I’m a Mormon, So…

Chel Owens

I’m a Mormon; so I believe in God, our Heavenly Father, in His son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost as three separate and distinct personages. They are one in purpose but individual in existence.

© Gary E. Smith, LDS Image Collection

God is the father of our spirit.

God’s son, Jesus Christ, offered to be the perfect example for us. He was sinless, suffered for our sins, and then died and was resurrected on the third day.

By logic, this also means Jesus is our brother.

The Holy Ghost is a body of spirit. Through him, we pray to our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ. From His side, God uses this Holy Ghost for revelation and comfort.

Instead of referring to this as the Trinity, in which the three are understood to be one being, we refer to them as the Godhead.

Though the Godhead is made up of three distinct divine beings with certain different roles and characteristics, They are perfectly united in purpose. They work in harmony to help us come to know God, live righteously, be forgiven, and ultimately return to live with Them again. Together, They work “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).

Come Unto Christ, churchofjesuschrist.org

To get even deeper, we also believe that we can become like God eventually.

©2022 Chel Owens

……

Technically, we Mormons are officially members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and are to drop any name but that. Since many still run with the nickname of ‘Mormon,’ however, I will keep pace.

My other note is that I will keep to official doctrinal practices. I will add my own application of them, especially in response to comments.

My final note is that I LOVE discussing anything I write. Don’t be rude, obviously, but any and all queries or responses are welcome.

My final note beyond the final note is that I do not seek to convert anyone. I ought to, but am motivated by forming connections, answering curiosity, and straightening pictures. So, you’re safe.

33 thoughts on “I’m a Mormon, So…”

  1. That sounds like what I believe of the Trinity. I am non-denominational, formerly Catholic, but now attending a Messianic synagogue where Gentiles are welcome.

    Where I usually run into problems with other Christians are in four areas: 1) abortion – I am pro-life, 2) gender – I do not support LGBTQ, 3) biblical creationism – I maintain that the days of Genesis were 24-hour days, the universe is only thousand of years old, Noah’s flood was global, there was a tower of Babel event when languages multiplied, and 4) I do not support replacement theology

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    2. In what context do you run into problems? Most people I know never seem to talk about button pushing issues like you mentioned above. I hope no one gives you grief for your views at the synagogue.

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      1. It’s a Messianic synagogue, not orthodox rabbinical. Although I am a gentile I fit right in with the other gentiles worshipping there. All of us, Jew and gentile alike worship Yeshua (Jesus) and read the traditional Jewish parashot with the Brit Chadashah (New Testament/Covenant) reading.

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        1. Yeah I am aware of the religion, I had a friend that worshipped as a messanic prior to becoming a 7th day adventist. I was trying to offer support in the fact that you deal with people that don’t agree with your views.

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  2. Nice that you welcome sincere questions, Chel. I was wondering about the postscript about becoming like God, yourselves. I understood that men could ultimately become a god and reign over their own world… but that women could only achieve this ultimate divine state as a wife of said divine being. Is that correct? Thanks for clarifying this for me.

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    1. That is an excellent question that I’ve literally never asked. It’s under that gray area where many LDS authorities say we have a Heavenly Mother (there may be several mothers) but don’t broadcast that.

      Marriage is a union. A man is a man and a woman is a woman. Each has roles and responsibilities unique to their sex.

      And I’m probably the worst person to elaborate on that since I dislike being associated with typical female traits….

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  3. Love this series of posts, Chel. I grew up Roman Catholic but as an adult do not profess to practice any religion. I remember one of my favorite classes in high school was Religions of the World. Our teacher gave us the option of field trips (or tests about each religion) to many of the local worship sites of the different religions we studied. It was an eye opening learning experience but oddly enough it did not include any of the other Christian denominations.
    The one thing that has always baffled me about my birth religion, and Christianity in general, is the idea of a monotheistic religion that worships a holy trinity. I think the Mormons provide one of the best descriptions I’ve encountered.

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  6. It’s nice to actually have a clear explanation between the three. For myself I’ve always found it difficult to understand what, why and how the three were configured. Thanks Chelsea

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    1. I heard a story about a clover when I was little: three leaves connected to one stalk. I heard the story as an explanation for the Trinity, but think it works better for the Godhead. 😀 ☘

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    1. Thanks, Jim! I need to pop over and tell you – well, I’ll tell you now- I told Kevin (my husband) about the A.I. and he was like, “Yeah, I know” but then got all excited about using it to write a whole bunch of stuff for our side business!

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  9. As a Jew, I’ve never understood the whole trinity thing. I like to think along the lines of something I heard from a fellow Jew somewhere. We get our contacts with God, wholesale, as opposed to retail through a middleman. As someone who was married to a Mormon, I also don’t understand how he or really anyone can consider to possible to even approach the awesome powers of God. I have also come to wonder why Mormons think of and/or refer to themselves as saints. The ones I know don’t fit my expectation of how a saint would act, but then again Jews don’t have saints, either.

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    1. Wellllll… this is certainly a question to ask God. I do not understand the Trinity thing either; the Godhead makes more sense.

      As to approaching the awesome power of a deity, where did God come from? Literally? How can He be the same yesterday, today, and forever if He is not an ever-changing being? That is how I think of it.

      I believe the term ‘Saints’ was one Joseph Smith used for his followers. It sticks around as a nickname because it’s in the name. We are certainly encouraged to behave like saints and I therefore cannot take any blame for those who choose to make poor choices. Most LDS I know are decent people who strive to keep the commandments. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any Mormons who are jerks, as you noted. 🙂

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      1. I still can’t “buy” the whole Godhead thing. There’s one God (at most in my mind) and that’s it. There have been way too many charlatans and claimants to a direct connection with the one and only for my comfort.

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        1. Of course. I don’t see them as many gods. I see God as God and then He has a son who saved us and uses the Holy Ghost as a means to communicate and comfort. I assume there are many beings we cannot see who also assist in works, or that we use words like ‘saints’ and ‘angels’ to explain phenomena we don’t understand (yet).

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  10. I remember a discussion in a class in collage about Gods in general being ominipresnet or omniscient. “Omniscience means all-knowing. … He knows all that there is to know and all that can be known. Omnipresence means all-present. This term means that God is capable of being everywhere at the same time. However they or the single entity cannot be both ominipresnet or omniscient at the same time.

    Also that ‘God (him/her really undefineable if both men and women are made in such an image) ccreated nature, but cannot controle nature. So humans need to not blame ‘God’ when disaster strikes, but can act ‘godly’ to help those in need. Which fits more with Omniscent, I guess.

    Just some thoughts… Thanks for continuing to enlighten. Everyday is a chance to connect.

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    1. Definitely, Jules. I start to branch away from official doctrine in my personal resolution of these and other heavy questions. For one thing, why would God literally do everything? Why not a committee led by Him?

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