Category: God

Does God still speak to us today?

First Vision

While preparing for a class, I came across this talk given by Hugh B. Brown, a member of the First Presidency of our church, who passed away some years ago.  It details a conversation that he had with a member of the British House of Commons and a former justice of the supreme court of Britain regarding our belief in the reality of modern-day prophets.

I will never understand why people reject the doctrine of God still being able to call prophets.  He has always done so and will continue to do so.  I firmly declare that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that there is a prophet today who speaks for God.  Prophets are essential to us knowing who God and Jesus Christ are—their characters and their teachings that will bring salvation.  You too can know of this truth if you will sincerely ask God in prayer with faith to act.

“[This man] called me on the phone one day and asked if I would meet him at his office and explain some phases of my faith. He said, “There is going to be a war [World War II], and you will have to return to America, and we may not meet again.”

When I went to his office, he said he had been intrigued by some things I had told about my church. He asked me if I would prepare a brief on Mormonism and discuss it with him as I would discuss a legal problem. He said, “You have told me that you believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that you believe that God the Father and Jesus of Nazareth appeared to him in vision.

“I cannot understand,” he said, “how a barrister and solicitor from Canada, a man trained in logic and evidence and unemotional cold fact, could accept such absurd statements. What you tell me about Joseph Smith seems fantastic, but I wish you would take three days at least to prepare a brief and permit me to examine it and question you on it.”

I suggested that, as I had been working on such a brief for more than 50 years, we proceed at once to have an examination for discovery, which is briefly a meeting of the opposing sides in a lawsuit where the plaintiff and defendant, with their attorneys, meet to examine each other’s claims and see whether they can find some area of agreement and thus save the time of the court later on.

I began by asking, “May I proceed, sir, on the assumption that you are a Christian?”

“I am.”

“I assume that you believe in the Bible—the Old and New Testaments?”

“I do!”

“Do you believe in prayer?”

“I do!”

“You say that my belief that God spoke to a man in this age is fantastic and absurd?”

“To me it is.”

“Do you believe that God ever did speak to anyone?”

“Certainly, all through the Bible we have evidence of that.”

“Did he speak to Adam?”

“Yes.”

“To Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jacob, and to others of the prophets?”

“I believe he spoke to each of them.”

“Do you believe that contact between God and man ceased when Jesus appeared on the earth?”

“Certainly not. Such communication reached its climax, its apex at that time.”

“Do you believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God?”

“He was.”

“Do you believe, sir, that after the resurrection of Christ, God ever spoke to any man?”

He thought for a moment and then said, “I remember one Saul of Tarsus who was going down to Damascus to persecute the saints and who had a vision, was stricken blind, in fact, and heard a voice.”

“Whose voice did he hear?”

“Well,” he said, “the voice said `I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.'”

“Do you believe that actually took place?”

“I do.”

“Then, my Lord”—that is the way we address judges in the British commonwealth—”my Lord, I am submitting to you in all seriousness that it was standard procedure in Bible times for God to talk to men.”

“I think I will admit that, but it stopped shortly after the first century of the Christian era.”

“Why do you think it stopped?”

“I can’t say.”

“You think that God hasn’t spoken since then?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“May I suggest some possible reasons why he has not spoken. Perhaps it is because he cannot. He has lost the power.”

He said, “Of course that would be blasphemous.”

“Well, then, if you don’t accept that, perhaps he doesn’t speak to men because he doesn’t love us anymore. He is no longer interested in the affairs of men.”

“No,” he said, “God loves all men, and he is no respecter of persons.”

“Well, then, if you don’t accept that he loves us, then the only other possible answer as I see it is that we don’t need him. We have made such rapid strides in education and science that we don’t need God any more.”

And then he said, and his voice trembled as he thought of impending war, “Mr. Brown, there never was a time in the history of the world when the voice of God was needed as it is needed now. Perhaps you can tell me why he doesn’t speak.”

My answer was, “He does speak, he has spoken; but men need faith to hear him.”

(President Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, October 1967, Third Day—Morning Meeting 118.)

Is Jesus the only son of God?

