Dear Reader,


A Latter-day Saint who believes that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its leaders are authorized of God doesn’t necessarily accept whatever the church puts forth as “gospel.” On the contrary, anyone who wants a better church tomorrow really ought to speak up today. We aren’t potted plants. Let's face it: Theological malarkey will continue to thrive in the church if members say “amen” to it all.

That is the main reason this site exists.

It also exists because I want to encourage wavering Latter-day Saints not to leave the Lord's restored church merely because of its flaws and the errors of its leaders.

Each article is listed below with a title, short synopsis and a link. They were written by Steve Warren (bio below).

Keep the faith.

Steve Warren
West Valley City, Utah

“God is actually trying to create a much more profound relationship with us. We can only do that if we are actually wrestling with issues at hand.”
--Fiona Givens

Christ moves closer to us as we move from dogma toward truth.

Steve Warren was raised in Heppner, Oregon, and has lived in Utah for 46 years. He attended Ricks College for two years, served a mission to Colombia and Venezuela, and graduated from BYU in 1973 with a degree in communications. He and his wife, JaNiece, have two sons and a daughter. He wrote and published Drat! Mythed Again, Second Thoughts on Utah in 1986 and was a copy editor at the Deseret News from 1988-2008. He wrote and printed 100 copies of a novel, Beyond the Finish Line, but has not found a real publisher in spite of good reviews.
Knowing, believing, seeing Insights into our borderline dysfunctional LDS relationship with the word “know.”

Pathway to heaven The Scriptures show one sure way to return to God’s presence: possess a heart that pleases him.

Obedience gone awry Strictly following the prophet is an excellent idea—at least as long as he’s right.

Falling short, staying put Living prophets constantly err, but that’s not a good reason to leave the Lord’s church.

What in the world? Certain strange features of the Book of Mormon add to its credibility.

Some kind of miracle Fiction. An invitation to speak in sacrament meeting begins a Utah couple’s wild ride.

The cross = victory The cross is a worthy, positive symbol because it reminds us that it is the dying Christ who saves us.

Pilate tried Jewish religious leaders sought to kill Jesus; Pontius Pilate sought to set him free, so let’s give the man a break.

Father, Father, Father Why do we repeat the name of Deity so often in prayers these days?

Witnesses Multiple witnesses provide a compelling reason for anyone to ponder the claims of Mormonism.

Who is God? The Book of Mormon and other scriptures clearly teach that Jesus Christ is God and that Heavenly Father is God the Father.

In the beginning If we didn't allow speculation and guesswork in lessons on the Creation and Adam and Eve, classes would be really short.

Short takes Brief quotes, comments and reflections on a variety of gospel topics.
A few heresies... that would make for a more interesting sacrament meeting.
Oopsy-daisy 40 foul-ups by top LDS authorities.
Appreciating Christ
It's a miracle
The certainty of life after death
Farewell to temple ordinances



Thursday, October 22, 2015

Short takes




Mortal souls? Not exactly 

The church's definition of immortality is defective:  Immortality is a state of endless life beyond the power of death, which is obtained following the Resurrection. All mortal souls will eventually become immortal through the power of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Joseph Smith stated that all souls are co-eternal with God. Here's a better definition:

“The souls of all men and women are everlasting and co-eternal with God, who became God after dwelling on an earth and attaining exaltation. Through the Resurrection, all souls unite with immortal physical bodies and can obtain exaltation through the Atonement of Christ.

Never see R-rated movies? Just another myth


Some active members of the church routinely assert that Latter-day Saints must not attend R-rated movies in order to follow the prophet or to be obedient. Perhaps they are unaware of the answer to the question below.

Question:  How many presidents of the church have said adult members should never view R-rated movies?

Answer: None

Yes, President Ezra Taft Benson counseled young men at a 1986 General Conference priesthood session not to view R-rated movies in order to keep their minds free of entertainment that is immoral, suggestive or pornographic. (He later offered similar counsel to young women of the church.) But the general membership of the church has never received counsel from a church president not to attend R-rated movies.

Indeed, President Benson's counsel to youths suggests that attending R-rated movies might be acceptable even for LDS young people if the movies contain no sexually explicit material.  In fact, I would not hesitate to recommend to my fellow Latter-day Saints age 16 and above that they view such R movies as The King's Speech, Gran Torino and Schindler's List.

Although no president of the church has said we should never see R-rated movies, Elder Robert L. Simpson stated in October 1972 general conference that members should not view R-rated movies.  Let's keep in mind that Elder Simpson was an assistant to the Twelve and was expressing his opinion, not the position of the prophet, the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve or of the church. (If certain members feel they need to be extra faithful by striving to obey fringe-area guidance from lower-level authorities, these same members should feel free to do so.  And while they're at it, if they engage in the in-vogue practice of repeating the word Father in prayers, they would also be well-advised to obey a higher-level authority—a president of the Twelve—who has counseled us to stop repeating the name of Deity in public prayers.  See “Father, Father, Father on this site.)

Here's a couple of other problems with letting a rating given by the Motion Picture Association of America determine whether we see a movie. First, by relying solely on rating and ignoring movie content, we may miss a great movie containing one F-word while convincing ourselves it's OK to see a PG-13 movie that is mediocre and full of vulgarity, violence or idiotic content. Second, the MPAA rating ignores the fact that many members live in countries where their movies receive no MPAA rating. Third, by automatically following someone's counsel never to see an R-rated movie, we trust in them and the MPAA to guide us rather than wisely exercising our agency.

No public prayers, plenty of inspiration

Latter-day Saints are quite gung-ho about our U.S. Constitution being inspired, and most active members see prayer as entirely acceptable in government meetings. They might not be enthusiastic about a certain passage on page 88 of The Great Prologue, by Elder Mark E. Petersen.  There, Elder Petersen observes that Benjamin Franklin earnestly appealed for daily prayers at the constitutional convention. How did the delegates react to his request? They firmly rejected it. Franklin later wrote: The convention, except for three or four persons, thought prayers unnecessary.” 

Inspired revision of a biblical passage

In the Bible, we read that Jonah was on a ship, a great wind came up and he ended up in the belly of a whale for three days.

My inspired and more believable revision of this passage is as follows:  Jonah was on a ship when a great wind came up, and three days later he ended up in Wales.  It was possibly Scotland, but when a local asked Jonah if he wanted the address (pronounced uh-dress in a British accent), Jonah misunderstood and replied, No, I don't want a dress. I'm a man.  Oh, and by the way, the Germans are gonna eventually bomb you guys.

