Memo #3 (written September 1, 2000)

To: All Pratt Family Adults and selected others

From: Grandpa Pratt (Richard M.)

Re: The Nature of God

We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. (L.D.S. Article of Faith #1)

A seventeenth century Englishman, John Locke, 1632-1704, had little patience with Atheists (who say there is no God) and with Agnostics (who don’t care if there is or isn’t a God).

For said he,  common reason proves that he exists. Reason: I Am, therefore I am something. Something cannot come from nothing. Therefore, a something created me and everything that makes life possible. This something is ‘Good’ or in old English, ‘God’. Our word good is the modern word for the old Anglo-Saxon word God. God or Good is not the name of Deity, but is an adjective summing up all of His attributes, character, etc.

But we do not have to depend on reason for we have “the more sure word of prophecy.” Yes, “Holy men” called prophets have seen God, beginning with Adam, the first man. Also many Holy women have had this glorious experience.

And what have they seen? The whole body of the scriptures attests to the eternal truth that God is a Holy Man and that all men are created in His image. (All women are created in the image of their Mother in Heaven).

And God said, “Let us (plural) make man in our (plural) image, after our likeness....so God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Gen. 1:26-27 How could it be more plainly said? Believe it for it is true!

After being placed on this earth in a paradise called the Garden of Eden, God visited them regularly and taught them how to survive in a mortal world of opposition of sin and righteousness.

The records of those ancient days are so very brief. And we know so little of Adam’s and Eve’s lives. But they were taught the good news...that a Savior would be provided (next memo’s subject). We know of one other visitation to Adam and a large congregation of holy people.

“And the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose up and blessed Adam, and called him Michael the prince, the archangel. And the Lord (God) administered comfort unto Adam...”

D&C 107:53-54.

Yes, I know the two scriptures that men use in their unholy efforts to disprove that God can be seen. John 1: 18 “No man hath seen God at anytime....” Remember our New Testament is a poor English translation of ancient Greek and should read, “No unholy man hath..etc.”

In fact this is made clear by John 6:46 “Not that any man hath seen the Father,

SAVE HE WHICH IS OF GOD (holy) HE HATH SEEN THE FATHER.”

The other scripture is Exodus 33:11 “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” but verse 20 says...”no man shall see me and live.” obviously it read in the original Hebrew, “no unholy man...etc.”

Why can’t unholy people see God? He really wants us to see Him. Moses tried to prepare all Israel to see God at Mt. Sinai. Exodus 19: 11 “...the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai...and Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with

~ 2 ~

God.”...and the Lord said no, we had better not, for many of them would perish. verse 21

So a loving Father will not appear to disobedient children for the simple reason that they would die of fright.

I have only mentioned a few of the Biblical prophets who saw and talked with God. But unholy man disclaims the Bible saying it is only a collection of worthless legends.

Aren’t we fortunate to have a second witness of Jesus Christ, even the Book of Mormon which verifies that God also appeared to holy people, both men and women, in America?!

3 Nephi chapter 11 and Ether chapter 3.

And a third witness, the Doctrine and Covenants which testifies of the truthfulness of the Holy bible and the Book of Mormon.

Modern prophets beginning with Joseph Smith have seen the Father and the Son (both called Good or God).

“The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.” D&C 130:22

We know Jesus was resurrected, therefore we know that the Father is also a resurrected man... and that we will all be restored to an immortal body of flesh and bones (not blood).

The Father is literally the Father of our spirits, Jesus being his first born and thus our oldest brother and the only one also begotten in the flesh and designated to bring us back into the Father’s presence, individually and as families, if we will just do as He says and as he did.

There are degrees of belief, degrees of salvation. To believe all the saving truths of the gospel is to gain full salvation; it is to become a son or daughter of God to dwell as families in His presence forever, even to become as He is, a Creator of families and of worlds. Other degrees of Salvation will be glorious but without family or the Creative Power of God. Or in the words of President Lorenzo Snow: “As man now is God once was, and as God now is, man MAY become,” by obedience to natural law, His law.

Please, Please believe me, I KNOW whereof I speak!

Love,

Grandpa (Richard M. Pratt)

Excerpt from Grandma Pratt’s book, page 10. Writing of her baby brother Freeman’s death and burial...

“Each winter, soft white snow blanketed that first, tiny, hallowed grave. Then when spring came, the family returned to revisit and care for the family lot...when the last weed was removed,...and the tiny grave tenderly smoothed, it was covered with a blanket of fragrant wild flowers.

I remember vividly seeing my young parents kneel, with heads bowed as their tears fell, like a benediction, on that tiny grave. We all cried. They were tears of grief, sorrow, humility, and acceptance, accompanied with HOPE. Then Papa and Mama drew we five children close to them as we knelt in family prayer. Mama rearranged the flower-blanket as if to tuck it more securely around her sleeping babe, the after one last parting look, we turned homeward.

At the time, I did not realize that any good could come as a result of such sadness, but now I know that we learned lessons that only come from experiences. Our family bonds grew stronger as we learned lessons about life, death, home and resurrection.”