Nature of the Godhead

                Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that the Godhead includes God the Eternal Father, the Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost (Pearl of Great Price, Articles of Faith 1:1).  The members of the Godhead are distinct beings with distinct roles, but they are one in purpose and work in perfect unity to do the work of God.  When we understand the Godhead, we can know who we really are.

                We learn from the Old Testament that God looks like us:  “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27).

                We learn from the New Testament that all three members of the Godhead were manifested at the baptism of Jesus Christ.  “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water:  and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

                “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17).

                The New Testament also tells us that the members of the Godhead are united as one:  “That they all may be lone; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:  that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:21).  This information was reconfirmed in our day by revelation to Joseph Smith:  “Which Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one God, infinite and eternal, without end.  Amen” (Doctrine and Covenants 20:28).

                We know the Father and the Son are separate beings because we have reports from two individuals who saw them.  Stephen saw the Father and the Son while he was being killed:  “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

                “And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55-56).

                Joseph Smith also saw the Father and the Son:  “… When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air.  One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other – This is My Beloved Son.  Hear Him!” (Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith – History 1:17).

                Still another report comes from the Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ.  Some ancient Americans heard a voice from heaven but could not understand it until the third time when they had both their eyes and their ears turned in its direction.  They heard a voice declaring:  “Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name – hear ye him.

                “And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.

                “And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:

                “Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world” (Third Nephi 11:3-10).

                The latter-day scriptures also describe the bodies of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ:  “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.  Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22).

                Elder Jeffrey R Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught the following about the three divine beings:  “Our first and foremost article of faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is `We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.’  We believe these three divine persons constituting a single Godhead are united in purpose, in manner, in testimony, in mission.  We believe them to be filled with the same godly sense of mercy and love, justice and grace, patience, forgiveness, and redemption.  I think it is accurate to say we believe They are one in every significant and eternal aspect imaginable except believing Them to be three persons combined in one substance, a Trinitarian notion never set forth in the scriptures because it is not true….

                “It is not our purpose to demean any person’s belief nor the doctrine of any religion.  We extend to all the same respect for their doctrine that we are asking for ours.  (That, too, is an article of our faith.)  But if one says we are not Christians because we do not hold a fourth- or fifth-century view of the Godhead, then what of those first Christian Saints, many of whom were eyewitnesses of the living Christ, who did not hold such a view either?

                “We declare it is self-evident from the scriptures that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate persons, three divine beings, noting such unequivocal illustrations as the Savior’s great Intercessory Prayer just mentioned, His baptism at the hands of John, the experience on the Mount of Transfiguration, and the martyrdom of Stephen – to name just four” (“The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hast Sent,” Ensign, Nov. 2007, 40-42).

                President Gordon B. Hinckley also taught the doctrine of the Godhead.  “And so I believe in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

                “I was baptized in the name of these three.  I was married in the name of these three.  I have no question concerning Their reality and Their individuality.  That individuality was made apparent when Jesus was baptized by John in Jordan.  There in the water stood the Son of God.  His Father’s voice was heard declaring His divine sonship, and the Holy Ghost was manifest in the form of a dove (see Matthew 3:16-17).

                “I am aware that Jesus said they who had seen Him had seen the Father.  Could not the same be said by many a son who resembles his parent? 

                “When Jesus prayed to the Father, certainly He was not praying to Himself!

                “They are distinct beings, but They are one in purpose and effort.  They are united as one in bringing to pass the grand, divine plan for the salvation and exaltation of the children of God” (“In These Three I Believe,” Liahona, July 2006).  

                I too believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three separate Beings united in the same cause.  I know we can learn to understand the true nature of the members of the Godhead and the roles of each in fulfilling Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation.  I know that this knowledge will help us come to understand our own divine identity and our individual purposes as children of God.