Inspiration comes from different places. 

No individual exaltation?

President Russell M. Nelson has said Salvation is an individual matter, but exaltation is a family matter.

Or not.

We teach that salvation is Christ's victory over death and that everyone resurrects through the Lord's merits and generosity.  In other words, the entire human family is saved regardless of individual behavior.  Exaltation, on the other hand, is an individual matter.  Abel, yes; Cain, no—same family.  If an individual's heart is sufficiently pleasing to the Lord, he will eventually be exalted even if no one else in his family is.  Yes, we currently believe that one man and one woman must be sealed to each other to receive exaltation, so perhaps exaltation would be more often a couples matter than a family matter.  (Many couples are childless.) 

Besides, if exaltation were a family matter, the following people might be up a creek: Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother; Joseph and Emma Smith; Adam and Eve.  (Read on.)

According to LDS doctrine, Heavenly Father and Mother lost a third of their children even before the earth was created.  Later, we were informed by revelation that of their remaining children, the vast majority will be unworthy to return to dwell with them.  In today's world, parents with such a miserable record would be sent to counseling.

As far as Joseph and Emma Smith's family exaltation, keep in mind that neither Emma nor any of their children remained active in the church after Joseph's death.

Adam and Eve's exaltation is based on their individual behavior, not their son Cain's terrible behavior nor the misbehavior of nearly all of their descendants whose lives, not sins, were washed away by a flood.

Nothing is more individual than a person's own worthiness level, which, I'm sure President Nelson would agree, is connected to exaltation.

Lehi's family landed . . . 

In the New World, when Lehi talks to his family about this land of promise, he is talking about a land to which other people would come as they were led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord. (2 Nephi 1:5)   This brings to mind the centuries-long immigration to the United States from other nations. We are reminded of the welcoming words on the Statue of Liberty about bringing to the United States your huddled masses.

When we read Lehi's words, we certainly do NOT think of people yearning to migrate to Central America, where poverty, crime and government corruption have long made the area a place from which residents flee.  Moreover, we hardly think of Central America as a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity. (2 Nephi 1:7)  In fact, many who have lived in Central America have found themselves often dealing with widespread lawlessness and fighting against dictators who come and gonot exactly a place where Lehi's descendants shall dwell safely forever. (verse 9)  

Yet, many believe that Lehi and his group settled in Central America, more specifically in the area of what is now Panama, with its narrow neck of land presumably providing geographic evidence that this was where they lived.  Perhaps we need to give up our fixation on Central America being the landing zone for the original Nephites and Lamanites.  Another candidate might be the Chesapeake Bay area, which has a stretch that could be called a narrow neck of land.”  Moreover, when Moroni carried his golden plates and other objects to bury at the present Hill Cumorah site in western New York state, it is certainly much easier picturing him making the journey north from the Chesapeake Bay region or elsewhere in today's eastern United States, rather than traversing 4,000 miles from Central America. (Crossing the Rio Grande and the Mississippi likely wouldn't have been great fun for the aging Moroni.)  On the other hand, Alma 63 does say that the shipbuilder Hagoth launched his ship forth into the west sea, by the narrow neck which led into the land northward, which does sound more like the Panama area.  Still, in the Chesapeake Bay area if he had launched into the west sea, he could still have proceeded north via the Susquehanna River.

The best focus

The paragraph below is from reflections by Linda and Richard Eyre about their friend Stephen Covey.  It ran in the July 20, 2012, Deseret News.

“One evening he told us that there were many large, extended families who summered at a different lake, the one where he and Sandra always took their kids for the Covey family reunion. He said that after watching all those families for several years, he realized that they fell into three categories: families that were church-centered, families that were family-centered and families that were Christ-centered. It was only the third category, he said, that lasted, stayed strong and stood the tests and challenges of life without becoming divided.

The paragraph below is from the Aug. 9, 2020, obituary of LDS scholar Armand Mauss.

I gradually reached the decision, as Jesus of Nazareth taught us, that the good, moral life boils down to the two great commandments of loving God and loving each other as God's children.  This is the simplest, but most profound and effective, moral code in human history.  Compared  to these two commandments, all other moral demands, from whatever sources, pale into insignificance.  The main focus becomes how we should treat each other in this life, rather than on preparing for the next life.”  (Italics added.)

(Mauss' main focus on the second great commandment is reminiscent of Christ's later words: A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Our need to focus on the second great commandment over all others also seems to be the message of message of the Golden Rule, as stated in 3 Nephi 14: 12: all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets.”  (Italics added).  

Proof that there is a God

I offer the following experience as proof that there is a God.

Around midnight in the late 1990s, I waited in my car for a left-turn signal on northbound State Street and North Temple in Salt Lake City.  I had just finished a Saturday afternoon/evening shift at the Deseret News, but for the occupants of many of the other 10 or so cars it perhaps was late-night party time.

At the front of the left-turn line was a car with several rowdy young men, windows open and loud music rolling forth.  Behind them was a car with two more males.  I was third in line, and other cars to the right occupied the northbound lane. As the rest of us dutifully waited for the lights to change, the first car peeled out and accelerated through the red light onto westbound North Temple.  In effect, the message the young men sent to the rest of us was: “Hey, losers. You can obey the law if you want, but we sure as hell don’t have to.”

A few seconds later, as I muttered to myself, it got worse.  The men in the second car also peeled out!  I surmised that the fellows in both vehicles were part of the same night-on-the-town group. My muttering grew more intense. I'm ashamed to admit that I might have thought, or spoken, the words “cocky bastards.” My main thought was: Why is there never a cop around when you need one?

Finally, the light changed and the rest of us proceeded.  About two blocks later, to my surprise I saw the two peel-out cars parked on the side of the road.  As I passed, I saw flashing lights on the dashboard of the second car—it was an unmarked police car!

In that moment I went from being a muttering loser to a man with one joyful thought:  “Yes, there is a God.”

The Spirit made me do it

Many active, mainstream members take a dim view of those who don’t always follow the Brethren and who appear to pick and choose when to obey. That's especially true if the picker and chooser is an Obama-lovin' bleeding heart liberal. Yet mainstream, more traditional members also pick and choose—but with a major difference.  When one of them chooses to disobey, he may feel he is doing so because the Spirit has directed him. (Which is, by the way, a good excuse for disobeying.)

Following are five common ways that active members disobey the Brethren. 

