It is clear, then, that anything that exists was created by God, and so God made Satan. However, he wasn’t Satan at his creation and he was not created evil. The prophet Isaiah helps us to understand what turned Lucifer into Satan and demonstrates that he is not the being God created him to be: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” (See Isaiah 14:12.)

In other words, Satan, as created, was not evil. God does not create anything that is evil. The creation accounts in Genesis consistently remind us that everything God creates is good. How did Satan go from being a good creation of God to being the source of evil?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes called Mormons, teach that agency was an essential part of God’s plan for us. From the very beginning, God gave us the right to choose for ourselves. Although He made rules for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden concerning the tree, he did not lock it up where they could not get to it. In fact, he put it right in the center of the Garden, where they would see it often. They were free to choose to eat from it, and they did.

Agency explains how Lucifer became Satan. Mormons believe that God first created our spirits and allowed us to live with Him in Heaven prior to the creation of the Earth. This makes Him very literally our Father, and it also means we began to develop our characters and personalities prior to birth. We did not have bodies, but we did have personalities, and the ability to choose whom to become. Some worked hard to become as much like God as possible. Some did not. Some were power-hungry, even then, and it appears Lucifer was one of these. The events that would occur demonstrate he was popular among a certain type of spirit and that he used that popularity and his agency to cause others to make poor choices, even then.

Mormon beliefs talk of a great meeting held in Heaven in which we were told of the plan to create an earth for us. We would all, in our turn, go there to live for a while. We’d gain a body, come to earth through a family, and have agency. We would not remember our time in Heaven, but we would be given the ability to feel God’s presence and counsel to us if we listened and were anxious to do the right thing. Through what would be known as the Spirit of Christ, we would be able to discern truth from lies if we chose to do so. The Holy Ghost would be available to help us on Earth. With this help, we would be expected to search out the truth and then commit to live it.

Of course, we wouldn’t be perfect, and the Law required perfection in order to return home. To this end, God would provide a Savior who would come to earth through a mortal mother, with God as His father, and live a sinless life. He would then make a voluntary sacrifice on our behalf, known as the atonement. This would allow us to overcome death and to repent. It would make it possible to overcome the demands of the law through mercy. Jesus Christ volunteered for this calling, saying he wanted all the honor and glory to go to God.

Lucifer, however, did not like God’s plan. He used his influence to try to convince us to replace God and Jesus Christ with him. Lucifer said he would take control of our lives on earth, controlling every movement and thought so we could not possibly sin. In that way, no atonement would be necessary (relieving him of the need to suffer on anyone’s behalf) and we’d all come home safely. In exchange, however, he wanted us to let him take God’s place and receive all the honor and glory.

Lucifer’s plan was a selfish one, designed to win him a position of power and authority without undue sacrifice. This was a sharp contrast to Jesus’ proposal, which asked nothing for himself. However, perhaps because Lucifer was popular, or perhaps because his plan seemed to offer security and an easy route to success, one-third of God’s children chose Lucifer as their leader, rejecting both God and Jesus Christ.

They were not allowed to come to earth as a consequence. They will never receive bodies or families, and because they rejected the atonement before they even came to earth, they are not allowed to benefit from it. They were cast out of heaven for their efforts to overthrow God and His plan. All the remainder of the spirits in Heaven began to prepare for mortality.

However, Lucifer’s work was not done. He became Satan and he was angry at being cast out of Heaven. He was also miserable, having been denied what even he knew was a wonderful opportunity—even though he made the choices that led to it. He was determined to make every who had refused to follow him miserable.

His role in our lives today is to try to get us to reject the great plan of salvation we once embraced, to disobey God’s commandments, even to choose not to believe in God or Jesus Christ. He is determined to undermine God’s work.

