Article of Faith 1

We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
Article of Faith 1

The common doctrine in the Christian world is that of the trinity; the belief that God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one being. This is a belief that is not to be found within the doctrines of the bible. In the October 2007 LDS General Conference, the Apostle Jeffery R. Holland spoke on this very subject, and stated, "Indeed no less a source than the stalwart Harper’s Bible Dictionary records that “the formal doctrine of the Trinity as it was defined by the great church councils of the fourth and fifth centuries is not to be found in the [New Testament]"

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we maintain that God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three seperate and distinct beings who are one in purpose. In what we call Joseph Smith's First Vision, God the Eternal Father and His Son Jesus Christ both appeared, showing that they both have bodies of flesh and bone. Elder Holland described the Godhead as the following, "We believe these three divine persons constituting a single Godhead are united in purpose, in manner, in testimony, in mission. We believe Them to be filled with the same godly sense of mercy and love, justice and grace, patience, forgiveness, and redemption. I think it is accurate to say we believe They are one in every significant and eternal aspect imaginable except believing Them to be three persons combined in one substance, a Trinitarian notion never set forth in the scriptures because it is not true.

"So any criticism that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not hold the contemporary Christian view of God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost is not a comment about our commitment to Christ but rather a recognition (accurate, I might add) that our view of the Godhead breaks with post–New Testament Christian history and returns to the doctrine taught by Jesus Himself" (Oct. 2007 LDS General Conference, The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent).

There is a little booklet that the church puts out called True to the Faith, that is a bit like a pocket glossary of gospel knowledge. Click to find out what it says about the Godhead.