First, testimony bearers, perhaps the majority, tend to disregard specific counsel from the church about testimonies not being, in effect, mini-speeches or verbal newsletters. Yes, some may be unaware of the counsel, but unawareness represents a failure to pay close heed to leaders—also a form of disobedience.

Second, speakers routinely disregard the time limit assigned for their talk.

Third, the leaders of some organizations, perhaps caught up in a presumably spiritual lesson, allow their meetings to run several minutes over the time specified for the meeting block. Often, when a meeting has already gone over, leaders compound the disobedience by allowing the closing song to be sung, followed by a prayer.

Fourth, LDS young people appear to feel it's OK with the Spirit for them to attend, view or participate in football games, despite specific counsel from church leaders not to attend, view or participate in anything that is violent in any way.”  (See For the Strength of Youth” pamphlet, p. 11.) They also routinely attend or view such movies as Star Wars that contain violence. (Give BYU credit for cutting back on football violence in 2017 thanks to many missed tackles and a 4-9 record.)  I recognize that this fourth reason is more a function of crappy wording in the For the Strength of Youth” pamphlet.  Still, it's official and that's what it says.

Fifth, leaders have repeatedly counseled against repeating the name of Deity in prayers, but we constantly hear Father this and Father that.  (See “Father, Father, Father” on this site.)

A rather dramatic example of “Spirit-driven” disobedience happened a number of years ago in a previous ward that I attended.  During two sacrament meetings a couple of weeks apart, the first speakers went well over their allotted time, leaving no time for the final, main speakers.  In order to right this wrong, the bishopric invited the two speakers who had been jilted to speak in a sacrament meeting the following month.  This would have been a wonderful solution to the unfair treatment of these two brethren except for one thing—the first man proceeded to hog nearly all the time!

An approach to the Word of Wisdom

For years, a man named Cory entered the same bar every Tuesday night, sat at the end of the counter by himself, and ordered three small beers. On his latest visit, however, he ordered two large beers.

As he arose to leave, the bartender said, “Hold on just a second. I've gotta ask you something. You've been coming in here for years and drinking three small beers, but tonight you had two large ones. What's going on?”

Cory smiled, leaned against the bar, and said, “Here's the story. In Vietnam in 1968 I had two good buddies, Mike and Matt. We promised each other that if one of us didn't make it out of there alive, the other two would drink a beer every week in his memory. Well, we had a terrible firefight a month later, and Mike and Matt were killed. Since that time I've had one beer a week in memory of Mike, one in memory of Matt and the third one for myself. Tonight I drank one for Mike and one for Matt but none for me because last Saturday I joined the Mormon Church, and I'm not allowed to drink.”

Two glasses half full?

My wife and I attended a regional conference at the Conference Center in 2014 at which Elder Dallin H. Oaks was the final speaker.  The first of several speakers addressed the importance of family.  When Elder Oaks arose, he noted that no topics had been assigned.  However, because the speakers all independently chose to speak on the same topic, family, he observed that they had selected the message that the Lord wished to emphasize.

Elder Oaks comment brought to mind words that President Gordon B. Hinckley had spoken as the final speaker in the April 1995 general conference:

“My brethren and sisters, just a few words in conclusion.  First, I’d like to say that we have participated in a miracle.  As I have listened to all who have spoken, I have noted that there has been no duplication of treatment.  Every man and woman who has spoken has chosen his or her own theme to treat. There are no assignments made to any of the speakers concerning what they should say” (italics added).

We're not that rude

For decades, letters to the editor have popped up in Utah newspapers insisting that our state's drivers are the rudest in the country.  I never thought that was true.  Having driven in all of the Western states except New Mexico, my view is that, yes, our Utah drivers may be among the rudest, but saying we're No. 1 is a total guess.  In 2014, I was pleased to get support from an outfit called Insure.com.  They conducted surveys of 2,000 drivers nationwide, asking which state has the rudest drivers. I'm happy to say we Utahns got good news—we're only the ninth rudest!

Neither the Church News nor the Ensign bothered to inform their readers about this wonderful survey and its positive implications for Latter-day Saints.  After recently studying the numbers more closely, maybe it's best that they let that sleeping dog lie.  That's because the four states with the highest proportion of LDS residents—Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada—all finished in the top 10.  Idaho was No. 1; Wyoming was 3; Nevada was 8 and Utah was 9.

Post script, Dec. 10, 2016: A study recently released by QuoteWizard reports that Utah's drivers are “the worst in the nation.”  (To be fair, worst doesn't necessarily mean rudest. It may merely reflect our competence or intelligence level.)

Who was that man?

An Idaho-raised, LDS college student related the following experience at a U.S. university.

“When [the speaker] strode onto the stage, I recall him first greeting invited guests, university leaders and dignitaries.  Then he turned, smiled and waved, and a powerful feeling washed over me.  I can only describe it as a presence of great virtue.  It was as though I felt a wave of goodness rush past me.  I recall being shocked by the experience. . . . his soul touched mine—no doubt through the virtue of a life of choosing good over evil.  I left inspired to be better.”

Perhaps most Latter-day Saints in reading this account by Matt Sanders would surmise the speaker was the president of the church or an apostle.  However, it actually tells of Nelson Mandela’s 1998 appearance at Harvard University.  (Deseret News, Dec. 13, 2013)

Kernels of truth

“The whole religious complexion of the modern world is due to the absence from Jerusalem of a lunatic asylum.”  --Thomas Paine

“If you, who are organized by Divine Providence for Spiritual communion, Refuse, & bury your Talent in the Earth, even tho’ you should want Natural Bread, Sorrow and Desperation pursues you thro’ life, & after death shame & confusion of face to eternity.”  --William Blake

“Here in America, we are descended in blood and spirit from revisionists and rebels—men and women who dared to dissent from accepted doctrine.”  --Dwight Eisenhower

“It is better not to have so much faith, than to have so much as to believe all the lies.” --Hyrum Smith

“It is when the hour of conflict is over that history comes to a right understanding of the strife and is ready to exclaim, ‘Lo, God is here, and we knew it not.’ ”  --George Bancroft

“I believe that with God it is such that all who loved each other on earth—genuinely loved each other—will remain together with God, for to love is part of God.”  --Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.”  --Isaiah 32:17

“God is . . . a very present help in times of trouble.”  --Psalm 46:1

“The life of discipleship can only be maintained so long as nothing is allowed to come between Christ and ourselves . . . The disciple always looks only to his master, never to Christ and the law, Christ and religion, Christ and the world. He avoids all such notions like the plague.  Only by following Christ alone can he preserve a single eye. His eye rests wholly on the light that comes from Christ . . .”
  --Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The tumult and the shouting dies;
The Captains and the Kings depart:
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice --Rudyard Kipling

