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{{Short description|Mormon conception of God}}
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[[File:Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 001.png|thumb|An image of [[God the Father]] by [[Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld|Julius Schnorr]], 1860]]
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In orthodox [[Mormonism]], the term '''God''' generally refers to the biblical [[God the Father]], whom [[Latter Day Saint movement|Latter Day Saints]] also refer to as '''''[[Elohim]]''''' or '''Heavenly Father''',<ref name="Davies 2003">{{cite book |last=Davies |first=Douglas J. |author-link=Douglas Davies |year=2003 |chapter=Divine–human transformations |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fw8DIziwEDsC&pg=PA65 |title=An Introduction to Mormonism |location=[[Cambridge, England]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=65–90 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511610028.004 |isbn=978-0-511-61002-8 |oclc=438764483 |s2cid=146238056}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|author1=First Presidency|author-link=First Presidency (LDS Church)|author2=Quorum of the Twelve Apostles|author2-link=Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church)|title=Gospel Classics: The Father and the Son|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2002/04/the-father-and-the-son?lang=eng|magazine=[[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]]|publisher=[[LDS Church]]|date=April 2002|access-date=February 10, 2019}}</ref><ref name="EoM">{{cite encyclopedia |contribution-url=https://eom.byu.edu/index.php/God_the_Father |contribution=God the Father |pages=548–552 |author1-last=Robinson |author1-first=Stephen E. |author2-last=Burgon |author2-first=Glade L. |author3-last=Turner |author3-first=Rodney |author4-last=Largey |author4-first=Dennis L. |editor-last=Ludlow |editor-first=Daniel H. |editor-link=Daniel H. Ludlow |year=1992 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Mormonism]] |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn=0-02-879602-0 |oclc=24502140 |via=[[Harold B. Lee Library]] |access-date=7 May 2021}}</ref> while the term '''''Godhead''''' refers to a council of three distinct divine persons consisting of God the Father, [[God in Mormonism|Jesus]] (his firstborn [[Son of God (Christianity)|Son]], whom Latter-day Saints refer to as ''[[Jehovah]]''), and the [[Holy Spirit (Christian denominational variations)#Latter Day Saints|Holy Ghost]].<ref name="Davies 2003" /><ref name="EoM" /> However, in Latter Day Saint theology the term "God" may also refer to, in some contexts, the Godhead as a whole or to each member individually.<ref name="EoM" />

Latter-day Saints believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three distinct beings, that the Father and Jesus have perfected, glorified, physical bodies, and that the Holy Ghost is a spirit without a physical body.<ref name="Davies 2003"/><ref name="Mason 2015">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Mason |author-first=Patrick Q. |author-link=Patrick Q. Mason |date=3 September 2015 |title=Mormonism |url=https://oxfordre.com/religion/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-75 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion |location=[[Oxford, England]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.75 |isbn=978-0-19-934037-8 |doi-access= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130060403/https://oxfordre.com/religion/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-75 |archive-date=30 November 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=15 May 2021|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |contribution-url=https://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Godhead |contribution=Godhead |pages=552–553 |last=Dahl |first=Paul E. |editor-last=Ludlow |editor-first=Daniel H. |editor-link=Daniel H. Ludlow |year=1992 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Mormonism]] |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn=0-02-879602-0 |oclc=24502140 |via=[[Harold B. Lee Library]] |access-date=7 May 2021}}</ref> Latter-day Saints also believe that there are other gods and goddesses outside the Godhead, such as a [[Heavenly Mother (Mormonism)|Heavenly Mother]]—who is married to God the Father—and that faithful Latter-day Saints may attain godhood in the [[Exaltation (Mormonism)|afterlife]].<ref name=Godhood/> The term [[Heavenly Parents]] is used to refer collectively to the divine partnership of Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Noyce |first1=David |title=Meet the (heavenly) parents: Mormon leaders are mentioning this divine duo more often |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=4549096&itype=CMSID |newspaper=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |date=14 Nov 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=McArthur |first1=Krishna |last2=Spalding |first2=Bethany Brady |title=Guides to Heavenly Mother |journal=[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought|Dialogue]] |date=1 Apr 2022 |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=135–147 |doi=10.5406/15549399.55.1.06 |s2cid=247958856 |url=https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/dial/article/55/1/135/297571|doi-access=free }}</ref> [[Joseph Smith]] taught that God was once a man on another planet before being [[Exaltation (Mormonism)|exalted]] to Godhood.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Terry |first=Roger |date=1 December 2021 |title=Getting the Cosmology Right |url=https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/dial/article/54/4/71/293631/Getting-the-Cosmology-Right |journal=[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought|Dialogue]] |volume=54 |issue=4 |page=75 |doi=10.5406/15549399.54.4.071 |issn=0012-2157|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Chan |first=Dawn |date=2016-04-20 |title=How to Become a God |url=https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/mormon-transhumanism-and-the-immortality-upgrade |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |issn=0028-792X |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-47-exaltation?lang=eng|title=Gospel Principles Chapter 47: Exaltation|website=ChurchofJesusChrist.org|access-date=17 October 2017}}</ref>

