The mainstream Christian concept is that one God exists in three equally divine persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, known as the Trinity.
Mormon doctrine believes they are separate and distinct see D&C 130:22, with the Father and Son having bodies of flesh and bones.
View the verses from Mosiah 15:1-4 below asking the question which doctrine does it most accurately appear to reflect.
| Mosiah 15:1-4 |
| God himself will come down and shall redeem his people |
| Because he dwelleth in the flesh he shall be called the Son of God |
| Having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and Son |
| Thus becoming the Father and the Son |
| And they are one God, yea, the very eternal Father of heaven and earth |
| Trinitarian three in one |
| This agrees |
| This agrees |
| Whether you fully understand this statement or not, there is no need to rationalise if they are one and the same being |
| This agrees literally with the Trinitarian concept |
| This agrees |
| Mormon separate identities |
| LDS defenders need to qualify this statement |
| LDS defenders need to qualify this statement |
| Again this statement requires mental agility to establish how Jesus having overcome the flesh is both Father and Son in the Book of Mormon BUT not in Mormon Doctrine, D&C 130:22 |
| Again LDS view needs qualifying |
| Again the LDS view needs qualifying |
As a topic we could search other Book of Mormon references to the nature of God, we could evaluate how clear to D&C 130:22 they appear or whether there is further ambiguity. We could strive to use contextual analysis, establish prevailing consistencies, etc. However, the one observation I would offer is this section of the Book of Mormon seems on the face of it Trinitarian. To believe otherwise requires a deeper level of theological contortion. The question therefore I pose, is why did the authors of the most correct book on earth make understanding the separate natures of God so like the established Trinity?
Here is how I would have rephrased Mosiah 15:1-4 God will send down his son to redeem all mankind The Son of God will take on mortal flesh The Son of God will be made perfect like the Father The Father and Son are as one God The Father being the creator of our spirits and the Son creator of all that physically exists upon the earth
Was Joseph Smiths understanding of the nature of God evolving? It shouldn’t have been, his first vision experience declares he saw two personages standing above him in the air. However, many of his experiences were written after the event and retrospectively changed.
Did Joseph Smih influence the content of The Book of Mormon? If he did, he would have drawn on his knowledge of the prevailing religious climate, a subject to be discussed separately.