JOSEPH SMITH'S VIEWS OF GOD VS THE BOOK OF MORMON'S VIEW OF GOD
From all Eternity to all Eternity
Is God from all eternity to all eternity?
Joseph Smith says no and the Book of Mormon says yes.
Joseph Smith
Journal of Discourses, Vol.6, p.3, Joseph Smith, April 6, 1844, Online
We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity, I will refute that idea, and will take away and do away the vail, so that you may see.
The Book of Mormon
Mosiah 3:5, Online
5 For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.
Moroni 8:18, Online
18 For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from ball eternity to all eternity.
The Godhead
Joseph Smith taught in the Lectures on Faith that there are three that constituted the Godhead the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. The Father and the Son are the only two persons in the Godhead and the Holy Ghost is their mind. Later on, Joseph Smith taught the the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are "distinct personages and three Gods."
Joseph Smith
Lectures on Faith: Lecture 5 The Godhead, Online
2. And he being the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, and having overcome, received a fulness 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:
Lectures on Faith: Lecture 5 The Godhead, Online
Questions & Answers on the Foregoing Principles
Question 3: How many personages are there in the Godhead?
Two: the Father and the Son. (5:1)
Question 13: Do the Father and the Son possess the same mind?
They do. John 5:30:
Question 14: What is this mind?
The Holy Spirit. John 15:26:
Question 15: Do the Father, Son and Holy Spirit constitute the Godhead?
They do. (5:2)
History of the Church, Vol.6, Ch.23, p.474, Online
I will preach on the plurality of Gods. I have selected this text for that express purpose. I wish to declare I have always and in all congregations when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods. It has been preached by the Elders for fifteen years.
I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit, and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods. If this is in accordance with the New Testament, lo and behold! we have three Gods anyhow, and they are plural: and who can contradict it?
History of the Church, Vol.6, Ch.23, p.476, Online
Many men say there is one God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are only one God! I say that is a strange God anyhow--three in one, and one in three!
The writers of the Book of Mormon contradict the above statements by Joseph Smith,
The Book of Mormon
The Father, Son and Holy Ghost Is one God.
Take a note of the grammar in The Book of Mormon verses.Grammatically this make the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost the same person because of the word "is".
The Testimony of Three Witnesses Online
And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen.
2 Nephi 31:21 Online
21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the away; 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.
Alma 11:26-31 Online
26 And Zeezrom said unto him: Thou sayest there is a true and living God?
27 And Amulek said: Yea, there is a true and living God.
28 Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God?
29 And he answered, No.
30 Now Zeezrom said unto him again: How knowest thou these things?
31 And he said: An angel hath made them known unto me.
Is there more than one true and living according Alma 1126-31? No!
Joseph Smith taught that the Father, the Son and The Holy Ghost are three Gods.
Since the Book of Mormon teaches that there is one "true and living God," therefore, two out of the three of Joseph Smith's Godhead are false gods.
Alma 11:44 Online
44 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.
The Father, Son and Holy Ghost are one God.
Take a note of the grammar in this Book of Mormon verse.
Mormon 7:7 Online
7 And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end.
Physical body or spirit
Does God have a physical body or is he spirit?
Joseph Smith taught in The Lectures on Faith that the Father is "a personage of spirit". Joseph Smith taught in Doctrine and Covenants that the "Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s". Also take note that according to Doctrine and Covenants 130:22 that a personage of spirit does not have a body of flesh and bones.
Joseph Smith
Lectures on Faith: Lecture 5 The Godhead, Online
2 There are two personages who constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme power over all things—by whom all things were created and made, that are created and made, whether visible or invisible: whether in heaven, on earth, or in the earth, under the earth, or throughout the immensity of space—They are the Father and the Son: The Father being a personage of spirit, glory and power: possessing all perfection and fulness: The Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, a personage of tabernacle,
Doctrine and Covenants 130:22 Online
22 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.
The Book of Mormon
God is a Great Spirit
Alma 18:24-28 Online
25 And he answered, and said unto him: I do not know what that meaneth.
26 And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit?
27 And he said, Yea.
28 And Ammon said: This is God. And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth?
Alma 22:8-11 Online
8 And now when Aaron heard this, his heart began to rejoice, and he said: Behold, assuredly as thou livest, O king, there is a God.
9 And the king said: Is God that Great Spirit that brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem?
10 And Aaron said unto him: Yea, he is that Great Spirit, and he created all things both in heaven and in earth. Believest thou this?
