The Godhead: The Father

Readings:
 

It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another, and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did ...

The Prophet Joseph Smith
Summary of God's Attributes
Lectures on Faith, p.13

God is the only supreme governor and independent being in whom all fullness and perfection dwell; who is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient; without beginning of days or end of life; and that in him every good gift and every good principle dwell; and that he is the Father of lights; in him the principle of faith dwells independently, and he is the object in whom the faith of all other rational and accountable beings center for life and salvation. ...

The Prophet Joseph Smith
Learning to Become Exalted Beings
Teachings, p.346

Here, then, is eternal life -- to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power. And I want you to know that God, in the last days, while certain individuals are proclaiming his name, is not trifling with you or me.

Characteristics, Attributes & Perfections of the Father

• God is a resurrected, exalted personage of flesh and bones
• God possesses all characteristics of perfection; he is perfectly kind, truthful, hones, and moral
• God has a fulness of intelligence, light, and truth; he knows all things; he is omniscient (omni = all)
• God has all power inherent in knowledge: he is omnipotent
   
• God is the creator and upholder of all things
• God is merciful and great, slow to anger, and abundant in goodness
• God is consistent and unchanging
• God does not lie
• God is no respecter of persons
• God is a god of love, knowledge, power, justice, and judgment

To Know Means To ...

• perceive directly; grasp in the mind with clarity or certainty
• regard as true beyond doubt
• have a practical understanding of, as through experience; be skilled in
• have fixed in the mind
• have experience of
• perceive as familiar; recognize; be acquainted with
• be able to distinguish; recognize as distinct
• discern the character or nature of
• possess knowledge, understanding, or information
• be cognizant or aware

This web page was published only as a support for classroom discussion.
For more information, contact Dr. Marcus Martins at: martinsm@byuh.edu