Category Archives: Mormon/LDS View of God

My Relationship with God

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I have been raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often misname the “Mormon Church”). Thus, I have been taught from the time I could understand that God is my Heavenly Father, that I am literally a child of God, and that He loves me very much. As I have grown up and come to develop my relationship with God, I am grateful for the knowledge that I am so blessed to have.

mormon-doctrine-christAs I go through life and meet more people, I come to gain a broader perspective of different religious and personal views. I have come to realize that a lot of people don’t believe in God at all, and that even among those who do, there is a shockingly small percentage who understand God the way I do.

Many people think of God as a disinterested party to our existence. Maybe He created us, but even if He did, He doesn’t care what we do and will not intervene in our lives in any way. Others think God is unjust. If He exists, why does He allow bad things to happen to good people? How is that just? Still others may have a concept of God as an angry, punishing God who will strike down the disobedient immediately.

Because I was taught from a young age that God loved me, I was able to approach Him through personal prayer in a much different way than many people do. I believed He was concerned for me and that He wanted to hear from me. I was not afraid of Him, and I was taught that if I asked for His help, I would get it.

I want you to know that I have gained this knowledge through personal experience; it is not something I just believed as a child and continue to believe today through ignorance or gullibility. I have tested what I have been taught, and it was worked every single time. I know that God is there, that He loves me, and that He will answer my prayers because when I pray to Him, I feel His presence; I feel His love and can see His guiding hand throughout my life; and He answers my prayers.

Sometimes these lessons are hard to learn. Sometimes the answer to my prayer is no. It is hard to hear “no,” especially when you feel that the earnest desires of your heart are righteous and will bring you happiness. Also through experience, I have learned that God will never tell me “no” unless that is what is truly best for me. Time and time again, when I felt my heart was broken from not receiving the answer I wanted, I have later seen how, if I had received what I had asked for, things would not have gone the way I had anticipated they would. I have learned that God has in store for me great blessings and sometimes receiving those blessings requires what seems like a sacrifice at the time, but which really just brings me a greater blessing and greater happiness later.

I feel so blessed that I have the gift of prayer. I can pray to God every day, many times in a day, and I know He is there ready to listen. He answers big prayers and little prayers. I have learned that even things which are really of no consequence matter to Him if they matter to you. He has answered my prayers when you would feel silly even telling someone else what you were worried about or what you had asked for help with. Some people might have the attitude that, “God is too busy to be bothered about such a trivial thing.” I can testify from multiple experiences that He does care, and He will answer; no matter how small of a thing you may ask about. This strengthens my testimony that He will be there for the big things. He will walk with me; He will comfort me; He will guide me; He will speak peace to my soul.

Bible Love of Christ QuoteThe greatest gift God has given us is the gift of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. It is through Christ, our Mediator, and in His name, that we can call upon God to hear our prayers. It is through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ that we can repent and seek forgiveness. We can be cleansed through His atoning blood and can become worthy again to be in Their presence.

If you do not have a strong relationship with God, I invite you to pray. Pray in the name of Jesus Christ to feel of God’s love for you. Ask Him for help. Acknowledge His hand in your life and thank Him for blessings He has given you. He wants to hear from you. He’s always ready to listen.

Article By Doris

Additional Resources:

God’s Commandments

The Lord Jesus Christ in Mormonism

Ask Everyday Mormons

 

Learning Who Heavenly Father Is

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Written by Caitlin Dowell, a BYU student, studying a volume of scripture known as the Pearl of Great Price, which is written by prophets; members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “Mormons” revere it as sacred text. This post comes from a book within the Pearl of Great Price known as The Book of Moses; it is an extraction from the translation of the Bible as revealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet, June 1830—February 1831.

