What We Believe

God Is Truly Our Father

God is our Father in Heaven, the Father of our spirits. In the Godhead with Him are Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. They are distinct beings with distinct roles but are one in purpose. This truth, along with many others, was lost after the deaths of Jesus Christ and His Apostles, during a period known as the Apostasy.

The Lord began to restore these lost truths in the spring of 1820, when 14-year-old Joseph Smith prayed in a grove of trees near his home in Manchester Township, New York, to know which church to join. In answer to his prayer, he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. The Prophet Joseph Smith later wrote of this vision: “One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” (Joseph Smith—History 1:17).

On February 16, 1832, the Prophet and Sidney Rigdon received a revelation. To introduce the revelation, they testified of Jesus Christ and God the Father: “And now after the many testimonies which have been given of [Jesus Christ], this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father” (D&C 76:22–23).

Doctrines that testify of God the Father:

1. We are created in God’s image (see Moses 2:26).

2. God is the Supreme Creator, and “all things denote there is a God” (Alma 30:44).

3. God is our Heavenly Father, a literal spiritual parent (see Hebrews 12:9).¹

4. God the Father has a tangible body of flesh and bones (see D&C 130:22).

5. Our Heavenly Father gave us the plan of salvation (see Alma 34:9).

Ways we can come to know our Heavenly Father:

1. Feast on the scriptures (see 2 Nephi 32:3).

2. Come to know Jesus Christ (see John 14:9).

3. Obey God’s commandments and follow the prophets (see John 14:21; D&C 1:38).

4. With faith, pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ (see James 1:5; 3 Nephi 18:20).

Note

1. See Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 39.

To learn more about our basic beliefs, visit Mormon.org (available in many languages, listed at the bottom of the Web page).

“Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth” (Mosiah 4:9).

Take time to gaze into the heavens, where the courses of the stars and planets are evidence of “God moving in his majesty and power” (see D&C 88:41–47).

Left: photograph of planet courtesy of NASA/JPL; photograph of stars © NASA and STSCI; illustration by Robert T. Barrett; photo illustration by Wei-Hsiang Wang; right: painting of animals by Stanley Galli; illustration of Heavenly Father with children by Paul Mann; detail from The First Vision, by Del Parson; photo illustration of family by Welden C. Andersen; photo illustration of man by Welden C. Andersen; photograph of President Monson by Craig Dimond; photo illustration of woman by Ruth Sipus