Although Satan is allowed to try to make us sin and reject the opportunity to return home to God’s presence, there are some things he cannot do. He cannot force anyone to sin: he can only encourage sin. He cannot prevent anyone from knowing the truth who is determined to know it: he can only try to keep us from wanting to know. Satan cannot remain if we tell him to leave. In the New Testament, we can look to the example of Jesus Christ to know how to handle Satan’s temptations and lies. When Satan tried to tempt Jesus, Jesus simply refused to pay any attention to him and ordered him to leave.

Satan then, began life as we all did, as a child of God. He used his God-given agency to reject God and the gospel and chose instead to live a selfish life harming others. While he is temporarily allowed to try to carry out his revengeful goals, we are under no obligation to give him power over us.

In the April 2011 General Conference, Paul V. Johnson answered the question, “Why is life so hard?” He taught that trials often come to us because Jesus loves us. It might not seem, at first glance to be much of a gift, but when we understand why we came to earth, the reasoning behind this becomes clear.

Mormon beliefs teach that God created our spirits. As spirits—meaning we had no body—we lived with God, getting to know Him and becoming the people we are today. Eventually, of course, every child needs to leave home and so God prepared the earth for us. When we came to earth we would take with us our own personalities but we would forget who we had been and where we had come from. We’d gain bodies and families. Many of us would have opportunities to rediscover God and Jesus Christ and even those who did not would have with them the Light of Christ, which everyone always has. We’d have trials which would serve as a test to see if we could handle them properly.

But trials are not just a test. They are also a gift. When we face trials, we often discover something about ourselves we didn’t know was there. When we handle them badly we learn our weaknesses and can choose to overcome the challenges. When we handle them well, we can grow to be more than we ever imagined we can be. Trials help us become everything God knows we can be.

Elder Johnson’s talk was given in the Sunday morning session of Conference, It was called, “More Than Conquerors through Him That Loved Us.” The title comes from the Biblical apostle Paul in Romans, chapter 8:

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Elder Johnson reminded listeners that no one is exempt from trials. Money can’t prevent them. Obedience to the commandments can’t prevent them. Trials are an essential part of life—even Jesus faced trials and temptations. The trials He faced were an essential part of His own mortal experience and they are also an essential part of our own.

At times it may seem that our trials are focused on areas of our lives and parts of our souls with which we seem least able to cope. Since personal growth is an intended outcome of these challenges, it should come as no surprise that the trials can be very personal—almost laser guided to our particular needs or weaknesses.

There are times when we are tempted to tell God we are more than willing to take on our share of trials—just not that particular trial that looms ahead. We think we can’t handle that trial. However, if the trial comes, it is proof to us that God knows we can handle it after all. More importantly, it means there is something He wants us to learn by experiencing it. We learn the most when we are pushed far outside our comfort zones. Trials are painful, but seen from an eternal perspective, they are worth it.

In the Book of Numbers, in the Old Testament, Moses is struggling with his group of whiny Israelites. They were worried about having nothing to eat, so God began providing them with manna. Soon, however, the novelty of the manna wore off and they began to whine for meat, vegetables, and other foods from their past. Moses came pretty close to the breaking point. He even complained to God, asking why he had to deal with these people—they were, after all, God’s children, not his. He suggested, in a clear measure of his frustration, God just kill him. Death seemed preferable to coping with this trial, which he insisted was beyond his ability to bear. Instead, God offered him some help and made him carry on. Over time, Moses became a strengthened leader, better able to handle the trial he faced.

Our trials are personalized to our specific needs. The reason some people have seemingly harder lives than others is often because of the specific lessons that person might need to learn. God knows exactly which trials we need. The person with seemingly easy trials might actually face greater danger than the person with clearly challenging trials. It is often said, for instance, that most people feel certain they would be willing to die for their faith, but that the truth is we are more often called on to live for it. While dying for our faith might seem to be harder and more grievous, in truth living the small, day-to-day challenges to our faith might prove to be far harder. Many of us measure up surprisingly well to the severe trials, but fumble on the smaller ones, some of which don’t really look like trials, and so catch us off-base.

