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Difference between revisions of "Holy Ghost/Divinity without a body"
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Revision as of 17:59, 9 May 2017
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Contents
- 1 The Holy Ghost is divine but does not possess a physical body
- 2 Question: Can the Holy Ghost not be fully God, because he does not have a physical body?
- 3 Question: Will the Holy Ghost ever receive a physical body?
- 3.1 We have no revelation on this topic
- 3.2 Joseph Fielding Smith: "I have never troubled myself about the Holy Ghost whether he will sometime have a body or not because it is not in any way essential to my salvation"
- 3.3 Bruce R. McConkie: "expressions on these matters are both speculative and fruitless"
The Holy Ghost is divine but does not possess a physical body
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Can the Holy Ghost not be fully God, because he does not have a physical body?
- Question: Will the Holy Ghost ever receive a physical body?
Question: Can the Holy Ghost not be fully God, because he does not have a physical body?
It is not known by revelation that it will be necessary for the Holy Spirit to receive a body at some point
Critics charge that since LDS doctrine teaches that a body is required for exaltation, the Holy Ghost cannot be fully God, because he does not have a physical body.
Modern scriptures indicate that having a body is necessary for a fullness of joy (D&C 93꞉33). It is assumed by some Latter-day Saints—but not known by revelation—that it will be necessary for the Holy Spirit to receive a body at some point, but the timeframe in which He does so is not particularly important. (To travel overseas to another country, one needs both a passport and an airplane ticket. It doesn't matter in which order one gets the passport or the ticket, but one must eventually have both in order to reach one's destination.)
Jehovah, the premortal Jesus Christ, was part of the Godhead before his mortal birth. He was the God of Israel, and his yet-future atonement was efficacious to those who were born, lived, and died prior to His crucifixion. The fact that it was effective should blunt any feigned requirement for sequence concerning the Holy Ghost's receipt of a physical body, a matter about which the Church has no official doctrine.
Question: Will the Holy Ghost ever receive a physical body?
We have no revelation on this topic
Because nothing has been revealed on this topic, leaders of the Church have consequently discouraged pronouncements or speculation on this subject.
Joseph Fielding Smith: "I have never troubled myself about the Holy Ghost whether he will sometime have a body or not because it is not in any way essential to my salvation"
Before he was president of the Church, Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:
AVOID SPECULATING ON DESTINY OF THE SPIRIT. The Holy Ghost is not a personage with a body of flesh and bones, and in this respect differs from the Father and the Son. The Holy Ghost is not a woman, as some have declared, and therefore is not the mother of Jesus Christ.
It is a waste of time to speculate in relation to his jurisdiction. We know what has been revealed and that the Holy Ghost, sometimes spoken of as the Holy Spirit, and Comforter, is the third member of the Godhead, and that he, being in perfect harmony with the Father and the Son, reveals to man by the spirit of revelation and prophecy the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our great duty is so to live that we may be led constantly in light and truth by this Comforter so that we may not be deceived by the many false spirits that are in the world.
I have never troubled myself about the Holy Ghost whether he will sometime have a body or not because it is not in any way essential to my salvation. He is a member of the Godhead, with great power and authority, with a most wonderful mission which must be performed by a spirit. This has satisfied me without delving into mysteries that would be of no particular benefit.[1]
Bruce R. McConkie: "expressions on these matters are both speculative and fruitless"
In the same vein, Bruce R. McConkie wrote:
In this dispensation, at least, nothing has been revealed as to [The Holy Ghost's] origin or destiny; expressions on these matters are both speculative and fruitless.[2]
Notes
- ↑ Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols., (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954–56), 39.
- ↑ Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2nd edition, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966), 359. GL direct link