LDS Doctrine on the Godhead, and the Trinity

What does LDS canonized literature say about the nature of God?

The LDS church's official doctrine on the God head states that three separate gods govern this planet. These gods are separate in body, but are one in purpose. The church does not accept the mainstream Christian belief of the Trinity which states that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit three separate persons, but all three are different manifestations of the one being that we call God. Joseph Smith said in the book Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, page 370 "The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost... constitute three distinct personages and three Gods." on page 372, he says, "Many men say there is one God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are only one God. I say that is a strange God anyhow - three in one, and one in three! LDS Apostle, Bruce R McConkie says in his book Mormon Doctrine, p. 576-577, "Three separate personages - Father, Son and Holy Ghost comprise the Godhead. As each of these persons is a God, it is evident, from this standpoint alone that a plurality of Gods exist. To us, speaking in the proper finite sense, these three are the only gods we worship."

For more information on the Godhead, visit Teachings of the Godhead or LDS Doctrines these are official LDS sites, and I am positive they will confirm the accuracy of the above information. Although I personally firmly believe that the Bible does not teach the Godhead doctrine, I also have found that the Book of Mormon also appears to teach against the Godhead doctrine.

What does the Book of Mormon Say about the Godhead?

Alma 11:38-39 says "Now Zeezrom saith again unto him: Is the Son of God the very Eternal Father? (39) And Amulek said unto him: Yea, he is the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth, and all things which in them are; he is the beginning and the end, the first and the last". Jesus being called the very eternal Father seems to me to give him the title of Heavenly Father, a title that is not shared with Jesus in the Godhead doctrine sited above.

Alma 11:44 goes on to say, "Christ the Son, and the Father, and the Holy Spirit which is one Eternal God". I find the word �is� here interesting. The word is implies that there is a singular subject being spoken of, in this case Christ the Son, The Father, and the Holy Spirit are collectively referred to as an �is�, singular, not an �are� or a plural reference alluding to a oneness of nature, not just purpose.

Alma 11:28-29 "Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God? And he (Amulek) answered, No. This appears to be in clear contradiction to McConkie�s quote above. The question from Zeezrom isn�t asking if there is more than one God that should be worshiped, but I guess you can make the case that it is implied.

2 Nephi 31:21 says, "behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God without end, Amen." Again �is� implies that the three constitute a singular being, called God.

Mosiah 15:1-5 says, "I would that ye understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people. (2) And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son. (3) The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and the Son. (4) And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. (5) And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God". All I can say is wow, how can this not be testifying to a Trinitarian doctrine, and how can it not be in direct contradiction to the Godhead doctrine?

Ether 3:14 says, "Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son."

Ether 4:12 says, "and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father".

These verses from the Book of Mormon clearly teach a Trinitarian concept, and that there are not three separate Gods governing this planet, but one God through the three persons of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. In the instances when the verse will say "they are one God", I have found that a common rebuttal to this is that someone will say that the meaning of the verse is "one Godhead". If "head" is inserted, the meaning of the verse is changed to say something that it originally didn't.

My conclusion here is that if I were to become LDS, I would either have to reject the Book of Mormon�s teaching of a Trinitarian concept, or reject the prophet's teachings on the Godhead because the teachings are mutually exclusive. In other words, they are direct contradictions of each other, and both cannot be accurate. If I were to become LDS, which doctrine of God should I believe? They are both LDS canonized literature, but they are incompatible beliefs. Only one can be eternally true.