Category: Nature of God

Do Mormons believe in the same God I do? Do Mormons really believe that God used to be a man and that we can become Gods?

  1. What would you like God to be like?

    Reviewed by: Joshua Steimle on April 5th, 2011 Categories: Answer My Questions, Nature of God Comments: 8

    For the sake of this post, forget everything you already know about God. All your preconceptions, everything that comes to mind automatically, everything you’ve been taught, etc. If Bible passages or creeds come to mind, ignore them for this brief moment, just for fun, and tell me what you would want God to be like? If God could be whoever you wanted him to be, who would you make him and why?

    I’ll start us off:

    1. Perfect. Because if he weren’t perfect, then how could I trust anything about him at all?

    2. Omnipotent. If he’s not able to … Read the rest of this entry »

  2. How do Mormons interpret Isaiah 43:10?

    Reviewed by: Joshua Steimle on December 13th, 2010 Categories: Ask Me Questions, Nature of God Comments: 21

    Isaiah 43:10 says “Before me there was no God formed; neither shall there be after me.” This scripture is commonly used to “trick up” Mormons who claim that we humans are children of God, destined to become Gods like him. But the response to that has been adequately answered here, here, and perhaps best, here, so I’m not going to respond to it here. However, a recent commenter on this blog asked a different question about this scripture, which is this:

    How do you interpret the passage where Jehovah God says to Isaiah, “Before me there was … Read the rest of this entry »

  3. How could God have been a man and have created everything?

    Reviewed by: Joshua Steimle on November 24th, 2010 Categories: Ask Me Questions, Bible, Nature of God Comments: 10

    For those of you who aren’t sure what the question is referring to, here’s the expanded version:

    Q: Mormons believe that God used to be a man, like us, and that we can become gods, like God. But this doesn’t seem to make sense if you read the creation story in Genesis 1:1-19.

    1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
    2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
    3. And God said, Let there be light: and

      4. … Read the rest of this entry »

  4. Do Mormons believe God changes?

    Reviewed by: Joshua Steimle on September 7th, 2010 Categories: Ask Me Questions, Nature of God Comments: 3

    Note: Much of what I’ve put here was inspired by the content at FAIRMormon.org on the matter of God changing/not changing.

    This is a branch off of a question asked in the comments of another post, and also a widely disseminated “gotcha” question for Mormons, which is that if Mormon claim that God was once a man, and that men can become Gods, then how does that reconcile with scriptures such as follow:

    James 1:16: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation … Read the rest of this entry »

  5. Do Mormons Believe in More than One God?

    Reviewed by: Joshua Steimle on July 22nd, 2010 Categories: Nature of God Comments: 9

    It depends what you mean by the question. If the question is do Mormons worship more than one God, the answer is a definitive “no”. If the question is do Mormons believe more than one god exists, the answer is “yes”.

    If Mormons believe that multiple gods exist, but they only worship one of them as God, does that mean Mormons are polytheists or that Mormonism is a form of polytheism?

    Mormonism is certainly not polytheistic in the way the Hindu religion is. Mormons do not believe there is any being that can do anything for them other than God. … Read the rest of this entry »

  6. “God and Science Don’t Mix”

    Reviewed by: Joshua Steimle on June 26th, 2009 Categories: Mormon Beliefs, Nature of God Comments: 5

    So says Lawrence M. Krauss, not to mention many others, of course. But the problem Krauss as well as many other atheists face (feel free to chime in here Dallin) is that their belief in a “no-God doctrine” is based on a faulty understanding of God. That is, their logical train of thought says “The Catholic [insert any other religion here] idea of God doesn’t jive with known science, therefore there is no God.” But what if the Catholic[again, insert any other religion here--I'm not trying to pick on Catholics] idea of God is incorrect?

    Krauss claims that “Science … Read the rest of this entry »

  7. Do Mormons believe God doesn’t know everything and is still progressing?

    Reviewed by: Joshua Steimle on September 17th, 2008 Categories: Nature of God Comments: 1

    Q: Presidents Brigham Young and Wilford Woodruff both taught that God is progressing in knowledge (Journal of Discourses 11:286, The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, p.3). Yet President Joseph Fielding Smith said that “this kind of doctrine is very dangerous” (Doctrines of Salvation 1:8). Which prophet was telling the truth?

    A: Although this webpage (http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/response/qa/by_sermons_scripture.htm) doesn’t directly address your question, it addresses the underlying issue, which is that Mormons don’t believe that everything a prophet says is scripture (nor can we even be absolutely sure as to whether they’re being quoted accurately). As I’ve mentioned previously, … Read the rest of this entry »

  8. Man > God > Man and Infinity

    Reviewed by: Joshua Steimle on September 16th, 2008 Categories: Nature of God Comments: 2

    Q: Here is a diffferent type of argument that i would like to see what your response would be.

    http://www.carm.org/lds/infinity.htm

    A: Regarding infinity, our church doesn’t teach what is said in that article, that is, the church doesn’t say anywhere I’ve read that there’s an infinite trail of man > God > man > God, etc.. We do believe that we are children of God and that our ultimate destiny is to become like him, and we do believe that God was once a man like we are and went through the same things we currently go through. But … Read the rest of this entry »