For those who are frustrated over a deep trial, Elder Johnson consoles:

A pattern in the scriptures and in life shows that many times the darkest, most dangerous tests immediately precede remarkable events and tremendous growth. “After much tribulation come the blessings.”  The children of Israel were trapped against the Red Sea before it was parted.  Nephi faced danger, anger from his brothers, and multiple failures before he was able to procure the brass plates.  Joseph Smith was overcome by an evil power so strong that it seemed he was doomed to utter destruction. When he was almost ready to sink into despair, he exerted himself to call upon God, and at that very moment he was visited by the Father and the Son. Often investigators face opposition and tribulation as they near baptism. Mothers know that the challenges of labor precede the miracle of birth. Time after time we see marvelous blessings on the heels of great trials.

Remembering this can help us endure our trials. We can know that if we face our trial with courage, look for the lessons to be learned and the skills to be gained, when it ends we will receive the reward of our efforts. We will be stronger, have increased faith and trust in God, and will be better prepared for the next trial.

Our Heavenly Father loves us, and we “know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.” Someday when we get to the other side of the veil, we want more than for someone just to tell us, “Well, you’re done.” Instead, we want the Lord to say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

Watch the entire talk in speech and sign language:

Mormons (the nickname for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) do not follow this process. The term saint is used in the official name of the church and denotes, as used in the Bible, a community of people who followed God. The Encyclopedia of Mormonism states that Paul used the term to refer to baptized members of Christ’s church, utilizing the Greek word hagios, which can also mean set apart or holy. Paul uses this term in Philippians 1:1

Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

The term saints, as used by Mormons, mean that we are members of Jesus Christ’s own church. We are baptized in His name and have taken His name on ourselves. As Saints, we have a

special responsibility to live according to His teachings and to represent Him well.

Quentin L. Cook, a high-ranking church official said:

What does it mean to be a Saint? In the Lord’s Church, the members are Latter-day Saints, and they attempt to emulate the Savior, follow His teachings, and receive saving ordinances in order to live in the celestial kingdom with God the Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. The Savior said, “This is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do.

It is not easy to be a Latter-day Saint. It was not meant to be easy. The ultimate goal of living in the presence of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, is a privilege almost beyond comprehension.

Quentin L. Cook, “Are You a Saint?,” Liahona, Nov 2003, 95-96

For Mormons, being a Saint is not something reserved for a few, but something every church member can and should do. Everyone has the same opportunity to serve God and to return to Him someday through the gift of the atonement of Christ. What does this mean in terms of everyday life?

Church leaders have counseled members to be in the world, but not of it. Mormons no longer need to live in separate communities in order to protect their lives, and so they live out in the world. Although they live in the world, working, going to school, and playing, they need not emulate the world. They know the standards God holds them to and they work hard to live them even when it means sacrifice. For a teenager, it means dressing fashionably, but modestly, holding herself or himself to a high moral standard while dating, and foregoing parties that might involve inappropriate behavior. For a child, it might be having the courage to tell a teacher she can’t participate in the tea party at school during Japanese Culture Day, because she doesn’t drink tea. For an adult, it might mean telling the boss he is sorry, but he can’t do what he was assigned to do because it is illegal-even though it might mean the loss of a job or promotion, and even if everyone else is doing it.

Church leaders have also counseled members to avoid worshipping any other God. Today, that generally means to avoid making anything more important than God and Jesus Christ, including fame, money, or popularity. For many in today’s world, the focus is on gaining material things. People spend tremendous hours not just earning what they need to have a reasonably nice life, but to have an expensive home, the latest fashions, and the most prestigious car. To do this, many of them must sacrifice other things, such as church attendance or integrity. To do this is to put the god of wealth before the only true God and Jesus Christ, their Savior. Wealth is often the “golden calf” of today’s world.

