How many gods are there?

by Ritch Sandford  |  June 24, 2014

I have had the following exchange with many of my LDS friends: I usually ask, “Do you believe in multiple gods?” To which my friend replies, “We only worship one God.” I think that I understand what my LDS friend is trying to say. He is asserting that the official doctrine of the LDS church condemns the worship of idols, false gods (like Zeus, Krishna, Allah, etc…), and any spiritual entity other than Heavenly Father. But does my friend’s reply truly place him firmly in the “monotheism” camp?

The definition of monotheism is “the belief that there is only one god”[a]. This definition does not mention worship at all, but rather the acknowledgment of the existence of one god. Technically, then, a person could be an irreligious monotheist, meaning that they acknowledge one god, but choose to not worship him. In contrast the definition of polytheism is “the belief that there is more than one god”[b]. By this definition anyone who acknowledges the existence of more than one god holds a polytheistic view.

In addition to Heavenly Father, official LDS teaching: states that Christ and the Holy Ghost are also distinct gods[c], affirms the existence of at least one Heavenly Mother[d], asserts the potential for men of this world to become gods (in the same way Heavenly Father became a god)[e], and declares that there are other gods above the God (Heavenly Father) of this earth[f]. According to this teaching, the Latter Day Saint must acknowledge the existence of multiple gods. By common definition, then, Mormonism is polytheistic. But the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints consistently denies that their doctrine is polytheistic. Let the reader decide.

What matters is not what we think to be true about God…but what God declares to be true of Himself.

How many gods does God say there are?

In God’s written testimony (the Bible), He reveals Himself to us. Through the prophet Isaiah, God says, “Before me no God was formed, nor shall there be any after me”[g], “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god”[h], and “Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any”[i]. Here God clearly and definitively states that He is the one and only God.   Despite the clarity with which God asserts His unique claim to deity there are a few common criticisms of this text:

Common Criticism 1: “These verses are only claiming that there are no other gods for us.”

This explanation fails to take in account all of God’s words in these passages. He declares that He does not know of any other gods[i]. From the LDS perspective, Heavenly Father should know of other gods because He became God by worshiping the god before Him. From the Traditional Christian perspective, God is omniscient (all-knowing). This means that there is no knowledge that God does not maintain. Therefore, if God says that He knows of no other gods…they do not exist. In either worldview, then, this criticism is invalid.

Common Criticism 2: “In context, these verses are only talking about false gods, or idols.”

This criticism falls short because it relies upon shifting definitions that, when appropriately substituted, make God’s statements inaccurate. In other words, if you were to replace the word “god” in the verses with “idol” they would not be true. We know that there were false gods/idols being worshiped at the time in history that Isaiah recorded these words. So for God to say that “before me no [idol] was formed, nor shall there be any [idol] after me”, would be an incorrect statement. People had been forming idols long before God had chosen His people (Israel), and still form and worship idols today. Furthermore, God specifically acknowledges the presence of “carved idols” amongst His people in other passages in Isaiah[j]. So God’s statements in the above referenced verses are not restricted to idols…but to legitimate deities. Additionally, If what God meant to say was, “I am the only God of this planet”, this would have been an opportune time for Him to clear up the whole misunderstanding by acknowledging other gods, and redirecting our worship to Him rather than them.

Common Criticism 3: “There are many parts of the Bible that are missing or have been changed. Perhaps this is one of those parts.”

This is a common catch-all response that fails to actually deal with the issue at hand. I am well aware that some people cling to this critique of any passage in the Bible that disagrees with their beliefs, and also know that I am powerless to change anyone’s mind on this subject. But I would ask the reader to consider two important points: 1) The above stated passages are all from the Old Testament book of Isaiah. Since the discovery of the Great Isaiah Scroll in 1947, which dates back to approximately 125 BC[k], we can be certain that these verses have not been changed, nor any others removed from the book of Isaiah since well before the time of Christ. 2) Additionally, what would be the advantage of the Christian/Political leaders in changing this verse? Whenever you encounter a verse with which you disagree and conclude that someone must have changed its original meaning, ask yourself why. Why would a corrupt leader want people to believe that there is only one God if there were, in fact, many? What gain would it be for that leader? In an age when political leaders commonly claimed divinity for themselves…why would they reject that whole notion, diminishing their own position?

Here’s The Point…

The Bible teaches that there only ever has been and ever will be one creator God. That creator God loves you, the reader, more than you could possibly know. Whenever we diminish the true limitless nature of God…or try to share His glory with another god (or even person, idea, religion, etc…) we fail to recognize who He actually is. Without knowing Him, we cannot “Love the Lord [our] God with all [our] heart with all [our] soul and with all [our] mind”[l] which Jesus calls “the great and first commandment”[m]. Our highest priority is to love God. The one and only God.