The Bible is trueexcept for the false parts

On occasion I have said that I think it would be just fine if about 40 percent of the Bible and Doctrine and Covenants went missing.  In the Bible, I wouldn’t mind if many of God’s anger outbursts along with the tedious details on observing rituals and the law of Moses were deleted.  Also, I wouldn’t miss about half of the psalms and proverbs along with nearly all of the genealogies.  (Speaking of genealogy, Nephi makes a notable observation on the subject:  And now I, Nephi, do not give the genealogy of my fathers in this part of my record; neither at any time shall I give it after upon these plates which I am writing . . . Wherefore, I shall give commandment unto my seed, that they shall not occupy these  plates with things which are not of worth unto the children of men.  (1 Nephi 6:1,6)

Of course, the best parts to delete would be those that are simply false.  For example, I don’t believe:  “I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and fourth generation  . . . ” (Exodus 20:5)  I suspect this passage was inserted by a crotchety old loser who was mad at someone.  Some people just need to lighten up.

Another reason I don’t believe the Exodus 20 passage is because it contradicts numerous other scriptures.  I’ll offer a few examples.  Speaking to Cain, the Lord said, “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?”  (Gen. 4:7)  The Lord most assuredly did not say “if your parents mess up, I’ll punish you for their iniquity.”  Also: “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers” (Deut. 24:16) and “The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father” (Ezekiel 18:20). And there's something in the Articles of Faith about people being punished for their own sins.

One of the best ways to evaluate whether a scriptural passage is true is to ask whether it is in harmony with the attributes of God and whether it comports with the preponderance of scriptural passages on the subject in question.  (Speaking of the “attributes” of God, I believe God loves and desires joy for us all while encouraging—not compelling—the behaviors that lead to joy.)

Hastening

We often hear these days that the Lord is hastening his work.  Let us not assume, however, that in the past the Lord was dilly-dallying.

Didn’t President Kimball exhort us to lengthen our stride?  And President McKay said “every member a missionary” rather than leave missionary work to the missionaries.

On the other hand, Isaiah said, “Woe unto them that . . . say, Let him make speed and hasten his work, that we may see it.” (Isaiah 5:18, 19) 

P.S. It is now 2024, and hastening his work went out of style several years ago. Our go-to phrase today is the covenant path.”  With the high percentages of active members who vote for the lying criminal Trump, let's be grateful it isn't Make America Great Again.

More revisions

One of the remarkable things about reading the printer’s manuscript of the Book of Mormon and comparing it to the current English edition and to an 1830 replica edition is how insignificant have been the changes in the text.  The “thousands upon thousands” of changes noted by the book’s critics almost entirely consist of adding punctuation (the printer’s manuscript had none), correcting spelling, changing terms such as “because that” to “because” and “which” to “who,” where appropriate, and adding verses and chapters.

Still, a few trivial errors remain.

Some were errors in the original (see “What in the World?”).  But the examples listed below are likely modern glitches.

“Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous . . . ”

(Rejected probably should be separated.  1 Nephi 15: 36)

“Nephite coinage set forth—”  (This is in the chapter heading for Alma 11, which makes no mention of coins.)

“And when she had said this, she clasped her hands, being filled with joy” (Clasped should probably be clapped.  Alma 19:30)

“and he plead with them that they would not slay him”  (Should be pleaded or pled.  Oliver Cowdery appears to have written pled correctly in the printer’s manuscript. Ether 8:6)

In the introduction, which isn’t part of the original book, the description of Lamanites as “the principal ancestors of the American Indians” was changed in 2007 to “are among the ancestors of the American Indians.”  In the Doctrine and Covenants, Lamanites remains as a synonym for Indians.

Why bother with Isaiah?

Although I far prefer the Book of Mormon and the New Testament to the Old Testament, I agree with those who say that Isaiah deserves our attention.

Here are seven reasons to give heed to Isaiah:

1. He is the Old Testament prophet most often cited in the New Testament.
2. Christ commenced his ministry by quoting Isaiah (Luke 4:17-19)
3. Isaiah saw Christ. (Isaiah 6:1; 2 Nephi 11:2)
4. Nephi twice tells us “my soul delighteth in the words of Isaiah.” (2 Nephi 25:5; 2 Nephi 11:2)
5. Moroni advises us to “search the prophecies of Isaiah.” (Mormon 8:23)
6. Christ twice instructs the Nephites to search the words of Isaiah. “Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.”  (3 Nephi 23:1; 20:11)
7. The Book of Mormon, “the keystone of our religion,” includes many chapters of Isaiah’s writingsin fact, far more from Isaiah than from any other biblical prophet.

Emerson needed an editor

A number of times I have heard the following words of Ralph Waldo Emerson quoted in conference and other meetings:

“That which we persist in doing becomes easier—not that the nature of the task has changed but our ability to do has increased.”

OK, he was a great writer.  But in this instance, maybe he was being paid by the word.

Here’s what he could have said:  Practice makes perfect.

What I believe

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ who believes in the fundamentals of the restored church including the Book of Mormon and the divine mission of Joseph Smith. 

Among the various religions, I believe that the LDS faith, having authority from God, offers the best prospects for mortals to draw close to Christ.  But I also believe that certain doctrines, teachings, policies and practices in the church are questionable and, in some cases, incorrect and harmful. 

I believe Christ moves closer to us as we move from dogma toward truth and that he is merciful, patient and understanding, and is especially pleased with those who strive to live a good life, to put “love one another” into practice and to become better people.  His love extends fully to those who do not actively participate in organized religion.

Steve Warren

Sept. 22, 2014
(minor revisions, June 2016, July 2020)

Copy editor wanted

In one sentence, Mosiah 15:24 has two language inconsistencies.  Can you spot them?

“And these are those who have part in the first resurrection; and these are they that have died before Christ came . . . 

First, there is no reason to say these are those, changing it a few words later to these are they, as both phrases refer to the same people.  Second, we first read those who,  then we read they that.  Who is preferable in both cases, as people, rather than inanimate objects or animals, are being referred to.

For those who would argue that keeping the original language is preferable, please read a few pages of the 1830 edition, which contains hundreds of grammatical mistakes that have been corrected.  

