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<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=90 BGCOLOR="#CC9900" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="043005a0dwnjzk.gif"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="EDWARD WATSONS WEBWORLD"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B> | </B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>EDWARD WATS</B><B>ON'S WEBWORLD</B></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id61.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION"><U><B>SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1"><U><B>1</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id66.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2"><U><B>2</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id67.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="3"><U><B>3</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id68.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="4"><U><B>4</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="5"><U><B>5</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id69.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="6"><U><B>6</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id59.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="7"><U><B>7</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><B>8</B><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id72.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="9"><U><B>9</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="10"><U><B>10</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id73.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="11"><U><B>11</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id74.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="12"><U><B>12</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id75.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="13"><U><B>13</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id76.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="14"><U><B>14</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id77.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="15"><U><B>15</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id78.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="16"><U><B>16</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id79.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="17"><U><B>17</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id80.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="18"><U><B>18</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id81.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="APPENDIX"><U><B>APPENDIX</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id82.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SECTION 1: CONCLUSION"><U><B>SECTION 1: CONCLUSION</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id65.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ABBREVIATIONS"><U><B>ABBREVIATIONS</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>[MORMONISM. The Faith of the Twenty-first Century. Volume 1. Edward K. Watson. (Liahona Publications. Copyright © 1998 Edward K. Watson.) pp. 102-105. MORMONISM: Section 1, Chapter 8. All rights reserved.]</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <U>CHAPTER 8</U></div> <bR> <div> <B>Do the Latter-day Scriptures Teach God is an Immaterial Being? </B></div> <bR> <div>      I'm using the word “immaterial” in this chapter instead of “nonmaterial” to cover a larger area. I'm using it in the sense of God being a spirit being [whether material or nonmaterial] who doesn't have a physical body - i.e., being incorporeal.</div> <bR> <div> <B>A) Does the Book of Mormon teach God the Father is an immaterial being?</B> </div> <bR> <div>      Our critics claim the Book of Mormon teaches Go d is a spirit, which they claim contradicts Mormon doctrine. Let us examine the pertinent passages:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BernhardMod BT" > </FONT> Alma <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT>18:24-28 And Ammon began to speak unto him with boldness, and said unto him:<I> Believest thou that there is a God</I>? And he answered, and said unto him:<I> I do not know what that meaneth</I>. And then Ammon said: <I>Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit? And he said, Yea. And Ammon said, This is God.</I></div> <bR> <div>   Alma <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT>22:7-11 <I>And Aaron answered him and said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God?</I> And the king said: I know that the Amalekites say that there is a God, and I have granted unto them that they should build sanctuaries, that they may assemble themselves together to worship him. And if now thou sayest there is a God, behold I will believe. And now when Aaron heard this his heart began to rejoice, and he said: Behold, assuredly as thou livest, O king, there is a God. And the king said: <I>Is God that Great Spirit that brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem?</I> And<I> Aaron said unto him: Yea, he is that Great Spirit</I>, and he created all things both in heaven and in earth. Believest thou this? And he said, Yea, I believe that the Great Spirit created all things, and I desire that ye should tell me concerning all these things, and I will believe thy words.</div> <bR> <div>      By examining Alma  18:4-5 we find that the Lamanites had a tradition that there was a Great Spirit, whom they understood was God. King Lamoni didn't think the term “Great Spirit” meant an immaterial being because he thought Ammon was the Great Spirit (Alma  18:2-4,11,18 cf.  19:25) despite Ammon was human with normal physical attributes. </div> <div>      When Ammon initially began to teach king Lamoni, he asked him if he believed in God. The king replied, <I>“I do not know what that meaneth</I>,” showing his unfamiliarity with the term. He did not know what the word “God” meant. Like any good instructor, Ammon built on a concept that his listener would understand. He knew the Lamanites believed in a supreme being whom they called the Great Spirit so he built his case on common ground. He used the term “Great Spirit” to refer to God because this is how king Lamoni understood who God was. He didn't say that God is an immaterial being. He didn't even hint that God was such a being. All he did was use a term his listener could understand. The same thing occurs with the discussion Aaron had with king Lamoni's father.