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Originally Posted by Flyonthewall
PC,
I hope you can help my misunderstanding on this issue. This is a big blind spot for me about the Trinity(not the only blind spot, but the biggest).
As you stated, in the Trinity, there are three persons but only one God. From my point of view, if all three persons are individually God, then there are three Gods. However, time and time again, Trinitarians say no that's not right.
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Each of the three persons is God, and there is only one God, because they are one in essence. There cannot be three gods, because we join Jews and Muslims in taking Dueteronomy 6:4 quite literally--Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Not one for us, or for our world, but ONE.
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Then in my mind, the Trinitarian God is not a specific person, but the container, called "essence" or "nature" that these persons reside in. The individuals themselves are called God, but only because of the container.
I am sure I am missing some peice of the equation, or maybe because of my LDS upbringing, my mind isn't wired in a compatible way for understanding this, but I really would like to understand this.
Hopefully, your presence here, may give you an understanding of LDS thinking that can help make this easier to understand.
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I'm not sure if you are missing something so much as adding too much. "How can God be one and yet three distinct persons?" That is your basic question. Your prophet gave you an answer: the unity is one of purpose only.
We trinitarians say, "No...God is one essential being." So, how can that be--three persons, one being? It just is. Perhaps Joseph Smith's answer is more satisfying, because it's easier to wrap the mind around. However, trinitarians believe ourselves to be absolute monotheists. So . . . we simply accept what we see in Scripture, and leave the "how it works" to God. After all, it's his nature.