This conception differs from the traditional Christian [[Trinity]] in several ways, one of which is that Mormonism has not adopted or continued to hold the doctrine of the [[Nicene Creed]], that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are of the [[Homoousion|same substance]] or being.<ref name="Davies 2003"/> Also, Mormonism teaches that the intelligence dwelling in each human is coeternal with God.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |contribution-url=https://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Premortal_Life |contribution=Premortal Life |pages=1123–1125 |last=Brown |first=Gayle O. |editor-last=Ludlow |editor-first=Daniel H. |editor-link=Daniel H. Ludlow |year=1992 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Mormonism]] |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn=0-02-879602-0 |oclc=24502140 |via=[[Harold B. Lee Library]] |access-date=7 May 2021}}</ref> Mormons use the term ''omnipotent'' to describe God and regard him as the creator: they understand him as being almighty and eternal but subject to eternal natural law which governs intelligence, justice and the eternal nature of matter (i.e., God organized the world but did not [[Creatio ex nihilo|create it from nothing]]).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |contribution-url=https://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Omnipotent_God;_Omnipresence_of_God;_Omniscience_of_God |contribution=Omnipotent God; Omnipresence of God; Omniscience of God |page=1030 |last=Paulsen |first=David L. |editor-last=Ludlow |editor-first=Daniel H. |editor-link=Daniel H. Ludlow |year=1992 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Mormonism]] |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn=0-02-879602-0 |oclc=24502140 |via=[[Harold B. Lee Library]] |access-date=7 May 2021}}</ref> The Mormon conception of God also differs substantially from the [[Mormonism and Judaism#The nature of God|Jewish tradition]] of [[ethical monotheism]], in which ''[[Elohim]]'' ({{langx|he|rtl=yes|אֱלֹהִים}}) is a completely different conception.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

This description of God represents the Mormon [[orthodoxy]], formalized in 1915 based on earlier teachings. Other extant and historical branches of Mormonism have or had adopted different views of God, such as the [[Adam–God doctrine]] and trinitarianism.<ref name=NatureOfGod/>{{pn|date=June 2025}}

==Early Latter Day Saint concepts==
[[Image:Joseph Smith first vision stained glass.jpg|left|thumb|200px|In his 1838 personal history, [[Joseph Smith]] wrote that he had [[First Vision|seen two personages]] in the spring of 1820. In 1843, Smith stated that these personages, [[God the Father]] and [[Jesus]], had separate, corporal bodies.<ref name="EoM"/>]]

Most early Latter Day Saints came from a [[Protestantism|Protestant background]],<ref name="Mason 2015"/> believing in the doctrine of the [[Trinity]] that had developed during the [[Early Christianity|early centuries of Christianity]]. Before roughly 1835, Mormon theological teachings were similar to those of mainstream Protestantism.<ref>{{cite journal| last= Alexander| first= Thomas G.| author-link= Thomas G. Alexander| title= The Reconstruction of Mormon Doctrine: From Joseph Smith to Progressive Theology| journal= [[Sunstone (magazine)|Sunstone]]| volume= 5| issue= 4| year= 1980| page= 24| url= https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/022-24-33.pdf}}</ref> Founder [[Joseph Smith]]'s teachings regarding the nature of the Godhead changed during his lifetime, becoming fully developed in the few years prior to [[Murder of Joseph Smith|his murder in 1844]]. Beginning as an unelaborated description of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as being "One", Smith taught that the Father and the Son were distinct personal members of the Godhead as early as 1832.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frederick |first=Nicholas J. |title=The Bible, Mormon scripture, and the rhetoric of allusivity |date=2016 |publisher=[[Fairleigh Dickinson University Press]] |isbn=978-1-61147-906-5 |location=Madison, New Jersey |page=38}}</ref><ref>{{lds|Doctrine and Covenants|dc|76|12|24}}</ref> Smith's public teachings described the Father and Son as possessing distinct physical bodies, being one together with the Holy Ghost, not in material substance, but in spirit, glory, and purpose.<ref name=VeryShortIntro/> Latter-day Saint scholar [[David L. Paulsen]] refers to this oneness as constituting "one perfectly united, and mutually indwelling, divine community".<ref name="bowman20161116">{{Cite journal |last=Bowman |first=Robert M. Jr. |date=2016-11-16 |title=Social Trinitarianism and Mormon Theology |url=https://www.academia.edu/29988378 |journal=Evangelical Theological Society Annual Convention |language=en}}</ref> Together with other Mormon and non-Mormon scholars, such as [[Richard Bushman]],<ref name=VeryShortIntro>{{Cite book |title=Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction |date=2008 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-971869-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6m059lR04IoC |editor-last=Bushman |editor-first=Richard L. |series=Very Short Introductions |location=New York City}}</ref>{{rp|p=6}} [[Craig Blomberg]],{{r|bowman20161116}} and [[Stephen H. Webb]],<ref name="salai20150819">{{cite news | url=https://www.americamagazine.org/content/all-things/catholic-and-mormon-author-qa-professor-stephen-h-webb | title=Catholic and Mormon: Author Q&A with Professor Stephen H. Webb | work=America | date=2015-08-19 | access-date=19 August 2015 | quote=Mormons emphasize the relative independence of the three divine persons of the Trinity. Many theologians today, whatever their church tradition, are developing what is called a "social Trinity," which is very similar to Mormonism in seeing the Trinity as a society of persons rather than a single immaterial substance defined by a set of internal relations. | author=Salai, Sean S.J.}}</ref> they have described said oneness of the Godhead as [[social trinitarianism]]; Mormon critic [[Robert M. Bowman Jr.]] prefers [[tritheism]] or "ethical polytheism".{{r|bowman20161116}}

