Do Mormons believe in many gods, believing each planet has its own god and that the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are three gods?

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I have heard these things, and would be interested in hearing what people have to say about this. Is this true or not?
 
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mdgspencer said:
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I have heard these things, and would be interested in hearing what people have to say about this. Is this true or not?
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Do Mormons believe in many gods…
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Yes, we believe that many divine beings exist, but we are only concerned with The Father, The Son, and the Holy Ghost.
… believing each planet has its own god…
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We believe there are a very large number of planets that are created by and governed by God. (See Moses 1:33 below) If you’re asking whether, say Mars, is governed by one god, and Jupiter by another, there is no such concept in Latter-day Saint belief.

Moses 1:33 And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.
…and that the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are three gods?
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Yes, and we believe that The Father reigns supreme over the Other Two and over the rest of us. We believe in the oneness of God as described in John 17:22 - one in purpose and unity, not one in essence. I hope this helps…
 
Check out “mormonthink” - for all your questions answered in a non-biased site. For an easy to understand, clear and quick recap of all try the CES Letter (easy to find online).
 
My understanding is that LDS belief is that the Father and humans are the same type of being in the sense that humans will ultimately “grow” (don’t know if that’s the right word) into the same type of existence as the Father, similar to it being a more mature state of what we are.
 
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Wesrock said:
My understanding is that LDS belief is that the Father and humans are the same type of being in the sense that humans will ultimately “grow” (don’t know if that’s the right word) into the same type of existence as the Father, similar to it being a more mature state of what we are.
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It’s something along those lines. Paul taught the Athenians in Acts 17:29 that we’re all literal offspring of God. The word he used is genos which means race, kind, family, etc. Offspring grow up to be like their parents.
 
When I became a Mormon in the 70’s, I was taught that married couples could inherit “worlds” from their Heavenly Father, who had “worlds without end”. Many years later, they started backing away from this teaching as if embarrassed by it. But they kept it as doctrine.
 
gazelam said:
Yes, we believe that many divine beings exist, but we are only concerned with The Father, The Son, and the Holy Ghost.
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. . . and Joseph Smith 😃

Of course Mormonites claim that they don’t worship Joseph Smith or that he is a God, but I’d like you all to consider the words of this Mormonite hymn and judge for yourself.

PRAISE TO THE MAN
  1. Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah.
    Jesus’ anointed, “that Prophet and Seer,”
    Blessed to open the last dispensation;
    Kings shall extol him, and nations revere.
CHORUS.
Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven,
Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain,
Mingling with God’s he can plan for his brethren,
Death cannot conquer the hero again.
  1. Praise to his mem’ry, he died as a martyr;
    Honored and blest be his ever great name;
    Long shall his blood, which was shed by assassins,
    Plead until heaven, while the earth lauds his fame.
  2. Great is his glory, and endless his priesthood,
    Ever and ever the keys he will hold;
    Faithful and true, he will enter his kingdom,
    Crowned in the midst of the prophets of old.
  3. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven;
    Earth must atone for the blood of that man!
    Wake up the world for the conflict of justice,
    Millions shall know “brother Joseph” again.
 
adamhovey1988 said:
In an effort not to misrepresent Mormonism, I only used Mormon sources from an official LDS site.
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Their own website is the source of most anti-Mormon arguments, and for a reason. You want to get excommunicated from the Mormon church? Question them about the materials that are in their own libraries.
 
I admit, I do try to be fair, and I will sometimes use sources from former Mormons, but I always make sure that they are accurate depictions. I mean, I’ve talked to a lot of “former” Catholics that are dead wrong about what the Catholic Church teaches, and while I certainly do not agree with the LDS, I don’t want to be accused of being somehow anti-Mormon.
 
Xystus said:
So you are Henotheists? is that accurate?
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I apologize in advance for the long answer, but I have a couple of great quotes! I say we’re monotheists and would use this quote to justify it:

Pennsylvania State University’s Baruch Halpern wrote, “Scholars have traditionally taken a theological and prescriptive approach to the issue of Israelite monotheism: monotheism is the conviction that only one god exists, and no others. This conviction, however, is difficult to document. … Monotheism, Yehezkel Kaufmann observed, postulates multiple deities, subordinated to the one. … Two elements distinguish it from polytheism: a conviction that the one controls the pantheon, and the idea of false gods.” (Baruch Halpern, “Monotheism,” The Oxford Companion to the Bible, edited by Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 524–525)

This quote from the introduction of the book “The Trinitarian Controversy” by William G. Rusch says:

“Through all the turmoil and tomes, there is one basic issue at the center of the debate: What is the relation of the divine in Christ to the divine in the Father? Or, to put the matter somewhat differently, how is the church, in an intellectually satisfying manner, to integrate the doctrine of one God, Father and Creator, inherited from the Old Testament and Judaism, with the revelation that this God had disclosed himself uniquely in Jesus and had given the Holy Spirit to the church? It will become readily apparent that there were no quick or easy accessible answers that protected both aspects of the tension: the monotheism so deeply ingrained in the biblical tradition, and the distinctiveness and divinity of the Son.”

I say we’re monotheists, but based on the second quote I can see how the Trinitarian may not see things the way we do. And given the difficulty Trinitarians had finally defining monotheism it seems that much more difficult to align Trinitarian and Latter-day Saint views of monotheism.

The wikipedia entry on Henotheism has a section on Latter-day Saints. It’s safe to say that most Latter-day Saints - like most Orthodox Christians - are unfamiliar with the word. I hope this helps…
 
RuthAnne said:
. . . and Joseph Smith 😃

Of course Mormonites claim that they don’t worship Joseph Smith or that he is a God, but I’d like you all to consider the words of this Mormonite hymn and judge for yourself.

PRAISE TO THE MAN
  1. Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah.
    Jesus’ anointed, “that Prophet and Seer,”
    Blessed to open the last dispensation;
    Kings shall extol him, and nations revere.
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I love it what pure light is posted on CAF! Did you think it was my birthday, or something? 😉

Let’s look at how many times the Bible refers to worship and praise of mere mortals.

1 Chronicles 29:20 And all the assembly blessed the Lord the God of their fathers: and they bowed themselves and worshipped God, and then the king.

Genesis 49:8 Juda, thee shall thy brethren praise: thy hands shall be on the necks of thy enemies: the sons of thy father shall bow down to thee.

Proverbs 27:2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

Proverbs 31:28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also,
and he praiseth her.

Proverbs 31:30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that
feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

I hope this helps…
 
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Why the obfuscation? Distinct persons one God. Problem solved and controversy avoided. Also, not sure how either of those quotes imply you’re monotheists? Care to elaborate on that? By definition Mormons are not monotheists.

Also, it be nice if you were at least honest enough to call the many gods you believe in-gods; as opposed to divine persons. Are you embarrassed by your beliefs?

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/monotheism/

Also, your first quote from Kaufman is from a larger work that seeks to show how the biblical text is monotheistic. You representing it in the light you have is intellectually dishonest. Do you ever tire of proof texting and read things in their entirety -or- do you just carbon copy answers from FAIR.
 
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