The Godhead
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost — who they are, what their names are, and how they relate.
“In the beginning the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it.”
I. The Divine Council — Elohim and the Organization of the World
The Hebrew of Genesis 1:1 — Beroshit bara Elohim — reads more accurately as "In the beginning the Gods organized." Elohim is grammatically plural. Joseph Smith taught openly from the Hebrew that the head God convened a council of Gods who together organized (not created from nothing — there is no such concept in Hebrew) the heavens and the earth. The Book of Abraham confirms it: "the Gods organized and formed the heavens and the earth" (Abraham 4:1). The Elohim of Genesis 1 is El Elyon — God Most High — presiding over the divine creative assembly.
II. Jehovah — The God of Covenant and Our Father
In Genesis 2 the divine name shifts to LORD God — Yahweh Elohim — Jehovah. This is not the same actor with a new label. Jehovah is the God who gets personal: He forms Adam from the dust, plants the Garden, and walks with man. He names Himself to Abraham: "My name is Jehovah" (Abraham 2:8). JST Exodus 34:14 identifies Him as the exclusive object of Israel's worship: "Thou shalt worship no other god; for the Lord, whose name is Jehovah, is a jealous God." Jehovah is Jesus Christ — the very Eternal Father (2 Nephi 26:12; Mosiah 16:15). He is our Father, not our elder brother.
III. The Pattern — As Above, So Below
The divine hierarchy is structured on eternal family principles. El Elyon (Elohim) is the Father of Jehovah. Jehovah has a Son — the one who answered "like unto the Son of Man" in Abraham 3:27, distinct from Jehovah himself. Jehovah was sent into mortality by His Father; He sends His Son in the same way: "The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do" (John 5:19). The pattern is fractal — each level mirrors the one above, the same covenant family logic operating at every height.
The teaching notes for this module go deep. Open "Jehovah — The Eternal Father" for the full scriptural argument — Genesis, Abraham, JST, and the Book of Mormon all testifying to one answer. Open "Eternal Progression" for the doctrine that God Himself was once as we now are, and we may become as He now is.
| Genesis 1:1 (Heb: Beroshit bara Elohim) | Plural "Gods" organized the world — no ex nihilo creation in the Hebrew |
|---|---|
| Abraham 2:8 | "My name is Jehovah" — the Lord names Himself to Abraham |
| JST Exodus 34:14 | "Thou shalt worship no other god; for the Lord, whose name is Jehovah" |
| 2 Nephi 26:12 | "Jesus is the Christ, the very eternal Father" |
| Abraham 3:27 | The pre-mortal council — one "like unto the Son of Man" answers, distinct from Jehovah |
| John 5:19 | The Son does only what He sees the Father do — the eternal pattern |
