The nature and kind of being that God is, is one of the foundational doctrines of the Christian Faith. Jesus Christ Himself stated that eternal life was dependent upon knowing "the only true God" (see John 17:3).

Not only this, but one of the tests given in the Bible for a "true prophet" is that prophet must not teach a doctrine concerning God contrary to what had already been revealed in the scriptures (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).

The first Article of Faith in the Mormon Church states:

"We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost."

Although the wording sounds Christian, the LDS meanings are certainly not. In order to accurately understand what Mormons believe about God, we need to examine Mormon Scriptures as well as statements and writings of the leaders of the Mormon Church who have the authority to explain the LDS position.

The following information compares and documents a few of the major differences between "the God of Mormonism" and the God of the Bible.

*Photograph is of the Salt Lake City Temple. Taken from the cover of Sacred Temples, published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormon Scripture, the Doctrine and Covenants, gives us our first difference between Mormonism and Christianity when it proclaims this about God:

"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..." (Section 130:22).

One might ask, Why do they teach God the Father has a body of flesh and bones? -- when the Bible teaches "God is a Spirit" (John 4:24), and Jesus said "a spirit hath not flesh and bones" (Luke 24:39).

The answer is found in the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, who not only claimed to personally see God the Father and Jesus Christ (recorded in Mormon Scripture, the Pearl of Great Price), but made these unbelievable assertions about God's origin:

"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!...for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see .... he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did; ..." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 345, 346)

The following is a photograph of Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345, 1977 edition, published by Deseret Book Company. Joseph Smith claims God was not always God and is an exalted man.

Because of this official statement by Joseph Smith, Mormons today readily accept Apostle Bruce R. McConkie's statement that God the Father is a "glorified, exalted, immortal, resurrected Man" (Mormon Doctrine, 1979 edition, p. 643).

The Mormon doctrine that God has not been God from all eternities past but progressed to become God, is refuted by the Bible. Psalms 90 verse 2 declares:

"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."

Furthermore, the Lord God says, "I am God, and not man" (see Hosea 11:9). Numbers 23:19 removes any doubt as to God having been the son of a man who progressed to be an exalted man:

"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent;..."

Not only do Mormons today believe that God was once a man, they are also taught they too can become Gods.

Joseph Smith shocked the world when he laid the foundation for current LDS teaching when he spoke these words:

"Here, then, is eternal life -- to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods your-selves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you,... To inherit the same power, the same glory and the same exaltation, until you arrive at the station of a God .... "(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 346, 347)

The Mormon teaching that God progressed to become a God as the Gods did before Him, and that men and women may also become Gods and Goddesses, is referred to as "eternal progression" and is summed up in the well known phrase; "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may be."

Apostle James Talmage confirms this LDS stand in his widely circulated LDS doctrinal book, "The Articles of Faith":

"In spite of the opposition of the sects, in the face of direct charges of blasphemy, the Church proclaims the eternal truth: 'As man is, God once was; as God is, man may be'." (The Articles of Faith, p. 430)

The Lord God responds: "... I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me" (Isaiah 43:10).

One of the original apostles of the LDS Church, Orson Pratt, describes the lineage of God:

"We were begotten by our Father in Heaven; the person of our Father in Heaven was begotten on a previous heavenly world by His Father; and again, He was begotten by a still more ancient Father; and so on, from generation to generation, from one heavenly world to another still more ancient, until our minds are wearied and lost in the multiplicity of generations and successive worlds,..." (Seer, p. 132).

From another Mormon publication Pratt again establishes how far Mormonism has departed from the monotheistic teaching of the Bible:

"If we should take a million worlds like this and number their particles, we should find that there are more Gods than there are particles of matter in those worlds." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 345)

10's of thousands of billions of Gods! The chain is so endless that Brigham Young, second prophet of the Mormon Church, said, "there never was a time when there were not Gods..." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 7, p. 333).

Although Mormon leaders insist there were Gods before our God and there will be Gods after our God, the creator and sustainer of all things, the Lord God Almighty proclaims:

"...I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me" (Isaiah 43:10).

