1) The Mormon father god is named Elohim.
The God who is the Father of the spirits of all mankind and who resides in heaven (and is rightfully referred to as our Father in heaven or as our Heavenly Father) has been given a name-title by Latter-day Saints: Elohim. The name title Elohim does not appear in any English scripture; it is a transliteration of the Hebrew word for Gods. A Companion to Study of the Doctrine and Covenants, Daniel H. Ludlow, 1978.
Correction: Elohim is the plural title of God not the name of God. In contrast, elowah is the singular title for God and is never coupled with the tetragrammaton in Hebrew Scripture. Elohim is used as an adjective for the tetragrammaton 915 times in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Genesis 2:4-6 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God (YHWH elohim) made the earth and the heavens, before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God (YHWH elohim) had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.
2) The Mormon father god did not create the universe but organized existing matter.
In a revelation given June 1, 1833, the Lord referred to himself as "the Lord of Sabaoth, which is by interpretation, the creator of the first day, the beginning and the end" (D&C 95:7; italics added). In a doctrinal exposition by the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles in 1916, the meaning of the term creator was explained: "The Creator is an Organizer. God created the earth as an organized sphere; but He certainly did not create, in the sense of bringing into primal existence, the ultimate elements of the materials of which the earth consists, for 'the elements are eternal' Jesus Christ, whom we also know as Jehovah, was the executive of the Father, Elohim, in the work of creation.... He is very properly called the Eternal Father of heaven and earth." (MFP 5:26-27; see also Talmage, 32-41.) Ancient Apostles and prophets also understood this concept, such as John (John 1:3), King Benjamin (Mosiah 3:8), and Samuel the Lamanite (Hel. 14:12). Doctrines and Covenants Encyclopedia, Hoyt W. Brewster, 1996.
Correction: Matter is not eternal but was created by God from nothing. The Hebrew word "bara" is defined as create in the absolute sense.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created (bara) the heavens and the earth.
3) The Mormon father god has a body of flesh and bones.
The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us. Doctrines and Covenants 130:22.
Correction: God the Father is Spirit.
Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?"
1 Samuel 15:29 "And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent."
Job 9:32 "For He is not a man, as I am, that I may answer Him, and that we should go to court together."
John 4:24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
4) The Mormon father god lives near a planet named Kolob.
Kolob means "the first creation." It is the name of the planet "nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God." It is "first in government, the last pertaining to the measurement of time. . . . One day in Kolob is equal to a thousand years according to the measurement of this earth." (Book of Abraham, pp. 34-35; Abra. 3:3-9.) Mormon Doctrine, Bruce R. McConkie, 1966.
Correction: Kolob is a fictional planet invented by Joseph Smith.
Isaiah 66:1 Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool."
Matthew 5:34-35 "But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King."
5) The Mormon father god has a partner known as mother god or queen of heaven.
This doctrine that there is a Mother in Heaven was affirmed in plainness by the First Presidency of the Church (Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder, and Anthon H. Lund) when, in speaking of pre-existence and the origin of man, they said that "man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father," that man is the "offspring of celestial parentage," and that "all men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity." (Man: Origin and Destiny, pp. 348-355.) Mormon Doctrine, Bruce R. McConkie, 1966.
O Mormonism! Thy father is God, thy mother is the Queen of heaven, and so thy whole history, from eternity to eternity, is the laws, ordinances and truth of the "Gods" embracing the simple plan of salvation, sanctification, death, resurrection, glorification and exaltation of man, from infancy to age, from age to eternity, from simplicity to sublimity: from faith, repentance, baptism, reception of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, to washing, anointing, holy conversation, baptism for the dead, to the presence of angels, the general assembly and church of the first born; to the unspeakable glory of seeing God and the Lamb, and to spirits of just men, made perfect, and to be ordained unto eternal life! Times and Seasons, January 1, 1844.
Correction: Pagans believe in a Mother god and worship her as queen of heaven.
Jeremiah 44:15-22 Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods, with all the women who stood by, a great multitude, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying: "As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you! But we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and saw no trouble. But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine." The women also said, "And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make cakes for her, to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her without our husbands' permission?" Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people; the men, the women, and all the people who had given him that answer; saying: "The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and did it not come into His mind? So the LORD could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which you committed. Therefore your land is a desolation, an astonishment, a curse, and without an inhabitant, as it is this day.
6) The Mormon father god had physical sex with Mary to produce Jesus Christ.
