I have copied these following quotations from a study section of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints website explaining the identity of the God of the Old Testament: > Elder James E. Talmage explained the special significance Elohim has > for Latter-day Saints: > > “The name Elohim … is expressive of supreme or absolute exaltation and > power. Elohim, as understood and used in the restored Church of Jesus > Christ, is the name-title of God the Eternal Father, whose firstborn > Son in the spirit is Jehovah—the Only Begotten in the flesh, Jesus > Christ.” (Jesus the Christ, p. 38.) Additionally the website says: > It is vital to remember the place of God the Father: He is the Father > of our spirits (see Hebrews 12:9) and is our God. The existence of > other Gods cannot alter that fact. He is the author and sponsor of the > eternal plan of salvation. It is equally essential to note, however, > that the agent by whom He administers His affairs on this earth is His > Firstborn Son, known as Jehovah in the Old Testament. It appears obvious that LDS views Elohim and Jehovah as two separate entities. Yet in Deuteronomy 4, in the midst of a passage wherein God is asserting yet again that there is no other God beside Him, we find: > Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the **LORD he is God**; there is none else beside him. - Deuteronomy 4:35 And the Hebrew beneath this passage is: 859 [e] אַתָּה֙ ’at-tāh to you Pro-2ms 7200 [e] הָרְאֵ֣תָ hā-rə-’ê-ṯā it was shown V-Hofal-Perf-2ms 3045 [e] לָדַ֔עַת lā-ḏa-‘aṯ, that you might know Prep-l | V-Qal-Inf 3588 [e] כִּ֥י kî that Conj 3068 [e] יְהוָ֖ה **Yah-weh Yahweh** N-proper-ms 1931 [e] ה֣וּא **hū He** Pro-3ms 430 [e] הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים **hā-’ĕ-lō-hîm; [is] God** Art | N-mp 369 [e] אֵ֥ין ’ên [there is] none Adv 5750 [e] ע֖וֹד ‘ō-wḏ other Adv 905 [e] מִלְבַדּֽוֹ׃‪‬ mil-ḇad-dōw. besides Him Prep-m, Prep-l | N-msc | 3ms In making the statement that there is no other God beside Him, God says, "Yahweh (Jehovah) He is Elohim." How does LDS understand this statement that Jehovah and Elohim are one and the same?

According to Mormon doctrine, Elohim is God the Father. The literal translation of Elohim (אֱלֹהִים), is "Gods". How do Mormons interpret Elohim to mean, "Heavenly Father?"

There seems to be a clear difference between the Pearl of Great Price and the Bible in terms of creation: The Pearl of Great Price > And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the > beginning, and they, that is **the Gods**, organized and formed the > heavens and the earth. - Abraham 4:1 The Bible > > In the beginning **God** created the heavens and the earth. - Genesis 1:1 How does an LDS member interpret this distinction? Why does the Pearl of Great Price change from one God to multiple 'Gods'? According to Biblical Hermeneutics, The Hebrew scripture implied a plural God ('Elohim') in singular context which in a Protestant/Catholic perspective would be perceived as the Triune God; How is this specific case interpreted from an LDS perspective? https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/8331/why-is-elohim-translated-as-god-rather-than-gods-in-genesis-11 Moreover if Jesus created the world, in Genesis 1:31, the word 'he' is used as a singular alongside 'God saw all he made' while God remains as Elohim in Hebrew acting as a plural in a singular context. Can Elohim be used for both Jesus and The Father in the LDS church? > God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. - Genesis 1:31

According to Mormon doctrine, God the Father (Elohim), once lived a mortal life. > **“As man now is, God once was; as God is now man may be.”** ( The > Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, ed. Clyde J. Williams , 1.) Years ago I remember being told that God the Father did not live simply as another man, but that he was in fact the Saviour and Redeemer of his world, much as Christ is the Saviour and Redeemer of ours. He lived a sinless life, like Christ, and suffered for the sins of all his brothers and sisters. I confess that I've never bothered to look into the sources behind this claim, but now I'm wondering, who said this? Which church leader is credited with revealing this? I'm not necessarily asking for a *canonical* LDS source, I just want to know where this claim comes from, be it Journal of Discourses, a letter, hear-say, or wherever.