Our Relationship With Heavenly Father

Mormon Learning About Heavenly FatherOver many years, I have worked to establish a relationship with God, my loving Heavenly Father. As in any relationship, this means that there needs to be communication, trust and above all, love and understanding. By studying His works and words, I am able to better grasp an understanding of what God is. By communicating with Him through my prayers and trusting Him with my worries and fears, hopes and dreams, I establish a trust and love for him. This relationship with my Heavenly Father is one that I value above all others, yet one that I know the least about. Continue reading →

The Image of God the Father

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Written by Michael Murdock, a BYU student, studying a volume of scripture known as the Pearl of Great Price, which is written by prophets; members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “Mormons” revere it as sacred text. This post comes from a book within the Pearl of Great Price known as The Book of Moses; it is an extraction from the translation of the Bible as revealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet.

We are Created After the Image of God the Father

Mormon Studying Scripture about God the Father

We can learn important things from the scriptural account, found in the Pearl of Great Price, Moses chapter 1, where Moses is taken up into the mount to talk with God, and is then tempted by Satan when he is left alone. We learn about God’s glory, His relationship to us, and how He feels about and treat us as His children. Continue reading →

Learn About God and Moses

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Written by Crystal Tolley, a BYU student, studying a volume of scripture known as the Pearl of Great Price, which is written by prophets; members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “Mormons” revere it as sacred text. This post comes from a book within the Pearl of Great Price known, as The Book of Moses; it is an extraction from the translation of the Bible as revealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet, June 1830—February 1831.

Learn About God and His Appearance to Moses

In the Pearl of Great Price, a book of scripture held as sacred by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “Mormons”, we can read of the incredible experience Moses had, which is a great contrast between good and evil. He has the opportunity to see much of what God and Jesus Christ have created and Learn about God. In this scriptural account, Moses both Moses Learning About God glorifies God and casts out Satan. All in what we, as the reader, interprets as a very short period of time. Having never experienced anything so spiritually immense as Moses, I can hardly share his exact feelings—the true knowledge of coming face to face with God, discovering his glory, realizing your nothingness, and yet knowing your true position as an heir to all of God’s kingdom. Though I cannot relate exactly to Moses’ experience, I can express my knowledge that I am a child of God. Knowing that Moses was able to stand face to face with him, and behold his glory, strengthens my knowledge of what I have the potential to be. I am a daughter of God, and an heir to everything that he hath. Continue reading →

Is Mormons’ View of God Biblical?

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If we understand the Bible correctly, the response to the title-question, “Is Mormons’ View of God Biblical?” would be “Yes.” If we either indavertently misunderstand or wrest passages and try to make them conform to a creed or pre-conception of God as etherial, then the answer would probably be “No.”

mormon-bible-bookOne of the most lucid, compelling truths from the Bible is the physical, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. When Jesus came forth from the tomb, he showed himself to his Apostles. Even they thought him to be a spirit, but he said: “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”

Then he showed them his hands and feet, and when they were still skeptical, he asked for meat and honeycomb and ate before them. (Luke 24:36–43.) Then they saw he was no apparition. The Mormon view of God, this Mormon doctrine, aligns Biblically–and sets up a reverse rhetorical question to be addressed in another post.

If we reflect on the times, and remember that the gospel was being taught to a world that had been infected with the notion that the body or anything material was ‘evil,’ it helps us understand why those the apostles were teaching were at first skeptical and unwilling to believe in a literal resurrection of Christ–with body and spirit together in an immortal and glorified personage. But resurrected He was, and with a body of flesh and bones. The error, the doctrine of God as an inconceivable force or spirit only, is a decoy and detriment to our faith and our progress.  It continues to infiltrate today. Recently there was a “Resurrection Summit,” raising the very question of the literal resurrection of Jesus. Can we believe in Him fully if we don’t believe He was resurrected?

Maybe some of us today are doubting Thomases–doubting not God but our conception of Him.  We are frequently attached to the idea that He is distant, unobtainable, unfathomable–but these, again, are constructs and not realities. These, in fact, prevent us from seeing the most amazing reality of all–that God is our Father, and Jesus His Son, literally not figuratively. We are children born of God the Father. Continue reading →