The Father
He is the Supreme Being of the universe, the Father of the spirits of all mankind, and the One True God. He is the only one to whom we should pray.
Names and Titles
He is known as: 1) God; 2) God the Father; 3) Father; 4) Man of Holiness; 5) Elohim/Eloheim; 6) Man of Counsel; 7) Endless and Eternal.
Physicality
God the Father is not just a concept or philosophy but is an actual living Being – a perfect Man. He has a physical body of flesh and bones – but not with blood as mortals have. He is a being of light and energy and exists physically at a different level of existence than what we experience in mortality. In appearance He would appear to be in the prime of life, beyond what we would consider perfect in appearance. His hair is white. He can “read” and “speak” to our minds telepathically and also speaks verbally. When interacting with mortals He reduces His energy and brightness level and also “transfigures” men and women by temporarily changing their bodies so they are able to physically be in His presence.
Power and Authority
His body is “Celestial” which means it has certain inherent powers manifested in our physical world. This includes power over gravity, instant transportation, and command over the elements. Mentally, He has a perfect IQ and is like a perfect savant in all areas of expertise and skills, both mental and physical, and of course He never “forgets”. The physical elements have a “native intelligence” which instantly respond to His commands and instructions. His power is more than just complete control over the elements through physical laws because He also actually has control over the physical laws of nature. He can change or suspend what the physical laws actually are at any given instant. In personal authority, the Father presides over all other living beings in this universe, including those who have themselves also attained a state of moral perfection. God The Father created all living beings in the universe and all life, both human and non-human. We all owe our existence and our allegiance to Him.
Morality
God has existed as a God for uncounted eons of time. He has seen and done more than we mortals can imagine. He long ago achieved moral perfection. He lacks for absolutely nothing. We can trust Him because everything He does is for us and not for Him. Because of His moral perfection and His foreknowledge He knew we needed to exercise our own moral agency in the next step of our advancement – even though He knew it would sometimes lead to sorrow and pain on our part. However, He provided that this phase would be as short as possible and also planned for us a way to get out from under the inevitable mistakes we would make with the exercise of our agency.
Emotions and feelings
God experiences the emotions of joy and happiness. This is His natural state. As He contemplates His children He also feels sorrow for the consequences of our mistakes (sins) and righteous anger for those who willfully rebel against Him. He is extremely patient, merciful and long suffering towards us. However, He rules the universe on divine principles (not emotion) that are fair and equitable to all and He never acts capriciously.
Origin
“As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become.” This glorious principle means that God, the greatest of all, has gone through the same refining and learning process that He has set up for us to go through. He understands us. He knows, more than we do, what we need.
Destiny
He will exist throughout eternity in his glorified, perfected state – a state of joy and happiness. He is and always will be anxious to grow his eternal family and bring each individual he creates to the same state of perfection that He enjoys. That is His “work and glory”.
Relationship to Mankind
Our Father in Heaven is our God, the one and only God to whom we pray. He created us as spirit entities and He considers each of us a member of His eternal family. He cares, personally and deeply, for each of us and has provided us a plan of progression and happiness. Because of His Godly powers he is aware at all times the thoughts and actions of all of his children. He loves us in a manner that is greater than what mortals can love. It’s because of that love that we can have confidence and faith in Him and our ultimate destiny which he oversees personally. He said that his “work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality of man”. He never forgets us or leaves our destiny to chance.
God the Father in history
God the Father directed that the earth be created for us. He delegated this task so that the actual creative acts were accomplished by His Son Jesus Christ. In the Garden of Eden, the Father personally interacted and spoke with Adam and Eve and taught them. After the Fall of Man, Adam and Eve (and their descendants) “fell” or were removed from the presence of God the Father. Jesus Christ was introduced as the mediator between God the Father and mankind. The purpose of Christ’s mission and His assignment is to bring us back into the presence of God the Father of our Spirits. That is in fact our purpose – to get back to the presence of God the Father where we experience perfect joy and happiness as we continue to progress in becoming more like Him.
The Son
Names and Titles
Included are the following: Jesus Christ, Messiah, Jehovah, Advocate, Alpha and Omega, Son of God, Anointed One, Begotten Son, Bread of Life, Bridegroom, Comforter, Deliverer, Good Shepherd, I AM, Immanuel, Lamb of God, Living Water, Lord, Mediator, Redeemer, Savior, Son of Man, First Born, Second Comforter, the Bright and Morning Star.
Physicality
The Son’s spirit body was created by God the Father as the First Born. Thus, as a spirit entity, he is the born first of the Father, before the rest of us, and is also the Fathers only Begotten Son in mortality. Prior to his birth of the virgin Mary, the Son of God was known as Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament. In physical appearance the Son looks EXACTLY like the Father.
Power and Authority
God the Father has delegated His power and authority over the earth and over mankind to Jesus Christ. Jesus has His Fathers “power of attorney”, to use a legal phrase. Thus, only through Jesus Christ can we qualify to return to the presence of our Father in Heaven.
