Chapter 9a - The Personality of God - Body of Flesh & Bones
What Does God Look Like?
Chapter 9a - The Personality of God - Body of Flesh & Bones
Does God Have a Body of Flesh and Bones?
Welcome to the Mormon Mann YouTube channel. I am Kendall, the Mormon Mann.
In this playlist “Joseph Smith and the Bible,” I am challenging over 80 of Joseph Smith’s teachings—and I am doing it using only the Bible.
In this video, we begin Chapter 9 - The Personality of God, where I examine Joseph Smith’s teachings about God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Overview of Chapter 9
In this Chapter, we will break down the personality of God into five key questions:
Does God Have a Body of Flesh & Bones? (Ch 9a)
Are God and Jesus Christ one God, or are they two separate Gods? (Ch 9b)
Can Man See God? (Ch 9c)
Did Christ Create Worlds Without Number? (Ch 9d)
Is Jesus Christ Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament? (Ch 9e)
In order to facilitate the study of these topics, I will make five different short videos where you will be able to pick and choose which topics that you would like to watch.
Why This Matters
The Apostle John taught that knowing the true nature of our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ is essential ones own eternal salvation. He taught:
John 17:3
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God; and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
So here’s the question:
Could misunderstanding who God and Jesus Christ are affect your eternal salvation?
According to Jesus—it absolutely could!
Matthew 7:13,14
13. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Matthew 7:21
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
It is clear that the gate that leads to eternal life is “straight and narrow” and few are going to find it. Therefore, knowing the real God the Father and Jesus Christ and how they actually exist could be a deciding factor as to one’s opportunity to enter into eternal life, which is in the presence of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
The Central Conflict
These five videos will be a detailed Biblical study of Joseph Smith’s position on the personality of God the Father and Jesus Christ. The Biblical Support Chart will help each reader to visualize just how close Joseph Smith teachings are to the Bible.
There is a widely held Christian belief that:
God is one being
God is an immaterial spirit
God is invisible
This belief is often supported by passages like:
Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good:
John 4:24
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.
1 Timothy 1:17
Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
But Joseph Smith taught something very different. This is his testimony of whom God the Father and Jesus Christ are:
I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. 17. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me 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 said, pointing to the other – This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!
From: Joseph Smith—History. Chapter 1, verses 16 and 17.
Through this divine visitation Joseph Smith learned that:
God the Father is a person with a glorified body of flesh and bone
Jesus Christ is a separate person with a glorified body of flesh and boneT
he Holy Ghost is a separate third person that is a spirit, without a body of flesh and bone.
With the vision that Joseph Smith received and the three just quoted scriptures, we have a contradiction on the actual personality of God the Father and Jesus Christ. So, the purpose of this series of videos is to show, if any, Biblical support for Joseph Smith’s position.
This creates a clear question:
Which view is supported by the Bible?
Created in the Image of God
The Bible begins with a foundational statement:
Genesis 1:26,27
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:… 27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Let’s see how The Random House College Dictionary defines “image” in the following manner:
a physical likeness or representation of a person, animal, or thing, photographed, painted, sculptured, or otherwise produced.
form; appearance; semblance; God created man in his own image.
counterpart; copy: That child is the image of his mother.
According to the Random House College Dictionary, man, being created in the image of God, would have a physical likeness, be a representation and a copy of God. The general Christian position on this “image” interpretation is that it is “symbolic” and it wasn’t what God intended when the passage was written.
If this passage is only symbolic and wasn’t intended to mean that God actually looks like man, then what was the author of the book of Genesis speaking of when he said the following, just several chapters after the first chapter of Genesis?
Genesis 5:1,3
This is the book of generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; 3. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
If “image” means physical likeness for Adam and Seth… why wouldn’t it mean the same for God and man?
The Consistency of “Image”
The Bible repeats this idea:
Genesis 9:6
Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
James 3:9
Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
Similitude, as defined in The Random House College Dictionary means:
likeness; resemblance.
a person or thing that is like or the match or counterpart of another.
So we must ask:
Does this language suggest something real… or something purely symbolic?
