Articles of Faith: Article One

I've been lax over the past few months at posting new things here, and I never really did get started in the first place, did I?

Well, I hope to rectify that. I think the best place to start would be with the Mormon Articles of Faith. I will try to write a short essay on each, and give some thought to what they mean to us and how they relate to other Christian faiths.

Article of Faith One:

We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

When people tell you that Mormon's "aren't Christians," which they will (I've heard it numerous times over the past year), simply point them to the very first Article of Faith.

We do, indeed believe in Christ, we believe in His Heavenly Father, and we believe in the Holy Spirit. Our conception of these figures may be slightly different, but they are the same that are worshipped by hundreds of millions around the world.

The biggest departure is that we don't believe in the concept of the Trinity in what has become the traditional sense. In the LDS Church, it is known as the Godhead. Most denominations look at the Trinity as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit being three different aspects of one being. Mormons tend to view them as separate beings all working together in perfect unity of purpose to achieve a specific end.

I tend to look at the Godhead as being the ultimate family, working together with no dissension, no opposition, just perfect love and harmony for and from each member, and for us, in order to bring us all into God's Celestial Kingdom.

The differences between the Godhead and the Trinity are, to my mind, minor quibbles that have torn people apart for centuries. Even in the first few centuries following the Resurrection of Christ, there was dissension to the point that church leaders gathered together to discuss the issue.

What is TRULY important is that we understand that there ARE  Father, Son and Holy Ghost, regardless of our conception of the relationship between them and that Jesus Christ, the Son, is the Redeemer and Savior of mankind, and that only through our faith in His Atoning Sacrifice, may we be brought once again into the presence of our Father in Heaven, who loves us and desires fully and completely that we return to Him.

In that, Mormons are absolutely no different from any other Christian, and anyone who tells you differently in either ignorant of our doctrine or deliberately misleading.

And I leave you with these thoughts in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.