Comparison of the Nicene Trinity and the LDS Godhead

📝 Note: Before reading this list, please read the Nicene Creed and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint's official website to understand the nuances of each concept.

Similarities

• There are three persons who share divine attributes.
• They compose one entity which is referred to as "God" generically; they are united in their collective action, thoughts, and intents.
• They presently share in the same power and glory.
  • Each member's influence is imminent to all spacio-temporal locations.
• Each member is co-eternal.
• They are identical to each other in the sense that each is of the kind "God"¹.
  • The divine persons are not three separate gods.
  • They are God by virtue of their essential unity.
• They aided in the bringing about of the order of all the universe.
• The Word (the Son) became incarnate and lived a mortal life, died, and was resurrected.
• There was never a moment in each of their existence where they were not of the kind "God".

How the LDS Godhead Differs

• The Father and the Son are super-physically corporeal, meaning they have glorified, resurrected bodies; the Holy Ghost presently lacks one.
  • Each member's body has a spacio-temporal location.
  • Like the Son, the Father took on a mortal body, died, and resurrected at some prior time.
• Only the Father is to be worshiped.
• The Son and the Holy Ghost are subordinate to the Father.
• Human bodies are theomorphic; that is, they have the general appearance of Their bodies.
• The members of the Godhead are species-alike but non-identical in essence or substance (ousia).
  • Human spirits are also species-alike with the divine persons and can become part of the unity they enjoy.
• The Three are distinct beings².
• The Three organized the universe from already existing entities and materials rather than out of nothing (ex nihilo).

Common Questions

Are LDS polytheistic because they believe in multiple divine beings?

No, Latter-day Saints are commanded to worship the Father in the name of Jesus Christ. In this respect, LDS are henotheistic to an extent but not exactly. It should also be noted that LDS theology takes aspects of the logic of the Nicene Creed (and the Athanasian Creed as well) a step further to include humanity rather than just the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Is the Godhead tritheistic?

Not exactly. All members of the Godhead are the same kind of being, and all are of the type "God". They are not "different" gods in the same way that ones of the Greek, Roman, Vedic, or Sumerian pantheons are. They are one God in the same way that a married couple is "one" since even though they are distinct, they are unified together.

How is it monotheistic?

LDS perceive monotheism in a spectral way rather than a binary. They don't see God as "wholly other" than the rest of what exists. Instead, they perceive God as a community of divine persons. Generally, they are monotheistic in the sense that there is only one Godhead in their view. Further, all divine persons are the same kind of species, so in that sense as well there is only one God.