Quote Originally Posted by Just_A_Guy
1. *We* didn’t change anything. It was other Christian sects who had to explain why a Son of God who was also a God didn’t violate the Jewish shema, leading them to invent non-Biblical fancy-schmancy words like “triune”.
2. Partly right. Mormon is pretty adamant that God created the spirits of every living person, then created the world on which we live and made it possible for those spirits to be joined to bodies and come to this world. What is a little fuzzier doctrinally—but generally accepted—is the idea that God did not create the spirits ex nihilo, but refined them from some pre-existing material called “intelligence” whose characteristics, qualities, and potential individuality are largely a matter of speculation.
3. Not really applicable to Mormonism; because in Mormonism it was God who shaped us from that earlier primitive state of “intelligence” into spiritual beings; and then made it possible for us to obtain physical bodies as well. Your approach seems rather like saying that since both you and your mom are mortals, there is no room for you to honor and respect your mom. But I daresay that you don’t love, reverence, or obey your mom any less just because you know you have a grandparent somewhere out there.
4. First, a point of order: “Christianity” says nothing of a Big Bang.
As for your actual question: Mormonism doesn’t even weigh in on whether the “Big Bang” theory is scientifically accurate. I think most Mormons who subscribe to the theory would agree that God was behind it, though I’m not aware of any Mormon theologians who have really engaged with the idea of where exactly God existsd before the universe was created. Mormons will often colloquially speak of the possibility that there exist (or, can be created) an infinite number of universes, each run by a divine being; and but that our “universe”—everything we do and can know—falls under the exclusive dominion of God.
5. You’re somewhat misunderstanding Mormon teaching. Mormonism does *not* teach that physical birth is the same as spiritual creation. The spirit was created first, eons ago. Physical birth merely represents the emergence of an ancient spirit, now newly clothed with a physical body. I am away from my copy of Mormon Doctrine at the moment, but I’d stake pretty good money* on the fact that when McConkie refers to Jesus as the Only Begotten he’s referring to Jesus’ physical birth (via Mary). God created all spirits, but physically only Jesus was His son. Or, to put it another way, only one person who ever lived got 23 of their 46 chromosomes from God Himself; and that was Jesus Christ.
*Or I would bet, if McConkie didn’t take such a dim view of gambling.
6. Why?
Do I love my dad because he’s the toughest, richest, most powerful guy in the room? Or do I love him because he’s my dad, and he loved me first?
1. If the Lord is not One Being then how better would you need for the Bible to say in the Shema "the Lord is One" (Deut. 6.4)? Talk to those in Judaism and ask them if they ever worshiped more than One God? God said there are no gods before Him, after Him, or beside Him. The Son of God said many things like before Abraham, "I AM" and I am the Lord your God when Thomas put his hand in His side. He said He is equal with the Father. You can only be equal if you have the same identity. Hence the Trinity is most apt. Christians would say Mormons changed things by changing God into beings. The earliest church fathers were all Monotheists. 18 centuries later you want to change that? Christians are saved because we received reconciliation with the uncreated Creator who brought time and space into existence. This is the only way. Multiplying gods can never achieve that. Mormonism may compete with Hinduism over who has the most gods, but there really is only One God.

2. The problem with creating out of alleged pre-existing material or intelligences is that pre-existing material supersedes the spirits created. Therefore, material becomes an idol exalted above God; but if God is uncreated bringing time and space into existence then God doesn't produce out of pre-existing material in an infinite past (not sure how that works anyway), but creates out of Himself.

3. I reverence the highest above all. Who is greater? Time or the uncreated Creator who brings time into existence? Suffice it to say the gods of Mormonism can't do this what the God of Christianity is. So when you claim an infinite regress this becomes your idol over God, thus, producing a distorted Jesus.

4. Christianity teaches the big bang. Does Mormonism? "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Gen. 1.1) It does need to state 13.8 billion years to agree with 13.8 billion years. The problem then follows for Mormonism if there is this infinite regress of gods creating spirits from pre-existing materials it would go further back into the past than 13.8 billion years. I can't get Mormonism, therefore, to agree with science. The universe is adamantly 13.8 billion years old.

5. We can only go with statements made by your leaders since you don't have anything else to go on. They have said “In relation to the way in which I look upon the works of God and his creatures, I will say that I was naturally begotten; so was my father, and also my Saviour Jesus Christ. According to the Scriptures, he is the first begotten of his father in the flesh, and there was nothing unnatural about it ” (Heber C. Kimball, September 2, 1860, Journal of Discourses 8:211). While you would like to spiritualize sexual relations it seems ad hoc and arbitrary to do so for just Jesus only. But if the Creator before time and space has true authority then He easily can do so without procreating like men.

6. Why would it be better to receive atonement from the uncreated Creator rather than a created being who was a sinner? Obviously, because the former always trumps the latter as God never sinned. Praise God! Don't bring God down to men's level so your analogy falls apart. You always want the best to pay for sins because He created all things after all only the best is qualified to do so. Anything less than that ability could never suffice. Don't compare your flawed physical father with the Trinity. Your physical father could never muster the love the uncreated Creator has.