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I have included the text below which came from a talk given by Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008), given in October 1998. I hope it helps.
Question 1: What is the Mormon doctrine of Deity, of God?
Since the time of the First Vision people have raised this question, and they continue to raise it and will do so for so long as they believe in the God of their tradition, while we bear testimony of the God of modern revelation.
The Prophet Joseph declared, “It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 345).
“We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost” (A of F 1:1). This first article of faith epitomizes our doctrine. We do not accept the Athanasian Creed. We do not accept the Nicene Creed, nor any other creed based on tradition and the conclusions of men.
We do accept, as the basis of our doctrine, the statement of the Prophet Joseph Smith that when he prayed for wisdom in the woods, “the light rested upon me [and] I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is my Beloved Son. Hear Him!” (JS—H 1:17).
Two beings of substance were before him. He saw them. They were in form like men, only much more glorious in their appearance. He spoke to them. They spoke to him. They were not amorphous spirits. Each was a distinct personality. They were beings of flesh and bone whose nature was reaffirmed in later revelations which came to the Prophet.
Our entire case as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rests on the validity of this glorious First Vision. It was the parting of the curtain to open this, the dispensation of the fulness of times. Nothing on which we base our doctrine, nothing we teach, nothing we live by is of greater importance than this initial declaration. I submit that if Joseph Smith talked with God the Father and His Beloved Son, then all else of which he spoke is true. This is the hinge on which turns the gate that leads to the path of salvation and eternal life.
Are we Christians? Of course we are Christians. We believe in Christ. We worship Christ. We take upon ourselves in solemn covenant His holy name. The Church to which we belong carries His name. He is our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer through whom came the great Atonement with salvation and eternal life.
So, we believe in 3 separate beings but one Godhead with the same purpose which is "to bring to pass the
They each have a part in that purpose. It was Heavenly Fathers plan to let us come here to experience earth life and prove ourselves worthy to return home to Him being successful in that plan. He wants us to come home successfully so in order for that to happen we needed a Savior, which is His son ,Jesus Christ. Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for us to return home through the Atonement. And then, last but not least, is the Holy Ghost which is a comforter and helper for us while we are here on the earth so we can live our lives successfully and gain the knowledge we need to be able to return home to Heaven. That is the purpose of God for us here at this time.
There are three different beings and three different roles with one purpose, us!!!
Arguing with others over this point is of no use because its something that we can't scientifically prove. It is what we believe through our studies of scripture and experiences (testimonies) that we have gained while living life here. No one can change what you know. And I personally think as long as we believe and acknowledge that God exists then we are on the right path. The rest depends on what we learn and act upon as we move ahead in life. These are my thoughts,
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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