I know my Father lives and loves me too.
The Spirit whispers this to me and tells me it is true,
And tells me it is true.
(Children's Songbook, 5)
Latter-day Saints believe in God. Our first Article of Faith states, "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost" (AofF 1:1). A simple, straight-forward declaration that we accept the three members of the Godhead so clearly revealed in the Holy Bible:
God the Father, commonly referred to as Heavenly Father or our Father in Heaven, is the supreme ruler of the universe. He is the father of all mankind. We are literally His offspring, made in His image. He is a holy being, who is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), and omnipresent (through His Holy Spirit, all present). Prophets refer to Him as Elohim.
God the Son, commonly known as Jesus or Jesus Christ, is known by many names: Savior, Redeemer, Lord, the Only Begotten of the Father, Advocate, the Light of the world, the Great I Am, Emmanuel, the Holy One of Israel, the Prince of Peace, and many, many more, each revealing some important truth about His divine character. He was, under the direction of His Father, the creator of the world. He was the Jehovah of the Old Testament. He was sent into the world by His Father to atone for sin and to redeem mankind according to the terms and conditions set forth in His gospel.
God the Holy Ghost, commonly known as the Spirit or Holy Spirit or Spirit of God or Comforter, has many divine functions, including bearing witness of the Father and the Son and cleansing from sin.
Latter-day revelation confirms biblical truths about God: that God is the literal father of the human family, a Being who is concerned for the welfare of humankind, and an actual Personage who hears and answers prayer. We also know by revelation that the Father and the Son have tangible bodies of flesh and bone and that the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit without flesh and bone (see D&C 130:22-23).
Why does it matter that we know God and understand what He and His Son are like? Some religions teach that God is a mystery, that He is unknowable, that He is beyond comprehension. That does not square with what Jesus taught when He prayed, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). The Savior makes it clear that to obtain eternal life, the ultimate of salvation, we must know the Father and the Son.
Prophets in our day have seen the Father and the Son, beginning with Joseph Smith in the spring of 1820, who declared, "I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! (JS-H 1:17).
One of those prophets taught, "Realizing the importance of knowing the true nature of God, men had struggled to find a way to define Him. Learned clerics argued with one another. When Constantine became a Christian in the fourth century, he called together a great convocation of learned men with the hope that they could reach a conclusion of understanding concerning the true nature of Deity. All they reached was a compromise of various points of view. The result was the Nicene Creed of A.D. 325. This and subsequent creeds have become the declaration of doctrine concerning the nature of Deity for most of Christianity ever since.
"I have read them all a number of times. I cannot understand them. I think others cannot understand them. I am sure that the Lord also knew that many would not understand them. And so in 1820, in that incomparable vision, the Father and the Son appeared to the boy Joseph. They spoke to him with words that were audible, and he spoke to Them. They could see. They could speak. They could hear. They were personal. They were of substance. They were not imaginary beings. They were beings tabernacled in flesh. And out of that experience has come our unique and true understanding of the nature of Deity" (Gordon B. Hinckley, in Ensign, Nov. 2007).
I too know, by the witness of the Holy Spirit, that God lives. He is my Father. He answers my prayers. I have had too many experiences, too many evidences to believe or think otherwise.
I add my own witness, also given me by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father, my Savior, my Redeemer, the Light and Life of the world. His divine work is alive and well in this sick old world that needs His gospel and His love so very much. And, borrowing another prophet's simple, straightforward words, I also declare, "He is my friend, my Savior, my Lord, my God" (Spencer W. Kimball, in He Lives: The Witness of Latter-day Prophets).
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