Synopsis "That You May Know What You Worship"
This manuscript uniquely pulls together major strands from ancient and modern Jewish, Christian and philosophical thought about the attributes of God, and compares and contrasts these with a Latter-day Saint restorationist perspective. Prepared for a well educated and intellectually curious reader, it is nevertheless a survey of the concept of God in western civilization. Of the many potential attributes that could be included in a discussion of the concept or idea of God, this work focuses on those that are prominent in Latter-day Saint scripture, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, one God (monotheism), holiness, and a social being. But this volume also explores other divine attributes cherished by Jews, other Christians and philosophers that are controversial or rejected from a Latter-day Saint perspective such as incorporeality, immutability, sovereignty, impassibility and timelessness. Each attribute is evaluated from the perspective of its contribution to, or detraction from, the ability of an individual to develop a close relationship with deity. Other works that attempt to address the attributes of God typically address it from a singularly Christian, Jewish, philosophical or Latter-day Saint perspective without drawing on all four streams of thought. Others view the subject from a historical perspective only, without giving proper weight to current views and developments. I have attempted to broaden the perspective. Unlike other works exploring various divine attributes, I have encouraged readers to ask deep and provocative questions about what their ultimate personal relationship of "oneness" with deity might be like, and how a correct understanding of the attributes of God should be the basis of faith necessary for such a relationship.