Old Testament Testimony
Now let’s look at how God is described in the Old Testament.
Genesis 32:30
And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
Exodus 24:10
And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
Exodus 33:11
And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend….
Exodus 31:18
And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
Exodus 33:21-23
21. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
22. – And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
23. And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
Numbers 12:7-8
7. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
8. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
Deuteronomy 9:10
And the Lord delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the Lord spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.
Here we have seven scriptural passages that mentions God’s face, his feet, his finger, his hand, his back parts and his mouth. These are not abstract descriptions—they are physical terms.
New Testament Testimony
The New Testament continues this pattern.
We see:
God speaking with a voice from heaven
Matthew 3:16, 17
16. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17. And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Matthew 17:5
While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
God having a face
Matthew 4:4
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Revelations 22:4
And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
And most importantly:
Hebrews 1:3
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Mark 16:19
So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
Acts 7:55-56
55. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56. And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
These New Testament passages reveal:
That God has a mouth and a voice.
They are two separate beings!
That Christ stands on the right hand of God.
The Resurrected Christ
After His resurrection, Jesus made something very clear:
Luke 24:36-40
36. as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
37. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
38. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled: and why do thoughts arise in your hearts:
39. Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
40. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
Here, He invited His disciples to touch Him—to confirm He was not just a spirit.
Now consider this:
If Christ has a glorified body… and we are to become like Him… what does that imply about God?
Becoming Like Him
Both Paul and John taught that when the Savior comes, He will change our vile bodies to be like His new glorious body which is a glorified resurrected body.
Philippians 3:20, 21
20, For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
21. Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
1 John 3:2
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
And Christ Himself is described as:
2 Cor 4:4 …who is the image of God,…
Philippians 2:6 – Who, being in the form of God…
Colossians 1:14, 15 – Who is the image of the invisible God…
So Is There a Contradiction?
We now have two sets of scriptures:
Set 1:
God is spirit, not a man, invisible
Set 2:
God has a face, hands, speaks, and is seen
So what do we do with this?
Are these contradictions?
Or are we missing something?
Joseph Smith’s Explanation
How do we handle this and several other conflicts with the personality of God? Let me assure you, these really aren’t conflicts! There are real, spiritual answers to these apparent contradictions.
Through modern revelation Joseph Smith learned that:
God is not an earthly natural man
God is a God with a glorified body of flesh of bone.
God is a spirit.
We all are spirits. We have always been a spirit.
God took our spirits and formed us or individualized us as spirits where we lived in his Kingdom.
With the help of modern revelation, we learn that this is not a contradiction! God is a spirit. We are spirits! Now, we have been given a body of flesh and bone.
The Biblical Support Chart
Is the following topic supported in the Bible? Yes or No
1. Does the Bible support the teaching that God the Father and His son Jesus Christ each have a body of flesh and bone? Yes
(Gen 5:1,3; Gen 9:6; Gen 6:3; James 3:9; Gen 32:30; Exo 24:10; Exo 33:11; Exo 31:18; Exo 33:21-23; Num 12:7,8; Deu 9:10; Mark 16:19; Act 7:55-56; Matt 3:16,17; Matt 4:4; Matt 17:5; Heb 1:3; Heb 1:3; Rev 22:4; Luke 24:36-40; Phil 3:20,21; 1 John 3:2; 2 Cor 4:4; Phil 2:6; Col 1:14,15; )
Closing
Look at the volume of scripture pointing in this direction!
This is not a minor idea—it is a major biblical theme.
If you agree that God the Father and Jesus Christ have glorified bodies of flesh and bone, press the like button.
Next Episode
Next, we move to Chapter 9b
Are God and Jesus Christ one God, or are they two separate Gods?
You can click on the next chapter button that will appear soon…
or click on the Play List button to go to this entire Playlist – Joseph Smith and the Bible.
You will see the entire list of topics that I am discussing in this challenge to over 80 of Joseph Smith’s teachings.
I hope to see you in my next video where I will answer how God and Jesus Christ are one God.