Morality
Jesus attained moral perfection prior to physically coming to the earth. Jesus also led a perfect life while living in mortality in that he never committed sin. He set a perfect example for us to follow. He Himself has followed the example of God the Father and taught us what and how to do the same.
Emotions and feelings
Jesus has deep and poignant feelings towards us, who are also spiritually created by God the Father and are thus his brothers and sisters. Having done no sin, yet He turned the other cheek and suffered terribly in our behalf because of His love for us and for our Father in Heaven. He has shown us by His example what patience and love really mean. Yet he is not weak or a milquetoast but a strong leader. His is the perfect balance between mercy and strength, tenderness and strong leadership. Eventually, He is going to let the hammer fall on those who disobey God and who reject His words and sacrifice – if they fail to repent.
Origin and Destiny
Spiritually created and born of God the Father, Jesus attained moral perfection by following the example of His Father, then Jesus took a mortal body, which was later upgraded to perfected resurrected body. In this process, He has attained all the attributes and characteristics of His Father. He is a God in very fact and will remain so throughout the eternities of time.
Role
His role is to be a “mediator” between mankind and God the Father. That by His grace we are enabled to overcome sin, obey His law, and return back into the presence of the Father. Since the Fall of Man, the Son has dealt with mankind on the earth in the name of the Father. In other words, the word of the Father comes to man always through the Son and also the actions of the Father are assigned to and actually performed by the Son. Another way of saying it is that the Son has power of attorney for the Father. In this role, the Son often speaks in scripture in the first person of the Father as though he were the Father. The Son does not act independently but always in total harmony and unity with God the Father.
The Son of God in history
Jesus Christ created the earth at the direction of our Father in Heaven. He was born of the virgin Mary and known in mortality as Jesus Christ. Prior to His physical creation He had a spirit body created by God the Father. Jesus is the only being whose Father is God in both spirit and physical bodies. In Old Testament times He filled His role as mediator between the Father and Mankind and was known as Jehovah, the great I AM. In mortality, He atoned for our sins, died on the cross, and was resurrected. For almost 2000 years, He has had a perfected resurrected body like our Father in Heaven. He still fills His role as mediator and has often communicated the will of God the Father to holy prophets in modern times. He is soon going to return to the earth, destroy evil, and politically reign 1000 years with the righteous.
The Holy Ghost
Names and Titles
Included are the following: Spirit of God, Comforter, Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit
Physicality
Created as a spirit entity by God the Father. He has a body of spirit that, in appearance, is that of a man – although not physically tangible. Postponing the acquisition of physical body is intentional for Him to fulfill His role as a teacher who testifies of divine truths by telepathic means and who can be literally in our presence without our seeing Him with our physical eyes.
Power and Authority
All covenants made with the Father must be sealed and ratified by the Holy Ghost or they are invalid, moot. For example, going through the motions of baptism does not avail us the blessing unless we first repent of our sins and seek God with all our hearts. When we do this the Holy Ghost ratifies the ordinance, meaning that it then becomes effective meaning that we become “sanctified or sealed by the spirit”. This state can be lost though sin. It can be restored by true repentance. It is the same with every blessing that is initiated through gospel ordinances: baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, temple ordinances and eternal marriage. That is, it must be ratified, approved by, and sealed by the Holy Ghost.
Morality
Like the Father and the Son, the Holy Ghost has attained moral perfection. In all His actions He is in total harmony with God the Father. His work is done under the direction of God the Father.
Emotions and feelings
The Holy Ghost delights in righteousness and when we yield to His influence to do what is right. On the other hand, He is offended and leaves us when we sin and seek to fill our lives with evil behavior. In such cases, he will leave us to our own devices and without His whispered guidance. To the unbaptized, His presence can be felt in short intervals by those who earnestly seek it. To those who are baptized for repentance and who receive The gift of the Holy Ghost by proper ordination, His presence can be felt at all times in our thoughts and feelings – if we do not drive Him away.
Origin and Destiny
He is a spirit child of God the Father and made covenant with the Father and Son to help bring us back to the presence of the Father. At some point He will continue his eternal progression by taking on a perfected resurrected body as both the Father and Son have already done.
Role
He is a teacher, comforter, and testifier of truth. He speaks to us by the “still small voice” and helps communicate the will of God to us. His role is also to augment our hope and faith and give us spiritual guidance and strength during our difficult mortal trials. Although He is not the Father physically, He has perfect knowledge and communication with the Father. He knows and always does exactly what the Father would do in each situation.
The Holy Ghost in history
He baptized Adam. He has interacted with all the Holy Prophets and righteous Saints on the earth. Every decision for the right throughout history bears His imprint and He strives to influence men and women to do good. When the Spirit of God is withdrawn from a nation, moral and physical destruction soon follow.
– Jay Mackley