In the beginning

Saying the universe came into existence from a big bang is roughly equivalent to saying ice came into existence because it turned cold.  The Big Bang theory lacks an explanation for the existence of charged particles that exploded, and the ice theory lacks an explanation for the existence of water that froze.

The solution, however, is not to proclaim that God (or an intelligent designer) created everything because such a proclamation suffers from exactly the same problem as the Big Bang theory and the ice theory.  We can still believe in God, but let’s admit that we don’t have a clue about how a God or anything else came into existence.

Those who would like to bolster their faith by seeing an angel or some other miraculous manifestation are already witnesses to the most incomprehensible miracle of all.  It’s called existence.  Somehow, matter has existed forever.  How do we know this?  Because something can’t be created from nothing.  In fact, existence ought to be impossible except for  . . .  well, just look around.  Lot a crap out there.


None of this precludes us from believing that a god at some point created (or organized) the earth and that Adam and Eve were in some way our first parents.  In fact, Joseph Smith said that God the Father himself had been a mortal before becoming a god.  But Adam and Eve most assuredly were not earth's first human beings.  The archaeological record shows that intelligent humans existed long before the 4,000 BC generally given as the approximate date Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden.  People who existed thousands of years earlier created art and music and wove linen into cloth; they domesticated animals and farmed; many lived in cities with homes made of mud bricks; they brewed beer, they created statuettes to mother goddesses, they made tools from copper, etc.  A good argument could be made that some pre-Adamites were more advanced than the nomadic American Indians of the Columbian era, yet no informed person would argue that the cultural disadvantages of Indians in 1492 made them not human. 

How could Adam and Eve have been first”?  Well, we can always speculate.  Perhaps a die-off of humans occurred before the coming of Adam and Eve in the same way a die-off of Neanderthals occurred 30,000 years ago shortly after modern humans appeared on the scene.  Keep in mind that a die-off of humans ought to sound perfectly reasonable to us religious folks who believe that only eight people survived the Great Flood.  Or perhaps Adam and Eve were the only children of God placed in an earthly realm (the Garden of Eden) where death, miraculously and perhaps briefly, didn't exist.  Or perhaps they were simply the first to receive heavenly messengers and to learn of the Plan of Salvation, making them earth's first true believers.  This is all total speculation, of course, but the gaping holes in the creation stories advanced by religion leave plenty of room for such conjecture. 

Of course, if Adam and Eve were the first humans created by God, then we have another problem; namely, figuring out how the intelligent pre-Adamites fit into the Plan of Salvation. 

We are well-advised to avoid pat answers about the Adam and Eve story and about the creation itself.  After all, certain details about the Creation, the Great Flood and other biblical events seem not far removed from saying that Santa guided his sleigh using Rudolph’s red nose.  (I've got nothing against Rudolph.  I just think that a red nose would provide far less illumination than a white  nose.) 

For Latter-day Saints, the four commonly used versions of the Creation story are found in Genesis, Moses, Abraham and the temple presentation.  Virtually hidden in the Scriptures is a fifth version.

Many Christians believe that the Genesis story of creation is literal.  The Creation Museum in Kentucky teaches that the earth is 6,000 years old, that each of the six days of creation lasted 24 hours and that Adam and Eve were contemporaries with dinosaurs.  According to actual rumors, museum directors consider videos of “The Flintstones” to be documentaries. 

The LDS interpretation of the earth’s creation, based heavily on the books of Moses and Abraham as well as Genesis, is more realistic but not by much.  We say that the “days” of creation were extended creative periods.  And church leaders have described the Creation story as allegorical while affirming the existence of Adam and Eve. (Note: Few Latter-day Saints today accept a 6,000-year lifespan for the earth, but many LDS leaders have taught that the earth was created 6,000 to 7,000 years ago and that there was no death on the planet until after Adam and Eve partook of the fruit.  Even our LDS Bible Dictionary states: Latter-day revelation teaches that there was no death on the earth for any forms of life before the fall of Adam.”  Nevertheless, temple presentations depicting Adam and  Eve before the Fall have never contained dinosaurs.  Doctrine and Covenants 77:6 puts the temporal existence of the earth at 7,000 years, which is either nonsense or a highly creative use of the words temporal existence.)

“The most correct book on earth,” the Book of Mormon, may provide the most correct scriptural version—it basically says God (meaning Christ) created heaven and earth, and leaves it at that.  In the Book of Mormon, we don’t read about Eve coming from Adam’s rib or about grasses and herbs flourishing without sunlight (grasses and herbs were made on Day 3; the sun on Day 4) or that the earth's creation occurred in darkness, i.e., before the sun and stars were created.

The Doctrine and Covenants, Old Testament and Book of Mormon contain verses that suggest a fifth approach—instant creation.  Although I’m not advocating something like the Big Bang theory, we must admit that the following scriptures at least suggest that the Creation—whether of the universe or the earth—might have occurred quickly.

“I am the same which spake, and the world was made, and all things came by me.”                                                                                                                                                                    --D&C 38:3

“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.”                                                                                                                                      --Psalms 33:6

“Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created.”                                                                                            --Psalms 148:5

“Wherefore, if God being able to speak and the world was, and to speak and man was created, O then, why not able to command the earth, or the workmanship of his hands upon the face of it, according to his will and pleasure.”                                                                                                                                       --Jacob 4:9

I believe that writers of the Creation stories prayerfully produced narratives of the earth’s creation that they thought were inspired accounts of what happened and that would be helpful for believers wanting insight on the subject.  Some parts of their narrative, such as the following passage in Genesis and Moses, have a credible ring: “Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.”  That sounds like organic evolution.

Nevertheless, once we go beyond “God created the earth,” we find ourselves on shaky ground.  In moving to firmer ground, science has been helpful over the centuries in bringing us closer to truth.   It may yet offer answers on how the earth came into existence and how matter comprising the universe has existed forever.  In the meantime, we believers are well advised to focus more on the why of creation than the how.

Who is God?



Latter-day Saints routinely use God as a synonym for Heavenly Father.  A Gospel Principles manual has defined God as: The Eternal Father. The Father of Jesus Christ and of the spirits of all men.  In referring to Jesus Christ, members use terms such as Lord, Savior and Redeemer.  Yes, Heavenly Father is correctly called God the Father or God, but by failing to routinely refer to Christ as God, we have chosen to ignore a central truth of the Scriptures.  Indeed, scriptural usages of the term God that reference a specific member of the Godhead are far more likely to refer to Christ than to Heavenly Father.  It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the earliest mentions of the word God in all four Standard Works refer to Christ, not to the Father. 

