Description
"When two local ministers criticized Latter-day
Saints beliefs about God in 1901, Elder Brigham H. Roberts of the LDS
hierarchy defended the following doctrines:
- First, we believe that God is a being with a
body in form like a man's; ... that in a word, God is an exalted,
perfected man.
- Second, we believe in a plurality of Gods.
- Third, we believe that somewhere and some time
in the ages to come ... man at last may become like God—a God.
"Roberts critiqued Catholic and Protestant
theology, calling it "paganized Christianity"—a
characterization that prompted the now famous rebuttal from the reverend
Cyril van der Donckt of Pocatello, Idaho. To this, Roberts penned an even
more comprehensive rejoinder. "Published as The
Mormon Doctrine of Deity, this debate forms one of the most engaging
and complete considerations of the topic ever compiled. It not only
showcases two brilliant, quick-witted theologians, it also surveys
authoritative historical sources for both the Mormon and traditional
Christian beliefs about God." (From back cover.)
Table of Contents
Forward
Preface
CHAPTER I
THE "MORMON" DOCTRINE OF DEITY
- Form of God
- The Oneness of God
- The Plurality of Gods
- The Future Possibilities of Man
CHAPTER II
REPLY TO ELDER ROBERTS' "MORMON" VIEW OF DEITY, BY REV. C. VAN
DER DONCKT, OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, POCATELLO, IDAHO
- Philosophical Proofs of God's Simplicity or
Spirituality
- Man Can Never Become as God
- The Unity of God
CHAPTER III
A REJOINDER TO REV. C. VAN DER DONCKT'S REPLY
- The Form of God
- Of God Being Invisible
- Of the Incarnation of the Son of God
- Mr. Van Der Donckt's "Philosophical Proofs"
of the Form and Nature of God
- Of Mr. Van Der Donckt's Premise
- Of the Doctrine of God's "Simplicity" Being
of Pagan Rather than of Christian Origin
- Of Jesus Christ Being Both Premise and Argument
Against Mr. Van Der Donckt's "Philosophical Argument"
- More of Mr. Van Der Donckt's "Philosophy"
- Mr. Van Der Donckt's Contrast Between Man and God
- "Behold, the Man has Become as One of Us"
- Of the Unity of God
- Of the Father Alone Being God
- Of the Oneness of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Is
it Physical Identity?
- Of the Lord our God Being One God
- Of our Revelations From God Being Local
- Of God Being One in a Generic Sense
- Of God, the Spirit of the Gods
- Concluding Reflections
CHAPTER IV
JESUS CHRIST: THE REVELATION OF GOD
- Beliefs in India and Egypt
- The Religion of China
- Religion in Northern Europe
- Gods of the Greeks and Romans
- Epicureans
- The Stoics
- The Jews
- God Revealed to the World in the Person of Jesus
Christ
- Evidence of Christ's Divinity from the Scriptures
- Jesus Christ is called God in the Scriptures
- Jesus Declares Himself to be God, the Son of God
- Jesus Christ to be Worshiped, Hence God
- Jesus Christ Equal with God the Father, Hence God
- The Character of God Revealed in the Life of Jesus
Christ
- The Humility of God
- The Obedience of God
- The Patience of God Under Temptation
- The Compassion and Impartiality of God
- God's Treatment of Sinners
- The Severity of God
- God Completely Revealed Through Christ
CHAPTER V
A COLLECTION OF PASSAGES FROM "MORMON" WORKS, SETTING FORTH
"MORMON" VIEWS OF DEITY
- The Father and the Son are Represented as Distinct
Persons, and also as being in the Form of Men, in the First Vision of
the Prophet of the New Dispensation
- The Doctrine of the Godhead According to the Book of
Mormon
- The Doctrines of the Godhead and Man According to the
Book of Abraham
- The Godhead According to the Doctrine and Covenants
- The "Mormon" Doctrine of Deity as Set Forth
in the Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith and Early Church
Publications
- The King Follett Sermon, April 7, 1844
- The Discourse of June 16, 1844
- Use of the Word Elohim
- Omnipresence of God
CHAPTER VI
THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH'S VIEWS IN RELATION TO MAN AND THE PRIESTHOOD
- Adam and His Relation to the Inhabitant of the Earth
- The Living God
- Materiality
CHAPTER VII
DISCOURSES ON DEITY AND MAN
- I. President Brigham Young
- II. Elder Orson Pratt
CHAPTER VIII
"I KNOW MY REDEEMER LIVES"
- President Joseph F. Smith on the "Mormon"
Doctrine of Deity
- Gift of the Holy Ghost
- Jesus the Father of this World
- Glorious Possibilities of Man
- Man to Become Like Christ
- Personal Testimony
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