11 And he said: Yea, I believe that the Great Spirit created all things, and I desire that ye should tell me concerning all these things, and I will believe thy words.
Is God from all eternity to all eternity?
Joseph Smith says no and the Book of Mormon says yes.
Joseph Smith
Journal of Discourses, Vol.6, p.3, Joseph Smith, April 6, 1844, Online
We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity, I will refute that idea, and will take away and do away the vail, so that you may see.
The Book of Mormon
Mosiah 3:5, Online
5 For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.
Moroni 8:18, Online
18 For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from ball eternity to all eternity.
The Godhead
Joseph Smith taught in the Lectures on Faith that there are three that constituted the Godhead the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. The Father and the Son are the only two persons in the Godhead and the Holy Ghost is their mind. Later on, Joseph Smith taught the the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are "distinct personages and three Gods."
Joseph Smith
Lectures on Faith: Lecture 5 The Godhead, Online
2. And he being the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, and having overcome, received a fulness 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:
Lectures on Faith: Lecture 5 The Godhead, Online
Questions & Answers on the Foregoing Principles
Question 3: How many personages are there in the Godhead?
Two: the Father and the Son. (5:1)
Question 13: Do the Father and the Son possess the same mind?
They do. John 5:30:
Question 14: What is this mind?
The Holy Spirit. John 15:26:
Question 15: Do the Father, Son and Holy Spirit constitute the Godhead?
They do. (5:2)
History of the Church, Vol.6, Ch.23, p.474, Online
I will preach on the plurality of Gods. I have selected this text for that express purpose. I wish to declare I have always and in all congregations when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods. It has been preached by the Elders for fifteen years.
I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit, and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods. If this is in accordance with the New Testament, lo and behold! we have three Gods anyhow, and they are plural: and who can contradict it?
History of the Church, Vol.6, Ch.23, p.476, Online
Many men say there is one God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are only one God! I say that is a strange God anyhow--three in one, and one in three!
The writers of the Book of Mormon contradict the above statements by Joseph Smith,
The Book of Mormon
The Father, Son and Holy Ghost Is one God.
Take a note of the grammar in The Book of Mormon verses.Grammatically this make the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost the same person because of the word "is".
The Testimony of Three Witnesses Online
And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen.
2 Nephi 31:21 Online
21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the away; 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.
Alma 11:26-31 Online
26 And Zeezrom said unto him: Thou sayest there is a true and living God?
27 And Amulek said: Yea, there is a true and living God.
28 Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God?
29 And he answered, No.
30 Now Zeezrom said unto him again: How knowest thou these things?
31 And he said: An angel hath made them known unto me.
Is there more than one true and living according Alma 1126-31? No!
Joseph Smith taught that the Father, the Son and The Holy Ghost are three Gods.
Since the Book of Mormon teaches that there is one "true and living God," therefore, two out of the three of Joseph Smith's Godhead are false gods.
Alma 11:44 Online
44 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.
The Father, Son and Holy Ghost are one God.
Take a note of the grammar in this Book of Mormon verse.
Mormon 7:7 Online
7 And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end.
Physical body or spirit
Does God have a physical body or is he spirit?
Joseph Smith taught in The Lectures on Faith that the Father is "a personage of spirit". Joseph Smith taught in Doctrine and Covenants that the "Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s". Also take note that according to Doctrine and Covenants 130:22 that a personage of spirit does not have a body of flesh and bones.
Joseph Smith
Lectures on Faith: Lecture 5 The Godhead, Online
2 There are two personages who constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme power over all things—by whom all things were created and made, that are created and made, whether visible or invisible: whether in heaven, on earth, or in the earth, under the earth, or throughout the immensity of space—They are the Father and the Son: The Father being a personage of spirit, glory and power: possessing all perfection and fulness: The Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, a personage of tabernacle,
Doctrine and Covenants 130:22 Online
22 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.
The Book of Mormon
God is a Great Spirit
Alma 18:24-28 Online
25 And he answered, and said unto him: I do not know what that meaneth.
26 And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit?
27 And he said, Yea.
28 And Ammon said: This is God. And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth?
Alma 22:8-11 Online
8 And now when Aaron heard this, his heart began to rejoice, and he said: Behold, assuredly as thou livest, O king, there is a God.
9 And the king said: Is God that Great Spirit that brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem?
10 And Aaron said unto him: Yea, he is that Great Spirit, and he created all things both in heaven and in earth. Believest thou this?
11 And he said: Yea, I believe that the Great Spirit created all things, and I desire that ye should tell me concerning all these things, and I will believe thy words.