On the day before Christ was born in Bethlehem, Nephi cried  mightily to his God and is told by that same God (i.e., Christ) on the morrow come I into the world, (3 Nephi 1:11-13)  Christ in his mortal life is routinely called the Son of God and Lamb of God, and he also describes his Father as God.  But these and similar usages of the term God during the Lord's mortality merely are an abbreviated form of God the Father. We must keep in mind that immediately after his crucifixion Christ resumes his practice of calling himself God.  (The term God sometimes means both the Father and Christ, and also can refer to all three members of the Godhead.)  

The message of the Book of Mormon, “the keystone of our religion,” and the Doctrine and Covenants, called by some “the capstone of our religion,” is emphatic:  Jesus Christ is our God. 

In the Book of Mormon, the segment that most emphatically distinguishes between God (Christ) and God the Father (Heavenly Father) is chapters 11-28 of 3rd Nephi.  Many view these 19 chapters as the most inspiring part of the Book of Mormon.  Here, in his momentous appearances to the Nephites, the Lord mentions the Father 154 times; he calls our heavenly parent the Father 119 times and uses other forms of Father 35 times.  How often does he directly refer to the Father as God?  Only once, and even then it is in connection with himself when he describes himself as “the Son of God” (3 Nephi 20:31).  By contrast, how often do these same chapters speak of Christ as God?  Answer:  Six times.  Indeed, after the Lord twice declares himself to be God, the Nephites unitedly call him the Most High God!” (3 Nephi 11:17)

Similarly, in the first 14 sections of the Doctrine and Covenants, Christ tells us five times: Behold, I am God” (1:24; 6:2; 11:2; 12:2; 14:2).  And, since we're counting, let's also note that in the first 19 sections, Jesus asserts no fewer than 20 times20 times!that he is God.

Much confusion in the Christian world about the Trinity or Godhead would be eliminated if we all made a better effort to distinguish between God (Christ) and God the Father (Heavenly Father).  As noted above, this confusion likely originates from scriptural passages often connected to the mortal Jesus that consistently use the short form God in referring to God the Father.  Certainly it is understandable that the mortal Jesus, a little lower than the angels, would describe his Father as God without adding the Father.”  But the greater truths for every Christian are: 1. In the 4,000 years before the Lord's mortality and in the 2,000 years since, the God of the Scriptures has primarily been Christ, and 2. the risen Lord repeatedly reaffirms that he is God.

One of the most clear-cut scriptural passages distinguishing between our God and his Father is D&C 19:16-19: For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all . . . Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble . . . Nevertheless, glory be to the Father . . . ”  

Christ's instruction to modern apostles that they are to be especial witnesses of my name occurs only moments after he had reminded them that he is your God  (D&C 27:1,12).   While is is wonderful that modern apostles insist on calling the Church of Jesus Christ by its correct name, it is puzzling that these same apostolic
witnesses of my name hardly ever call Christ by the name he so often calls himself: God.  

Moreover, recognizing that God in the Scriptures usually refers to Christ elevates our Lord to his true stature; namely, that he is the one God who possesses all power over us and that we follow him.  He is the only source of eternal life.  Failure to routinely describe Christ as God suggests that we primarily think of him as the mortal, praying, learning Jesus rather than as the risen, glorified Lord God Almighty who reigns over the earth.   

Also, failure to describe Jesus Christ as God shows lack of understanding of the relationship among Father, Son and us.  Briefly stated, our relationship with the Father is significantly different from Christ’s relationship with him.  The Father is the God who lifted the Son to godhood.  The Son, not the Father, is the God who lifts us.  (Clearly stated in D&C 19:2-4.)  That's why when Christ visited the Nephites, he prayed that they may be purified in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me  (3 Nephi 19:29, also see verse 23; 3 Nephi 9:17, John 1:12).  Indeed, when it comes to Christ's power to lift, a strong scriptural case can be made that if God the Father is an exalted man, the unlimited retroactive reach of the infinite Atonement of the sinless Christ also paid for the Father's mortal sins. (See Appreciating Christ on this site.)

As noted above, the earliest mentions of the word God in all four Standard Works refer to Christ, not to the Father.  In the Book of Mormon, even before we get to the first verse, we are told in the title page that JESUS is the CHRIST, the ETERNAL GOD, which are the only words in the title-page text that are entirely capitalized.  Verse one of the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”  (Christ was God the creator.)  The first words of the Pearl of Great Price are: “The words of God, which he spake unto Moses at a time when Moses was caught up into an exceedingly high mountain.  And he saw God face to face, and he talked with him . . . ”  (We believe that the God who spoke to Moses was Jehovah or Christ.)  And in Section One of the Doctrine and Covenants, Christ tells us three timesthree times!that he is GodGod the Lord, even the Savior of the world” (v. 20), “Behold, I am God” (v. 24) and “the Lord is God” (v. 39).  Let us not forget that Christ himself directed that Section One be placed first and that it is viewed as the Lord's preface to the book.  (Even in the New Testament the first mention of God is a reference to Jesusthey shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us (Matthew 1:23).  How much clearer can it be that the God of the Scriptures from Page One is primarily Jesus Christ?

For Latter-day Saints, it should be especially noteworthy that the Book of Mormonthe most correct of any bookteaches from start to finish that Christ is God. Yes, the Book of Mormon also calls Christ the Son of God and sometimes refers to the Father as God, but as noted above, those references to Heavenly Father as God can usually be viewed as shortened versions of God the Father.  Examples follow:

“And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS is the CHRIST, the ETERNAL GOD . . . ”  (title page)

“there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth.”  1 Nephi 13:41

“know that I, the Lord, am God . . . the Lord their God, their Redeemer . . . And he loveth those who will have him to be their God.  1 Nephi 17:14,30,40

if the day shall come that they will reject the Holy One of Israel, the true Messiah, their Redeemer and their God . . . ”  2 Nephi 1:10

O how great the goodness of our God . . .  And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead . . . and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.  O how great the plan of our God! 2 Nephi 9:10-13. (The church teaches that the plan” is Heavenly Father's plan, but in this passage Jacob clearly teaches that God is Christ and that it is also his plan.)

“and there is none other nation on earth that would crucify their God.  2 Nephi 10:3 

“For if there be no Christ there be no God; and if there be no God we are not, for there could have been no creation.  But there is a God, and he is Christ . . . ”  2 Nephi 11:7

“it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.”  2 Nephi 26:12

come unto God, the Holy One of Israel . . . I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel . . . ” Omni 1:25,26  (Words written by Mormon.)

“Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent . . . is God above all.”  Mosiah 5:15

“And because he said unto them that Christ was the God, the Father of all things . . . and that God should come down among the children of men, and take upon him flesh and blood . . .”   Mosiah 7:27

“God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people. And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God . . . ”  Mosiah 15:1,2

whosoever were desirous to take upon them the name of Christ, or of God, they did join the churches of God; and they were called the people of God.  Mosiah 25:23,24

“I rejected my Redeemer . . . Yea, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess before him. Yea, even at the last day, when all men shall stand to be judged of him, then shall they confess that he is God . . . ”  Mosiah 27:30, 31

And it shall come to pass, saith the Lord of Hosts, yea, our great and true God . . . ”  Helaman 13:18

And behold, he is God, and he is with them, and he did manifest himself unto them, that they were redeemed by him; and they gave unto him glory . . .  Helaman 8:23

“I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole Earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world. . . . they did cry out with one accord, saying: Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.”  3 Nephi 11:14,17

“and they did pray unto Jesus, calling him their Lord and their God.”  3 Nephi 19:18

“thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel—the God of the whole earth shall he be called.”  3 Nephi 22:5

“that Jesus, whom they slew, was the very Christ and the very God.”  Mormon 3:21

“if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ”  Ether 2:12

Behold, I am Jesus Christ . . . And he ministered unto him even as he ministered unto the Nephites; and all this, that this man might know that he was God  Ether 3:14, 18

Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God.” Moroni 8:8

It is helpful for disciples of Christ to distinguish among the three contexts in which the Scriptures use the term God.

First, as the PREMORTAL Jehovah, Christ has such names as God, God Almighty, the Mighty God, Lord, the Lord God, the Lord thy God, the Lord God of Israel, the Lord of Hosts (a favorite in the hospitality industry), the Lord God Omnipotent; the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob; the Lord God of the Hebrews, etc.  When Christ gives the Ten Commandments to Moses, he first identifies himself as the Lord thy God, (Exodus 20: 2) then declares in the first commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Centuries later, the mortal Christ again refers to himself when declaring that the first and great commandment is Thou shalt love the Lord thy God . . .   When God tells Moses to tell Israel that I AM hath sent me unto you, (Exodus 3:14) we know that the God of the Old Testament speaking to Moses is the eventual Jesus Christ of the New Testament because in John 8:58, the mortal Jesus declares, Before Abraham was, I am.  In the Old Testament and in the Book of Mormon, the vast majority of scriptural uses of the term God refer to the premortal Christ.

Second, as a MORTAL, Jesus Christ sometimes is called God (Isaiah 25:8,9; Matthew 1:23; Mosiah 15:1; Helaman 8:20,23), but usually writers of scripture, the early apostles and the Lord himself call him Jesus, Lord or other names while describing the Father as God.  This is especially true in the New Testament.  But here and elsewhere in the Scriptures, when the term God is not a direct reference to Christ, it often is a short form of God the Father, which explains why when Christ declares that I am God or the Son of God, he is not claiming to be his own father.  Sometimes, of course, God is merely a generic reference to an unspecified member or members of the Godhead (serve God, things of God, worship God, kingdom of God, etc.).

Third, as the POSTMORTAL risen Lord, he proclaims, Behold, I am God” (D&C 1:24, etc.) and “I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth” (3 Nephi 11:14).  Thomas, after three years of referring to the mortal Lord as Jesus or Lord, doesn't hesitate after touching the resurrected Lord to call him both My Lord and my God (John 20:28, italics added).  Note that the appearance to Thomas occurs eight days after Christ had told Mary not to touch him because he had not yet ascended to my God, and your God, (John 20:17) another witness that although the Father was correctly called God during Jesus' mortality, after those 33 years the Lord reclaimed the title of God.  The Scriptures proclaim the risen Lord to be the God who reigns over the earth and possesses all power” over mortals (Matt. 28:18; D&C 19:3, 93:17; 1 Nephi 9:6, Alma 26:35, Ether 3:4. etc.).  He is the central focus of our worship, observed President Gordon B. Hinckley in April 2002.  Moreover, in the 3rd Nephi version of the Sermon on the Mount, we further see that the mortal Jesus of the New Testament has returned to his previous God stature when he tells us three times to come unto me, words that he did not speak in the New Testament version.  This is somewhat analogous to the language Jesus uses in cleansing the temple where at the start of his ministry he calls the temple my Father's house (John 2:16), but at the end of his ministry, the mortal Christ who is soon to reclaim his title of God describes the temple as my house (Luke 19:46).

Further, whereas in the New Testament he tells us to be perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect, (Matthew 5:48) in 3rd Nephi 12:48 the postmortal, resurrected Lord first tells us to be perfect even as I, then adds or your Father who is in heaven is perfect. (Note: Some have suggested that the singular verb means that Christ in this verse may be referring to himself as both Father and Son.)

The Scriptures can make it difficult to answer the question Who Is God?  For example, Mormon 5:16,17 is a passage that creates the impression in one verse that Christ is not Godthey are without Christ and God in the worldbut then immediately turns around in the next verse by seeming to say Christ and the Father are the samethey had Christ for their shepherd; yea, they were led even by God the Father.”  Thankfully, Mormon elsewhere makes it clear that the he believes Christ is indeed God:  Jesus, whom they slew, was the very Christ and the very God” (3:21) and mentions Christ's role as the Father:  And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son (9:12). 

Similarly, what are we to make of such words from the mortal Jesus himself as “this is life eternal to know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent”? (John 17:3, italics added; see also D&C 132:24).  First, while this verse calls the Father the true God, other scriptures say that it is Christ, not the Father, who is the true God.  Examples:  Nephi declares that the true and living God is Christ, 1 Nephi 17:30; the brother of Jared says that those who possess the land of promise should serve  Jesus Christ the true and only God and “the God of the land, Ether 2:8,12.  Similarly, Mosiah declares that Christ is God above all”  Mosiah 5:15.  Second, while Father and Son are physically separate, the God in the Scriptures who most often speaks of sending his Son is actually the premortal Christ/Jehovah, the Lord God of Israel, referring to his own future mortality; for example, in 2 Nephi 30:2, where it is clear that the Lord who covenants and wants us to believe in his Son is Christ himselfsee 2 Nephi 28:5.  The fact that Christ both acts and speaks as Father and Son underscores his place as God over the whole earth.  (See Appreciating Christ on this site, which lists seven ways in which Christ is the Father.)  Third, John 17:3 is spoken from the temporary perspective of a learning, praying, mortal Messiah who for a three-year period does not call himself God; fourth, two verses later Jesus speaks of returning to his former glory, a glory apparently equivalent to that of the only true God: “glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was”; fifth, whether considering this passage or passages from elsewhere in scripture, we must remember that many more scriptures use God to refer to Christ than to the Father and sixth, in modern canonized scripture, the risen Lord repeatedly tells us I am God,” meaning that unless Jesus is a false god, the Father cannot be the only true God.

