The general idea of Deity accepted throughout the so-called Christian
world is stated briefly in this way: "God is a being without body,
parts or passions."
The Latter-day Saints regard our Heavenly Father as possessing an
actual tabernacle of flesh and bones (not blood), and that in His
image man is created. Our views respecting this important subject are
based upon the revelations of God to man in ancient and modern times,
and regarding which there is no contradiction in the testimony of the
prophets. "God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness;
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl
of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His
own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created
He them." (Gen. i:26, 27.)
It is claimed by some that this likeness is only to be understood as a
moral image. There is, however, nothing to justify such a view, either
in the statement quoted or any other passage of Holy Writ. On the
contrary, the Scriptures show that man is actually in the image of his
Maker. Concerning His appearance to Abraham, we read: "And the Lord
appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre; and he sat in the tent door
in the heat of the day; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo,
three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from
the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, and said, 'My Lord,
if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee,
from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash
your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.'" (Gen. xviii:1-4.)
Material as this may appear to many, the first verse of the chapter,
as well as other verses following those quoted, proves conclusively
that this records a personal appearing of the Lord, and also that He
has a tangible being, composed of various parts of the body, as real
as those which characterize His offspring. This instance is only one
out of many in which the Lord appeared to Abraham. Read the seventeenth
chapter of Genesis, 1-3, "And when Abraham was ninety years old and
nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty
God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant
between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell
on his face; and God talked with him." Then follows the conversation
engaged in between God, our Eternal Father, and Abraham, the "father
of the faithful." How such an event should occur between a real human
being and one who had no real organization, "without body, parts or
passions," requires more credulity to believe than to accept the idea
which the Scriptures themselves convey in these chapters, viz: that God
has an actual personality.
If language more direct than the foregoing is required, it can be found
in the eleventh chapter of Genesis, regarding the confusion of tongues
at the tower of Babel. "And the Lord came down to see the city and
the tower, which the children of men builded. * * * Go to, let us go
down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand
one another's speech." It is evident from this that the Lord was in
one place, the tower of Babel in another; that He was surrounded by
associates, and in counsel with them proposed to go to the place where
the tower was in course of construction and there defeat the purpose of
its builders. No one could take this account, written in the simplicity
of truth, believing that it is a truthful statement of the historical
facts, and still believe that God is without body, parts or passions
and in His actual individuality fills at once the immensity of space.
The entire Bible history of Abraham is also one continuous account of
personal visits, conversations and covenants made by the Almighty to
and with the patriarch. Isaac was also favored with the presence of
the Lord: "And Isaac went unto Abimelech, king of the Philistines,
unto Gerar. And the Lord appeared unto him and said, Go not down into
Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of." (Gen. xxvi:1, 2.)
And again in the twenty-fourth verse of the same chapter: "And the Lord
appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy
father; fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply
thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake."
Jacob, the grandson, of Abraham, was no less favored of the Lord in
being a personal witness of His existence, with love and interest
in His earthly children: "And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty
appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canan and blessed me, and said
unto me, Behold I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I
will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy
seed after thee for an everlasting possession." (Gen. xlviii:3, 4.)
Abraham was designated "the father of the faithful, the friend of
God." Of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob the Lord has said, "I am the God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." To them He made glorious promises and
entered into everlasting covenants extending into eternity. He promised
that their seed should be as numerous as the stars of heaven and as
countless as the sands upon the seashore. To the thoughtful person who
reads the Scriptures in the spirit of truth, it must be apparent that
our Heavenly Father foreknew the unchanging integrity of these men, and
because of this gave them such great promises and made them, by His
visits to them, living witnesses of His existence and personality.
