Who is God? What is He really like?

I feel that if you know what members of the LDS church believe about the "nature of God" (what he's like), you'll be better able to understand our other teachings, values, and standards for living.

Simply put, God is:
All-knowing ("omniscient"). He knows the end from the beginning, knows each person's thoughts, desires, joys and hurts.

All-powerful ("omnipotent"). As the Creator, He is able to command the elements when He sees fit.

All-loving. He loves every soul whether they choose Him or not, whether they live righteously or not.

Constant. "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (1 Nephi 10:18) We can trust that He will keep his promises. The same blessings available to people anciently are available to us today. He spoke anciently, He speaks today.

A God of order. Meaning he is organized, orderly. He's got a plan for you and for me.

He is Pure. "For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance; Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven" (Doctrine & Covenants 1:31-32).  "No unclean thing can dwell with God" (1 Nephi 10:21).


The giver of the freedom of choice. I hope you'll allow me to elaborate here, because it is so important. And if you go to a LDS church, you'd hear about this frequently. We often refer to this as "agency" or "moral agency." That is also one of the themes you'd read about in the Book of Mormon. He will never force a soul to do anything. In fact, we believe that coercion is Satan's (the devil's) way. God told the ancient prophet Moses:

Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God have given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down. (Moses 4:3)

While it is absolutely true that God allows us all the freedom to choose, it also means that He allows us to experience the consequences of our actions, whether they be good or bad. As one of my old college professors liked to say, "When you pick up one end of the stick, you pick up the other." So, God will allow all men to make mistakes. Small ones. Tragic ones. Even evil ones. But every person will stand accountable before God one day and be judged according to their actions and knowledge.
__________________________________________________________________________________

 Because I have studied God's nature, I can believe Him and trust Him because He is perfect. He's not going to change on me. Since He's all-knowing, I can trust that the way He deals with human beings is true, is right. He's got our best interest at heart. He can see the bigger picture, even the eternal scheme of things, and I just don't. Not yet.

The next post will answer the question of the purpose of life. Why are we here? What does God expect of me? What happens to me and my loved ones after death? Where did we come from? Mormons often refer to it as "The Plan of Happiness." Since God is all-knowing, it makes sense that He knows the best way to be happy!

Don't be afraid to leave a comment or ask a question!