Another way members of God’s church honor Him and live up to their title of Saints is to respect and care for their families. Today, family life is often treated as a secondary activity in life. Mormons consider families to be God’s gift to them and to be a critical part of eternity, since Mormons also believe family life continues into the eternities. When your family will continue into death, it is well worth the sacrifices necessary to build a wonderful family. Mormons are taught to spend time with their spouses and children in meaningful ways. Some of this family time is outlined by the church-family scripture study and prayer, Family Home Evening, and Family Councils. Others are created by parents who work hard to find ways to strengthen their families and influence their children. These include setting aside time each day to talk, memorable outings, and shared volunteer work.

Mormons stay focused on God and Jesus Christ by attending church every Sunday. They attend as a family and even babies and small children attend the basic worship service, known as Sacrament Meeting, with their families. After that, they separate into groups for classes. This church attendance takes three hours. However, Mormons, unlike people in many other religions, consider the commandment to keep the Sabbath Day holy to be a literal one. The entire day is required to be devoted to spiritual pursuits. Once church ends, members return home and do only those tasks which are essential, including simple meal preparations and care of young children. On Saturday, they make preparations by cleaning the house, shopping, and preparing whatever needs to be done to keep the Sabbath Day focused on God. They read scriptures, work on church assignments, write in their journals, and find other ways to draw close to God. This time of spiritual focus each week allows them to face another week in the world with strength to withstand the worldly temptations and challenges and builds their relationship with the Savior.

Mormons don’t designate certain people as having attained Sainthood. Instead, each person works hard to be a true Saint-a follower of the Savior.

Adam and Eve were created by Heavenly Father and placed into a peaceful place to begin their lives. We can think of this as replacing the protected childhood of most people. Here they had everything they could want and only one request to obey. This allowed them time to settle into their marriage and the unfamiliar world in which they were placed, and they could have chosen to stay there forever, had they wanted to do so. However, their progress would be very limited if they did so. They would not have children or progress through a normal lifespan. This would also mean they could not fulfill the purposes for which they were sent.

The story of Adam and Eve really begins long before their birth. Prior to the creation of the world, God createdspirits. These spirits had the form of the people who live on earth today, but did not have bodies. They did, however, have personality, talents, and the right to make choices. Each developed in his own way, becoming something of the person he would be on earth.

When life is too comfortable, progress is limited. God, wanting us to progress further, told us He would create for us a world. We would be able, when we came there, to have a body and a family. We would have a figurative veil drawn over us so we would be unable to remember our time in God’s presence. However, the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Ghost would testify to us quietly when we learned truth, if we were sincerely seeking truth. In this way, we’d be able to find our way back.

In order for this life to have meaning, we had to face trials, tribulation, hard work, and choices. In the Garden of Eden, none of that was possible. Adam and Eve understood they faced two conflicting set of instructions-to avoid the fruit of the tree and to go forth and multiply. Today, we often face conflicting instructions from God. For instance, a child is commanded to honor and obey his parents, but then might face a situation in which a parent instructs him to break another commandment. The child must then choose which commandment to obey. One of the challenges of mortal life is to use our agency and our wisdom to decide which commandment is the better part for that particular situation.

Adam and Eve would not raise a family in the shelter of the garden. Had they selfishly chosen to remain, we could not have come to earth. Eve chose the better part when she chose motherhood and made a decision to leave the garden, even though it meant hardship, suffering, and death, not just for her, but for all of us. It was the only way life on earth could have meaning and purpose.

Lehi, the first prophet of the Book of Mormon, explained it this way:

If Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.

And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.

But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.

And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall.” (2 Nephi 2:22-26)

These verses help us to understand that the ranges of emotion are essential to our learning in this mortal life. We can’t recognize or appreciate joy until we’ve experienced heartache. We couldn’t appreciate the pleasure of making good choices until we knew how sin affected our spirits. To experience all of this, we had to be in the world, not in the garden.

Mormons do not believe in original sin. The church has a statement of thirteen articles of faith, written by Joseph Smith. The second says, “We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.” While there are certainly consequences for our own lives in their choice, including that of death, the atonement protects us from being directly held responsible for another person’s choice.