Elder James E. Talmage has written: "That Child born of Mary was begotten of Elohim, the Eternal Father, not in violation of natural law but in accordance with a higher manifestation thereof; and the offspring from that association of supreme sanctity, celestial Sireship, and pure though mortal maternity, was of right to be called the 'Son of the Highest'" (Talmage, 81).
Doctrines and Covenants Encyclopedia, Hoyt W. Brewster, 1996.
Correction: Mary did not have physical sex with the Mormon god elohim.
Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit."
Luke 1:34-35 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."
7) The Mormon father god is one of three Mormon gods.
Joseph Smith taught in 1844, "I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods." Here was sound and solid doctrine, doctrine which the Prophet assures us he had always taught, doctrine which was consistent and in harmony with the teachings of the Book of Mormon. Neither Joseph Smith nor the prophets in the Book of Mormon taught "trinitarian" doctrines, for such were false and a part of those religious creeds which the Lord himself declared to be "an abomination in his sight" (Joseph Smith History 1:19). Book of Mormon Symposium Series, 1988.
Correction: There is one God not three Mormon gods.
Isaiah 43:10 "You are My witnesses," says the LORD, "and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me.
James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe; and tremble!
Note: The one true God is manifested as distinct persons.
Genesis 1:26 Then God (singular) said, "Let Us (plural) make man in Our (plural) image, according to Our (plural) likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one (echad)!"
Note: The Hebrew word "echad" is defined as "grouping of one."
John 10:30-31 "I and My Father are one." Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
John 10:33 The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."
Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name (singular) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
8) The Mormon father god was patterned after Zeus of Greek Mythology.
World Book Encyclopedia.
Zeus, pronounced zoos, was the ruler of the gods in Greek mythology. Zeus was a sky and weather god, especially associated with rain, thunder, and lightning. The Greeks believed he was all-knowing and all-seeing. The Greeks considered Zeus a father figure and a protector, especially of guests and strangers. The Roman god Jupiter was equivalent to Zeus (see JUPITER).
Zeus was the son of Cronus and Rhea, members of an earlier race of ruling gods called the Titans. Zeus and the other children of Cronus defeated the Titans. Zeus then took Cronus' place and ruled from his home on Mount Olympus. He headed a family of 12 major gods and goddesses called the Olympians. Some lesser gods also lived on Olympus. Zeus's brothers were the gods Hades and Poseidon. Hades ruled the underworld, and Poseidon ruled the seas. The goddesses Demeter, Hera, and Hestia were Zeus's sisters.
At the time Zeus was introduced in Greece, the religion of that area was based on fertility. Each community had a major fertility goddess and a male god associated with her. Zeus eventually took the place of many of these male gods, and became the husband or lover of the goddesses. Later, Hera became Zeus's wife, and other goddesses took a lesser status.
Zeus had many love affairs with goddesses and mortal women and fathered many children. His children included the goddess Aphrodite; the gods Apollo, Dionysus, and Hermes; and the mortal heroes Perseus and Heracles (Hercules in Latin). Zeus alone gave birth to the goddess Athena.
The Greek Zeus god and the Mormon Elohim god compared
1) The Greek Zeus god was ruler of the other gods.
Note: The Mormon Elohim god is a ruler of other gods.
"Every man who reigns in celestial glory is a god to his dominions," the Prophet said. (Teachings, p. 374.) Hence, the Father, who shall continue to all eternity as the God of exalted beings, is a God of Gods. Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2d ed., p.322.
2) The Greek Zeus god was associated with the sky and weather.
Note: The Mormon Elohim god is associated with weather.
So it should be with every Latter-day Saint. By and bye the storm is over, then let us go down into the cabin and do up our praying in fair weather. That is what "Mormonism" teaches me; and when it is dark as midnight darkness, when there is not one particle of feeling in my heart to pray, shall I then say, I will not pray? Journal of Discourses, Volume 3, p. 208.
3) The Greek Zeus god was considered a father figure.
Note: The Mormon Elohim god is considered a father figure by Mormons.
His name is Elohim, and he is our Father in heaven, the literal Father of the spirits of all men. Elder Bruce R. McConkie, Ensign, May 1977, p. 12.
4) Zeus had parents.
Note: The Mormon Elohim god had parents.
Further, as the Prophet also taught, there is "a God above the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. . . . If Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and John discovered that God the Father of Jesus Christ had a Father you may suppose that he had a Father also. Where was there ever a son without a father? . . . Hence if Jesus had a Father, can we not believe that he had a Father also?" (Teachings, pp. 370, 373.) Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2d ed., p.322.