Moses is another witness to the personality of God. "And Moses hid his
face; for he was afraid to look upon God." (Ex. iii:6.) On another
occasion there were over seventy witnesses that God is a personal
being. "Then went up Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the
elders of Israel; And they saw the God of Israel; and there was under
His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it were
the body of heaven in His clearness." (Ex. xxiv:9, 10.) He said to the
prophet Moses: "Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man
see me and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me,
and thou shalt stand upon a rock; and it shall come to pass, while my
glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will
cover thee with my hand while I pass by; and I will take away my hand,
and thou shalt see my back parts; but my face shall not be seen." (Ex.
xxxiii:20-23.) Again it is written: "My servant Moses is not so, who is
faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even
apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord
shall he behold." (Num. xii:7, 8)
These quotations respecting the prophet Moses show that on some
occasions he had personal visits from the Lord. In one instance he was
accompanied by over seventy associates, and once he was permitted to
see the back parts only. These statements are so much in detail and
in such direct language that they are not susceptible of any private
interpretation, but must be taken in a literal sense. How any one can
profess to believe in the Bible and read these statements, yet deny
the personality of God, is a matter of wonder and astonishment, and
can only be accounted for in the fact that people have been taught to
accept the precepts of men without taking the natural and reasonable
conclusions which a personal reading of the Scriptures would establish
in their own minds.
When Hezekiah, king of Judah, was beset by the Assyrians he offered
the following prayer to the Lord: "Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear;
open, Lord, thine eyes, and see; and hear the word of Sennacherib,
which hath sent him to reproach the living God." (II Kings xix:16.) And
again it is written: "Now mine eyes shall be open, and my ears attend
unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and
sanctified this house, that my name may be there forever; and mine eyes
and mine heart shall be there perpetually." (II Chron. vii:15, 16.) The
Psalmist David expressed himself, saying: "I have called upon Thee,
for Thou wilt hear me, O God; incline thine ear unto me, and hear my
speech. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be
satisfied, when I awake with Thy likeness." (Psalms xvii:6, 15.) These
expressions in the prayers of righteous men point to the manifest
truth that God has eyes to see, ears to hear, a heart with which to
love, a mouth to speak; and taken with other statements of Holy Writ,
show beyond the possibility of a reasonable doubt, that our Heavenly
Father is possessed of a body composed of the various parts which go
to constitute the several members of a human body, and that He is
susceptible of anger, love and hatred. He hates iniquity and loves
righteousness. He is angry with the wicked every day. Such are the
statements of Holy Writ. He, therefore, cannot be without body, parts
or passions.
The Lord was also seen by the prophet Isaiah. "In the year that King
Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted
up, and His train filled the temple." (Isa. vi:1.) To corroborate these
testimonies of the Old Testament we call the attention of the reader
to several passages in the New. When Stephen was being martyred he saw
God: "But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly 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 vii:55, 56.) Nothing could
be plainer and more convincing from the written Scriptures than that
Stephen actually saw God, and that He and His Son were in the heavens
in the presence of each other.
Paul wrote to the Philippians as follows: "Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus; who, being in the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God." (Phillip. ii:5 6.) And again in
Col. i:15, Paul said respecting the Savior: "Who is the image of the
invisible God, the first born of every creature." To the Hebrews the
same apostle says, concerning Jesus: "Who being the brightness of his
glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by
the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down
on the right hand of the Majesty on high." (Heb. i:3.) These writings
of Paul, though not relating to a personal appearance of God, fully
corroborate in doctrine all the quotations on the subject made from the
Old and New Testaments. The Scriptures referred to show conclusively
the personality of the Father, and a portion of the quotations
presented, point to the fact that He is a separate personage, and
entirely distinct in person from His Son Jesus Christ.
We now call the attention of the reader to a few passages of Scripture,
showing the personality of the Savior, not only in reference to
His individuality before His crucifixion, but showing that in His
resurrected and immortal state, He will continue a separate and
distinct personality from all other beings. Subsequent to His
resurrection He appeared to the apostles; at first sight they were
terrified, and supposed they had seen a spirit, "And He said unto them,
Why are ye troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts? 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. And when He had
thus spoken He showed them His hands and His feet. And while they yet
believed not for joy, and wondered, He said unto them, Have ye here any
meat? And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
And He took it, and did eat before them." (Luke xxiv:38-45.) Thomas,
one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came, and when told by
his brethren that they had seen the Lord, he would not believe them,
and said: "Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and
put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His
side, I will not believe." Subsequent to this appearance, Thomas was
present when the Savior invited him to satisfy his mind to the fullest
extent, thrusting his hand into His side and beholding the wounds in
His hands and feet, when he exclaimed, "My Lord and my God." (John
xx:2, 5, 28.)
Here is a clear demonstration that Jesus in His immortal state
continues as a personal being, with a tangible body of flesh and bones.
