Brigham Young's Sermon on the Nature of God - 4/9/1852
My next sermon will be to both Saint and sinner. One thing has remained
a mystery in this kingdom up to this day. It is in regard to the
character of the well-beloved Son of God, upon which subject the Elders
of Israel have conflicting views. Our God and Father in heaven, is a
being of tabernacle, or, in other words, He has a body, with parts the
same as you and I have (1); and is capable of showing
forth His works to organized beings, as, for instance, in the world in
which we live, it is the result of the knowledge and infinite wisdom
that dwell in His organized body. (2) His son Jesus Christ has become a personage of tabernacle, and has a body like his father. (3)
The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of the Lord, and issues forth from
Himself, and may properly be called God's minister to execute His will
in immensity; being called to govern by His influence and power; but He
is not a person of tabernacle as we are, and as our Father in Heaven
and Jesus Christ are. (4) The question has been, and
is often, asked, who it was that begat the Son of the Virgin Mary. The
infidel world have concluded that if what the Apostles wrote about his
father and mother be true, and the present marriage discipline
acknowledged by Christendom be correct, then Christians must believe
that God is the father of an illegitimate son, in the person of Jesus
Christ! The infidel fraternity teach that to their disciples. I will
tell you how it is. Our Father in Heaven begat all the spirits that
ever were, or ever will be, upon this earth; and they were born spirits
in the eternal world. (5) Then the Lord by His power
and wisdom organized the mortal tabernacle of man. We were made first
spiritual, and afterwards temporal. (6)
Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and
sinner! When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into
it with a celestial body, (7) and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. (8) He helped to make and organize this world. (9)
He is MICHAEL, the Archangel, the ANCIENT OF DAYS! About whom holy men
have written and spoken - HE is our FATHER and our GOD, and the only
God with whom WE have to do. Every man upon the earth, professing
Christians or non-professing, must hear it, and will know it sooner or
later. (10) They came here, organized the raw
material, and arranged in their order the herbs of the field, the
trees, the apple, the peach, the plum, the pear, and every other fruit
that is desirable and good for man; the seed was brought from another
sphere, and planted in this earth. (11) The thistle,
and thorn, the brier, and the obnoxious weed did not appear until after
the earth was cursed. When Adam and Eve had eaten of the forbidden
fruit, their bodies became mortal from its effects, and therefore their
offspring were mortal. When the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus,
the Father had begotten him in his own likeness. He was not begotten by
the Holy Ghost. (12) And who is the Father? He is the first of the human family; and when he took a tabernacle, (13)
it was begotten by his Father in heaven, after the same manner as the
tabernacles of Cain, Abel, and the rest of the sons and daughters of
Adam and Eve; from the fruits of the earth, the first earthly
tabernacles were originated by the Father, and so on in succession. (14)
I could tell you much more about this; but were I to tell you the whole
truth, blasphemy would be nothing to it, in the estimation of the
superstitious and over-righteous of mankind. (15)
However, I have told you the truth as far as I have gone. I have heard
men preach upon the divinity of Christ, and exhaust all the wisdom they
possessed. All Scripturalists, and approved theologians who were
considered exemplary for piety and education, have undertaken to
expound on this subject, in every age of the Christian era; and after
they have done all, they are obliged to conclude by exclaiming "great
is the mystery of godliness," and tell nothing. (16)
It is true that the earth was organized by three distinct characters,
namely, Eloheim, Yahovah, and Michael, these three forming a quorum, as
in all heavenly bodies, and in organizing element, perfectly
represented in the Deity, as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. (17)
Again, they will try to tell how the divinity of Jesus is joined to his
humanity, and exhaust all their mental faculties, and wind up with this
profound language, as describing the soul of man, "it is an immaterial
substance!" (18) What a learned idea! Jesus, our
elder brother, was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was
in the garden of Eden, and who is our Father in Heaven. (19) Now,
let all who may hear these doctrines, pause before they make light of
them, or treat them with indifference, for they will prove their
salvation or damnation. (20)
I have given you a few leading items upon this subject, but a great
deal more remains to be told. Now remember from this time forth, and
forever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. I will
repeat a little anecdote. I was in conversation with a certain learned
professor upon this subject, when I replied, to this idea - "if the Son
was begotten by the Holy Ghost, it would be very dangerous to baptize
and confirm females, and give the Holy Ghost to them, lest he should
beget children, to be palmed upon the Elders by the people, bringing
the Elders into great difficulties." (21)
Treasure up these things in your hearts. In the Bible, you have read
the things I have told you to-night; but you have not known what you
did read. I have told you no more than you are conversant with; but
what do the people in Christendom, with the Bible in their hands, know
about this subject? Comparatively nothing. (22)
1) Jesus Christ disagrees with Brigham Young.
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24
2) Brigham Young was unable to understand God.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,”
says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My
ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah
55:8-9
3) The glory of God should not be confused with the humanity of Christ.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth. John 1:14
4) Non-Christians will hate Christians as the Holy Spirit convicts the world.
Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go
away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if
I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict
the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin,
because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My
Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this
world is judged. John 16:7-11
5) God created the angels or spirits on command from nothing.
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; Praise Him in the
heights! Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise
Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light! Praise Him, you
heavens of heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise
the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created. Psalm
148:1-5
6) Brigham Young had the order backwards.
However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 1 Corinthians 15:46
7) God created Adam and then the Garden of Eden.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the
man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made
every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The
tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:7-9
8) The animals were created before Eve.
And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will
make him a helper comparable to him.” Out of the ground the Lord God
formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought
them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called
each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all
cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But
for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and
He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the
rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He
brought her to the man. Genesis 2:18-22
9) The earth was created before Adam.
This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were
created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,
before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of
the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the
earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from
the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. Genesis 2:4-5
10) Michael is a created being and should not be confused as God.
Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he
disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a
reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” Jude 1:9
11) The earth was created from nothing by God not by Adam or Michael.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
12) Brigham Young was preoccupied with polygamy and sex.
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon
you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also,
that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Luke
1:34-35
13) God the Father does not have a physical body.
No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. John 1:18
14) There is no God the Grand-Father.
“You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me.” Isaiah 43:10
15) Brigham Young did not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21
16) God is infinite and Brigham Young could not comprehend it.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:1-5
17) God created the heavens and the earth all by Himself.
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself.” Isaiah 44:24
18) The body should not be confused with the soul.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your
whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23
19) Paul (a true Apostle of Jesus Christ) defined begotten as resurrection.
God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has
raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My
Son, today I have begotten You.’ And that He raised Him from the dead,
no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: ‘I will give you
the sure mercies of David.’ Therefore He also says in another Psalm:
‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’ Acts 13:34-35
20) Mormon salvation and damnation doctrines are pagan not Christian.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
21) Brigham Young was preoccupied with polygamy and sex.
But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be
afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:20
22) Brigham Young was actually a pagan fool.
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His
eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because,
although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were
thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts
were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed
the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible
man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Romans
1:20-22