He further says:

"...I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God." (Isaiah 44:6)

If that isn't clear enough, God even asks the question, "Is there a God beside me?" He answers;

"Yea, there is no God: I KNOW NOT ANY" (see Isaiah 44:8)

If the understanding of God is infinite, as Psalms 147:5 states, and God says he doesn't even "know" of any other Gods, how can other Gods exist? The only honest answer is, indeed, Mormon leaders are false prophets and false apostles, and those who follow them are being led away from the only true and living God.

One of the low points of Mormon history was the teaching that Adam, the first man, is our God, the Father of Jesus Christ. This doctrine was introduced by Mormon Prophet Brigham Young, who after over 20 years of preaching that Adam is God, openly admonished the Saints about their unbelief in this doctrine which God Himself revealed to him:

"How much unbelief exists in the minds of the Latter-day Saints in regard to one particular doctrine which I revealed to them, and which God revealed to me -- namely that Adam is our father and God -- ..." (Deseret News Weekly, June 18, 1873)

John Nuttall, special secretary to President Young, recorded in his journal that Brigham Young taught Adam was the Father of Jesus:

"Prest Young was filled with the spirit of God & revelation & said .... Father Adam's oldest son (Jesus the Savior) who is the heir of the family is Father Adam's first begotten in the spirit World, who according to the flesh is the only begotten as it is written." ("Journal of L. John Nuttall," vol. 1, pp. 18-21, entry dated Feb. 7, 1877 -taken from a typed copy at Brigham Young University)

There was so much turmoil over the Adam-God doctrine that it has since been completely abandoned. Modern Mormon leaders have now labeled it "false doctrine" and a "heresy."

One of the most devastating blows to Mormonism in modern times concerning the Adam-God doctrine, was dealt by the late Apostle, Bruce R. McConkie. In a personal letter addressed to BYU professor, Eugene England, Apostle McConkie made this shocking admission which the leadership of the Mormon Church have avoided for years:

"Yes, President Young did teach that Adam was the father of our spirits, and all the related things that the cultists ascribe to him. This [Brigham Young's teaching on Adam], however, is not true. He expressed views that are out of harmony with the gospel." (Letter dated Feb. 19, 1981, page 6)

To make matters even worse, McConkie states:

"I repeat: Brigham Young erred in some of his statements on the nature and kind of being that God is and as to the position of Adam in the plan of salvation .... If we choose to believe and teach the false portions of his doctrines we are making an election that will damn us." (McConkie's letter, page 7)

Although Apostle McConkie continued to maintain that Brigham Young was a "mighty prophet," there can be no doubt among "thinking" people, that indeed, Brigham Young was a "false prophet" who attempted to lead his people after another god.

The Bible warns of the danger in following a false prophet:

"The ancient and honorable, he is the head, and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and they that are led of them are destroyed." (Isaiah 9:15-16)

Because Mormons believe in modern revelation outside the Bible, they readily accept the LDS teaching that God has a wife in heaven.

Apostle Bruce McConkie confirmed this teaching when he wrote:

"This doctrine that there is a Mother in Heaven was affirmed in plainness by the First Presidency of the Church (Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder, and Anthon H. Lund) when, in speaking of pre-existence and the origin of man, they said that 'man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father,' that man is the 'offspring of celestial parentage,' and that 'all men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity'" (Mormon Doctrine, p. 516).

According to Mormonism, this means that Jesus Christ, Lucifer, the demons, angels, and every person that has been born or ever will be born on planet earth was conceived by a heavenly mother and her husband, God the Father.

Unfortunately for the Mormon position, the Bible does not teach that God is married or that we were children of heavenly parents in a pre-existence. Rather than teaching a pre-existent life for man, the Bible says that God "formeth the spirit of man within him" (Zechariah 12:1) and not within a heavenly mother. Furthermore, we must become "children of God by faith in Christ Jesus" (see John 1:12 & Gal. 3:26).