Mormons view their concept of the Godhead as a [[Restoration (Mormonism)|restoration]] of original Christian doctrine as taught by Jesus and the [[apostles in the New Testament]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Coleman |first=Gary J. |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2007/04/mom-are-we-christians?lang=eng |title=Mom, Are We Christians? |journal=[[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]] |publisher=[[LDS Church]] |date=April 2007 |access-date=2024-03-11}}</ref> Mormons see the strong influence of Greek culture and philosophy<ref>{{cite journal|last=Butler |first=Shanna |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2005/02/what-happened-to-christs-church |title=What Happened to Christ's Church? |journal=[[Liahona (magazine)|Liahona]] |publisher=[[LDS Church]] |date=February 2005 |access-date=2014-02-24}}</ref> ([[Hellenization]]) during this period as contributing to a departure from the traditional{{according to whom|date=October 2025}} Christian view of a corporeal God in whose image and likeness humanity was created.<ref name=Development>{{Cite book |last=Harrell |first=Charles R. |title=This Is My Doctrine: The Development of Mormon Theology |date=2011 |publisher=Greg Kofford Books |isbn=978-1-58958-103-6 |location=Draper, Utah |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IPtiEAAAQBAJ| via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>{{rp|18}}<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Draper |first=Richard D. |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1994/04/the-reality-of-the-resurrection |title=The Reality of the Resurrection |magazine=[[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]]|date=April 1984|publisher=[[LDS Church]] |access-date=2014-02-24}}</ref> These theologians began to define God in terms of three persons, or ''[[Hypostasis (philosophy and religion)|hypostases]]'', sharing one immaterial divine substance, or ''[[ousia]]''—a concept that some claim found no backing in scripture,<ref>Thomas Mozley "The Creed, or a Philosophy" 1893 p 303.</ref>{{efn|The wording of the [[Council of Constantinople (360)]] prohibited use of the terms substance, essence, and ousia because they were not included in the scriptures.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20230811142401/http://www.earlychurchtexts.com/public/creed_homoian_of_constantinople_360.htm here] (archived from the [http://www.earlychurchtexts.com/public/creed_homoian_of_constantinople_360.htm original] on 11 August 2023). Retrieved 22 December 2023</ref>}} but closely mirrored elements of Greek philosophy such as [[Neoplatonism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/trinity/trinity-history.html#Aug|title=History of Trinitarian Doctrines (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)|at=3.3.2 Augustine|website=plato.stanford.edu|access-date=17 October 2017|publisher=[[Stanford University]]}}</ref>

===Teachings during Joseph Smith's lifetime===
The [[Book of Mormon]] teaches that God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are "one",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/gs/god-godhead?lang=eng&letter=g|title=God, Godhead|website=ChurchofJesusChrist.org|access-date=17 October 2017}}</ref> with Jesus appearing with a body of spirit before his birth<ref>{{lds|Ether|ether|3|6|9}}</ref> and a tangible body after his resurrection.<ref>{{lds|3rd Nephi|3ne|11}}</ref> The book describes the "Spirit of the Lord" "in the form of a man", speaking as a man would.<ref>{{lds|3rd Nephi|3ne|11|11}}</ref>

Before the [[birth of Jesus]], the book depicts him as a spirit "without flesh and blood", with a spirit "body" that looked the same as he would appear during his physical life.<ref>{{lds|Ether|ether|3}}</ref> Moreover, Jesus described himself as follows: "Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters."<ref>{{lds|Ether|ether|3|14}}</ref> In another passage of the Book of Mormon, the prophet [[Abinadi]] states,

{{Blockquote|I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people. And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son—the Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son—and they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth.<ref>{{lds|Mosiah|Mosiah|15|1|4}}</ref>}}

After Jesus was resurrected and ascended into Heaven, the Book of Mormon states that he [[Proposed Book of Mormon geographical setting|visited]] a group of people in the Americas, who saw that he had a resurrected, tangible body. During his visit, God the Father announced him, and those present felt the Holy Spirit, but only the Jesus was seen. Jesus is quoted as saying,

{{Blockquote|Father, thou hast given them the Holy Ghost because they believe in me; and thou seest that they believe in me because thou hearest them, and they pray unto me; and they pray unto me because I am with them. And now Father, I pray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on their words, that they may believe in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one.<ref>{{lds|3rd Nephi|3ne|19|22|23}}</ref>}}

The Book of Mormon states that Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are "one".<ref>{{lds|3rd Nephi|3ne|11|36}}</ref> Some scholars have suggested that the view of Jesus in the Book of Mormon is also consistent, or perhaps ''most'' consistent, with monotheistic [[modalism]].<ref name=NatureOfGod/>{{rp|p=6}}

Even so, some historians have debated about Smith's early conception of God.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Park |first=Benjamin E. |date=Summer 2010 |title=Salvation through a Tabernacle: Joseph Smith, Parley P. Pratt, and Early Mormon Theologies of Embodiment |url=https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/dial/article/43/2/1/251792/Salvation-through-a-Tabernacle-Joseph-Smith-Parley |journal=[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought|Dialogue]] |publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=1–44 |doi=10.5406/dialjmormthou.43.2.0001 |s2cid=171908868 |via=[[Scholarly Publishing Collective]]|doi-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref> According to Boyd Kirkland and Thomas Alexander, in the early-to-mid-1830s Smith viewed God the Father as a spirit.<ref>{{Citation | editor-last= Bergera | editor-first= Gary James | year= 1989 | title= Line Upon Line: Essays on Mormon Doctrine | location= Salt Lake City | url= https://archive.org/details/lineuponlineessa0000unse | via= [[Internet Archive]] | url-access=registration | publisher= [[Signature Books]] |pages=36, 53}}</ref> However, [[Terryl Givens]] and [[Brian M. Hauglid]] argue that although Smith sometimes spoke of God using trinitarian language, revelations he dictated as early as 1830 described God as an embodied being.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Givens |first=Terryl L. |title=The Pearl of Greatest Price: Mormonism's Most Controversial Scripture |date=2019 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-060386-1 |location=New York City|doi=10.1093/oso/9780190603861.001.0001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DjGoDwAAQBAJ|page=73}}</ref> Catholic philosopher [[Stephen H. Webb]] describes Smith having had a "corporeal and anthropomorphic understanding of God" evinced in his 1830 [[Book of Moses]] that described God as a physical being who literally resembles human beings.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Webb |first=Stephen H. |title=Jesus Christ, Eternal God: Heavenly Flesh and the Metaphysics of Matter |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-19-982795-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ijtpAgAAQBAJ |location=New York City |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199827954.001.0001 |author-link=Stephen H. Webb|page=254}}</ref> [[Steven C. Harper]] states that because, in the 1830s, Smith privately described to some of his followers his 1820 first vision as a theophany of "two divine, corporeal beings," "its implications for the trinity and materiality of God were asserted that early".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harper |first=Steven Craig |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SieeDwAAQBAJ |title=First Vision: Memory and Mormon Origins|doi=10.1093/oso/9780199329472.001.0001 |date=2019 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-932947-2 |page=55}}</ref>

In public sermons later in Smith's life, he described what he thought was the true nature of the Godhead in much greater detail. In 1843, Smith described both God the Father and God the Son as having distinct physical bodies and the Holy Spirit being a distinct yet incorporeal being, as well: "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us."<ref>{{lds|Doctrine & Covenants|dc|130|22}}</ref> Although the verse is included in canonized LDS scripture, some{{who|date=March 2024}} dispute its authenticity{{em dash}}particularly that of the Holy Ghost dwelling in humans since the teaching was inconsistent with the manuscript source's wording about the Holy Ghost and underwent various revisions and modifications before finalization.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bycommonconsent.com/2013/02/03/sunday-evenings-with-the-doctrine-and-covenants-section-130-fun-with-texts-part-i/|title=Sunday Evenings With The Doctrine and Covenants. Section 130. Part I. The Manuscript Source of D&C 130.|date=3 February 2013|website=Bycommonconsent.com|access-date=17 October 2017}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|sure=y|reason=|date=March 2024}}

During this period, Smith also introduced a theology that could support the existence of a [[Heavenly Mother (Latter Day Saints)|Heavenly Mother]]. The primary source for this theology is the sermon he delivered at the funeral of [[King Follett]] (commonly called the [[King Follett Discourse]]). The LDS Church believes that a Heavenly Mother exists,<ref name=Sisters>{{cite book |last1=Wilcox Hammond |first1=Linda |title=Sisters in Spirit: Mormon Women in Historical and Cultural Perspective |chapter=The Mormon Concept of a Mother in Heaven |date=30 June 1992 |publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |location=Champaign, Illinois |isbn=0-252-06296-5 |pages=66, 72 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6bHN1Ka12cC |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> but very little is acknowledged or known beyond her existence or the number of Heavenly Mothers as early LDS leaders did teach that it was "clearly shown that God the Father had a [[plurality of wives]]."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rosetti |first=Cristina |date=2022-04-01 |title='O My Mother': Mormon Fundamentalist Mothers in Heaven and Women's Authority |url=https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/o-my-mother-mormon-fundamentalist-mothers-in-heaven-and-womens-authority/ |journal=[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought|Dialogue]] |publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |volume=55 |issue=1 |page=133 |doi=10.5406/15549399.55.1.05 |issn=0012-2157}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Dana|first1=Bruce E.|title=The Eternal Father and His Son|date=September 2004|page=62|publisher=Cedar Fort|isbn=1-55517-788-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-z8NVySmnmcC&pg=PA62|access-date=9 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Swanson|first1=Vern G.|title=Dynasty of the Holy Grail: Mormonism's Holy Bloodline|date=2013|publisher=Cedar Fort|location=Springville, UT|isbn=978-1-4621-0404-8|chapter=Christ and Polygamy|pages=247–259|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rss1CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT251|quote=Dr. William E. Phipps noted that the belief that 'Jesus married, and married often!' was used to encourage and promote the doctrine of polygamy amongst timid Latter-Day Saints ... By the late-1850s the idea that more than one woman was married to Jesus was widely accepted among Mormon circles. ... As if the concept of Christ's polygamy was not unsettling enough, Mormonism even taught in the nineteenth century that God the Father had a plurality of wives as well.}}</ref>

===Later teachings===
[[Lorenzo Snow]] succinctly summarized another portion of the doctrine explained in the King Follett Discourse using a [[couplet]]: "As man now is, God once was. As God now is, man may be."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Morris Brown |first=Samuel |url={{google books | plainurl=y | id= dxxpAgAAQBAJ | page=266 }} |page=266 |url-access=limited |title=In Heaven as It Is on Earth: Joseph Smith and the Early Mormon Conquest of Death |date=2011-12-01 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-979368-6 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mouw |first=Richard J. |date=May 2016 |title=Mormons Approaching Orthodoxy |url=https://www.firstthings.com/article/2016/05/mormons-approaching-orthodoxy |journal=[[First Things]] |publisher=Institute on Religion and Public Life|location=New York City|id={{ProQuest|9deca3393917d5a61d59857dcb107139}}}}</ref>

==Denominational teachings==

===LDS Church===
[[File:Christus statue temple square salt lake city.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Latter-day Saints believe in the resurrected Jesus Christ, as depicted in the [[Christus (statue)|''Christus'']] statue in the North Visitors' Center on [[Temple Square]] in [[Salt Lake City, Utah|Salt Lake City]].]]
{{main|List of Latter Day Saint movement topics|Beliefs and practices of the LDS Church}}
{{See also|Mormonism and Christianity|Exaltation (Mormonism)}}

The LDS Church holds that [[God the Father|the Father]] and [[Son of God|the Son]] have glorified physical bodies, while the [[Holy Ghost]] has only a body of spirit.

Leaders and scriptural texts of the LDS Church affirm a belief in the Holy Trinity but use the word "Godhead" (a term used by [[Paul the Apostle]] in [[Acts 17]]:29, [[Romans 1]]:20, and [[Colossians 2]]:9) to distinguish their belief that the unity of the Trinity relates to all attributes, except a physical unity of beings.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Givens |first=Terryl L. |author-link=Terryl Givens |title=Wrestling the Angel: The Foundations of Mormon Thought: Cosmos, God, Humanity |volume=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rVBuBAAAQBAJ |via=[[Google Books]] |url-access=limited |date=2014-11-03 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-979492-8 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199794928.003.0008}}</ref>{{rp|69}} Church members believe that "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit."<ref name=Believe>{{Cite book |last=Burton |first=Rulon T. |url=https://archive.org/details/webelievedoctrin0000burt/page/542/mode/1up |title=We Believe: Doctrines and Principles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints |date=2004 |publisher=Tabernacle Books |isbn=978-0-9748790-3-1 |via=[[Internet Archive]] |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|312}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=2007-12-06 |title=Comparing doctrines |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2007/12/06/comparing-doctrines/ |newspaper=[[The Denver Post]]}}</ref>

This theology is consistent with Smith's 1838 account of the [[First Vision]]. This account, published as part of the church's [[Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism)|Pearl of Great Price]] states that Smith saw a vision of "two personages", the Father and the Son.<ref name=First>{{Cite journal |last=Larson |first=Stan |date=2014-07-01 |title=Another Look at Joseph Smith's First Vision |url=https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V47N02_210.pdf |journal=[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought|Dialogue]] |volume=47 |issue=2 |page=47 |doi=10.5406/dialjmormthou.47.2.0037 |s2cid=171511992 |issn=0012-2157}}</ref> Mormon critics view this 1838 account with skepticism, because Smith's earliest accounts of the First Vision did not refer to the presence of two beings.<ref name=First/>{{rp|rp|47—50}} The church also teaches that its theology is consistent with the biblical account of the [[baptism of Jesus]], which referred to signs from the Father and the Holy Spirit<ref>{{lds|Matthew|matthew|3|16|17}}</ref> and which the denomination interprets as an indication that these two persons have distinct substance from Jesus.{{Primary source inline|date=March 2024}}

Smith taught that there is one Godhead and that humans can have a place, as [[Romans 8|joint-heirs]] with Jesus, through grace, if they follow the laws and [[ordinance (Latter Day Saints)|ordinances]] of the gospel as he taught it.<ref name=Continuation>{{cite journal |last1=Hales |first1=Brian |title='A Continuation of the Seeds': Joseph Smith and Spirit Birth |journal=[[Journal of Mormon History]] |publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |date=Fall 2012 |volume=38 |issue=4 |doi=10.2307/23292634 |jstor=23292634 |s2cid=254493140 |page=105}}</ref><ref name=Believe/>{{rp|542}}<ref name=Godhood/> This process of [[Exaltation (Mormonism)|exaltation]] means literally that humans can become full, complete, joint-heirs with Jesus and can, if proven worthy, inherit all that he inherits.<ref name=Continuation/><ref name=Godhood/><ref name=Believe/>{{rp|542}} Leaders have taught that God is infinitely loving, though his love "cannot correctly be characterized as unconditional."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ostler |first=Blake T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vFxlEAAAQBAJ |title=Exploring Mormon Thought: Volume 2, The Problems of Theism and the Love of God |date=2006-03-01 |publisher=Greg Kofford Books |via=[[Google Books]] |url-access=limited |page=19}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Noyce |first1=David |title=Is God's love 'unconditional'? Let the debate continue. |url=https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2022/03/17/latest-mormon-land-is/ |newspaper=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |date=17 Mar 2022|quote=Much of the chatter dates back to apostle Russell M. Nelson's pre-presidential piece titled "Divine Love" in 2003. 'While divine love can be called perfect, infinite, enduring and universal, it cannot correctly be characterized as unconditional,' he states. 'The word does not appear in the scriptures.'}}</ref> Though humanity has the ability to become gods through the atonement of Jesus, these exalted beings will remain eternally subject to God the Father and "will always worship" him.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Piper |first=Matthew |newspaper=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |title=Essay explains Mormon teaching on 'becoming like God' |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=57597557&itype=CMSID |date=28 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Noyce|newspaper=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |first=David |title=Your quick A-to-Z guide to Mormonism — Part II |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=3628865&itype=CMSID |date=11 April 2016}}</ref> Among the resurrected, the righteous souls receive great glory and return to live with God, being made perfect through the atonement of Jesus. Thus, "god" is a term for an inheritor of the highest kingdom of God.<ref name=NatureOfGod/>{{rp|p=92}}
===Community of Christ===
{{See also|Comparison of the Community of Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints}}

The [[Community of Christ]], formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, affirms the doctrine of the Trinity. The Trinity is described in Community of Christ literature as a "living God who meets us in the testimony of Israel, is revealed in Jesus Christ, and moves through all creation as the Holy Spirit...[a] community of three persons."<ref>{{cite web|title=Basic Beliefs|url=https://www.cofchrist.org/basic-beliefs|website=Community of Christ|access-date=1 October 2017}}</ref> This belief is inconsistent with the earliest versions of the text of the Book of Mormon and the First Vision accounts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision |url=https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/site/accounts-of-the-first-vision |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215093110/https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/site/accounts-of-the-first-vision |archive-date=15 December 2023 |access-date=2023-12-22 |publisher=[[The Joseph Smith Papers]]}}</ref>{{third-party inline|date=September 2024}}

==Plurality of gods==
{{Anchor|Plurality of Gods}}
{{See also|Exaltation (LDS Church)}}
Latter Day Saints believe God's children have the potential to live in his presence, continue as families, [[Apotheosis#The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|become gods]], create worlds, and have spirit children over which they will govern.<ref name=Continuation/><ref name=Godhood>{{cite book |editor1-last=Ludlow |editor1-first=Daniel H. |last1=Carter |first1=K. Codell | title=Encyclopedia of Mormonism |date=1992 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishing]] |section=Godhood | location=New York City |isbn=978-0-02-904040-9 |pages=553, 555 |url=https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/EoM/id/3734|quote=They [resurrected and perfected mortals] will dwell again with God the Father, and live and act like him in endless worlds of happiness{{nbsp}}[...] above all they will have the power of procreating endless lives.{{nbsp}}[...] Those who become like him will likewise contribute to this eternal process by adding further spirit offspring to the eternal family.}}</ref><ref name=Fundamentals>{{cite book |title=Gospel Fundamentals |edition=2002 |publisher=[[LDS Church]] |location=Salt Lake City |page=201 |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/language-materials/31129_eng.pdf#page=210|quote=They [the people who will live in the celestial kingdom] will receive everything our Father in Heaven has and will become like Him. They will even be able to have spirit children and make new worlds for them to live on, and do all the things our Father in Heaven has done.}}</ref> This is commonly called [[Exaltation (Mormonism)|exaltation]] within the LDS Church. Leaders have also taught that humans are "gods in embryo".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Boyd |first1=George T. |title=A Mormon Concept of Man |journal=[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought|Dialogue]] |date=1968 |volume=3 |issue=1 |page=65 |doi=10.2307/45226953 |jstor=45226953 |s2cid=254392103 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hagen |first1=Kirk D. |title=Eternal Progression in a Multiverse: An Explorative Mormon Cosmology |journal=[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought|Dialogue]] |date=Summer 2006 |volume=39 |issue=2 |page=2 |doi=10.2307/45227238 |jstor=45227238 |s2cid=254398580 |url=https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/dial/article/39/2/1/236799|doi-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cook |first1=Bryce |title=What Do We Know of God's Will for His LGBT Children?: An Examination of the LDS Church's Position on Homosexuality |journal=[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought|Dialogue]] |date=1 July 2017 |volume=50 |issue=2 |page=6 |doi=10.5406/dialjmormthou.50.2.0001 |jstor=10.5406/dialjmormthou.50.2.0001 |s2cid=190443414 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Although Mormonism proclaims the existence of many gods, it does not advocate for the worship of any besides Earth's God.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Hale |first1=Van |title=Defining the Mormon Doctrine of Deity |magazine=[[Sunstone (magazine)|Sunstone]] |date=28 Feb 2015 |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=25 |url=https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/045-23-27.pdf}}</ref> Some leaders have taught that God was once a mortal human with his own God.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |date=2 Oct 2009 |title=An explantation of Mormon beliefs about God |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/mormon/beliefs/god_1.shtml#:~:text=They%20believe%20that%20God%20the,God%20was%20once%20a%20man. |publisher=BBC |quote=God the Father is a being called Elohim, who was once a man like present day human beings, but who lived on another planet. Over time this man made himself perfect and became God, with a knowledge of everything, and the power to do anything. God became perfect by following the rules laid down by his God.}}</ref><ref name="Overview">{{cite book |last1=Robinson |first1=Stephen E. |url=https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/EoM/id/3732 |title=Encyclopedia of Mormonism |date=1992 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn=978-0-02-904040-9 |editor1-last=Ludlow |editor1-first=Daniel H. |location=New York City |page=549 |section=God the Father: Overview |quote=As the Prophet Joseph Smith said, 'God himself was once as we are now'{{nbsp}}[...] Thus the Father became the Father sometime before the 'beginning' as mortals know it.{{nbsp}}[...] Gods and humans are the same species of being, but at different stages of development in a divine continuum}}</ref> Church founder Joseph Smith taught in his famous [[King Follett discourse]] that God was the son of a Father, suggesting a cycle of gods that continues for eternity.<ref name=BBC/><ref>{{cite book |title=History of the Church |date=1 July 1991 |publisher=Deseret Book |isbn=0-87579-486-6 |edition=1991 Reprint |url=https://byustudies.byu.edu/further-study/history-church/|chapter-url=https://byustudies.byu.edu/further-study-lesson/volume-6-chapter-23/|chapter=Chapter 23: Discourse of the Prophet—The Godhead—The Mob Uprising—Arrest of President Smith, et al. over the "Expositor" Affair—Trial before Esquire Wells|via=[[Brigham Young University]] |volume=6|pages=474, 476|quote=I will preach on the plurality of Gods.{{nbsp}}[...] If Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and John discovered that God the Father of Jesus Christ had a Father, you may suppose that He had a Father also.}}</ref><ref name=Taqiyya>{{cite journal |last1=Wimmer |first1=Ryan |title=Islamic 'Taqiyya' in Mormonism |journal=The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal |date=2007 |volume=27|publisher=[[John Whitmer Historical Association]] |pages=153–154 |jstor=43200282 }}</ref> Other more modern leaders and church publications have taught similar things.<ref name=Taqiyya/>

Several scholars have argued the LDS Church can be described as [[henotheist]], in worshiping only one deity while admitting the existence of other deities.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Englund|first=Eugene|title=The Weeping God of Mormonism|url=https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V35N01_75.pdf|journal=[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought|Dialogue]]|volume=35|issue=1|date=Spring 2002|pages=63–80}}</ref><ref name=NatureOfGod>{{cite book|first=Kurt |last=Widmer|title=Mormonism and the Nature of God: A Theological Evolution, 1830–1915|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYHZAAAAMAAJ|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|publisher=McFarland|date=2000 |isbn=978-0-7864-0776-7 }}</ref>{{rp|p=158}}  However, this position is somewhat controversial and not entirely accepted by scholars or members of the LDS faith.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hale|first=Van| title=Defining the Mormon Doctrine of Deity: What Can Theological Terminology Tell Us About Our Own Beliefs?|journal=Sunstone|volume=10|date=January 1985|pages=23–27|url=https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/045-23-27.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Sillman|first=H. Jeffrey|title=A One-Sided Dialogue |journal=Sunstone|date=June 1989|pages=48–49}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Latter Day Saint movement}}
* [[Progressive revelation (Bahá'í)#Universal cycles|Adamic cycle]]
* [[Alpha and Omega]]
* [[Kolob]]
* [[God in Abrahamic religions]]
* [[Godhead in Christianity]]
* [[Holy Spirit (Christian denominational variations)#Latter Day Saints|Holy Ghost in Mormonism]]
* [[Non-Chalcedonianism]]
* [[Monolatrism]]
* [[Mormonism and Judaism]]
* [[Mormonism and Islam]]
* [[Twin Holy Birthdays#Significance|Twin Manifestations of God]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{Citation | last1= Calabrese | first1= Joseph | last2= Lovalvo | first2= V James | last3= Watson | first3= Robert A | author4= Committee on Special Affairs, Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonites) | year= 1977 | title= Questions and Answers | location= [[Monongahela, Pennsylvania]] | publisher= [[The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)|The Church of Jesus Christ]] | oclc= 42380350 }}.
*{{Citation | last= Charles | first= Melodie Moench | contribution= Book of Mormon Christology | editor-last= Metcalfe | editor-first= Brent Lee | title= New Approaches to the Book of Mormon | year= 1993 | publisher= [[Signature Books]] | location= Salt Lake City | pages= 81–114 }}.
*{{citation | last= Dahl | first= Paul E. | contribution= Godhead | title= [[Encyclopedia of Mormonism]] | year= 1992 | editor-last= Ludlow | editor-first= Daniel H. | editor-link= Daniel H. Ludlow | publisher=[[Macmillan Publishing]] | location= New York | isbn= 0-02-904040-X | pages= 552–53 | contribution-url= https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/3733 }}.
*{{Citation | last= Ford | first= Clyde D. | title= Lehi on the Great Issues: Book of Mormon Theology in Early Nineteenth-Century Perspective | journal= [[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]] | year= 2005 | volume= 38 | issue= 4 | pages= 75–96 | doi= 10.2307/45227341 | jstor= 45227341 | s2cid= 254301981 | url= https://dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V38N04_83.pdf }}.
*{{Citation | last= Ford | first= Clyde D. | title= Jesus and the Father: The Book of Mormon and the Early Nineteenth-Century Debates on the Trinity | journal= [[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]] | issue= Dialogue Paperless 6 | date= May 5, 2007 | url= https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/FordTrinityPaperless.pdf | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161022102817/https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/FordTrinityPaperless.pdf | archive-date= 2016-10-22 }}.
*{{Citation | last= Hale | first= Van | title= The Doctrinal Impact of the King Follet Discourse | journal= [[BYU Studies]] | volume= 18 | issue= 2 | year= 1978 | page= 209 | url= http://byustudies.byu.edu/content/doctrinal-impact-king-follett-discourse }}.
*{{Cite magazine | last= Kimball | first= Spencer W. | author-link= Spencer W. Kimball | url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1978/05/the-true-way-of-life-and-salvation?lang=eng | title= The True Way of Life and Salvation | magazine= [[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]] |date=May 1978 | page= 4 }}.
