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Mormonism and the nature of God/Polytheism
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This page is based on an answer to a question submitted to the FAIR web site, or a frequently asked question.
Contents
Question
Some of my non-LDS Christian friends have told me that because Mormons don't believe the Nicene Creed, we are polytheists. Is this an accurate characterization of LDS belief?
Source(s) of the Criticism
Response
Almost invariably when someone claims that Mormons are polytheists, they are not seeking a clear explanation of Mormon thought on the nature of God, but are simply using a word with negative connotations in our religious culture as a club to intimdate or confuse others.
There really is not a single word that adequately captures LDS thought on the nature of God. The key technical terminology includes the following:
- Monotheism (belief that there is but one God)
- Tritheism (understanding the Father, Son and Holy Ghost as distinct Gods)
- Polytheism (worship of or belief in more than one God)
- Henotheism (worhsip of one God without denying the existence of other Gods; also called Monolatry)
- Trinitarianism (belief that God consists of three Persons in one substance)
- Social Trinitarianism (belief that the oneness of the three Persons is not one of substance but is social in nature [unity of thought, etc.])
- Modalism (belief that there is only one God who does not exist as three separate Persons but rather manifests itself in three different "modes" {as Father, Son or Holy Ghost])
Usually the very same people who are pressing the case that Mormons are polytheists are some stripe of Evangelical Christians who claim to be monotheists. But Trinitarians are not Monotheists by definition (just ask a Jew or Muslim).
The fact that the LDS do not believe that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are one in substance, and the fact that the Saints believe in deification/theosis (that humans may eventually become deified and become partakers in the divine nature), could be used to paint Mormons as in some sense polytheists.
But when we examine the technical terminology above, it becomes clear that a key point of demarcation is worship v. acknowledgement of existence. If members of the Church worshiped an extensive pantheon like the Greeks or Romans, then the label would be appropriate. But in the context of doctrinal differences over the relationship among the Father, Son and Holy Ghost or the doctrine of deification (which is a profoundly Christian doctrine and not just a Mormon one), use of the word "polytheistic" as a pejorative is both inaccurate and inappropriate.
The fact is that instead of using a single-word label, one must actually articulate the belief (using actual sentences or paragraphs), since the single-word label that will adequately describe the full breadth of LDS thought on the nature of God has yet to be coined.
Conclusion
Endnotes
None
Further reading
William O. Nelson, “Is the LDS View of God Consistent with the Bible?” Ensign, July 1987, ---.
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