS:196

Jesus, once of humble birth,

Now in glory comes to earth.

Once he suffered grief and pain;

Now he comes on earth to reign.

Now he comes on earth to reign.

Once a meek and lowly Lamb,

Now the Lord, the great I Am.

Once upon the cross he bowed;

Now his chariot is the cloud.

Now his chariot is the cloud.

Once he groaned in blood and tears;

Now in glory he appears.

Once rejected by his own,

Now their King he shall be known.

Now their king he shall be known.

Once forsaken, left alone,

Now exalted to a throne.

Once all things he meekly bore,

But he now will bear no more.

But he now will bear no more.

We Believe: Doctrines and Principles

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

God: The Godhead

288. There is a Godhead consisting of God the Eternal Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.

Related Witnesses:

289. Each member of the Godhead is physically separate and distinct from the other two.

Related Witnesses:

290. The three members of the Godhead (God the Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost) are united in purpose.

Related Witnesses:

291. There is but one God, or Godhead, to whom the inhabitants of the earth are subject.

Related Witnesses: