In one of his last and most famous sermons, Joseph Smith spoke passionately about the importance of knowing the true character of God. ” If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves” he stated, compelling his audience to understand the importance of his subject.

“My first object is to find out the character of the only wise and true God, and what kind of a being He is; and if I am so fortunate as to be the man to comprehend God, and explain or convey the principles to your hearts, so that the Spirit seals them upon you, then let every man and woman henceforth sit in silence, put their hands on their mouths, and never lift their hands or voices, or say anything against the man of God or the servants of God again.”
-Joseph Smith, King Follett Sermon, Ensign April 1971

Joseph then proceeded to enlighten his audience with knowledge about the character and being of God which the saints had never heard preached with such power and authority. As the Prophet, Seer and Revelator of his time, Joseph Smith could be trusted by his followers to reveal God’s truth. His mantle and keys of priesthood authority gave him the right and power to be trusted as such.

The mantle is passed on

When Joseph was murdered and Brigham Young took his place as Prophet, Seer and Revelator – that mantle of authority and keys of the Priesthood were passed to him. He now had the duty and responsibility to reveal God’s truth to the world and, like Joseph before him, he revealed unprecedented things about the nature and character of God.

During the April General Conference in 1852, Brigham Young taught the following:

“Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and sinner! When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is MICHAEL, the Archangel, the ANCIENT OF DAYS! about whom holy men have written and spoken – HE is our FATHER and our GOD, and the only God with whom WE have to do. Every man upon the earth, professing Christian or non-professing, must hear it, and will know it sooner or later… When the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his own likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. And who is the Father? He is the first of the human family…

[p.51] Jesus, our elder brother, was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the garden of Eden, and who is our Father in Heaven. Now, let all who may hear these doctrines, pause before they make light of them, or treat them with indifference, for they will prove their salvation or damnation.”April 9, 1852 – 22nd Annual General Conference; Journal of Discourses 1:50-51

Throughout the remainder of his life, Brigham Young taught on multiple occasions that Adam was the father of our spirits, was the only God to which men on this earth have to do with and the God before whom we will all come when we pass the sentinels at the day of reckoning. His counselors taught it. It was incorporated into hymns and poems by prominent Mormon poets. Brigham Young, like Joseph before him, had opened the heavens and brought the Mormon people closer to knowing the true character and being of God.

This teaching was not easily accepted by everyone. At least one of Brigham’s Apostle’s, Orson Pratt, spoke out against the teaching and was brought to the carpet and made to publicly renounce his prior dissention. Others had difficulty accepting it was well. Missionaries in England found that investigators were not willing to accept the doctrine. This combined with polygamy presented special challenges for new potential members.

Over the next few presidencies of the church the issue was downplayed and members were told not to dwell on these matters:

“Cease troubling yourselves about who God is; who Adam is, who Christ is,who Jehovah is. For heaven’s sake, let these things alone. Why trouble yourselves about these things? ”
–Wilford Woodruff, April General Conference 1895, Millenial Star, LVII, pp. 355-56

As the years passed the issue of polygamy had taken center stage in the minds of the members of the church and various political and legal forces were brought to bear upon the church prior to the revelation which removed the earthly practice of polygamy. When this occurred, splinter groups left the main church opting to follow Mormon doctrine as it had existed under Brigham Young and this included both the practice of polygamy as well as the belief in the Adam-God teaching.

Disavowal

Several Apostles and Prophets returned to this subject after Wilford Woodruff, each one stating more emphatically that the teachings that people were holding onto from Brigham Young were not in line with the living Prophets understanding of the character of Adam or of God.  Finally, the doctrine was utterly condemned as heresy by Bruce R. McConkie in a BYU firseside in 1980 which he titles “The Seven Deadly Heresies”. In it he stated:

“Heresy six: There are those who believe or say they believe that Adam is our father and our god, that he is the father of our spirits and our bodies, and that he is the one we worship.

The devil keeps this heresy alive as a means of obtaining converts to cultism. It is contrary to the whole plan of salvation set forth in the scriptures, and anyone who has read the Book of Moses, and anyone who has received the temple endowment, has no excuse whatever for being led astray by it. Those who are so ensnared reject the living prophet and close their ears to the apostles of their day. “We will follow those who went before,” they say. And having so determined, they soon are ready to enter polygamous relationships that destroy their souls.”
-Bruce R McConkie, “Seven Deadly Heresies”, BYU Fireside, June 01, 1980

This is the strongest language that condemns not only the doctrine which Brigham Young taught, but also any who would choose to believe it.

Modern criticism

Non-LDS critics frequently accuse Mormons of believing that Adam is God the Father. This accusation is an uninformed distortion and is more likely meant to dissuade biblical Christians from considering Mormonism rather than persuading Mormons to leave their faith. A faithful member of the Church today understands fully and completely that this is not a Mormon teaching and that Adam is a distinct and separate being from God the Father in Mormon theology.

Why it matters

The real reason that this issue matters is not just whether or not Mormon’s believe this today, but also whether or not this concept was taught by a Prophet of God in the past. Since the Church today considers this teaching to be one of the “Seven deadly heresies” if a standing Prophet taught this concept as doctrine in the past, but it is condemned as heretical today it calls into question the ability of a Prophet to discern true doctrine from false doctrine. Since the Priesthood powers of doctrinal discernment are implicit to the position of Prophet, Seer and Revelator a major reversal on such a key point of doctrine as the identity of God may be viewed by some as deeply problematic.

If an element of doctrine taught by the current Prophet is at risk of being reversed and called a heresy by a future prophet, then the ability to trust that prophet to reveal God’s word and distinguish true from false doctrine is seriously undermined.

For example, how is a member to know whether the current prophet’s position on hotbed issues of today such as the status of homosexuals and denial to women of priesthood ordination will not be reversed and disavowed in a few decades time?

What believing members expect is that they can trust God’s Spokesperson on earth to reveal truth. If they cannot be trusted to only teach true doctrine – then they are no different than any false teacher in the rest of the world.  Joseph Smith, himself understood this as he described the effect of a false teacher way back in the King Follet Sermon we started with:

“But if I fail to do it [to comprehend and teach the true character of God],  it becomes my duty to renounce all further pretensions to revelations and inspirations, or to be a prophet; and I should be like the rest of the world—a false teacher”
Joseph Smith, King Follett Sermon, Ensign April 1971

Clearly, the issue of Adam-God is not whether or not Adam is God. If a prophet can be trusted and says that Adam is God, then the members can stand up and proudly say: “If Adam be God, let him be God!” But if members cannot trust their prophets to teach truth, then the members must confront the fact that their religious leaders are no more inspired than other teachers in the world.

A Masters Thesis on the Adam-God Teaching

In 1953, Rodney Turner, a Master of Arts Degree candidate at the BYU School of Religion, submitted a thesis wherein he compiled all of the substantial statements made regarding Brigham Young’s teachings regarding the Adam-God relationship. This included the statements and beliefs of Joseph Smith and other Prophets as well as numerous contemporaries both in and out of the church. His thesis stands as one of the most comprehensive analyses of this often misunderstood issue.

Any member who wants to determine for themselves whether or not Brigham Young’s teachings on Adam and God were false doctrine should definitely take some time to review his thesis. I have broken the thesis down into it’s respective sections to make it easier to navigate and I have linked every available reference to an official church publication so that it can be viewed in full context. I have also provided images of each quoted individual to provide a more personal connection with the personalities involved.

You can review the thesis on MormonBookshelf.com (archived link in readable format) or on archive.org in original thesis format