Mormon trinity

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rainman10

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I am a bit confused by the Mormon’s belief in the Trinity. As I understand it, Mormons believe that they will one day become gods of their own plant or world. So once this happens, will there be another Trinity in their world? Does each new Mormon god then, have his own Trinity? Does each previous Mormon god have his own Trinity in his own world? Or do Mormons believe that only this world has a Trinity and if, yes, then how is this God and his world different from the others? I hope I am making sense, it is difficult for me to put it into words.
 
You are confused because Mormons dont believe in the Trinity. They reject it. They believe in what is known as the God head. Three distinct and totally separate beings.

So for what seems to be a problem for you to understand and get your head around isn’t a problem for them. 🙂

They are not trinitarian in belief in any way shape or form. 🙂
 
When I was LDS, I was taught that I would have my own world and I would have to send my son to save it.

Now granted, I left the Church in 1989, so teachings might have changed since then
 
SirThomasMore said:
When I was LDS, I was taught that I would have my own world and I would have to send my son to save it.

Now granted, I left the Church in 1989, so teachings might have changed since then
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STMore- Maybe you can help with this one.

(I’ve asked this question before but the answer wasn’t clear so maybe you can clear it up).

If you are sealed to your wife and children, then your children get married and are sealed to their spouses and children, etc etc etc…then how does everyone end up with their **own **world?
Wouldn’t everyone who has been sealed together end up together in the end, which means, in the same world?

What do you mean by “I would have to send my son to save it”?

thanks!
 
rainman10 said:
I am a bit confused by the Mormon’s belief in the Trinity. As I understand it, Mormons believe that they will one day become gods of their own plant or world. So once this happens, will there be another Trinity in their world? Does each new Mormon god then, have his own Trinity? Does each previous Mormon god have his own Trinity in his own world? Or do Mormons believe that only this world has a Trinity and if, yes, then how is this God and his world different from the others? I hope I am making sense, it is difficult for me to put it into words.
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My question is who determined the Mormon view of the Godhead?

Mormons disregard early Church teachings on the Trinity and would therefore disagree with the explanation of St. Athanasius and his definition of the Trinity?

Who in the Mormon church would be the equivalent (for lack of a better word) of St. Athanasius?
 
Actually, I have personally heard a very devout Mormon, a man who was a sealer in one the Mormon Temples, speak of the “Trinity”. It’s not precisely accurate to say that Mormons do not believe in the “Trinity”, it’s more accurate to say that their understanding of the “Trinity”, which they tend to refer to as the “Godhead”, is different from the rest of Christianity.

I don’t bring this up to nitpick, merely to note that at least some Mormons will refer to the Godhead as the “Trinity”. It’s not common, but it obviously occurs because I have seen it myself. But the definition of the Mormon “Trinity” is radically different from ours.
 
lax16 said:
STMore- Maybe you can help with this one.

(I’ve asked this question before but the answer wasn’t clear so maybe you can clear it up).

If you are sealed to your wife and children, then your children get married and are sealed to their spouses and children, etc etc etc…then how does everyone end up with their **own **world?
Wouldn’t everyone who has been sealed together end up together in the end, which means, in the same world?

What do you mean by “I would have to send my son to save it”?

thanks!
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It was explained to me like this: If my family is sealed to me, then my family would all be with me and their children and their wives, etc. My daugfhters would be with families they were sealed to unless there were no sealings and then they would be with me.

I would have to send my firstborn, like God sent Jesus, to save my world like Jesus saved us.

Again, teachings change frequently in the LDS Church, so it might be different now
 
MelanieAnne said:
Actually, I have personally heard a very devout Mormon, a man who was a sealer in one the Mormon Temples, speak of the “Trinity”. It’s not precisely accurate to say that Mormons do not believe in the “Trinity”, it’s more accurate to say that their understanding of the “Trinity”, which they tend to refer to as the “Godhead”, is different from the rest of Christianity.

I don’t bring this up to nitpick, merely to note that at least some Mormons will refer to the Godhead as the “Trinity”. It’s not common, but it obviously occurs because I have seen it myself. But the definition of the Mormon “Trinity” is radically different from ours.
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But the definition of Trinity, according to Webster’s dictionary is:
the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead according to Christian dogma.

The defintion of “trinity” has existed for 1700 years at least so it is definitely a Catholic definition.

I do understand that you are saying that some Mormons may use the words interchangeably because they are referring to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is helpful in discussions to know that some might refer to the Godhead as the Trinity.
 
SirThomasMore said:
It was explained to me like this: If my family is sealed to me, then my family would all be with me and their children and their wives, etc. My daugfhters would be with families they were sealed to unless there were no sealings and then they would be with me.

I would have to send my firstborn, like God sent Jesus, to save my world like Jesus saved us.

Again, teachings change frequently in the LDS Church, so it might be different now
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But wouldn’t your daughters also be sealed to her husband and HIS family? How can she be in two places at once - or can she?

If your daughter is sealed to you and she marries a man who is sealed to his parents then together they are sealed to their own children…doesn’t everyone end up together?

