“If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” (John 14:7-12)
Has Jesus ever said that He is the Father? Nope, never. But did Jesus say that people would see the Father when they see Him? Yes, He did. There are big differences between the two. I believe this because there are individuals who belong to the oneness theology camp and subscribe to the notion that the Father and Jesus are the same person. They just have different modes, which we call Modalism. See below for an example of this in the Book of Mormon, which is very disturbing. “And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.” (Ether 4:12) This is just one example of many that I’ve found in the Book of Mormon, of which teach that Jesus is our Father in heaven. This doctrine where Jesus is our Father in heaven is false. The true doctrine is that the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one God. This is the Holy Trinity.
Our Father in heaven does exist, but so does His Son, Jesus. Joseph Smith must not have known this when He wrote this into His book. The funny thing is, Mormons don’t see an issue with this teaching. You can bring up the verse in Ether 4 and other places in the Book of Mormon, and they just write it off. Instead of seeing it as a contradiction to the Godhead, they won’t teach on it, but at the time they won’t condemn the verses. You see, Mormons believe in the Godhead teaching, which says that the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are each God. This makes up three Gods in total. They do not believe that Jesus is the Father and admittedly teach against this. This is what is interesting. If I asked Mormon missionaries if they believed that Jesus is the Father, they would say No. And if I said that I know people who believe this way, they would say they are wrong. However, if I show them verses in their Book of Mormon that teach this, they would justify them. At the same time, they would say that I was taking the verses out of context. This is what always happens when we bring up issues in this book. If only they would listen. Amen.