Until the Lord's Prayer, the faithful had seldom prayed to Heavenly Father; instead, they almost always had prayed to God (i.e., Jehovah, the Lord God and various other titles for Christ).  If we taught that Christ acts and speaks as the Father, we would more easily understand that although we pray to God the Father, who hears prayers, God (Christ) both hears and answers them.  And the fact that Christ directs mortals to pray to our Father rather than to God may be another indication that Christ expects us to view him as our God.

As Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote in the 1976 Ensign“It is true that when we pray to the Father, the answer comes from the Son.”  Elder McConkie noted that whenever Joseph Smith asked the Father, in the name of the Son, for answers to questions, “the answering voice was not that of the Father but of the Son.” This is hardly surprising because there is no record of the Father dealing directly with man except to bear witness of the Son.  Hearing and answering prayers is exactly what we would expect from the Christ who declares at my command the heavens are opened and are shut; and at my word the earth shall shake; and at my command the inhabitants thereof shall pass away (Ether 4: 9). The song In Humility, Our Savior, correctly states our prayer relationship with Christ: Let our prayers find access to thee in thy holy courts above.

Mormon clearly understood this.  In Moroni 8:3, he speaks of continually praying unto God the Father while making it clear four verses later that a prayer addressed to God the Father is also a prayer addressed to the Lord (Christ) and that Christ both hears and answers: I inquired of the Lord concerning the matter. And the word of the Lord came to me by the power of the Holy Ghost, saying: Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God.” (This is a change from roughly 50 years earlier when the young Mormon both prayed to Christ and had his prayer answered by Christ, see Mormon 3:12,14,21.)  Indeed, in D&C 29:2, when Christ tells us to call upon me in mighty prayer, he is not revoking his admonition for us to address prayers to the Father but may simply be acknowledging that a prayer addressed to the Father is also a prayer addressed to him.

For members who suggest that the first Article of Faith (We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in his Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.) means that we should refer to the Father, rather than Jesus, as God, here is a thought:  In the remaining Articles of Faith, the term God applies to Christ.  In the fifth article, the God who calls man and gives authority in The Church of Jesus Christ is Jesus Christ (See Mosiah 18:17,18).  In the ninth article, God the revelator is Christ, as Elder McConkie suggests above.  And Almighty God in the eleventh article is a scriptural term that applies primarily to Jehovah/Christ: And I appeared  unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known unto them  (Exodus 6:3 Also: Isaiah 9:6; 2 Nephi 9:46; 28:15; Mosiah 3:17,18,21; Moses 1:3, etc.). 

Joseph Smith’s First Vision is the only scriptural record of the Father appearing to man and is an excellent teaching moment because the Father does something with great symbolic meaning—he points to Christ as he says, “This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” The message is not only for Joseph Smith to look to Christ, it is for the whole world to look to him.  To Joseph Smith, the centrality of Christ in the First Vision was so clear-cut that in his brief first written account of it, he mentioned only Christ.  A key reason why we should place Christ first and foremost in our lives and recognize that he is our God is that by doing so, we obey the Father.  

Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, “One cannot have adequate faith in a Christ whom he does not adequately know” (April 1986).  We certainly do not adequately know Christ unless we recognize that throughout our mortality, into the spirit world and in the resurrection, he is our God and possesses all power over us.

In the church, our grasp of the term God hasn't been firm.  For example, in D&C Section 109 (the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple), multiple terms that commonly describe Christ (Jehovah, Lord, Mighty God of Jacob, Lord God of Israel) are used only as synonyms for God the Father.  Oddly, the words Jehovah and Lord quickly revert back to their usual meaning, Christ, in Section 110.  It's well-known that Brigham Young asserted on multiple occasions that God the Father was Adam.  And a few passages in the 1830 Book of Mormon in which Christ was called God or the Eternal Father were changed in later editions to Son of God or the Son of” the Eternal Father, but most remain unchanged, leaving us to speculate what was on the minds of editors. (Perhaps they were simply trying to clarify that the Father and Son are two distinct persons.)  With this track record, it behooves us to make an extra effort today to use the term God in the way Christ has directed.  If it is a good thing to call the church by the name Christ has given, surely it must also be a good thing to often call Christ by the name (God) he has given himself. 

Conclusion

It is always correct to refer to God the Father first when we speak of the Father and Son. He is the heavenly parent of us all.  We love him and address him in prayer.  Although the Son is the central focus of our worship, we also worship the Father.  We seek to dwell again with him.  But the Father has placed Christ as the God who rules and reigns over the earth and “hath given all things into his hand” (John 3:35).  He both hears and answers prayers.  As our God, the risen Lord instructs mortals to “look unto me in every thought” (D&C 6:36) and that we are “subject unto him” (2 Nephi 9:5).  When the term God stands alone in scripture, it generally means Christ in his roles as Father, Son or both.  He is our advocate and our judge.  In him alone resides the fullness of the Godhead and all power over us.  He alone is the giver of eternal life.  Although Heavenly Father is often referred to as God, a shortened form of God the Father, he is not our God. That title belongs to Christ.  (In 2 Nephi 9, Nephi refers to Christ seven times as our God.)

Unfortunately, as long as much of mainstream Christianity posits that the Father and Son are one and the same, the restored church may continue to worry that routinely referring to Christ as God would cause everyone to think that we, too, believe they are the same.  Nevertheless, we must ask whether it pleases the Lord that we allow incorrect perceptions of others to persuade us to use the term God in a defective way, especially when the Lord has spoken so clearly on the subject.  Because scriptural usages of the term God that reference a specific member of the Godhead are far more likely to refer to Christ than to his Father, surely the best remedy for any confusion is to routinely describe Christ as God and Heavenly Father as God the Father. 

May we understand, believe, appreciate and share the message of the Book of Mormon and other scriptures that Christ is God.