Short answer
No, not in the same way. Latter-day Saints, often called Mormons, teach that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones. They teach that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings. They also teach that the faithful may one day become gods. Islam teaches that God (﷾) is One, and that there is nothing whatever like Him (42:11). He has no body, no partner and no son (112). He was never a man, and no man will ever become a god. Yet the Book of Mormon itself says there is only one God (Alma 11:28-29). The Bible says that God (﷾) is not a man (Numbers 23:19). Islam calls Latter-day Saints back to that first teaching: one God (﷾), worshipped alone.
Full explanation
What Latter-day Saints believe about God (﷾)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has about 17.5 million members. Its first Article of Faith says that Latter-day Saints "believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost."
The Church teaches that these three are "three separate beings". Its scripture says: "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also" (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22). The Holy Ghost, it says, is "a personage of Spirit".
The Church reported 17,509,781 members at the end of 2024.
The first Article of Faith: Latter-day Saints "believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost."
The Church teaches that the members of the Godhead are three separate beings, and that the Father and the Son have tangible bodies of flesh and bones.
"The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also". The Holy Ghost has no body, but "is a personage of Spirit."
"As man now is, God once was"
The Church's own essay "Becoming Like God" quotes a couplet of Lorenzo Snow, a president of the Church: "As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be." It says Joseph Smith preached that God (﷾) "was once as one of us".
The essay also quotes a revelation of 1843 about the faithful: "Then shall they be gods, because they have no end." And it says that people have "a Heavenly Mother as well as a Heavenly Father."
The essay quotes Lorenzo Snow's couplet, "As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be." It says Joseph Smith preached that God "was once as one of us" and quotes him: "You have got to learn how to be a god yourself." It quotes the 1843 revelation, "Then shall they be gods, because they have no end," and says that the divine parentage of humankind "includes a Heavenly Mother as well as a Heavenly Father."
Of those who keep the covenant it says: "Then shall they be gods, because they have no end", and "all things are subject unto them."
God (﷾) in Islam: One, with nothing like Him
The Qur'an sums up God (﷾) in four short lines: "Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him" (112:1-4).
It also says: "there is nothing whatever like unto Him" (42:11). And: "No vision can grasp Him" (6:103). So God (﷾) has no body like ours. He was never a man, and He did not grow into God (﷾). He has no partner in His divinity: "He has taken neither a wife nor a son" (72:3).
“Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.”
“(He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does He multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things).”
“No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision: He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things.”
“'And Exalted is the Majesty of our Lord: He has taken neither a wife nor a son.”
| Question | Latter-day Saint teaching | Islam |
|---|---|---|
| How many beings are God? | Three separate beings | One |
| Does the Father have a body? | Yes, of flesh and bones | No: nothing is like Him |
| Was God (﷾) once a man? | Yes: God (﷾) was once as man is | No: He was never begotten |
| Can people become gods? | Yes: the faithful may become gods | No: all are His servants |
No one becomes a god
In Islam, people are servants of God (﷾), and the highest honour is to be His servant. The best of them reach Paradise, but they never share His divinity. The Qur'an says that the Christ himself was "(no more than) a messenger of Allah", and it warns: "Say not 'Trinity': desist" (4:171).
So Islam differs from Latter-day Saint teaching at the root. There is one God, and all else is created.
“O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His messengers. Say not "Trinity": desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah: Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs.”
What the Book of Mormon says
The Book of Mormon itself teaches one God (﷾). In Alma 11, a man named Zeezrom asks: "Is there more than one God?" The prophet Amulek answers: "No." Later in the same chapter, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are called "one Eternal God" (Alma 11:44).
Latter-day Saints today read "one" here as one in purpose. But Amulek was asked whether there is more than one God (﷾), and he said no.
Joseph Smith's teaching that the Father has a body, and that men may become gods, was recorded in 1843. That was thirteen years after the Book of Mormon. So a Latter-day Saint who keeps to his first scripture is close to Islam here.
Zeezrom asks the prophet Amulek whether there is a true and living God, and Amulek says yes. Zeezrom then asks: "Is there more than one God?" Amulek answers: "No."
All will be raised and brought before the bar of "Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God", to be judged by their works.
"The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also". The Holy Ghost has no body, but "is a personage of Spirit."
Of those who keep the covenant it says: "Then shall they be gods, because they have no end", and "all things are subject unto them."
What the Bible says
Latter-day Saints accept the Bible as "the word of God as far as it is translated correctly". The Bible says plainly: "God is not a man, that he should lie" (Numbers 23:19). And: "I am God, and not man" (Hosea 11:9). And: "God is a Spirit" (John 4:24).
It also says no other god will ever come to be. "Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me" (Isaiah 43:10). "Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any" (Isaiah 44:8). These verses leave no room for gods who were once men, or for men who will become gods.
Latter-day Saints believe the Bible to be "the word of God as far as it is translated correctly", and the Book of Mormon "to be the word of God."
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
“I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.”
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
“Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.”
“Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.”
"Is there more than one God? ... No." (Book of Mormon)
"God is not a man" (Numbers 23:19)
"God is a Spirit" (John 4:24)
"Is there a God beside me? ... I know not any" (Isaiah 44:8)
Islam's answer: come back to one God (﷾)
Muslims and Latter-day Saints both pray to the God (﷾) of Abraham, Moses and Jesus. But Islam says He must be known as He described Himself: One, unique, and like nothing He made. The Qur'an invites: "come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him" (3:64).
That is the God (﷾) of Amulek's answer and of Isaiah's "I know not any". Islam asks every reader to return to Him.
“Say: "O People of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah." If then they turn back, say ye: "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will).”
Zeezrom asks the prophet Amulek whether there is a true and living God, and Amulek says yes. Zeezrom then asks: "Is there more than one God?" Amulek answers: "No."
“Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.”
Perspectives
Latter-day Saint
The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings. The Father and the Son have bodies of flesh and bones. God was once as man is, and the faithful may become gods.
The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's.
Rebuttal
The Bible says "God is a Spirit" and "God is not a man". The Qur'an says there is nothing whatever like Him. A God with a body like man's is like what He made.
As man now is, God once was; and the faithful may become gods.
Rebuttal
Isaiah says no God was formed before Him and none will be after Him. The Book of Mormon itself answers "No" to "Is there more than one God?"
The Islamic perspective
God (﷾) is One. He does not beget and was not begotten, and nothing is like Him. He has no body, partner or son, and no one ever becomes a god.
God (﷾) is One, the Eternal, Absolute; He begets not and was not begotten.
There is nothing whatever like Him, and no vision can grasp Him.