one God

[bytor2112]

Hello my dear friend bytor,

I am not Maureen :), But I thought I would give you my thoughts, if I may

1. Christ was praying to his Father. " was it himself "

AS the second person of the blessed trinity, he was praying to the first person of the blessed trinity ON OUR behalf.

" While on cross why did he ask why God had forsaken him "

AHHHH Mr. Bytor ( The 534,000 dollar question ) He is petitioning God, on our behalf, and he was referencing psalm 22 ( prayer of an innocent person from OT ) He is also not in distress himself, he ( Jesus ) is praying for OUR MERCY ( psalm 22 ) to God.

2.NO absolutly not one substance ( There is ONE God with three persons , Father, Son, And Holy Spirit and EACH IS EQUAL TO THE OTHER . " Why resurrected to fleshly body " Because he was redeeming all of humanity ( flesh bodies ).

3." Relationship to God " Father and child, Jesus said " we are like chicks under a mother hens wings in relation to God ". We are here to love and serve God and do HIS will for us on earth.

God bless,

Carl

Ceeboo....that avatar is sooooooo funny!

Your comment suggests that they are indeed seperate beings......if not one substance. You believe that Christ was literally praying to God who was in heaven?

Do you believe that we existed before we came here? Wouldn't a spiritual body be sufficient to prove that he was alive? What will we do in heaven?

Thanks Ceeboo!! - Bytor

[bytor2112]

AnthonyB.......yes. Certainly more united than just one in purpose...that was just a very short answer. I believe that they are inseperably united.......one in every way...thoughts, deeds and desires....everything but substance.

[Guest ceeboo]

Being such, without God coming down (or His Spirit) and giving us a confirmation on one side of the issue or the other, BOTH Godhead and Trinity can be explained competently from within the pages of the Holy Writ.

Still, I hope the day will come when we can all agree on the things we agree upon, and kindly disagree on the rest. And I hope we can all view each other as Christian brothers and sisters who are sincerely seeking Jesus' grace and heaven.

Hi Ram,:)

First, your most welcome for my answers.

The above " partial ram post " you offered is much appreciated IMHO :) and indeed well said ( I would agree to a large extent )

Thanks for sharing

God bless,

Carl

[AnthonyB]

bytor,

What do you mean by "substance"? For me all humans are of the same substance, we are all made of the same parts and elements. What in your opinion makes the persons of God not of one substance with each other?

[AnthonyB]

ram,

I have put a post asking some questions on the Christian Board, I'm under the impression that socail trinitarianism is much more common than you think, I would have thought a majority. "The Shack" is very popular book at the moment in Christian circles (it has a very strong socail trinitarian theme) and I've yet heard anyone denounce it as heretical.

[Guest ceeboo]

Ceeboo....that avatar is sooooooo funny!

Your comment suggests that they are indeed seperate beings......if not one substance. You believe that Christ was literally praying to God who was in heaven?

Do you believe that we existed before we came here? Wouldn't a spiritual body be sufficient to prove that he was alive? What will we do in heaven?

Thanks Ceeboo!! - Bytor

Bytor,

The avatar, YES :) ( This is what happens when religions allow Coffee in LARGE DOSES :lol:)

( The real ceeboo picked it for me, my 7 year old son, his pic is on my profile page now)

Not sure what you are saying but I will try and offer it again :). I believe Christ ( God on earth and was always God from ALL TIME ) Was praying ( FOR US ) to God in heaven ( The Second personage of the Holy Trinity) to have mercy on us. Hope that clears up my perspective on it.:)

Absolutly NO, I dot believe we existed before we came here ( earth ) I believe we are all creations from ther very Creator of ALL ( ALMIGHTY GOD )

Not sure what you mean " spirit body sufficient " He rose in the flesh to REDEED ALL OF US ( FLESH ).

What will we do in heaven ?? Not sure my friend. I hope and pray we all get there and I hope they have golf courses to.:):)

God bless,

Carl

[bytor2112]

bytor,

What do you mean by "substance"? For me all humans are of the same substance, we are all made of the same parts and elements. What in your opinion makes the persons of God not of one substance with each other?

I believe that God the Father is literally like my earthly Father....except rather than a body of flesh and blood like my earthly Father, he has a glorified body of flesh and bone as does Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is a personage of Spirit. They are "One God"........yet not the same being.......not three in one in the physical sense.

