The Creeds and the Trinity

The nature of the creeds, their evolution within Christian theology, and how they inform Catholic vs. Protestant doctrine is a very complex discussion, and it varies radically according to which creed is being cited and which creed each Christian accepts. Just for the record, I believe strongly that the “creeds” mentioned in the First Vision are not the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athenasian Creed, but rather are the Westminster Confession and other more modern Protestant Creeds. Those were the primary creeds of the religions about which Joseph prayed, and those are the statements that include elements which are anathema to Mormon doctrine. I wish that was better understood, so we (Mormons) could move away from silly arguments over ancient creeds with which we actually agree more than disagree. (There is nothing within the Apostles Creed that is opposed to Mormon doctrine, and there is very little in the Nicene Creed and Athenasian Creed that even is questionable.)

I believe strongly that we need to embrace others no matter their beliefs, practices and religious affiliations, but we can’t compromise our doctrinally unique beliefs.

For example, the “mysteries” of the trinity can be argued ad infinitum; personally, I think we are very similar to other Christians in most of the ways we can talk about the Trinity. However, I believe those similarities pale in comparison to the underlying difference encapsulated in how we view Godhood - especially our belief that God, the Father, is an actual, physical father (with a body of flesh and bones), we are His actual children in a real and tangible way and we have the capability of becoming like Him. Even that last phrase alone draws a clear distinction between us and the rest of Christianity when we discuss the Trinity.