Mormons; and their **THREE** Gods....

[ThurifAcolyte]

Jennifer,
You would do yourself a bigger favor by memorizing the “marvelous” discussion that has ensued on this thread since your post here, as your friends have tried to describe the Trinity without really defining it in words that explain whether it means Three Persons who are Distinct or not. Then you will have succeeded in memorizing something meaningful to those comfortable with the mystery of it all , and you can call yourself whatever you like.

As Paul said, it’s best to stay away from analogies on who God is, since they all fall short, especially when talking about the eternal. It’s best to say that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct, separate (I have no problem using the word ‘separate’ since distinct means the same thing basically) Persons, all with the same nature (substance/essence/etc) whom together are one God.

Interestingly, I happened upon a post on an old thread on another forum where once the term “consubstantial” was defined, and the Trinity correctly defined (emphasizing the distinct nature of the Persons), it was seen that on a basic level, the Trinity and Godhead are very similar, as we noted earlier here.

 

[ParkerD]

As Paul said, it’s best to stay away from analogies on who God is, since they all fall short, especially when talking about the eternal. It’s best to say that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct, separate (I have no problem using the word ‘separate’ since distinct means the same thing basically) Persons, all with the same nature (substance/essence/etc) whom together are one God.

Interestingly, I happened upon a post on an old thread on another forum where once the term “consubstantial” was defined, and the Trinity correctly defined (emphasizing the distinct nature of the Persons), it was seen that on a basic level, the Trinity and Godhead are very similar, as we noted earlier here.

ThuriferAcolyte,
Thanks once again for your forthrightness and the final sentence here. I wish that Jennifer, who is studying to become a Catholic, understood that and would keep quiet about that which she does not understand instead of “poking fun” at it. There are better approaches to learning…

 

[ThurifAcolyte]

ThuriferAcolyte,
Thanks once again for your forthrightness and the final sentence here. I wish that Jennifer, who is studying to become a Catholic, understood that and would keep quiet about that which she does not understand instead of “poking fun” at it. There are better approaches to learning…

No problem! I have no issues with acknowledging where there are real agreements in our doctrines, even when there are also real differences.

 

[dianaiad]

I’ve had a Mormon tell me before Jesus was not God.

I’m certain that you have had Mormons tell you that Jesus is not God the Father. But you have never had a Mormon tell you that He is not God. He isn’t God the Father. He is not The Holy Ghost. But He IS the second member of the Godhead, fully equal with His Father, God, One with the Father in purpose, thought and intent.

I’m willing to believe that you misunderstood what you heard, but THAT is what was said. Jesus is not God the Father.

From what I read there are non mainstream Mormons in the Fundamental LDS that believe Adam is God

There may well be. Just as the Protestants broke away from Catholicism and believe things that Catholics believe, so are there breakaway Mormon sects that believe things that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not. Adam being God would be one of those things. So would polygamy.

 

[dianaiad]

As Paul said, it’s best to stay away from analogies on who God is, since they all fall short, especially when talking about the eternal. It’s best to say that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct, separate (I have no problem using the word ‘separate’ since distinct means the same thing basically) Persons, all with the same nature (substance/essence/etc) whom together are one God.

Interestingly, I happened upon a post on an old thread on another forum where once the term “consubstantial” was defined, and the Trinity correctly defined (emphasizing the distinct nature of the Persons), it was seen that on a basic level, the Trinity and Godhead are very similar, as we noted earlier here.

I have always thought so, actually.

the problem with US is that so many people who criticize our view of the Trinity come at us from a Modalist POV, and because they emphasize the “one substance” part to the point that they completely ignore the 'not confusing the persons," we end up leaning waaaay far the other way.

(shrug)

From what I see, most of it is simply trying really hard to find an excuse, any excuse at all, to exclude us from fellowship and make them feel more…something…than us.

 

[StLawrenceFan]

He isn’t God the Father. He is not The Holy Ghost. But He IS the second member of the Godhead, fully equal with His Father, God, One with the Father in purpose, thought and intent.

Lol.
D, “Godhead”? what is that? I’ve been a Catholic for 50 years and never heard of the “Godhead” until about 8 months ago. And it was from a mormon.

No one in our Church speaks of the “Godhead”.

The Trinity of course is one of the core focal points.

**The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. **

Please let loose of Joe’s Myth or any other bogus wannabees.
Get the real facts from the Church Jesus founded.
And just remember that Jesus (God) warned us all to beware of “false prophets”.
Basic stuff.
Please research it.

 

[StLawrenceFan]

ThuriferAcolyte,
There are better approaches to learning…

CCD is one of the best ways to approach learning Catholicism.
Jesus (God) will lead the way. He founded the Catholic Church, so those (now well over a billion and growing) who wish to join him in his Church will find the way.

 

[Stephen168]

Lol.
D, “Godhead”? what is that? I’ve been a Catholic for 50 years and never heard of the “Godhead” until about 8 months ago. And it was from a mormon.

No one in our Church speaks of the “Godhead”.

The Trinity of course is one of the core focal points.

**The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. **

35 years ago, the Mormons I knew made it very clear they did not believe in the trinity. Mormons now claim to believe in the trinity as part of a move to appear to be normal monotheistic Christians. A cynic would say it helps the recruiting effort. I’m not sure how long Mormons have used ‘Godhead’ as an attempt to seem trinitarian/monotheistic but I never heard them use it when I was a kid. Maybe an ex-mormon could help us out.

 

[Kdesiel]

You know I believe the common misunderstanding in thinking there are three God’s is derived from not fully understanding the nature of God. There is only one nature for our God. Within that nature there are three distinct but not seperate persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There are not three Gods!

I believe that understanding the the Trinity is very difficult. I think that if all the knowledge of the world were equivalent to a drop of water that it would take all the knowledge contained within all the drops of water in the oceans, rivers and lakes in the world to just arrive at a proper start for appreciating the beauty and love of the relationships within the Trinity.

That said, I believe one analogy that might help in a limited way to understanding a little more about the Trinity is to take the example of water. Water can be manifested in three different ways , ice, snow and steam. These manifestations could be thought of as three distinct persons of God, while the water itselt could be thought of as the divine nature of God. Using the above analogy you end up of with nature of water with three diffenent manifestions within it.

With God you also have one nature and three distinct but not separate persons within that nature, that is three persons, not three seperate God’s. God bless. george

Maybe this helps some to understand in a very limited way the Trinity of the Christian faith.

Thanks George, I really enjoyed your analogy. I haven’t heard it put that way before I like it. Thanks again.