David Lamont Paulsen

The theology of Joseph Smith remains controversial and at times divisive in the broader Christian community. This paper takes Smith’s trinitarian theologyas its point of departure and seeks to accomplish four interrelated goals: (1) to provide a general defense of “social trinitarianism” from some of the major objections raised against it; (2) to express what we take to be Smith’s understanding of the Trinity; (3) to analyze the state of modern ST and (4) to argue that, as a form of ST, Smith’s views contribute to the present discussion amongst proponents of ST.

Natural theologians have argued that God (logically) must be incorporeal, without body or parts. This conclusion apparently contradicts the common Christian beliefs that God (the Son) was incarnate in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, and now exists everlastingly with a resurrected body. In this paper, I examine the most common rational arguments for divine incorporeality and show that none of them is sufficient to prove it, and that, therefore, none need be a stumbling block to rational acceptance of the resurrected Christ as God.