If you had to send your son to save your world then you are sharing your world with other inhabitants who need saving?
 
lax16 said:
But wouldn’t your daughters also be sealed to her husband and HIS family? How can she be in two places at once - or can she?

If your daughter is sealed to you and she marries a man who is sealed to his parents then together they are sealed to their own children…doesn’t everyone end up together?

If you had to send your son to save your world then you are sharing your world with other inhabitants who need saving?
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No, my daughter would be with her husband and his family, assuming he was LDS and made it to the same level of heaven. I would have my kids who were sealed to me and their families unless my daughters were also sealed to someone
 
SirThomasMore said:
No, my daughter would be with her husband and his family, assuming he was LDS and made it to the same level of heaven. I would have my kids who were sealed to me and their families unless my daughters were also sealed to someone
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Right, you would have your kids who were sealed to you AND their spouses and kids because they were sealed together. You see, everyone is together.

How can a man be in charge of his own world with his children because **his children have ****gone on **to become sealed to their own families?

Either a man and his wife are alone on his world with only unmarried children (who wouldn’t reach the higher level of heaven because they are unmarried) or they are together with all of their children, which meants they are not with their spouses and children.

How can a woman be with her father in his world and her husband in his world?
 
Marie5890 said:
Yes, your experience IS very uncommon. When I was LDS I never heard of the Godhead referred to as the Trinity. And I lived in the heart of Mormondom (UT Valley) for over 12 years. 🙂
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I only heard it the one time, and I’ve been very close to several Mormon families, including one who counted a Bishop as one of its members, for over 40 years.

The man who said it was a sealer in the Salt Lake Temple, so I figured he knew what he was doing when he said it, and said it more than once in the course of conversation. I was rather surprised actually because I had never heard any Mormon ever utter the word, and haven’t heard anyone do so since.
 
MelanieAnne said:
I only heard it the one time, and I’ve been very close to several Mormon families, including one who counted a Bishop as one of its members, for over 40 years.

The man who said it was a sealer in the Salt Lake Temple, so I figured he knew what he was doing when he said it, and said it more than once in the course of conversation. I was rather surprised actually because I had never heard any Mormon ever utter the word, and haven’t heard anyone do so since.
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Yes it is interesting. It just goes to show that we all really need to know our Church history and Her teachings so that we can be ready to discuss the differences !!🙂
 
Here’s another twist. I have a good Mormon friend who was a missionary when I told him that the Catholic Church doesn’t recognize L.D.S. baptism because they don’t use the Trinitarian formula, He said he didn’t understand this because when he baptized people he used Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. 🤷
 
Sunflake9 said:
Here’s another twist. I have a good Mormon friend who was a missionary when I told him that the Catholic Church doesn’t recognize L.D.S. baptism because they don’t use the Trinitarian formula, He said he didn’t understand this because when he baptized people he used Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. 🤷
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That’s not due to the actual wording of the rite, but the theology of Who God is and how He is defined.
As we know, the theology of this issue of each each are vastly different. 🙂
 
campeador said:
Well, I’m confused.

From “THE TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES”:

Was this something they believed at first then decided to change later (kind of like monogamy)?
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No. I have never seen any evidence that this one of the doctrines that evolved over time.

From the outset, God (who Mormons typically refer to as “Heavenly Father”), Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were viewed by Mormons as 3 separate “personages”, but one in “purpose”. Hence, they form a kind of “Trinity”, which they usually refer to as “the Godhead”, just not as most of Christianity understands the Trinity.

The Trinity is fundamental to Christianity and is among the reasons that Mormon baptisms are not considered valid. It’s not the words, it’s what is meant by the words. This is a perfect example of why, when discussing nearly anything with someone of another faith that you need to carefully define what the words actually mean. Otherwise, you might not be speaking the same “language”.
 
campeador said:
Well, I’m confused.

From “THE TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES”:

Was this something they believed at first then decided to change later (kind of like monogamy)?
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God was an ever-changing concept to Joseph Smith. At one time, Joseph taught that God was just a spirit and Jesus was body of flesh and bones. Later, God and Jesus both were flesh and bones.

As far as monogomy and black having the priesthood, in both situations, the LDS leadership was motivated by money and by how they looked to the rest of the world. If you were to believe it was by revelation, you would have to then believe that God is concerned with money and by peer pressure.
 
SirThomasMore said:
God was an ever-changing concept to Joseph Smith. At one time, Joseph taught that God was just a spirit and Jesus was body of flesh and bones. Later, God and Jesus both were flesh and bones.

As far as monogomy and black having the priesthood, in both situations, the LDS leadership was motivated by money and by how they looked to the rest of the world. If you were to believe it was by revelation, you would have to then believe that God is concerned with money and by peer pressure.
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OK, I’m going to defer to the “returned missionary” here. So perhaps it wasn’t always as I described.

But I thought, since in “Joseph Smith’s First Vision” he saw both Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as having bodies of “flesh and bone” that the concept of God/Heavenly Father being only spirit was never part of Mormon doctrine. Proceeding from that, the “Godhead” could never be anything like the typical Christian understanding of the Trinity.
 
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