Q. I grew up believing that Jesus was the only son of God.  In your faith do you believe differently?

Jesus ascension

Short answer: Yes and No.

Long answer: You might think this question would have a straightforward answer, but turns out it doesn’t.  Entire ecumenical councils have been convened to address the relationship between Jesus and the Father.  It’s a sticky question, and this is why:

The Bible uses the term “Only Begotten” four times in reference to Jesus (the Book of Mormon and other LDS scriptures tack on a whopping forty more).  So it seems pretty straightforward; he must be the only one. At the same time, however, there are many other scriptures that seem to indicate there are more children of God—namely us.  Those scriptures refer to the human race as either being the children of God already (Acts 17:29: “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God…”) or having the potential to become the children of God (John 1:12: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God”).  Furthermore, sometimes Jesus refers to the Father only as “my Father” (Luke 2:49), and sometimes as “your Father” (Matt 5:48), and sometimes both (John 20:17).

So which is it?  Is Jesus the only son of God, or are we all sons and daughters of God?  And if we’re not now, is it possible for us to become so?

I don’t pretend to understand how the majority of Christianity answers those questions, especially since the early creeds seem confusing on what exactly the relationship between the Father and the Son is.  Luckily you just want to know what Mormons believe and that is, by comparison, pretty straightforward.

1. All of us (including Jesus) are children of God because God is the Father of our spirits.

To suggest that Jesus is always and ever was the only son of God is to ignore a whole lot of scripture in the Bible.  In one sense, we are all children of God. God is the Father of our spirits.  This is why Paul calls us all “the offspring of God.”  We have that piece of divinity inside us.  Jesus is special because he was, as the author of Hebrews calls him, “the Firstbegotten.”  The same author calls His church the “church of the Firstborn.”  Just the use of the words Firstbegotten and Firstborn imply that there are others. Not only that, we were all with God and Jesus before the world was.  (See the posts on the pre-mortal life of man for a better explanation).  In short: all of us are children of God, but Jesus is the first.

Jesus Birth

2.  Jesus is the only begotten of the Father in the flesh.

If we all are children of God, why are the scriptures so adamant that he is the “Only Begotten Son”?  To beget someone is to father them.  Everyone born on earth has been begotten by an earthly, mortal father.  That is, everyone but Jesus.  Jesus was born to a virgin.  His father is God.  We don’t pretend to know the details of all that, but Jesus is the only one for whom that is true, and that’s why He is called the Only Begotten.

3.  We become the sons and daughters of God in a different sense by accepting the gospel.

If we are all already the children of God, what is all this scriptural talk of becoming the children of God?  Turns out sometimes salvation is spoken of as becoming the sons/daughters of God, or of Christ. When Jesus came to earth and atoned for our sins, he opened the way to be saved.  He gave us power to become the sons of God, as John said.  Maybe it’s confusing to describe it that way, but hey, it wasn’t my idea.  Besides, it’s a good way to describe the spiritual change that happens when we accept Jesus Christ.  I think the Book of Mormon king Benjamin described it best to his people, who had just accepted Jesus Christ with a covenant to follow Him:

“And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.”  (Mosiah 5:7)

So we see that if there were only one sense in which a person could be a child of God, the Bible would remain ambiguous on the question.  But if they are referring to different relationships, we get a coherent picture of our relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. In one sense everyone is a child of God, in another sense only Jesus is, and in a third sense, we start out not children and then have the option to become children of God.

An important footnote: Do Mormons believe Jesus and Satan are brothers?

Carl_Bloch_Denying_SatanOne of the more shocking things you’ll hear about Mormonism is that we believe that Jesus and Satan are brothers. Now that we’ve outlined our relationships to God, we can address that claim in the proper context.  It’s true that they are brothers in the first sense that I described above, but saying it out of that context is intentionally misleading, because almost everyone is thinking in the second sense.  When you’re coming from the position that Jesus is the only son of God, putting Satan up there with him not only seems like a blatant contradiction of the “Only Begotten” scriptures, but also makes it seem like we consider them to be equals.  That couldn’t be further from the truth.  Jesus Christ, the Greatest of all, who personifies goodness and grace, and Satan, the father of lies, who rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven, are not equals. They are brothers in the sense that we are all brothers and sisters, spiritual offspring of the same Father.  Aside from that, they couldn’t be more different.

