abstract
| - The very first Article of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) is very definitive and quite simple in stating our belief concerning God: We believe in God, the eternal Father, and in his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. Joseph Smith offered a doctrinal clarification of this belief, which has been canonized in the Church's scriptures: "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." (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22) Latter-day Saints (Mormons) believe that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and that His Spirit can be felt by all people, everywhere. He possesses an absolute perfection of all good attributes; He is merciful, loving, patient, truthful, and no respecter of persons. While Church members look to the scriptures for instructive information about God, their primary knowledge concerning His nature is evidenced in Joseph Smith's First Vision and can be made even more individual through personal revelation to the sincere inquirer from God Himself. Through such personal revelation, individuals can move beyond debate and uncertainty to an absolute knowledge of God's existence and Being, as Joseph Smith did.
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