To show that there is no change in the personal status of the Savior,
eighteen hundred years have passed away since His resurrection, and yet
we learn from the Scriptures that still in the future He shall appear
in the same body: "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount
of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of
Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof. * * * And the Lord my God
shall come, and all the saints with Thee." (Zech. xiv:4-6.) In the
thirteenth chapter, which appears to be connected with His appearance
upon the Mount of Olives, we find the following statement: "And one
shall say unto Him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then He shall
answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends."
(Zech. xiii:6.)
Many entertain the belief that of the three personages constituting
the Godhead only one is a personal being with a tangible body, viz.:
the Lord Jesus Christ. Enough evidence has been offered to prove the
contrary of this erroneous theory; but as the Scriptures are full of
evidence on this important subject, I will present the reader with
several quotations which will aid him in his researches after the truth
respecting this important doctrine. Matthew informs us concerning the
baptism of the Savior that "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.'" (Matt. iii:16, 17.) In this instance the Savior
is represented as being at the waters of Jordan, while the voice of
His Father came from the courts of heaven, showing that the Father
and Jesus are two distinct personages, existing in separate places at
the same time. This testimony of Matthew is corroborated by that of
Mark and Luke, the former in the eleventh verse of his first chapter:
"And there came a voice from heaven, saying, 'Thou art my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased'"; and in Luke, the third chapter and
twenty-second verse, as follows: "And the Holy Ghost descended in a
bodily shape like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven, which
said, 'Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.'"
It is recorded that on one occasion, while the Savior seriously
contemplated the coming ordeal of His crucifixion, this occurred:
"And Jesus answered them, saying, 'The hour is come, that the Son of
Man should be glorified. He that loveth his life shall lose it. If
any man serve me, let him follow me. If any man serve me, him will my
Father honor. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father
save me from this hour; but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Father, glorify thy name.' Then came there a voice from heaven, saying,
'I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.'" (St. John
xiii:23, 25, 26, 27, 28.)
Still another instance where the voice of the Father was heard, and
in the presence of other witnesses than the Savior, is recorded in
Matthew, seventeenth chapter, fifth and sixth verses: "While He yet
spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice
out of the cloud, which said, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased; hear ye him.' And when the disciples heard it, they fell
on their face, and were sore afraid." The disciples here referred to
were Peter, James and John. Peter relates this impressive event as
follows: "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we
made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but
were eye-witnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father
honor and glory, and there came such a voice to Him from the excellent
glory, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' And this
voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with Him in the holy
mount."
The account of this vision is also recorded in Mark ix:7: "And a voice
came out of the cloud, saying: 'This is my beloved Son; hear Him.'" it
is also said in Luke ix:35. "And there came a voice out of the cloud,
saying, 'This is my beloved Son: Hear Him.'" Surely the testimony of
three or four reliable witnesses is sufficient to affirm the truth
of this matter. When the Savior addressed the Father, no one could
reasonably say that He was addressing Himself. We have many instances
recorded by the writers of the New Testament that Jesus supplicated
His Father in humble prayer. "I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
and hast revealed them unto babes; even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father." (Luke
x:21, 22.) "Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also
may glorify Thee. And now, O Father, glorify Thou me with Thine own
self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." (John
xvii:1, 5.) "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world;
again, I leave the world, and go to the Father." (John xvi:28.)
To these references may be added those before referred to, giving an
account of the martyrdom of Stephen, in the seventh chapter of the Acts
of the Apostles, and the statement by Paul, in the first chapter of his
letter to the Hebrews. Many other scriptural testimonies might be cited
to prove that the Father and the Son are personal beings, each separate
and distinct from the other.
The following passage of Scripture is often cited to prove that the
Savior is the only personal being in the Deity: "Neither pray I for
these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their
word; that they all may be one; 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. And the glory which Thou gavest me I have given
them; that they may be one, even as we are one." (John xvii:20-22.)