[bytor2112]

Bytor,

The avatar, YES :) ( This is what happens when religions allow Coffee in LARGE DOSES :lol:)

( The real ceeboo picked it for me, my 7 year old son, his pic is on my profile page now)

Not sure what you are saying but I will try and offer it again :). I believe Christ ( God on earth and was always God from ALL TIME ) Was praying ( FOR US ) to God in heaven ( The Second personage of the Holy Trinity) to have mercy on us. Hope that clears up my perspective on it.:)

Absolutly NO, I dot believe we existed before we came here ( earth ) I believe we are all creations from ther very Creator of ALL ( ALMIGHTY GOD )

Not sure what you mean " spirit body sufficient " He rose in the flesh to REDEED ALL OF US ( FLESH ).

What will we do in heaven ?? Not sure my friend. I hope and pray we all get there and I hope they have golf courses to.:)

God bless,

Carl

I am guessing that the Son knows the Father very well.......

[Guest ceeboo]

I am guessing that the Son knows the Father very well.......

Hello again bytor,

I would certainly say so, they are the same God :):)

Peace my friend,

Carl

[bytor2112]

Bytor,

The avatar, YES :) ( This is what happens when religions allow Coffee in LARGE DOSES :lol:)

( The real ceeboo picked it for me, my 7 year old son, his pic is on my profile page now)

Not sure what you are saying but I will try and offer it again :). I believe Christ ( God on earth and was always God from ALL TIME ) Was praying ( FOR US ) to God in heaven ( The Second personage of the Holy Trinity) to have mercy on us. Hope that clears up my perspective on it.:)

Absolutly NO, I dot believe we existed before we came here ( earth ) I believe we are all creations from ther very Creator of ALL ( ALMIGHTY GOD )

Not sure what you mean " spirit body sufficient " He rose in the flesh to REDEED ALL OF US ( FLESH ).

What will we do in heaven ?? Not sure my friend. I hope and pray we all get there and I hope they have golf courses to.:):)

God bless,

Carl

Hey Ceeboo,

Here are some scriptures that suggest that we did exist before we came here.....that God is the Father of our Spirits and that there was a war in heaven....how was there a war in heaven if we did not exist?

From Job

4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

From Jeremiah:

5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations

From Hebrews:

9 Furthermore we have had afathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

From Revelation:

7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Edited October 6, 2008 by bytor2112

[pam]

Carl Carl Carl. No more coffee for you my friend.

[bytor2112]

Hello again bytor,

I would certainly say so, they are the same God :):)

Peace my friend,

Carl

Errr....I meant your son....avatar......you being the Father

[Guest ceeboo]

Errr....I meant your son....avatar......you being the Father

:lol::lol:

Sorry my friend, YES MY SON, I do indeed have the great pleasure and honor of knowing him very well:):) He is my little booger ( You should see his golf swing )

Sorry for the confusion ( MY Bad )

God bless,

Carl

[AnthonyB]

bytor,

I'm not sure you answered what "substance" means to you. I could take it that by describing the Father and Son as having the same parts as each other, that you are argeeing that they are of the same substance. (Clearly you veiw the substance of the Holy Spirit as differing, in His not having a glorified body but of the same substance as to rest of what He is.)

"not three in one in a physical sense" Since that which makes God one, whatever it is, is not in my mind physcial, I'd have no problems with that line.

"not the same being" A multi personal being is mind blowing, but I really like the idea. (Especially for example how CS Lewis' uses it in "Mere Christianity") LDS seem to have an association of being with physical entity, one being means one physical entity, whereas for me the spiritual/heavenly realm has at its heart a differing paradigm.

In a previous thread, I got to the point that even if I thought the Father had a resurrected body (and I don't) I would still see God as one God. It would not alter my belief that God exists, being forced to use a non biblical word, as a trinity of persons in one God.

Edited October 6, 2008 by AnthonyB

[Guest ceeboo]

Hey Ceeboo,

Here are some scriptures that suggest that we did exist before we came here.....that God is the Father of our Spirits and that there was a war in heaven....how was there a war in heaven if we did not exist?

From Job

4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

From Jeremiah:

5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations

From Hebrews:

9 Furthermore we have had afathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

From Revelation:

7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Bytor,

As to not get into an "interpreting scripture" debate with you ( I have little interest in that and I am certainly no scripture scholar ) I will offer you a few words to not ignore your post to me out of a large amount of respect for you.:)

God created ALL ( Heaven and Earth ) The " battle " in heaven ( from my perspective ) was about heavenly angels ( NOT US HUMANS ) I do believe Lucifer was indeed thrown from heaven and is now the Devil who tries to cause " pain " with ALL of Gods creations on earth.