</div> <div>      This situation goes on all the time between people of different languages and cultures. Linguists who try to produce the Bible in different languages for people living in different parts of the world are faced with this same problem Ammon and Aaron were faced, namely, trying to explain a concept in terms that their listeners or readers could understand. How would a biblical translator translate Isa  1:18 which has God saying that even if your sins are as scarlet they shall be as white as snow in the language of a tribe that lives in central Africa, where they have never seen snow or understand what it is? Wouldn't a good translator describe the situation as “their sins being as red as blood will become as white as cotton?” How does one describe an airplane to a person who has never seen one? Would he describe it as a big bird that carries people? What about a car? A rifle?</div> <div>      The Book of Mormon does not teach that God the Father is an immaterial spirit and for our critics to even suggest it does, shows how they manipulate the Scriptures for their own gain. </div> <div>      Furthermore, they are mistaken when they think that God being “Spirit” contradicts Mormon theology. Of course “God is Spirit” or a “Great Spirit” because he is a <I>spirit</I> entity who possesses a glorious immortal  physical body just like we are spirit entities who possess mortal physical bodies. These passages don't say God is an “<I>incorporeal</I> Spirit.” </div> <bR> <div> <B>B) Does the Doctrine and Covenants teach God the Father is an immaterial being?</B> <B>B) Does the Doctrine and Covenants teach God the Father is an immaterial being?</B> </div> <bR> <div>   D&C <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT>84:88 And<I> whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts</I>, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.</div> <bR> <div>      Our opponents claim only a nonmaterial being can perform such a feat but we understand this passage to mean our companionship with God and our interpenetration with him by being sanctified. We become “one” with God when we bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people and their reaction to us is a direct reaction to Him. We <I>represent </I>Jesus to people by being his messengers and ambassadors. God is our shield and protects us from evil. He shields us and blesses us as we do his will. This passage doesn't teach God is a formless, nonmaterial omnipresent being.</div> <div>      Furthermore, doesn't God have the <I>power</I> to literally be in these three spatial locations at the same time? If so, he is functionally omnipresent, not ontologically omnipresent or immaterial.</div> <bR> <div> <B>C) Does the Pearl of Great Price teach God the Father is an immaterial being?</B> <B>C) Does the Pearl of Great Price teach God the Father is an immaterial being?</B> </div> <bR> <div>      Our opponents sometimes claim that even the Pearl of Great Price teaches God is omnipresent and consequently contradicts Mormon doctrine:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT> Mos<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT> 7:36 Wherefore, <I>I can stretch forth mine hands and hold all the creations which I have made; and mine eye can pierce them also,</I> and among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren. </div> <bR> <div>      They utilize this passage and argue only an omnipresent being can hold all of creation whereas it is impossible for a being possessing a physical anthropomorphic body to do so. </div> <div>      Their interpretation is wrong since this passage is about God's omniscience and omnipotence, not his alleged omnipresence. God was making a comparison between man and all of the other creations of God in the universe. Such comparison necessitates a knowledge of these other creatures for the comparison to be valid. If I said, “The mole on my cheek is my largest mole.” Such a statement presupposes me knowing all of the other moles upon my body and knowing that this mole in comparison with all the others is indubitably the largest. <B>Such a statement is based upon knowledge by comparison; not an omnipresence.</B></div> <div>      The Book of Moses in the PGP furnishes further support that Mos  7:36 doesn't teach God is omnipresent:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >  </FONT>Mos<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT> 7:41 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Enoch, and told Enoch all the doings of the children of men; wherefore <I>Enoch</I> knew, and looked upon their wickedness, and their misery, and wept and stretched forth his arms, and<I> his heart swelled wide as eternity</I>; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook. </div> <bR> <div>   Mos<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT> 7:53 And the Lord said: Blessed is he through whose seed Messiah shall come; for he saith--<I>I am Messiah,</I> the King of Zion, the Rock of Heaven, <I>which is broad as eternity</I>; whoso cometh in at the gate and climbeth up by me shall never fall; wherefore, blessed are they of whom I have spoken, for they shall come forth with songs of everlasting joy.</div> <bR> <div>      Is Enoch's heart really as wide as the universe? Is Jesus really as broad as the universe? Of course not. These statements then are nonliteral figures of speech conceptualizing God's knowledge, Enoch's sorrow and Jesus' power.</div> <div>      Just as the case with the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price don't teach in an immaterial or nonmaterial omnipresent deity.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="mailto:ewatson@shaw.ca" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:ewatson@shaw.ca"><U>e-mail me!</U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>