What Do Mormons Believe?
The Nature of God
God is our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ
is His Son, and the Holy Ghost is a spirit sent by God to
teach truth, inspire, and comfort. Each of these is
a distinct, individual being. God is the father of
all and our relationship with Him is like that of a
Father/child. God is not immaterial but has a body
of flesh and bone. Mormons believe we were created
in the literal image of God. Moses spoke to God
face to face because God has a face. It is Greek
influence on early Christianity that supposed perfection
to be immaterial and without parts of passions.
Mormons believe God is perfect and that He possesses a
body which is perfect. He is not some unknowable
influence everywhere and nowhere, He is our
father.
Mormons believe that Jesus Christ is the literal
Son of God. God is His Father just as He is the
Father of all people. This is why Mormons believe
Jesus is our brother, but God is the Father of Jesus
physically as well as spiritually, and so called the Only
Begotten of God. Jesus was chosen to be the Lord
and Savior of mankind before the world was created.
Mormons believe He is Jehovah of the Old Testament.
It was He who created all things. He was born of
Mary as the New Testament tells. He lived a sinless
life and therefore was worthy to atone for the sins of
all. Three days after His crucifixion and death
Jesus was resurrected. He now possesses a divine,
immortal body like God the Father. Because He has
suffered all things, Jesus will be our Advocate to The
Father on Judgment Day and extend mercy to those who have
followed Him. Mormons worship Jesus as Lord and
Savior.
Mormons believe that the Holy Ghost is a spirit personage
separate from God and Jesus Christ. Because the
Holy Ghost has no body, it is through Him that the
influence of God can be everywhere. It is by the
Holy Ghost that truth is confirmed and the love of God
can be felt. The Holy Ghost communicates to us
spiritually. It is described as a voice, a feeling,
a thought, but however it is described, the Holy Ghost
speaks to the spirit of one who is ready to receive
it.
The Potential of Mankind
What do Mormons believe is the nature of mankind?
Mormons believe all people were begotten of God as
spirits before the world was created. We are all
the children of God, so He desires for us to become like
Him and gain all that He has (Romans 8:17). People
are composed of a mortal body and an immortal
spirit. The spirit is a distinct consciousness that
existed before this life. This world was created
for the purpose of gaining a body like God's and to
progress to become more like Him. Mortality is a probationary
state for which we will be judged according to the deeds
done in this life. After this life we will be
resurrected with a perfect, immortal body. The
Judgment will reward each person according to their
earthly life--good for good, evil for evil. Mormons
believe those that have been faithful can continue
progressing forever with the potential to eventually
become like God.
Salvation
Mormons believe salvation comes through faith in Jesus
Christ. Jesus is saving us from death; physical
death will come to everyone because of the Fall of Adam;
the resurrection of Jesus Christ overcame this death and
everyone who lived on earth will be resurrected with an
immortal body. There is also a spiritual
death. It is a separation from the glory and
dwelling place of God. Salvation from this death
begins with a personal conviction that Jesus is your
personal Lord and Savior. Sin makes it impossible
for anyone to be worthy to reenter heaven but Jesus will
grant salvation to those who follow Him. Mormons
are accused of believing that people are saved by works,
but this is either misunderstood or deliberately
misrepresented. The works that a person does are
evidence of obedience to Jesus. Part of this
obedience is performing ordinances and covenants.
Baptism is the first
ordinance, which is received after faith and
repentance. There are also higher ordinances
received in the Mormon temple. Through these
ordinances a person enters into covenants with Jesus
Christ. The reward is the mercy of Jesus
Christ. Mormons do not believe that salvation can
be earned by works, it is granted by the mercy of Jesus
Christ to those who follow Him. He has commanded
His disciples to repent and receive these ordinances, and
promised to save those that do so.
Life after Death
Mormons believe that this life is only one part of an
eternal existence. Life will continue but it is not
known by anyone exactly what that life will be
like. However the purpose of this life is to
determine our station in the next. Mormons believe
there are degrees of glory rewarded
after the Judgment, according to the faith and obedience
of the person during their life (John 14:2; 1 Corinthians
15:40-41). The glories of heaven differ like the
glory of the sun differs from the moon, and the moon from
the stars. Everyone will receive some degree of
glory, but only the faithful will receive the highest
glory with the possibility to become like God.
Mormons also believe that all people who ever lived will
have the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ and thus
inherit the greatest kingdom of God. After death
all go to a spirit world where they associate with others
who have lived on earth. Here, believers of Christ
preach the gospel to those who did not receive it in
life, and those that accept it can be saved by having the
ordinances of salvation performed for them by proxy on
earth. This is the Mormon practice of baptism for the dead, which is
performed in Mormon temples.
The Word of God
Mormons believe the Bible to be the word of God. It
was divinely inspired and written by prophets of
God. It contains the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But Mormons believe that the word of God comes from
prophets. The Bible is not the whole of the word of
God, there were prophets in ancient times and Mormons
believe there are prophets today. The Bible as it
presently exists is a construction of the councils of men
and has undergone countless transcriptions and several
translations. As far as it contains the original
message of the prophets it is the word of God, and
Mormons believe that in the intervening 2,000 years the
essential gospel message has remained in the Bible but
several finer points of doctrine have been altered or
omitted on occasion and resulted in the countless
interpretations of Christianity there are now.
Mormons believe that the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
restored these changes and is a more correct version than
any other. Mormons also believe in divine scripture
in addition to the Bible. In the Mormon canon are
the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and
the Pearl of Great Price.
There have been many more prophets than we have record of
their words. The inspired words of any and all
prophets are believed to be the Word of God by Mormons.
