Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-08-24
PLURALITY OF GODS

In the report Of the address TO Pres
byterlan teachers by one Of the lead
inc lights of the Presbytery it Is stated
that oNlr. Clemensen took up the sub
ioot Of the plurality Of Gods and dis
missed It In one sentence That Is;
oWhen we read that lie Is the God OF
gods. Il means that God Is over all the
| idolatrous gods
The scripture alluded 10 is to De
found In Deuteronomy X H. For the
Lord your God ls God Of gods ana Lord
of lords. great God a mighty ana
terrible. which regardoth not per-
sons nor taketh reward" The same
expression is used ia Joshua xxi, e.
"The Lord God Of g1ds. the Lord God
Of gods he knoweth and Israel he
shan know" Also the psalmisI David
exclalms. 30 give thanks to the God
Of gods. Tor Ills mercy endureth for
ever. o give thanks 70 the Lord
OF lords. for Ills mercy endureth
for ever Psalms cXxxyl 2-3. David
says further. 81 win praise thee with
my whole heart before the gods viii
I sing praise unto thee Psalm XXI
begins. God staEdeih In he congre-
CATION OF the mighty, He judgeth
among the gods" Jesus, quoting from
the same psalm whore 1t says! Il have
said We are gods, and all Of you are
children Of the Most High" declared
that this referred to the gods to whom
the word Of 'N lord came And add
ed the scripture cannot be broken"
Paul, writing TO the Corinthians. said
there were not only many that are
called gods whether In heaven or In.
EARTH but added las there be gods
many and lords many" Cor, vii, 8.
The Rev. critic dismissed all this and
much more scripture thtat might be
cited, with the one sweeping assertion
that II means the T ord Is a God over
"all the ldolatrous gods" Is that true?
Does the Almighty g'and in congrega-
tion OF the mighty ones judging among
THE idolatrous gods7 Were they Idol
atrous gods 10 whom the word Of the
Lord came? Did the inspired psalmist
praise the Eternal God before. or In the
presence Of. he idolatrous gods? Is the
Lord God the God of the idolatrous
gods2 Did not our Savior declare that
the God Of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
was mot the God of the dead but Of the
liying?" Are the ldoatrous gods living
Gods? Are they Gods at all?
The Presbyterians declare that the
Father is God the Son is God and the
Holy Ghost Is God; that they are three
separate persons; that each Is different
from the others In some respects. Does
not this make three distinct Gods2 The
attempt which they make to show that
they are not three but one, is a most
miserable failure No language can be
more contradictory, bewidering and
ludicrous than the labored efforts Of
their theological instructors TO recon-
Gle the Inconsistencies involved I'm their
speculative paradoxes about Deity.
He is one being only without body or
parts, and then he is three beings, one
OF whom has body and parts, All
three are precisely alike, and yet they
are all different one from the other,
God Is without form extension or d.
mansions because He is a spirit like the
spirit Of man, and yet mans spirit is
in the form Of his body
Now, let there be no misunderstand-
ing In regard to the Mormon" doc
trlne OF the plurality OF Gods. We
worship one God. even the Father. OF
our Lord Jesus Christ. He Is our
Father and our God also. We do this
in the name Of Jesus Christ, under the
guidance and influence Of the Holy
Ghost We worship no other being.
The persons outside OF this Holy Trinity
who are called gods. are so denomlna-
ted in a subordinate sense 10 the title of
the Eternal Father who is God over
all, blessed forever" The Father, the
son and the Holy Ghost are one God in
the sense that they are In perfect unity
yet they are three individuals and each
Is God. Il three persons can be one in
the sense described, then as understood
by Jesus Christ Himself. any number
Of persons who reach perfection and
Inherit all things" can become one in
the same sense. Jesus prayed that His
Apostles and all who received Him
through their words, might become one
las lie and the Father are one" John
xvii.
The Lord told Moses he would make
him ca god unto Pharaoh" But II
Pharoah or anybody else had worship
ed Moses, he would have committed
idolauy Jesus had the fulluess OF the
Godhead bodily" An who reach the
fullness Of glory and dominion and
power as kings and priests unto the
Most High" having "the Fathers name
written IN their forehcads." win be
"joint heirs With Jesus Christ" and reign
with him fueyer and forever. AN things
VIII be theirs They win be Gods even
the sons Of God. because they will hay,
dominion over an things, viii see m,
face Of God and be fully like Him
But Ike the Beloved Son who Is exalt.
cd above them an, they win becom,
subject unto the great Almighty God
Of Gods who IS over all" and win b,
so forever.
We believe that He who is In Christ
sauctaed by the Spirit OF Truth. pre-.
pared through obedience to inherit the
celestial glory and obtain the everlast.
Ing crown, win reign over an his owl
posicrlly and those whom the Father
shall place IN his dominion. and he will
be God unto them. But he and the,
win worship and serve the Eternal God
OF Gods and Lord Of Lords through
endless ages The head of the race of