These present the typical Christian
understanding of God the Father. But what makes this understanding any
different from the understanding of the Mormons (Ladder Day Saints)?
The
Church of the Ladder Day Saints (from hence forth referred to as ‘Mormons’)
believes in a fatherly nature of God too, so what differs in their belief in
God as a father and the Christian belief of God as Father, or does it differ?
“God the Father is the Supreme Being in whom we believe and whom
we worship. He is the ultimate Creator, Ruler, and Preserver of all things. He
is perfect, has all power, and knows all things. He “has a body of flesh and
bones as tangible as man's” (D&C 130:22).“[1]
This is the official doctrine of
the Mormon Church on their belief of God as Father and is expounded upon on
their website. So how is this Mormon doctrine any different than that of the
Christian doctrine of God the Father?
As
one delves a little further into the Mormon belief of God as father the nuance
of words begins, or should begin, to become glaringly important. They are
subtle yet profound. There are three things to understand of the Mormon god.
First, the Mormon
god is literally, in their belief, our father. He is the father of all mankind,
we are sired by him. Second, there is difference between the son and the
father. That is to say the understanding of God the Father that we as
Christians gain from knowing God the Son is not the same understanding that a
Mormon would gain from knowing their version of Jesus in relation to their
father god. Jesus is to them simply a man born of god as all mankind is born of
god who through his good life and death became the supreme man and therefore a
god. Thirdly, and contingent on the second point, there is no trinity of unity
within the Mormon godhead. Therefore all the understanding of the unity between
Father, Son and Spirit is more than just not present in the Mormon Church but
it is not the same religion as Mormonism. In other words, and for
clarification, the Mormon understanding of God as father is in no way the same
as the Christian understanding of God the Father.
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