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Jan. 28th, 2011 10:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kd7sovInspired, among other things, by my recent readings of C.S. Lewis, I thought I might share some of the things I believe. I intend to start with the Articles of Faith, the core statements of Mormon belief, and then perhaps continue on into other areas.
I make no promises about the frequency of these writings.
We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
This is really three statements: "We believe in God the Father", "We believe in God's Son, Jesus Christ", and "We believe in the Holy Ghost". Implicit in separating this out is that they are three distinct beings.
God the Father, sometimes referred to as "Elohim" (translated, in our Bible Dictionary, as "the almighty") is literally the Father of our spirits. He loves us, just as (ideally) our mortal fathers do. He wants us to have what is best for us - including one of the reasons we came to Earth: to gain a perfected, glorified body like His.
You see, we believe that the Father, like the Son, has a body. He was once a man like us, although on a different world, run by a different God. We know nothing about His role there, or how He lived his life, except that He was righteous enough to be resurrected into Celestial glory. Lorenzo Snow, fifth President of the Church, famously said that "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become."
Jesus Christ, we believe, is a separate, similarly glorious individual. He is literally the Son of God, both spiritually (as are we all) and physically. This was necessary in order for Him to fulfill his role as Savior of Mankind - He needed to be partially mortal, so that He could die for us; He needed to be partially immortal, so that His death could cover us; and He needed to be perfect, without sin or fault, so that His death would help more than just Himself. By His suffering in Gethsemane He paid for our sins, and by His death and resurrection He provided the opportunity for each of us to follow Him - to be resurrected, cleaned of our sins of which we have repented.
The Holy Ghost is the only member of the Godhead to have no body. This is necessary so that He can guide each of us simultaneously. If He had a body, He could only be in one place at a time; but as a spirit, He can be with each of us whenever we need Him. His role, primarily, is to witness of truth; to teach; and to warn us of danger - usually spiritual, but sometimes physical as well.
Please, feel free to ask me any questions you might have. I will do my best to answer.
I make no promises about the frequency of these writings.
We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
This is really three statements: "We believe in God the Father", "We believe in God's Son, Jesus Christ", and "We believe in the Holy Ghost". Implicit in separating this out is that they are three distinct beings.
God the Father, sometimes referred to as "Elohim" (translated, in our Bible Dictionary, as "the almighty") is literally the Father of our spirits. He loves us, just as (ideally) our mortal fathers do. He wants us to have what is best for us - including one of the reasons we came to Earth: to gain a perfected, glorified body like His.
You see, we believe that the Father, like the Son, has a body. He was once a man like us, although on a different world, run by a different God. We know nothing about His role there, or how He lived his life, except that He was righteous enough to be resurrected into Celestial glory. Lorenzo Snow, fifth President of the Church, famously said that "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become."
Jesus Christ, we believe, is a separate, similarly glorious individual. He is literally the Son of God, both spiritually (as are we all) and physically. This was necessary in order for Him to fulfill his role as Savior of Mankind - He needed to be partially mortal, so that He could die for us; He needed to be partially immortal, so that His death could cover us; and He needed to be perfect, without sin or fault, so that His death would help more than just Himself. By His suffering in Gethsemane He paid for our sins, and by His death and resurrection He provided the opportunity for each of us to follow Him - to be resurrected, cleaned of our sins of which we have repented.
The Holy Ghost is the only member of the Godhead to have no body. This is necessary so that He can guide each of us simultaneously. If He had a body, He could only be in one place at a time; but as a spirit, He can be with each of us whenever we need Him. His role, primarily, is to witness of truth; to teach; and to warn us of danger - usually spiritual, but sometimes physical as well.
Please, feel free to ask me any questions you might have. I will do my best to answer.
