God is Our Loving Heavenly Father

In 1842, when Joseph Smith Jr. was the Prophet of the Church, there were many members of the church living in New Hampshire. Mr. George Barstow was writing the history of New Hampshire, and he wanted to include a part about the “Mormons” in it. His friend, Mr. Wentworth, contacted Joseph and asked him about the church and its basic beliefs. The letter he received in reply contained thirteen statements of belief that have come to be known as the “Articles of Faith”.

The very first article of faith teaches us about the Godhead. It states, “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” (*1) They are three separate and distinct beings, but they are working together for the same purpose. That is, “… to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (*2)

That is everything that they are working for, and their whole purpose in doing what they are doing. Why does God care so much about us? Why is He so concerned about having us come back to live with Him again?

It is simply because we are His children, and He loves us. He loves each of us deeply, and He wants us to return to be with Him again. (*3)

 Acts 17:29 says: “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.”

This teaches us some things about us, and also some things about God. We are the offspring of God. He is the Father of our Spirits. (*4) We were created in His image. (*5)

What does that tell us about who we are? It means we are the children of God, and that one day, we can become like Him. Elder Donald L. Hallstrom of the Presidency of the Seventy said, “… we meet in this priesthood meeting because who we are is not who we can become…. We meet with the confidence that His atonement gives every one of us… the ability to change….” (*6)

Now what does that tell us about God? It is a well-known fact that when a person, or an animal, or any creature has an offspring, that offspring is going to look a whole lot like them. They will not birth a different creature entirely. That defies all logic, and all laws of nature. As well, that offspring that they have will grow up to become a whole lot like them too.

We look a whole lot like God. He is a real being with a body that looks like ours. We are a lot like Him, except for one major difference. That is, He is perfect, and we are not. We are striving to become perfect though.  Christ said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (*7)

http://www.mormon.org/faq/topic/heavenly-father/question/nature-of-god

“God is not only our Ruler and Creator; He is also our Heavenly Father. All men and women are literally the sons and daughters of God. “Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming upon the earth in a temporal [physical] body” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith [1998], 335).

Every person who was ever born on earth is our spirit brother or sister. Because we are the spirit children of God, we have inherited the potential to develop His divine qualities. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can become like our Heavenly Father and receive a fulness of joy.”

“Our Heavenly Father knew we could not progress beyond a certain point unless we left Him for a time. He wanted us to develop the godlike qualities that He has. To do this, we needed to leave our premortal home to be tested and to gain experience. Our spirits needed to be clothes with physical bodies. We would need to leave our physical bodies at death and reunite with them in the Resurrection. Then we would receive immortal bodies like that of our Heavenly Father. If we passed our tests, we would receive the fullness of joy that our Heavenly Father has received. (See D&C 93:30-34)” (*8)

Sources:

*1: Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, https://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp/a-of-f/1?lang=eng

*2: Moses 1:39

*3: Romans 8:16-17, 38-39

*4: Hebrews 12:9

*5: Genesis 1:26-27

*6: Elder Donald L. Hallstrom, “What Manner of Men?”, April 2014 General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

*7: Matthew 5:48

*8: “Gospel Principle”, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Chapter 2