Jesus Christ, in that same pre-mortal life, offered to serve as our redeemer. He alone would live a sinless life and then would atone for our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane, and following that, die for us on the cross. This made it possible for us to repent and be forgiven for our sins, and to live again after death. Because He atoned for our sins, we are not accountable for the choices made by Adam and Eve. We are accountable for only our own sins, and can repent only for those sins we ourselves committed.

We don’t have a very complete record of Adam and Eve’s time on earth, and so we don’t know a great deal about the thought process that went on. We do know that God’s plan for us was carried out.

Dallin H. Oaks, an apostle, helps us to understand the nature of the choice made by Adam and Eve, and explains how Mormons view them:

It was Eve who first transgressed the limits of Eden in order to initiate the conditions of mortality. Her act, whatever its nature, was formally a transgression but eternally a glorious necessity to open the doorway toward eternal life. Adam showed his wisdom by doing the same. And thus Eve and “Adam fell that men might be” (2 Ne. 2:25).

Some Christians condemn Eve for her act, concluding that she and her daughters are somehow flawed by it. Not the Latter-day Saints! Informed by revelation, we celebrate Eve’s act and honor her wisdom and courage in the great episode called the Fall (see Bruce R. McConkie, “Eve and the Fall,” Woman, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979, pp. 67-68). Joseph Smith taught that it was not a “sin,” because God had decreed it (see The Words of Joseph Smith, ed. Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook, Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1980, p. 63). Brigham Young declared, “We should never blame Mother Eve, not the least” (in Journal of Discourses, 13:145). Elder Joseph Fielding Smith said: “I never speak of the part Eve took in this fall as a sin, nor do I accuse Adam of a sin. … This was a transgression of the law, but not a sin … for it was something that Adam and Eve had to do!” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols., Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954-56, 1:114-15).

This suggested contrast between a sin and a transgression reminds us of the careful wording in the second article of faith: “We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression” (emphasis added). It also echoes a familiar distinction in the law. Some acts, like murder, are crimes because they are inherently wrong. Other acts, like operating without a license, are crimes only because they are legally prohibited. Under these distinctions, the act that produced the Fall was not a sin-inherently wrong-but a transgression-wrong because it was formally prohibited. These words are not always used to denote something different, but this distinction seems meaningful in the circumstances of the Fall.” (Dallin H. Oaks, “‘The Great Plan of Happiness‘,” Ensign, Nov 1993, 72)

There are several aspects of Mormon beliefs that must be understood before this question can be answered. The first is that Mormon beliefs do not include the trinity. While they believe in God, Jesus, and in the Holy Ghost, they do not teach that they are the same being. They are three very distinct beings, wholly unified in purpose. For more on this, please read:

How Could Jesus Pray to Himself?

The second important point of Mormon doctrine is that we lived with God before we were born. God created our spirits and we lived with Him for a time before coming to earth.

These two teachings are important because they explain why we don’t feel we need to pray to Mary in order to get God’s attention. It is sometimes explained that if we’re in a noisy room, we will notice, despite the din, the voice of someone we know and love. This is why some people pray to Mary-because when billions are praying, Jesus will hear His mother’s voice. However, Mormons believe God can hear their voice anyway, because we are very literally His children and He loves us and knows us.

Toddlers are taught, in their very first church class, this little rhyme:

Heavenly Father knows me
And what I like to do.
He knows my name and where I live.
I know He loves me, too.

Mormons believe this, and believe God knows them and loves them enough to recognize and notice their voices, and that He can hear and answer every prayer, no matter how many are coming through at any one time. This is a part of His divinity.

Mormons pray to God through Jesus Christ. Jesus was given the role of Intercessor by God. When Jesus Christ offered the Intercessory Prayer, we saw how He was able to pray on our behalf to the Father.

