FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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Revision as of 12:52, 12 May 2021
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Contents
- 1 Latter-day Saint doctrines and the Nature of God
- 2 Early teachings about God in the Book of Mormon, from Joseph Smith, and among Church members
- 3 Theodicy: The Problem of Evil
- 3.1 Why would a loving God allow the death of innocents?
- 3.2 Question: How is Isaiah 43:10 used as a proof-text by critics of the Mormon doctrines of the plurality of gods and the deification of man?
- 3.2.1 The context of this passage makes it clear that the issue being addressed is not one of general theology but rather a very specific and practical command to recognize YHWH as Israel's only god and the only god to be worshiped
- 3.2.2 King James Version
- 3.2.3 Other translation(s)
- 3.2.4 Use or misuse by Church critics
- 3.2.5 Commentary
- 3.3 Heavenly Mother
Latter-day Saint doctrines and the Nature of God
Jump to Subtopic:
- Latter-day Saint beliefs regarding the characteristics of God
- Early teachings about God in the Book of Mormon, from Joseph Smith, and among Church members
- Latter-day Saint belief in the deification of Man
- Latter-day Saint views of the Trinity
- Theodicy: The Problem of Evil
- How Latter-day Saints worship God
- Latter-day Saint doctrines and the multiplicity of gods
- Man's interaction with God
- Latter-day Saint belief in a female divine "Heavenly Mother"
Latter-day Saint doctrines and the nature of God/Characteristics of God
Early teachings about God in the Book of Mormon, from Joseph Smith, and among Church members
Jump to Subtopic:
- Early Mormon beliefs regarding the nature of God
- Lecture of Faith 5 teaches the Father is "a personage of spirit"
- Brigham Young's Adam-God theory
Early Mormon beliefs regarding the nature of God
Summary: Some evangelical Christians attempt to show that the LDS idea of deification is unbiblical, unchristian and untrue. They seem to think that this doctrine is the main reason why the LDS reject the Psychological Trinity.
Jump to details:
- Question: What is the historic church's concept of the Trinity and why do Mormons reject it?
- Question: Did Joseph begin his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God?
- Question: Does the Book of Mormon teach that Christ and the Father are a single individual expressing himself in different modes?
Lecture of Faith 5 teaches the Father is "a personage of spirit"
Summary: Lectures on Faith, which used to be part of the Doctrine and Covenants, teach that God is a spirit. Joseph Smith's later teachings contradict this. More generally, critics argue that Joseph Smith taught an essentially "trinitarian" view of the Godhead until the mid 1830s, thus proving the Joseph was "making it up" as he went along.
Jump to details:
- Question: What are the Lectures on Faith?
- Question: What does Lecture 5 of the Lectures on Faith say about the nature of God?
- Question: How would a statement that "God is a spirit" be interpreted in ancient Judasism?
- Question: Did Joseph began his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God?
- Question: What are modern Church leader's views on the Lectures on Faith?
- Question: Is the Father embodied or a spirit in the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants?
Brigham Young's Adam-God theory
Summary: Brigham Young taught that Adam, the first man, was God the Father. Since this teaching runs counter to the story told in Genesis and commonly accepted by Christians, critics accuse Brigham of being a false prophet. Also, because modern Latter-day Saints do not believe Brigham's "Adam-God" teachings, critics accuse Mormons of either changing their teachings or rejecting teachings of prophets they find uncomfortable or unsupportable.
Jump to details:
- Question: What is the Adam-God Theory?
- Question: What is the history of Brigham Young's Adam-God Theory and why was it rejected by the Church?
- Stephen E. Robinson: "Yet another way in which anti-Mormon critics often misrepresent LDS doctrine is in the presentation of anomalies as though they were the doctrine of the Church"
- Matthew Brown (2009): "Brigham Young repeated these ideas and expounded upon them during the next 25 years. His viewpoints have been variously classified as doctrine, theory, paradox, heresy, speculation, and some of the mysteries"
- Question: If the Adam-God doctrine isn't true, how come D&C 27:11 calls Adam the Ancient of Days which is clearly a title for God in Daniel 7?
- Question: What attempts have been made to reconcile the Adam-God Theory with the doctrines of the Church?
- Question: Was the "Adam-God" theory ever taught as part of the temple endowment ceremony as something called "the lecture at the veil"?
Mormon belief in the deification of Man
Jump to details:
- Gospel Topics: "Latter-day Saints see all people as children of God in a full and complete sense"
- Question: Do Latter-day Saints believe that they will one day 'supplant' God?
- Question: What were the views of early Christians on the deification of man?
- Question: Was the Latter-day Saint concept of deification derived from Greek philosophy?
- Question: What Biblical scriptures discuss the doctrine of the deification of man?
- Question: If a person faithfully practices Mormonism during this life, do they become a god after they die?
- Question: Do Mormon men believe that they will become "gods of their own planets" and rule over others?
- Question: If God was once like us, does that mean that God was once a sinner?
- Question: What do Mormons believe regarding the nature of angels?
- Theosis
Latter-day Saint doctrines and the nature of God/Trinity
Theodicy: The Problem of Evil
Summary: This page discusses the problem of evil—can one believe in a good, just, loving God when one considers all the suffering and evil in the world?
Jump to Subtopic:
Why would a loving God allow the death of innocents?
Jump to details:
- Question: Why would a loving God would kill innocent children in the flood of Noah's day?
- Question: Why would a loving God kill the firstborn of Egypt? (Exodus 12:12)
- Joseph Fielding Smith: "This was also in the similitude of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ"
Latter-day Saint doctrines and the nature of God/Worship of God
Question: How is Isaiah 43:10 used as a proof-text by critics of the Mormon doctrines of the plurality of gods and the deification of man?
The context of this passage makes it clear that the issue being addressed is not one of general theology but rather a very specific and practical command to recognize YHWH as Israel's only god and the only god to be worshiped
King James Version
Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. Isaiah 43꞉10
Other translation(s)
"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. (NIV)
Use or misuse by Church critics
This verse is used as a proof-text by critics of the LDS doctrines of the plurality of gods and the deification of man. It is claimed that this verse proves that there never has been or ever will be another being who could properly be called a god.
Commentary
This passage and other similar proof texts from the Hebrew scriptures are misused by critics. When read in context, it is clear that the intent of the passage is to differentiate YHWH from the foreign gods and idols in the cultures surrounding the Jews.
Verses 11 - 13 are a continuation of the statement by God:
I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.
I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "that I am God.
Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?" (NIV)
The context of this passage makes it clear that the issue being addressed is not one of general theology but rather a very specific and practical command to recognize YHWH as Israel's only god and the only god to be worshiped.
In addition to misapplying this passage, critics also fail to recognize the growing body of evidence that shows that the Jewish religion was not strictly monotheistic until quite late in its development, certainly after the era in which Isaiah was written. When this evidence is considered, it appears that Judaism originally taught that though there are indeed other divine beings, some of whom are called gods, none of these are to be worshiped except for the God of gods who created all things and who revealed Himself to Moses.
Latter-day Saint doctrines and the nature of God/Interaction with God
Heavenly Mother
Jump to details:
- Gospel Topics: Our theology begins with heavenly parents. Our highest aspiration is to be like them
- Question: Do Latter-day Saints believe in a female divine person, a "Heavenly Mother" as counterpart to God, the Heavenly Father?
- Question: Are we allowed to pray to our "Heavenly Mother"?
- Question: Is it true that little is known about our Heavenly Mother because she is "protected"?
- Question: Is Heavenly Mother not talked about more because the prophets are sexist?
- BYU Studies Article: A Mother There
Notes