*{{Cite magazine | last= Kirkland | first= Boyd | author-link= Boyd Kirkland | title= Jehovah as the Father: The Development of the Mormon Jehovah Doctrine | magazine=[[Sunstone (magazine)|Sunstone]] | volume= 44 | issue= Autumn | year= 1984 | pages= 36–44 | url= https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/044-36-44.pdf }}.
*{{Citation |last = Kirkland |first = Boyd |title = Elohim and Jehovah in Mormonism and the Bible |journal = [[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]] |volume = 19 |issue = 1 |year = 1986 |pages = 77–93 |doi = 10.2307/45225454 |jstor = 45225454 |s2cid = 254341289 |doi-access= free }}.
*{{Citation | chapter= Chapter 2: Our Heavenly Family | title= [[Gospel Principles]] | year= 2009 | publisher= [[LDS Church]] | chapter-url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-2-our-heavenly-family?lang=eng }}.
*{{Citation | last= Lovalvo | first= V. James | year= 1986 | title= A Dissertation on the Faith and Doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ | location= Monongahela, Pa | publisher= [[The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)|The Church of Jesus Christ]] | oclc= 20377503 }}.
*{{Citation | last= McMurrin | first= Sterling M. | author-link= Sterling M. McMurrin | year= 1977 | orig-date= 1955 | title= The Theological Foundations of the Mormon Religion | location= Salt Lake City | publisher= [[University of Utah Press]] | isbn= 978-0-87480-051-7 }}.
*{{Citation | last= Snow | first= Eliza R. | author1-link= Eliza R. Snow | publisher= [[LDS Church]] | date= 1985 | title= [[Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1985 book)|Hymns of the LDS Church]] | page= [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/music/library/hymns/o-my-father?lang=eng 292] | contribution= [[O My Father]] }}
*{{Citation | last= Volluz | first= Corbin | title= Jesus Christ as Elder Brother | journal= [[BYU Studies]] | volume= 45 | issue= 2 | year= 2006 | pages= 141–58 | url= https://byustudies.byu.edu/content/jesus-christ-elder-brother }}.
*{{Citation | last= White | first= O. Kendall Jr. | title= The Transformation of Mormon Theology | journal= [[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]] | volume= 5 | issue= 2 | year= 1970 | pages= 9–24 | doi= 10.2307/45224197 | jstor= 45224197 | s2cid= 254388331 | url= https://dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V05N02_11.pdf }}.
* {{cite book |url= https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/book-mormon-treasury/24-doctrine-god-father-book-mormon |contribution= The Doctrine of God the Father in the Book of Mormon |last= Skinner |first= Andrew C. |pages= 412–26 |title= A Book of Mormon Treasury: Gospel Insights from General Authorities and Religious Educators |place= Provo, Utah |publisher= [[Religious Studies Center]], [[Brigham Young University]] |year= 2003 |isbn= 1-59038-099-1 |access-date= 2014-03-02 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130127115354/http://rsc.byu.edu/archived/book-mormon-treasury/24-doctrine-god-father-book-mormon |archive-date= 2013-01-27 }}
* {{cite book |url= https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/book-mormon-keystone-scripture/2-what-book-mormon-tells-us-about-jesus-christ |contribution= What the Book of Mormon Tells Us about Jesus Christ |author-link= Robert J. Matthews |last= Matthews |first= Robert J.  |pages= 21–43 |title= The Book of Mormon: The Keystone Scripture  |editor1-last= Cheesman  |editor1-first= Paul R.  |editor1-link= Paul R. Cheesman  |place= Provo, Utah |publisher= [[Religious Studies Center]], [[Brigham Young University]] |year= 1988 |isbn= 0-8849-4637-1 }}
* {{cite magazine |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2002/04/the-father-and-the-son?lang=eng |magazine=[[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]]|title= The Father and The Son:A Doctrinal Exposition by the First Presidency and the Twelve |publisher=[[LDS Church]]}}

{{Latter Day Saint movement}}
{{Latter-day Saints}}
{{Theology}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Conceptions of God]]
[[Category:God in Christianity|Mormonism]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint doctrines regarding deity]]
[[Category:Polytheism]]
[[Category:Mormonism-related controversies]]
[[Category:New religious movement deities]]
[[Category:Triple gods]]