Several scriptures in the Bible promote Jesus’ role as our advocate or intercessor, including Timothy’s explanation that there is only one mediator:

5 For thereis one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; (1 Timothy 2)

Mary is very important in Mormon theology. prior to her birth, and that her mission was foretold by prophets. Isaiah said, “14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

The Book of Mormon also foretells Mary. Both Lehi and his son Nephi, the first two Book of Mormon prophets, saw Mary in visions and knew she would be the mother of God’s only begotten Son.

“As there is only one Christ, so there is only one Mary. And as the Father chose the most noble and righteous of all his spirit sons to come into mortality as his Only Begotten in the flesh, so we may confidently conclude that he selected the most worthy and spiritually talented of all his spirit daughters to be the mortal mother of his Eternal Son.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Bookcraft, Inc., 1965, vol. 1, p. 85.)

We know that Mary had lived a highly moral life in order to be allowed to carry out this great assignment. We can presume she was intelligent and her responses to her calling tell us she knew the scriptures well.

Jesus came to earth as a baby, not a grown man. He did not begin with a full knowledge of who He was or a complete memory of His life prior to His birth. It would have been Mary’s role to train Him in the ways of life and to help Him become the type of person who could and would carry out His eternally significant mission. We can, therefore, presume she was a wise and capable parent, and that she never lost sight of her role in God’s plan for the earth.

For these reasons, and because of the tremendous sacrifices she made and the suffering she endured as she witnessed the treatment and death of her firstborn Son, Mormons honor Mary.

She is often used as an example of a woman of faith, sacrifice, and obedience. In lessons on motherhood, she is usually the first example offered. Mormons look to her to show them the way to live their own lives, but their relationship with God is a direct one. Mormons pray to God, through Jesus. They don’t feel the need to ask someone else to intervene on their behalf, because they believe God loves them enough to hear them. While they might ask friends to pray for them, this does not replace praying to God themselves. Being prayed for by others helps us to connect to one another, but even if only one person prayed for himself, that pray would be heard and answered.

Some have asked if we have statues of Mary. Mormon chapels do not have artwork of any kind in the actual chapel where the service is held. The chapels are extremely simple and free of any decoration except for occasional flowers. However, the buildings-hallways, offices, and classrooms– do have paintings, and some have statues. The statues serve only as decoration and are not used in any way in the worship services. They serve only as teaching aids or reminders of important aspects of gospel teaching.

Art plays an important part in Mormon life as a tool for teaching. Teachers are encouraged to use it to help emphasize aspects of the story or principle being taught, to hold attention, or to invoke important thoughts or feelings. Mormons do not pray to statues or make use of them as part of their services, however. They are simply decorations or teaching tools. Statues of Mary are most often shown in context with her mission on earth as Jesus’ mother.

A polytheist is someone who worships multiple gods. Generally, polytheism refers to a group of gods of one another and often, in the case of hard polytheism, in conflict with one another.

Mormons believe there are three Gods, but who function as an entirely unified body. Together, they form the Godhead and fulfill the complete mission of God. The Supreme God is Heavenly Father. He is generally the One the Christian Bible refers to when it speaks of God, although in some cases, including in the Book of Genesis, Jesus is referred to as God during the creation of the world. Mormons teach that God’s Son created the earth, under the direction of God the Father. However, it is God the Father that Mormons call God and worship as such. He is the one they consider their Heavenly Father, while Jesus is their brother, the Son of God.

Mormons teach that God the Father is the Father of all things and is male, while the Jewish people teach that God does not have gender. He created the spirits of everyone who ever lived and oversees everything that happens, ruling over Heaven and Earth. We teach that He is very literally our Father, and view Him as a loving, caring Father who watches over His children and wants them to return home to Him.

Jesus is the Messiah, but not the Jewish Moshiach. While many Jewish people believe there will one day be a Messiah, they are watching for a political leader. The Jewish Moshiach is not a god, but a fully mortal human being. Mormons teach that Jesus had a mortal mother, Mary, but that God was very literally His Father. Jesus was His firstborn-the first spirit to be created, and was begotten of the Father. This gave Him a combination of the mortal and the divine, which was essential for him to be able to carry out the task He had undertaken, to live on earth as a mortal, and then to die, but only by His own choice. Mormons teach that no one could take the Messiah’s life from Him; He could only choose to give it.

