Chapter 1 - Our Heavenly Father

1997 to 2009

God is the one Supreme and Absolute Being in whom we believe and whom we worship. He is the Creator, Ruler, and Preserver of all things (see Discourses of Brigham Young, pp. 18–23) "the Great Parent of the universe," and He "looks upon the whole of the human family with a fatherly care and paternal regard" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 39)...

Because we are made in His image (see Moses 2:26; 6:9), we know that God has a body that looks our bodies are like ours His body. His eternal spirit is housed in a tangible body of flesh and bones (see D&C 130:22). God's body, however, is perfected and glorified, with a glory beyond all description.

God is perfect. He is a God of righteousness, with attributes such as love, mercy, charity, truth, power, faith, knowledge, and judgment. He has all power. He knows all things. He is full of goodness.

All good things come from God. Everything that He does is to help His children become like Him—a god. He has said, "Behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39)...

Joseph Smith—History 1:17 (Father and Son are separate beings)