Since God is present throughout
the universe (D&C 65:59; 88:41, 47), he is primarily a spiritual being (John
4:24), whose power enters matter in the form of “light” to give light (1 John
1:5; D&C 88:7-13). Thus he also possesses a body of flesh and bone (D&C
130:22), like the one acquired by the Son (Lk. 24:39), and which in turn
provided the Image for ideal Humanity (Gen. 1:27). It would be wrong, however,
to suppose that God is simply an “exalted man,” for man was derived from God, not
God from man. Godhood cannot, therefore, be created by human striving, but is a
power which descends completely into those who are worthy of receiving it, fully
developed and perfect from the beginning, “changeless from everlasting to
everlasting,” and always in unity with itself . . .(Eugene Seaich, Ancient
Texts and Mormonism, 6 vols. [3d ed.; Salt Lake City, Ronald W. Gibson,
2014], 2:4)
[John 4:24 means] not that God is “a”
spirit, but is spiritual in nature, i.e. one who deals with men through
his Spirit. Christ therefore promised that the Father’s Spirit would come
to the disciples (14:16-17), causing them to be reborn (3:5) with his own
spiritual nature: “That which is born of Spirit is spirit” (3:6). The use here
of the singular number further suggests that Spirit is always in unity with
itself; Paul therefore says that “he who is joined in the Lord is one spirit”
(1 Cor. 6:17), or that “we all . . . have been made to drink into one
Spirit” (1 Cor. 12;13). Mormon Scripture likewise speaks of a single Spirit
of all divine beings: “And the Spirit of the Gods was brooding upon the face of
the waters” (Abraham 4:2; cf. Gen. 1:2). (Ibid., 2:14)
Further Reading:
Lynn Wilder vs. Latter-day Saint (and Biblical) Theology on Divine Embodiment