Mormons teach that the Messiah’s mission was a spiritual one, with hearts won in a spiritual fashion. When He comes the second time, this is when He will rule over the world and be recognized as the Messiah by all, but again, it will be accomplished by spiritual means, not political or military ones.

The third member of the Godhead is the Holy Ghost. The New Testament in the Christian Bible tells of Jesus promising his disciples, in His final days, to send a comforter to them after He was gone. This is the Holy Ghost. This third personage in the Godhead does not have a perfected body of flesh and bone, as do God and Jesus. He is a Spirit. His role is to teach truth to those who are willing to hear it.

Jesus and the Holy Ghost honor God the Father and do only His will. They completely subject their own will for His and give Him the honor for all that happens. This is the meaning of the Christian Bible’s statement that God and Jesus are one. They are entirely unified in every way.

While the Mormons do teach there are three Gods, these are Gods working in perfect harmony, not at cross purposes, to carry out the work of God the Father for His children. It is God the Father who is worshipped as God.

Personal Response by Roger Keller
The Latter-day Saint (nicknamed Mormon) understanding of the Godhead and the nature of God are rooted in the prophet Joseph Smith’s first vision in which the Father and the Son appeared to Joseph standing side by side.The two members of the Godhead were clearly two separate, distinct personages.These two with the Holy Ghost, also an individual person of spirit, constitute the Godhead of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.They are absolutely one in love, will, purpose, and direction.There is no variation among them, and to underline this unity, even though it is not an ontological unity, Latter-day Saints often define the doctrine of the Godhead as “Social Trinitarianism,” thereby underlining the indivisible unity of the three.

In Latter-day Saint (Mormon) thinking, however, there is a subordinationism within the Godhead.The Father clothes the intelligences of the Son and Holy Ghost with spirit form and is therefore superior to them.He gives directions which they carry out in total unity and unanimity with Him.Each of the three is God, but the Father reigns supreme, and as it says in I Cor. 15:24 after subordinating all things to himself, in the end the Son will deliver all things to the Father and then subject himself fully to the Father, in order that the Father may reign over all.

As is clear, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (errantly called by the media The Mormon Church) do not subscribe to the traditional doctrine of the Trinity as defined at Nicaea in 325 C.E.The Latter-day Saint doctrine is not derived from an interpretation of scripture or from neo-Platonic philosophy, but rather from the first vision.It is the Latter-day Saint conviction that the traditional doctrine of the Trinity cannot be found or defended from the Old and New Testaments, but rather that it is an unnecessaryphilosophical addition to biblical doctrine, trying to answer a question that does not need answering.That question is how there can be one God in the Old Testament, and yet three persons who receive divine ascription in the New?The Nicene answer is that there are three simultaneously, co-existent persons–Father, Son, and Holy Ghost–in the Godhead, and to retain the Old Testament one God, they must be of “one essence” or “one nature.”Any competent Protestant or Catholic theologian will, however, say that this is THE mystery of God and is not fully comprehensible.

Latter-day Saints (Mormons) do not see such a problem, because they believe that in the New Testament something new about God is learned.The one who is made known in the Old Testament as God, YHWH or Jehovah, has become incarnate as Jesus, and from him we learn that there is not just one God, but a Godhead composed of three simultaneously, co-existing persons–Father, Son, and Holy Ghost–who are one in all aspects save nature, and who together compose a Social Trinity.

Additional Resources

• “Fruits of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ”

Joseph B. Wirthlin, Ensign, Nov. 1991, 15-17 One distinctive principle [of the gospel] is a true concept of the nature of the Godhead.

• “Touchstone of Truth”

John H. Vandenberg, Ensign, May 1974, 11-13 There is no question that Jesus taught the very nature of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost-three personages of form and substance, individual and distinct.