Since Mormonism considers polygamy a righteous principle and even accuses God of commanding polygamy (see Doctrine and Covenants Section 132), it was an easy step to further charge God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ with having many wives.

One of the original apostles of the Mormon Church, Orson Pratt, unashamedly proclaimed:

"...the great Messiah who was the founder of the Christian religion, was a polygamist,... the Messiah chose to take upon himself his seed; and by marrying many honorable wives himself, show to all future generations that he approbated the plurality of Wives...God the Father had a plurality of wives .... the Son followed the example of his Father, and became the great Bridegroom to whom kings' daughters and many honorable Wives were to be married. We have also proved that both God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ inherit their wives in eternity as well in time;..." (The Seer, p. 172)

A photograph of The Seer, page 172. Apostle Orson Pratt says that both God the Father and Jesus Christ are polygamists.

Not only have Mormon leaders taught that heaven is inhabited by polygamists, but Brigham Young proclaimed polygamy was essential to salvation. He made this statement in 1866:

"The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy" (Journal of Discourses, vol. 11, p. 269).

Although these unbelievable teachings were openly taught by the highest authorities of the LDS Church, for the most part, modern Mormon leaders have chosen to remain silent on the fact except to say that God "IS" married. The Bible nowhere teaches that God is a polygamist or that polygamy is a righteous principle. Following the creation of Adam and Eve, God gave the standard: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his WIFE..." (Genesis 2:24).

Generally speaking, when Mormons refer to God they are speaking of God the Father. Mormons do not believe in the "trinity" but rather teach that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are 3 separate Gods. Apostle Bruce McConkie explains:

"Three separate personages -- Father, Son, and Holy Ghost -- comprise the Godhead. As each of these persons is a God, it is evident, from this standpoint alone, that a plurality of Gods exists. To us, speaking in the proper finite sense, these three are the only Gods we worship" (Mormon Doctrine, pp. 576, 577)

Actually, there is one other person whom Mormons consider a God that pertains to this world -- the Mother God. Even Apostle McConkie admits that "Godhood is not for men only; it is for men and women together" (Mormon Doctrine, p. 844). Although she has obtained "Godhood," Mormons are not officially encouraged to pray to her or worship her. In reality, her Godhood amounts to very little even though she is considered our "Heavenly Mother."\

The Bible, on the other hand, nowhere teaches three or four Gods pertaining to this world that we worship, but rather it proclaims ONE living and true God who exists in three persons. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Truly, this God is the LORD in whom the scriptures say: "...the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else." (Deuteronomy 4:39)

One of the extreme teachings of the Mormon Church which separates it from historic Christianity is its view of the part God the Father played in the birth of Jesus Christ.

Today, the Mormon Church teaches God the Father has a body of flesh and bones, and the birth of Jesus was the result of "natural action" between God the Father and Mary.

Brigham Young made it very plain that the birth of Jesus was not by the Holy Ghost:

"When the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his own likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 1, p. 50)

In a sermon given a few years later, he reinforced this teaching by stating:

"The birth of the Savior was as natural as are the births of our children; it was the result of natural action. He partook of flesh and blood -- was begotten of his Father as we were of our fathers." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 8, p. 115)

Apostle Bruce R. McConkie describes the act that took place between God the Father and Mary in similar terms:

"Christ was begotten by an Immortal Father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers." (Mormon Doctrine, 1979 edition, p. 547)

Apostle Orson Pratt, one of the original Apostles of the LDS Church, was even more specific and makes these unbelievable assertions:

"Therefore, the Father and Mother of Jesus, according to the flesh, must have been associated together in the capacity of Husband and Wife; hence the Virgin Mary must have been, for the time being, the lawful wife of God the Father;... Inasmuch as God was the first husband to her, it may be that He only gave her to be the wife of Joseph while in this mortal state, and that He intended after the resurrection to again take her as one of his own wives to raise up immortal spirits in eternity." (Seer, 1853, p. 158)

A photograph of The Seer, page 158. Apostle Orson Pratt reveals that God the Father and Mary, the mother of Jesus, "associated together in the capacity of Husband and Wife."