5) Zeus had brothers and sisters.
Note: Mormon theology helps explain Greek mythology.
The theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints centers on the family. Our relationship to God and the purpose of earth life are explained in terms of the family. We are the spirit children of heavenly parents. The gospel plan is implemented through earthly families, and our highest aspiration is to perpetuate those family relationships throughout eternity. The ultimate mission of our Savior's Church is to help us achieve exaltation in the celestial kingdom, and that can only be accomplished in a family relationship. Elder Dallin H. Oaks, CR, October, 2005.
6) Zeus ruled from a specific place.
Note: The Mormon Elohim god rules from the planet Kolob.
And thus there shall be the reckoning of the time of one planet above another, until thou come nigh unto Kolob, which Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord's time; which Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God, to govern all those planets which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest. Abraham 3:9
7) Zeus had many lovers and wives.
Note: Mormons prophets taught that polygamy is an eternal truth.
We are told that the Old Testament sets forth such an example, but that the New Testament condemns it, for the Savior did it away. The only question I would ask in reference to this subject it-If the Savior did away with plural marriage, why didn't he say so? If the Apostles put it down why did they not tell us of it? In the last two chapters of the Bible we have an account of the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, the gates of which we are told are to be named after the twelve sons of four wives by one father; and if we enter the gates of that city we face this polygamy, and if we can not face this polygamy we cannot enter the gates into the city. So we understand the New Testament. On account of our belief in and practice of the Scriptural doctrine, extraordinary legislation has been asked against us, that our lives, liberty, property and pursuit of happiness may be at the control of four or five individuals. This is the extreme of folly. Journal of Discourses, Volume 17, p. 100-101.
8) Zeus had an active love life.
Note: Mormons believe that the Elohim god came to earth and had sex with Mary.
That Child to be born of Mary was begotten of Elohim, the Eternal Father, not in violation of natural law but in accordance with a higher manifestation thereof; and, the offspring from that association of supreme sanctity, celestial Sireship, and pure though mortal maternity, was of right to be called the 'Son of the Highest.' JTC:81; DGSM:9; We Believe (Rulon T. Burton)
9) Zeus had many children.
Note: The Mormon Elohim god has many literal children.
The Father, Elohim, is called the Father because he is the literal father of the spirits of mortals. This paternity is not allegorical. All individual human spirits were begotten (not created from nothing or made) by the Father in a premortal state, where they lived and were nurtured by Heavenly Parents. Encyclopedia of Mormonism, p. 549.
10) Zeus maintains justice and carries out punishment.
Note: Mormon’s believe in a god of justice and were punished in the 19th century.
ELOHIM is a God of justice. This is more than an inference. It is a truism. In fact, it is more than that, it is a revealed truth. Improvement Era, 1955.
11) The sacred groves of ancient Greece were designed for the specific purpose of linking the sacred realm of the gods and the profane world of humans. The terrain occupied by a grove was carefully delineated as separate and different from the landscapes of ordinary life. Here, special rituals took place that reestablished the connection with untrammeled nature that human beings had lost through the work required by animal and plant husbandry. One of these rituals was animal sacrifice, a practice that turned the fruits of human labor into a gift to the gods whose natural realm is chaotic and wild. The sacred grove is therefore a threshold space, a portal to the domain of disorder. As such, it shares characteristics with nonlinear systems that require disturbance in order to remain emergent and transformative. This essay advances a reading of sacred groves as nonlinear landscapes that permit the passage of the sacred into human systems by means of the loving and transgressive gift of sacrifice.
Note: Mormons believe that their gods visited Joseph Smith in a grove of trees.
Our belief does not come from the speculations of men about the existence and nature of God, but from firsthand experience from the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove. Elder L. Tom Perry, Ensign, May 1998, p. 22.
12) Mormons have always had a fascination with Greek mythology.
The Greek Pantheon: “At the head of the Greek pantheon there was a council of twelve members, comprising six gods and as many goddesses. The male deities were Zeus, the father of gods and men; Poseidon, ruler of the sea; Apollo, or Phoebus, the god of light, of music, and of prophecy; Ares, the god of war; Hephaestus, the deformed god of fire, and the forger of the thunderbolts of Zeus; Hermes, the wing-footed herald of the celestials, the god of invention and commerce.” Seventy’s Course in Theology, Volume 3, p. 77.
Greek Mythology References: World Book Enyclopedia.
#11 Reference: Article by Rod Barnett in Landscape Journal, 2007.
