The Mightiest of them all, or Mightier than all others vs. Ominpotent

[JohnsonJones]

In another thread there was a post about the necessity of each member of the Godhead.  In it, there was a thought that all three were needed as the task each had to do would not be able to be accomplished (necessarily) by the others.  In this, someone asked if this means that they are suggesting that the power of the Father in the trio is limited. 

That's a good question. 

In the Bible it never says that The Father or the Son are Omnipotent (and it does not say they are Omniscient or Omnipresent either). 

It does state that they are Almighty.  What does this mean?  Does it mean or imply that they are Omnipotent?

Many times it comes from the Term El Shaddai...which when they translated it into Greek was Almighty...but that word doesn't mean Almighty in hebrew.

It means the Breasted one, or could also mean the Mountain or the Sufficient one. 

Other verses carry the implication that he has great power, that he is able to do things because HE IS (or I...or I AM).  He is power.  It can also mean that he is the mightiest of them all, but not necessarily Omnipotent.

We know as a fact that he actually has chosen to limit himself in his power and what he can do.  He has given us our free agency, which in turn means that he does use his power to control what we choose.  We have the freedom to choose for ourselves. 

Thus the old question, could he make a rock he could not lift...and thereby making it so he was no longer Omnipotent?  The answer could be...yes...he chooses to limit his Omnipotency in order to allow certain things to be able to happen (like us being given the freedom to choose for ourselves and make our own choice). 

It could also be, if we read the King Follet discourse and believe in it, that though he is the Mightiest of them all as far as we are concerned, he also has a Father and rules which he also must obey or pay heed to.  Thus, he also has laws and rules which let him do things, and perhaps also limit what he might be able to do.

For example, we read that he does not allow any with any stain of sin into his presence.  This is something he does not allow.  This is a limitation on him, then, that would require someone who CAN have those who have sinned be recognized and reconciled before him, so that they can be cleansed and be presented before the Father in a sinless state.  This would be the Savior's role to take upon him our sins.  The Holy Ghost also has a role in this and also helping us and teaching us (as well as comfort).

So, I suppose it's a good question...is the Father Omnipotent?  Is that any different than Almighty?  Does it really matter as far as we are concerned?

[mikbone]

I don’t really look at it that way.  Its more of a well developed training program than a division of labor.  Elohim, I am positive, could have done it all.  

Probably this is what Jesus Christ was petitioning in Matt 26:39.

Elohim was probably thinking.  You have already run the 26.19 miles, I wont break the tape for you.  You got this.  I love you too much to intercede.

And from the KFD

Discourse, 7 April 1844, as Published in Times and Seasons, p. 614, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed February 6, 2024

“I saw my Father work out his kingdom with fear and trembling, and I must do the same; and when I get my kingdom I shall present it to my Father, so that he obtains kingdom upon kingdom, and it will exalt his glory, so that Jesus treads in his tracks to inherit what God did before; it is plain beyond disputation, and you thus learn some of the first principles of the gospel, about which so much hath been said. When you climb a ladder, you must begin at the bottom and go on until you learn the last principle; it will be a great while before you have learned the last. It is not all to be comprehended in this world;”

President Nelson could run a Temple, Stake Presidency, local ward, or primary class.  But it’s more efficient to have the current set up.  It gives everyone else the chance to progress through the system as well. 

Edited February 6 by mikbone