If this teaching is to be accepted, not only would you have to disregard the Bible as well as your own conscience, but honesty would indicate:

1) Mary could not have been a virgin after this experience.

2) God the Father is an adulterer -- because according to Mormon teaching he already had at least one wife and was unfaithful with Mary.

3) Mary is an adulteress because she was engaged to Joseph.

4) God the Father would have to be charged with incest, because Mormonism teaches Mary is the daughter of God the Father from a so-called preexistence.

The Bible describes teachers who will come and teach such doctrines:

"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies .... And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of." (II Peter 2:1, 2)

The Bible, on the other hand, portrays a Holy, miraculous rather than natural view of the conception of Christ. Not only does the Bible prophesy that the mother of Jesus will be a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), but this is fulfilled in the New Testament, the conception being the result of supernatural intervention "of the Holy Ghost":

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost .... for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost." (Matthew 1:18, 20)

In at least 2 respects, the God of Mormonism is quite limited. As mentioned earlier, Mormons believe that God has a "body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's." Considering the vast expanse of the universe, this God can only be personally present in a very limited area at any one time.

LDS Apostle, John Widtsoe, explains that none of the members of the godhead is omnipresent:

"As a personage, the Holy Ghost cannot any more than the Father and Son be everywhere present in person" (Evidences and Reconciliations, p. 76).

Contrary to Mormonism, the God of the Bible is a vastly different being who is NOT limited by a body of flesh and bones since He is Spirit (see John 4:24). This is why God can "fill heaven and earth" (Jeremiah 23:24), and yet He is so personal that He can dwell within believers (II Corinthians 6:16, Revelation 3:20).

Another area where the Mormon god is limited is concerning his power. Mormons are taught that God does not have the power to create anything from nothing, but can only "organize," or build with available materials, much like a carpenter does with wood and nails.

Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, limits God in these words:

"If you tell them that God made the world out of something, they will call you a fool. But I am learned, and know more than all the world put together .... God had materials to organize the world out of chaos -- chaotic matter, which is element, and in which dwells all the glory. Element had an existence from the time he had. The pure principles of element are principles which can never be destroyed; they may be organized and re-organized, but not destroyed. They had no beginning, and can have no end." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 350-352)

The Bible presents a far superior God who is not limited to simply make or "organize," but Who alone can "create." Genesis 1:1 states; "In the beginning God CREATED the heaven and earth." The Psalmist wrote that God had only to speak and it was done: "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth" (Psalms 33:6).

Truly, truly, "the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Revelation 19:6).

Strange as it may seem, current LDS doctrine has even departed from the teachings found in the Book of Mormon.

Joseph Smith claimed the Book of Mormon contained the "fulness" of the everlasting gospel (Doctrine and Covenants, 27:5), and "a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 194).

Yet the Book of Mormon teaches there is only "one God" (Alma 11:26-29, Ether 2:8), and that God has always been God (Moroni 8:18, Moroni 7:22).

Furthermore, it teaches the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are ONE God (2 Nephi 31:21, Mormon 7:7), and that God is a Spirit (Alma 18:26-28).

Its pages also do not contain the doctrine that men may become Gods.

To make matters even worse, the Book of Mormon nowhere says that God is married, and it consistently condemns polygamy (Jacob 2:2&27,Mosiah 11:2). It seems almost unbelievable that Mormons claim to have a powerful "burning in the bosom" testimony that the Book of Mormon is true, yet refuse to believe what the Book of Mormon teaches.

This is true with many major LDS doctrines. Sad to say, most Mormons are unaware their doctrines have undergone such drastic change.

Even from this brief examination of what Mormons are taught about God, it is overwhelmingly apparent that "The God of Mormonism" is definitely not the God of the Bible.

The tragedy of erring on such a basic, foundational doctrine, can be likened to the foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the scriptures say, "and great was the fall of it" (Matthew 7:27).

Marvelously, the true God in His Mercy and Grace, will forgive those who turn from error and trust in Him. What a joy and peace it is to those who say as Joshua of old:

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).