The very wording of this Scripture shows that the Father and the Son
are not one in person, because He prays that all the disciples may
be one in the same manner that the Father and the Son are one, and
one in that sense only, for the simple reason that the oneness of the
Father and the Son is perfect and complete. Their unity consists in
being one in wisdom, one in knowledge, one in power, one in council,
having a unity of purpose in the accomplishment of man's salvation to
the tallest extent and in every conceivable respect. The disciples of
Jesus could not be one in person, for each of himself is a separate
individuality; they can be one, however, as the Father and Son are
one, in the accomplishment of one great purpose--the salvation of
mankind--because they are baptized by one Spirit into one body, even
the church of Christ; they have one Lord, one faith and one baptism,
and are all taught of God, having "access by one Spirit unto the
Father" (Eph ii:18), who is not the author of confusion, and cannot
consistently, with His own attributes, contradict Himself.
When Jesus sent His disciples into the world He commanded them to
baptize penitent believers "in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost." (Matt. xxviii:19.) These three personages are
understood by believers in the Bible to constitute the Godhead. We have
shown that the Father and Son are separate personages. It is just as
evident, from the Scriptures, that the Holy Ghost is as much a separate
and distinct personage as are the other two. Concerning the enormity of
sinning against the Holy Ghost, Jesus said: "Wherefore I say unto you,
all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the
blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And
whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven
him; but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be
forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."
(Matt. xii:31-32). Again, "Verily I say unto you, all sins shall be
forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they
shall blaspheme; but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost
hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation." (Mark
iii:28-29.)
Agreeable to the language of these quotations, there is a distinct
separation between the personality of the Savior and that of the Holy
Ghost. Jesus, in speaking of those who should believe and obey Him,
used this language: "He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath
said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this
spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive;
for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet
glorified." (John vii:38, 39.) It appears from this statement that while
Jesus was the representative of the Godhead to men in the flesh, at
least for a period of time, the Holy Ghost had not come to officiate
at that time as a personal witness of the Father and the Son to the
children of men. To corroborate this idea, we quote from the sixteenth
chapter of John, seventh verse: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth;
it is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him
unto you." That this Comforter is the Holy Ghost is evident from the
fourteenth chapter of St. John, sixteenth and twenty-sixth verses:
"And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter,
that He may abide with you forever. But the Comforter, which is the
Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you
all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I
have said unto you." Further: "But when the Comforter is come, whom I
will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which
proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me." (John, xv:26.)
These promises are so definite that no one could reasonably mingle
the personality of the Holy Ghost with that of either the Father or
the Son. After the crucifixion and resurrection of the Savior, and
when He had spent forty days with His disciples before His ascension,
instructing them preparatory to their great mission, before He allowed
them to go out, He reminded them of the promise which He had made to
them, and commanded them to tarry at Jerusalem "until ye be endued
with power from on high." (Luke xxiv:49.) This promise was fulfilled
on the day of Pentecost, when the powers of the Holy Ghost were
manifest through His glorious gifts which attended the apostles on
that occasion. On that great day the Holy Ghost as a gift for their
permanent guidance, was promised to all without distinction of time
or place, if they would have faith, repent and be baptized by divine
authority.
The personality of the Holy Ghost as a minister for God has been
enjoyed in every dispensation of the Gospel. "Men and brethren, this
Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by
the mouth of David spake." (Acts i:16.) Again: "Ye stiff-necked and
uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as
your fathers did, so do ye." (Acts vii:51.) This is proof that David
and the prophets spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, as did
the disciples in the dispensation of Christ; also that the ancients
rejected the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, as did the people in the
days of the apostles. The apostle Peter says: "For the prophecy came
not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost." (II Peter i:21.) No one by reading the
Scriptures can reasonably deduce therefrom that divinely authorized men
were justified in their official ministrations in speaking by any other
power than that of the Holy Ghost. Paul says: "No man can say that
Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost." (I Cor. xii:3.)
The great gifts of the Spirit have been referred to in earlier pages of
this work, and need not be repeated here; but the character of those
gifts and the constant necessity for their existence, together with
the passages quoted here, are positive proof that the Holy Ghost is
one of the Deity and a separate personage from the Father and Son. At
the Baptism of the Messiah He was present in the waters of the Jordan
with John the Baptist. The Father was in the heavens above, and His
voice was heard, while the Holy Ghost descended upon the Savior, as
witnessed by its appearance in the form of a dove. The Father, Son and
Holy Ghost. The three constitute the great, supreme Godhead, yet are as
separate and distinct in their personalities as any earthly parents and
the children.