Concerning your suggestion that we ( humans ) existed in some sort of " spirit life " or "pre earthly life " as your scripture claims. I respectfully and kindly simply disagree.

He ( GOD, ALL THREE ) KNOWS AND KNEW EVERYTHING ( NOT because we were before we were born BUT rather because he is the very creator OF ALL, including us, his very creations. Yes, we are not brothers or spirit brothers of Christ, we are the very loved creations of Christ.

God bless,

Carl

[Maureen]

May I ask some respectful questions........:) ?

Hi bytor, sure, I will answer the best I can.

1. Who was Christ praying to in the Garden of Gethsemenee? Was it himself? While hanging on the cross, why did he ask why God had forsaken him?

Christ was praying to God the Father.

No, he was not praying to himself.

Jesus was reciting the first words of Psalms 22, a messianic psalms that depicts the suffering of Jesus.

What does the prayer in John Ch. 17 mean to you?

It is a prayer in which Jesus is asking God the Father to watch over his disciples for they know the Father, and the Son who the Father has given to the world. It is prayer of love and concern for his disciples. A prayer to watch over them and protect them.

2. Is it your belief that God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are of one substance? If so why was Jesus resurected to a fleshly body and not just a Spirit?

I believe that God has a divine essence or nature. We mortals all have human natures, but do not share the same nature because there are many of us. But there is only one God, therefore in a way if we say substance is synonymous with nature, then yes. The Father, Son and HS share the same and one and only divine nature.

3. What do you believe your relationship to God is..... Father and child or just Creator and created?

Both. God created me, therefore I am his creation. Yet we also have a more personal relationship as Father and child.

Also what are your views regarding why we are here? Or perhap a better question.......where did you come from.....why are you here....and where are you going when you die?

I believe for whatever reason God chose to create mankind. I come from God's miraculous powers to create. I see my and mankind's purpose here a little more complex than just to worship God. I believe God created us in such a complex way so we could be inventors, mystery solvers, people curious and fascinated with life and the world God gave us to live in. And with all the good things that come out of our curiosities, God is glorified. I have faith that when this life is over I will be in heaven, being curious and fascinated with learning more about God.

Thanks in advance for your responses......I hope you won't think my questions rude or disrespectful :) that is not my intent. I am just trying to understand. I once believed as you expressed....former Baptist.....but only because I was taught that it was so. Now I have Spiritual witness and confirmation of what I now believe to be true.

You're welcome bytor, thanks for being interested to know. :)

M.

Edited October 6, 2008 by Maureen

[Misshalfway]

I am reading this thread and reading the other on the subject of the trinity. I truly want to understand it primarily because so many of you cherish it as a teaching. But I am more confused than ever. They are 3 ...but they are the same being! What? I think I must agree with Ram on this. LDS people are practical. When I read the NT, which I am doing so now, I have been looking to see the trinity...looking to see the descriptions that I have read in the creeds. I am struggling to see it. I see parts.....I see the Father is in heaven. I see that Jesus came to earth to atone and that he did in fact take his body back and is now a resurrected being. I don't understand how resurrection fits in with the definition of the Trinity. If having a body.....even if it is perfect and immortal.....is a lesser/corrupt condition, why then is such necessary? If God the father does not and never will have an eternal incorruptable body, why would Jesus, who is the very same person, need one? But doesn't such a physical change alter the very "spirit" nature of the trinity? Why would the God of heaven and earth do something like this if it was not part of exhaltation? And wouldn't he cease to be god by taking upon himself such corruption? even if it was voluntary?

I also wonder for those of you who feel that the Bible is the only source of God's word, why is it that you rely on the Nicean and other creeds for this doctrine? This seems like a contradiction.

And I have the same question as someone else. Why would Stephen see Jesus on the right hand of the Father if the two were the same person?

If Jesus,in his resurrected body looks like you and me with arms and legs and a face, why wouldn't God the Father share those same attributes? What is GOd the father if he doesn't look like us? Why would he create us in his own image, if his image is in fact so very different from us? Did God lie? Did he sort of create us in his image or partly make us look like him? In my mind, I either look like God or I don't. He says he created me in his image. That must mean, that I look like him. But I have been told that God the father does not look like me...according to the trinity. Well then, what does he look like? So the Jesus part looks like me, but the Father and Spirit parts do not. What?? Confusing to say the least.