The Fall of Adam and Eve

garden-of-edenIn terms of doctrinal subjects, the case of Adam and Eve can be one of the more difficult to explain and understand.  The Biblical story can seem confusing.  I have found myself in the past studying this complex and important part of the Plan of Salvation because I plainly did not understand it.  The ‘whys’ didn’t seem to line up.  But with some time, I began to understand the importance and need for this event.

Before the fall, there was the creation of Earth.  Before that, there was a council.  Our Heavenly Father presented a plan for us to progress from our spiritual state to one where we could be like Him.  For this to be accomplished, we needed to come to Earth and gain a body, experience life, and learn to use the agency given us to submit our will to His through doing all that he would command us to do (Abraham 3:24-25).  This plan encompassed all these things.  God knew what would happen on Earth.  He knew that Adam and Eve would eat the forbidden fruit and would have to leave His presence, He knew of wars among His children, He knew of the pain and suffering they would pass through and He knew that left alone, His children could never return to Him.  That is precisely why the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the key part of this plan.  God planned that once the fall of Adam and Eve occurred, He would teach them about the Atonement so that they could live and grow in spite of being separated from God.

Once all the future of the Earth was planned according to God’s power, He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to create the Earth.  And create it, He did (Ephesians 3:9).  He created it beautifully and perfectly and placed the plants, animals, and man there.  Once Adam and Eve were there, God commanded them to “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28).  Furthermore, they were told that they could eat of any plant or tree in the Garden of Eden, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  God told them that if they were to eat of this tree that they would die (Moses 3:17), however He gave to them agency and expressly told them that it was given to them to choose.  Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden in a state of innocence, not knowing good or evil, nor did they know what happiness or sadness were (Moses 5:11). They existed, and little more.

The book of Moses tells us that Satan did not know the mind of God (Moses 4:6) and wanted to destroy God’s plan for his children.  Through a serpent, he told Eve that she ought to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil so that her eyes could be opened, to know good from evil (Moses 4:11).  Now, eating this fruit was something that God had warned them against because of the consequences.  Eating this fruit would cause them to become mortal and therefore imperfect.  They would eventually die.  Mortal man, stained with his own sins, cannot withstand the presence of God in a permanent setting, so this also separated them from God.  God never allows us to make decisions that separate us from Him without first warning us, hence the commandment He gave Adam and Eve.

Eve saw that the result of knowing good from evil was indeed a desirable thing so being deceived by Satan, she ate the fruit.  As evidenced by Adam’s confession to God a few verses later (Moses 4:18, Genesis 3:12), Adam was commanded to remain with Eve.  Once Eve had eaten the fruit, Adam saw that he must either partake of the fruit or be separated from Eve.  It is a good thing that he chose the first or none of us would be here.

Adam and Eve’s world changed then.  It no longer was a paradise that grew all sorts of foods without effort.  It became a place where Adam and Eve had to work to live.  Aside from being a reference to the separation of God from the world, it provided an environment where mankind had to work, be humble towards God and rely on His mercies.  According to the plan, Adam learned the gospel of Jesus Christ and knew that the Atonement was coming.  He taught his children this truth and rejoiced in the knowledge of his Lord and Savior.

While the Fall of Adam and Eve may seem like a tragic event, it isn’t.  It’s true that they transgressed the commandments of God, but that event provided an opportunity for all of the spirit children of God to come to a place to receive a body and have the opportunity to become like God himself if they chose to do so.  Even though Adam and Eve disobeyed, God is merciful.  He provided a way for them to be forgiven of that transgression through His Son–the only sinless person who has or ever will live on this earth.  Likewise, all of the posterity of Adam and Eve, us, have claim upon this wonderful opportunity of forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ if we will choose to receive it into our lives.

What Do Mormons Believe about the Atonement of Jesus Christ?

Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane

The atonement of Jesus Christ is the single most important event that has or ever will occur in the existence of the earth.  Through this incomprehensible act of self-sacrifice, mercy satisfies the absolute demands of justice required by broken commandments of God (Alma 34:15-16).  Atonement literally means to set at one. The atonement of Jesus Christ reconciles all things that have estranged us from the Father. Thus, only through the atonement of Jesus Christ can we be brought back into full favor with the Father (John 14:6).  When we come before God to be judged, Christ will plead our case before Him and if we have been true and faithful, the Father will accept his Son’s sacrifice in our behalf (D&C 45:3-5).  By being set at one with the Father we are granted innumerable blessings — we become perfect in every way, just as Christ and the Father are perfect (John 17:20-23; D&C 35:2; Hebrews 2:10-11; Revelation 21:6-7).

The Act of the Atonement

The pinnacle and defining event of Christ’s ministry on this earth was when He bowed beneath all of the sins and imperfections that we as God’s children have experienced or will experience.  From the time that He knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane to the time that He said “it is finished” on the cross, the entire world hung in the balance.  Our very souls, billions if not trillions of souls were at stake; He knew it and yet, He came off victorious.  He drank from the bitterest of cups, not necessarily because He wanted to, but because He was willing to submit Himself to the will of the Father in all things.  In order for us to be spared from destruction and eternal torment, it HAD to be done (Luke 22:41-42; Isaiah 51:22). What Christ did in those blood and tear-stained hours allows us and this world to exist (D&C 88:6-13, 50).  It even gives Christ power over death and sin and allows the resurrection to happen (D&C 88:14; Alma 42:23).  To contemplate the weight of this burden He bore is overpowering and yet to know that He personally atoned for my imperfections (Mosiah 15:10) causes “[my] heart to swell as wide as eternity” (Moses 7:41) in love and gratitude for Him.

In addition, when one considers exactly who Christ is, a God himself (Alma 34:9-14), and that he would condescend from his throne on high to submit himself to all of the suffering, torture, beating, and humiliation associated with the atonement, descending below all, just to save you and me is confounding to say the least.  If even He who had all power over both heaven and hell could control himself in every way as He bowed beneath the rod of his own creations, then I too should be able to bite my tongue when I want to say something mean, or when I want to do something contrary to His commandments.

Our Part in the Atonement

All people who have lived on this earth are given the free gift of resurrection (Revelation 20:12-13), but for the atonement to have full power in our lives we must satisfy specific requirements (1 John 2:1-6). We need to believe that Christ’s atonement can cleanse us from our imperfections (Mosiah 15:10-13), and have a broken heart and contrite spirit before Christ (3 Nephi 9:19-20).  In essence we need to “[become] as [children], submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things” (Mosiah 3:19).  Furthermore, we must be baptized by immersion and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by one who holds proper authority from God to perform ordinances in His behalf (St. John 3:5; Hebrews 5:1-4).  All of these things show that we are willing to submit our will to the Father and that we want to follow Christ’s commandments (John 14:15). Our will is the only thing that we have that we can give to God.  Everything else is already His.  If we will completely submit our will to God just as Christ did, then the atonement of Jesus Christ can make us white as wool by washing our garments in the blood of the Lamb.

Scrub board for washing clothes by hand

Although it may seem hard at times to live the way Christ asks us to live, he has promised us that if we yoke ourselves to Him, that it will be easy (Matthew 11:28-30).  I can say from personal experience that this promise is true.  Our part is to believe and live such that our lives are a manifestation of our belief that Christ can set us at one with the Father.  While at times this may seem a heavy burden, Christ and his Atonement are there to help us in our journey.  In addition, we have the Holy Ghost to provide comfort and encouragement that we are on the correct path.

Yoke of oxen pulling a load.

More importantly though is whether or not we will accept this infinitely priceless gift into our lives by believing in the power that Christ gained over sin and death.  If we do we will be spared suffering and be granted glory in the mansions of the Father (St. John 14:2, Enos 1:27). The mercy of this doctrine is profound — that “God so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should never perish, but have everlasting life” (St. John 3:16).

