The Godhead

THE GODHEAD

During 2013, the youth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are studying twelve core doctrines of the church. We decided to share our experiences with each doctrinal principle with several of our older grandchildren who are participating in this study. The following is based on what we wrote for them. We share it with you out of love and respect for our family and friends. Maybe this will help you understand part of our spiritual journey as disciples of Christ. Please read it with the love with which it was written and is shared.                                                 

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In 1981 missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints left a pamphlet at our door and came back a few days later. Joe let them in because MichaelK had asked a few weeks earlier if we were Christian. Joe figured he could have the missionaries tell Michael about Jesus and “We wouldn’t even have to go to church!” You see how that all worked out!

The missionaries kept coming back. The three of us, Joe, Julia, and Michael, asked lots of questions. One evening we got on the topic of the Godhead. Joe and Julia had been raised in churches that taught the concept of the Trinity – God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are one entity – one God in different forms or formats.

That evening we sat around our dining room table on North Street in Worthington and looked at the scriptures in the Bible in a way we’d never looked before. The words were the same we’d read and heard all our lives. This was the first time we’d really thought about what they said. In the past we’d been taught the Trinity. We just assumed what “they” were saying was true. We never studied it out for ourselves. We never prayed about it. We never compared what was in the scriptures with what we were being taught. We never found out for ourselves.

The missionaries started with the baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3: 16-17 (and other gospels). All Christians know this story well. This was the first time we’d read it with our eyes and hearts wide open. Of course there was more than one being/thing/entity involved in the baptism. Jesus was plainly there in a body and was being baptized. Someone was speaking from the Heavens – Heavenly Father. The Holy Ghost was there represented by a dove. The light bulb went off in our heads. We were invited to think about these words differently than before. If Jesus and Heavenly Father are the same, why the need for the body in the water and the voice from Heaven? Why not just one being declaring the importance of what was happening? Why create mystery or confusion about what’s going on?

Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane - Matthew 26: 39 and Mark 14:36. If he and Heavenly Father are the same being why is He praying to himself? Wouldn’t it be recorded more as thoughts that were going through his head and heart at this difficult time? There are other times Jesus is praying as in John 17 and the intercessory prayer. Is he talking to himself or is he praying to his Heavenly Father?

When Jesus was on the cross, he addressed his father – or was he talking with himself? When Jesus was young and in the temple at Jerusalem, he said he was about his father’s business (Luke 2: 49). Jesus knew who he was and who his Heavenly Father was.

The missionaries (and the Spirit) planted the seed that evening. They challenged us to pray about it and get a personal confirmation. We started having family scripture study. We paid attention to the words in a way we hadn’t done previously. It became very clear that Jesus Christ and his father were two beings. Why had we never seen that before? We received increased knowledge, insights, and confirmation from the Holy Ghost. This knowledge didn’t come all at once when we prayed – it came line upon line, precept upon precept. (Isaiah 28: 10)

There are many places throughout the scriptures that plainly involve more than one entity. I started making notes about Bible verses where it was clear there are separate beings. In one set of my scriptures I noted over 60 instances. The New Testament is full of examples. I’ve put some of them at the end of this essay.

Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have different roles but they are united in purpose. In John 10: 30 Christ says, “I and my Father are one”. Looking at the verses prior to this, it is clear that Jesus is saying he and his father are one in purpose. So – Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost – three distinct or separate beings with different roles but united in one purpose. Just like mothers and fathers are separate beings but united in purpose.

When talking about the Trinity, people often give the example of the clover leaf. It’s one leaf with different parts – God or Heavenly Father, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. There are even hymns written about the Trinity. I can remember one from my Methodist days – “God in three persons, blessed Trinity.” When someone, often children or teenagers, would ask why, what, or how in relation to the Godhead, ministers, priests, or parents would often respond, “It’s a mystery.” We feel that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want us to understand them and their gospel. That’s why we’ve been given the Holy Ghost.

When people say members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are not Christian, the concept of the Trinity is often one of their reasons. They say we believe in a different Jesus. If people looked closely, they would see that the Jesus we know is based in the Bible. The word Trinity is never used in the Bible. The history of the concept of the Trinity is interesting – connected with politics, disagreeing theologians, and intrigue that took place hundreds of years after Jesus’ death. But that’s a whole other topic of conversation.

Each one of us needs to find these things out for ourselves. Through study, pondering, praying, listening the Holy Ghost we will establish communication with God and know. It’s step by step – precept by precept.

Let us know if you have any questions. We love questions.

March 11, 2013

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Additional scriptures

John 14:26 – Jesus speaks of the Holy Ghost being sent by the Father

Acts 7:55 – Stephen – full of the Holy Ghost, looks to heaven and sees Jesus sitting on the right hand of God

Matthew 3:16-17  Jesus’ baptism 

Acts 10:38 God anoints Jesus with Holy Ghost & God was with Jesus

Romans 8:17 talks about being joint heirs with Christ

You’re not an heir to your own property. You are an heir to someone else’s estate, in this case, Heavenly Father’s.

Mark 16: 19 says Jesus sat on the right hand of God. You can’t sit at your own right hand

Jesus’ prayer in Garden of Gethsemane  Matthew 26:39   Mark 14:36  Jesus is praying – “Oh, my Father, … not as I will, but as thou wilt”

Jesus on the cross speaks with his father  Luke23: 34 Jesus asks his father to forgive the people

Galatians 1: 1 & 1 Thessalonians 1: 10   & Acts 10: 40  God raises Christ on the third day