Forgive me, but the trinity seems contradictory to the testimony of the biblical prophets. But I want to see why this definition means so very much to all of you. It seems at times so very close to what I believe in the Godhead, yet.....so very different too. And I do agree with PC that this is a crucial issue. What can we believe as truth if we do not understand the very being we worship? It seems to me that God wants very much for us to understand him. The creeds seem to say that God is something we can't understand. It seems that this idea in the creed goes against the very scriptures that invite us to know and understand God.

Sorry......I know this is a big gnarly post........It may just be the James Joyce/stream of consciousness in me.

[rameumptom]

Bytor,

As to not get into an "interpreting scripture" debate with you ( I have little interest in that and I am certainly no scripture scholar ) I will offer you a few words to not ignore your post to me out of a large amount of respect for you.:)

God created ALL ( Heaven and Earth ) The " battle " in heaven ( from my perspective ) was about heavenly angels ( NOT US HUMANS ) I do believe Lucifer was indeed thrown from heaven and is now the Devil who tries to cause " pain " with ALL of Gods creations on earth.

Concerning your suggestion that we ( humans ) existed in some sort of " spirit life " or "pre earthly life " as your scripture claims. I respectfully and kindly simply disagree.

He ( GOD, ALL THREE ) KNOWS AND KNEW EVERYTHING ( NOT because we were before we were born BUT rather because he is the very creator OF ALL, including us, his very creations. Yes, we are not brothers or spirit brothers of Christ, we are the very loved creations of Christ.

God bless,

Carl

Many Biblical scholars are now seeing that angels and humans are of the same sort/substance. There are early Jewish and Christian stories that tie them together. Enoch becomes Metatron, an archangel. Early Christians saw Jesus as fulfillment of the Angel of the Presence/Messiah. The angel that spoke with John the Revelator told him he was of "thy fellow servants" and "of thy brethren" (Rev 19:10).

The battle in heaven is now being viewed as a part of the story of the Divine Council. El Elyon/Elohim was head of the council of divine beings. He had divided up the earth to different sons over which to rule. Jehovah/Yahweh was given Israel as his portion. Through intrigue and rebellion, many of these divine sons sought to overthrow each other, and particularly Yahweh and Elohim. Isaiah 14 compares the king of Babylon to Lucifer, a member of the divine council, who sought to overthrow God in his throne, and was cast out.

Job 1 tells about the divine sons of El going with Satan to challenge Yahweh for preeminence over the promised land of Israel.

This divine competition is also found in LDS writings: Moses 1:1-4, and Abraham 3:22-28.

And we are "heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ" according to Paul. Paul calls God the "Father of our spirits." There is quite a bit of information strongly suggesting

[Islander]

I believe I shared this previously somewhere in the forum, but, as grandma' just to say "repetition has its place".

I find that the theological debate against LDS doctrine often centers on long standing assumed interpretations and positions. Such are the result of the acceptance by some of positions taken and espoused by others, rather than our own simple, linear and concrete analysis. If we HAVE to make a theological leap and ascertain thru abstract analytical methodology the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I am afraid that humanity is doomed.

For someone that has never read the NT before, the account in Matt 3 leaves no doubt that Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Father are 3 distinct and separate entities. Dozens of times Jesus states that His doctrine is NOT His, that the work is NOT His but the Father's, He prays to the Father and speaks of HIM as a separate entity in "substance"? and space.

I suggest that theorizing, theologizing or otherwise crafting any explanation to attempt to explain the above is just but a fairly poor strategy to reconcile the ill-conceived (IMO) and incoherent doctrine of the Trinity as contained in the Nicene Treaty. At this junction, many say "It is not wrong, it can not be wrong, it would never be wrong." All because the possibility of such doctrine being erroneous is just frightening.

When the Savior walked among men, his own kinfolk, they constantly accused Him of being a sinner..."But some of them said, He [Jesus] casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils"..."Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?"... That was just 400 years since the last prophet recorded and they firmly and completely believed they had ALL the truth revealed by God. They thought they had ALL the necessary knowledge and elements required for salvation, namely the Law of Moses. They had built a hedge around the Law, elevated the observance of the outward performances to a worship but they rejected the Law-giver when He came.

I suggest that we lack language to express and describe in fairness the Trinity. It is impossible for us to express accurately what is unity of purpose, essence, time or eternity. We wrestle unsuccessfully with these terms in a meager attempt to articulate what we conceive in our limited minds in regards to creation and the Creator.

Consider; we gather out of the dust of the earth basic chemical elements and build devices that allow our voice to travel and be heard across the earth in milliseconds. I submit to you that the day will come when He shall appear again, and ALL mankind will hear His voice, each in our own language and the earth will tremble. In that day ALL will know and perhaps believe the scriptures and the prophets and the revelation of God as we bear witness.

