The Mormon Concept of God
Most human cultures recognize the existence of God, though they call Him by many different names. Mormons consider all human beings to be the children of one single Heavenly Father. Different religions have differing views of the divine nature; there is much truth in each of these differing views of divinity. Regardless of doctrinal differences had among religions, however, the concept of a Creator/Father is nearly universal. If we are all children of a Heavenly Father, then we are all brothers and sisters with a little bit of divinity in each of us. Understanding the common brotherhood of all mankind is central to Mormonism.
God is Morally Perfect
Although God is our Father, He differs from us in two very important ways. First, Mormons believe that He is perfect in all moral attributes. Unlike human beings with our many shortcomings, God is perfectly kind, perfectly patient, and perfectly loving; all-knowing, all-seeing, and all-powerful. He is perfectly merciful, and yet perfectly just. Like any good Father, He is an exampleóthe perfect exampleófor His children. Mormons recognize that we constantly fall short of the divine ideal, but striving to follow our Father’s perfect example is a noble pursuit; indeed, it is central to the reason we’ve been placed on earth, central to the very purpose of life.
God is Physically Perfect
We differ from our Father in another important way. While human beings have imperfect, mortal bodies, God possesses a body that is perfect and immortal. Mormons refer to this type of perfect body as an “exalted” or a “glorified” body. Because Mormons believe that God has a physical body, we do not see Him as some ethereal substance or unexplained force, the likes of which are completely foreign to human experience. Rather, He is a physical being whose nature, while unfamiliar to us and glorious beyond our imagination, is not so far removed from our own experience or so mysterious that we cannot appreciate Him as our Father, with whom we can develop a personal relationship. ()
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