The Atonement in Salvation

With regard to salvation, the atonement provides mercy or justice for all people who will fall into one of three categories.  First, little children and those that do not know the law are redeemed (Mosiah 3:16, Moroni 8:12-13, D&C 29:46-47, 2nd Nephi 9:25-26, Mosiah 3:11).  Second, those who do know the law and repent are saved from suffering for their sins (Mosiah 3:12; Alma 34:15-16; D&C 19:16).  Third, those who do know the law of God and choose not to repent receive just punishment (Alma 34:16; Alma 42: 24; D&C 19:17-18; Isaiah 51:22-23).

I invite you:  come unto Christ; come drink from a Fountain that is springing up unto everlasting life (St. John 4:14) and eat Living Bread (St. John 6:47-58).   You will never hunger or thirst again. There is nothing, nothing, but peace, joy, and happiness to be found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know this, because I have experienced it in my own life and continue to do so — I know the promises of God are sure and true.

See “The Plan of Salvation“

Do Mormons Believe in the Trinity?

Q. What is the belief concerning the trinity, is it one God, 3 persons, or 3 gods that comprise one God? How does that work?

A core belief of all Christians is the testimony of Jesus Christ as divine. The nature of the godhead — God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Ghost — is a key topic in religious discussion, and has been debated for centuries. The traditional Christian view describes the godhead, or trinity, as united in substance and in person in a way that is incomprehensible by man. As Latter-day Saints we believe as all Christians do “in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost” (Articles of Faith 1).  We believe that they are one in purpose and mission and that they are three separate divine beings.

A brief study of history will show that the idea of numerical separateness of the godhead is not new, and was believed by many early Christians.  For example, Arius, founder of Arianism, was ruled a heretic after the first council of Nicea for preaching, among other controversial doctrines, the separateness of God the Father and Jesus Christ.

There are many biblical passages which clearly show the separateness in person of God the Father and Jesus Christ (see Matthew 3:16-17, Luke 22:42, Acts 7:55-56).  However, there are many others which also state that they are one (see Deuteronomy 6:4, John 10:30, 1 John 5:7).  This dichotomy has long been recognized, and the First Council of Nicaea was convened in AD 325 to, among other reasons, set forth in formal creed the official view of the church. The famous Nicene creed, which was adopted at that council and continues today as a cornerstone statement of many current doctrines of the trinity, describes Jesus Christ as “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father” (The Nicene Creed).

The convening of councils for the construction of creeds has been the method used by “traditional” Christian churches to resolve doctrinal disputes. As Latter-day Saints we believe that there is a better way:  through revelation given directly to authorized prophets, God has revealed and continues to reveal many gospel truths. Among the doctrines made clear in modern times by revelation is the nature of the godhead as three beings, united in purpose and separate in person. We value the inspired words in the Bible, and we believe that the same spirit which inspired its writers still inspires holy men today to teach doctrines that are equally true and valuable.

joseph_smith_first_vision_stained_glass2 It might be said that the doctrine of the trinity is the very first of all doctrines in which Latter-day Saint teachings differ from the traditional Christian view. The first prophet called of God in modern times was Joseph Smith. When he was a boy, disputes among churches prompted him to ask God for himself which church preached the eternal truth about God and salvation. In answer, God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him in glorious vision. God the Father himself said to Joseph “This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” (Joseph Smith – History 1:17). What better example can there be of the unity of the Father and the Son as separate beings?

As stated earlier, Biblical evidence for the LDS doctrine is abundant. I have not focused on them so as to emphasize that we do not base our belief on a creed made by scholars concerning an expert interpretation of the Bible. We base our belief on the testimony given to us by the Holy Ghost that the first vision of Joseph Smith was real and prophets continue to reveal truth about God. I strongly recommend that any reader who wishes to see strong Biblical evidence of our belief read this talk (or watch it) by an apostle and special witness of Jesus Christ. I invite anybody who wishes to discover the truth of our message to study the scriptures, pray and ask God, who will tell you by the Holy Ghost that it is true.

This article was written by guest author Stephen Stacey