"And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.

And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.

And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,

Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:

For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." Acts 28

I think it should suffice.

Edited October 11, 2008 by Islander

[Hemidakota]

Here is additional concrete evidence: ACTS Chapter 7

54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

[abqfriend]

The quote you mention referrs back to Mark14 vs 62 -and in my New American Bible

Jesus was asked if he was the Messiah-his response

"I am--and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with clouds of heaven."

Here is additional concrete evidence: ACTS Chapter 7

54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

[jimuk]

I have been searching the internet to see where Jesus says that he is god but can find no direct evidence of him ever refering to himself as "God", there are plenty of instances where he tells people to worship his father, but never ( as far as i can see) does he ever say worship me.

There are lots of times when Jesus prays to his father in heaven, if he himself " is God " then he must have been praying to a higher god, which i do not believe to be the case. He was praying to our heavenly father who sent him as a messenger to us all to fulfill the Fathers word.

In Luke 22:42 Christ prays in the Garden for, not his will to be done, but the Father's.

There is loads of instances where Jesus tells us to pray to our father in heaven.

To myself and others it is a simple thing, not written to confuse us, but to guide the simplest of mankind, and not just for the learned but also for the unlearned.

Jesus was not sent to confuse us, his work is the work of his father in heaven.

He is part (if you like) of the management, he is part of the Management team, Heavenly father is the head of this team, but Heavenly father, Jesus, and the Holy ghost are all on this team together,

and their purpose is to bring us home safely.

I know there will be those among you reading this that will be searching to contradict what i have written, and i am sure you will find something lol, i dont mind at all, but dont flame me for writing from the heart please lol.

Oh yes, i believe that Heavenly father is the ruler of this Galaxy ( maybe more) but this one is enough for me to be concerned about in this lifetime, i believe that he acquired his position from whoever he prayed to before he received his own position of "God", not that we need to be concerned with any other God but our Loving, forgiving, Heavenly father.

These are " my own views " and nothing to do with what my church has taught me, but seems pretty logical me thinks.

[AnthonyB]

jimuk,

Would never flame someone for expressing their views, thanks for sharing.

I'm not LDS so I may be getting this wrong but the BoM Title page (is that counted as scripture to LDS?)....

"And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God,..."

I presume this was written in English, so it is in English grammar. Using "the" usually means making a definitive statement about something. One among a group would normaly get "a".

If Jesus is "the eternal God" in sense of above, he would be the only "eternal God". If Him and the Father are not one God, then the Father cannot be eternal God.

Another common usage is when I as an Australian say, "the Queen". I don't mean she is the only queen but that she is my queen.

In that sense Jesus being "the eternal God" would be my eternal God, so even if the Father was an another eternal God, He wouldn't by my eternal God.

I'm sure Ram or someone will explain why I'm wrong here but it is just how I see it.

Again from the three witnesses...

"And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God"

There is nothing in the NT which so clearly trinitarian in nature. (If there was IMHO "arianism" in any of its forms would never have existed.) It doesn't say three Gods and it doesn't place limits on the unity.

I suppose given the above I don't quite understand why LDS aren't trinitarians albeit with two resurrected beings as part of your triune God instead of the one that other Christians have. (Personages are not effectivley different to persons, at least not in social trinitarianism sense.)

I suppose it comes down to revelation/conviction/testimony, which involves the Holy Spirit moving on our hearts. We're both convinced God has spoken to us but think God has told us different things. One of us is in for a surprise at the resurection.

Edited October 11, 2008 by AnthonyB

[mnn727]

We LDS believe 'God' is an 'office' or 'Title' similar to our 'First Presidency'

3 people make up that First Presidency (the Prophet and his 2 Counselors) Each are called President so their are 3 Presidents, yet they are united in purpose and unanimous in decision making up 1 First Presidency and are the highest ruling body of the Church.

We see the Godhead as being similiar.

[abqfriend]

Please give and LDS.org link or similar for that. WOW! -and I don't mean a WoW (Words of Wisdom) WOW either.

Definately not than the Catholic view of God.

-Carol

We LDS believe 'God' is an 'office' or 'Title' similar to our 'First Presidency'

3 people make up that First Presidency (the Prophet and his 2 Counselors) Each are called President so their are 3 Presidents, yet they are united in purpose and unanimous in decision making up 1 First Presidency and are the highest ruling body of the Church.

We see the Godhead as being similiar.