What is God's Power?

How would you define power? Energy? Influence?

I would define it as the ability to cause something to happen.

So, what is God's power? We've all asked ourselves this before (at least I have, and at least all the friends I've discussed this with have as well). We never really came to any conclusions, due to a lack of necessary underlying knowledge and understanding. All we know is He's got all of it. Or does He?

(Before you read on, remember my very first post… reread it if necessary. Continue at your own risk. I'm about to go through this weird train of thought because it will help understand what I think God's power is, but it is by no means doctrine.)

Omnipotence. Does God really have all power? Well, it depends on your definition, I guess. The simple answer from a simple church definition is yes. He has control of all the elements, and when we wants something done, it happens.

But from a literal and scientific perspective I would have to answer no. He doesn't. I know, I know… blasphemy. Sorry God, I don’t mean any disrespect by it. But let me give you a couple of examples of what I mean. Enos knew that God could not lie, and Alma explained that if He did He would cease to be God.

I remember explaining to friends in high school why God and Christ were necessarily different people, showing that Christ was praying to the Father, insisting that the Father's will be done, not His own. How, I asked, could they possibly have different wills if they were the same being? Their unintelligent answer was "He's God. He can do whatever He wants." Is that true? Could God, as one being, be 2 different people, in 2 different places at the same time, with different thoughts and wills, having to constantly talk to each other to stay on the same page? Is that really possible, even for God? Can He create something from nothing? What do you think?

What about us? Does He have power over us?

I've come to conclude that there are certain things that God cannot do. Some things He simply does not have power to do them because they are impossible. (I know, "with God nothing is impossible." I'll get to that in one sec.) Other things He cannot do without forfeiting His godhood and power over all other things.

Okay, so is there really nothing impossible for God? I believe that God can do pretty much all things, but He must do them by the truths that all things are subject to. In other words, He could change water into wine, but He does it by causing the molecules of water to reorganize into moecules of wine. Any and all excess matter left over from the process would be left over, but would still be there. He couldn't have the water completely destroyed into nothing, and wine created from nothing in its place. He can create anything he wants. But he can't create it from absolutely nothing, but must create it from matter. Truths, specifically in this case the laws of science, are not rules by which we, including God, are bound. They are actual attributes of existence. They are not defined. They just exist (see D&C 93:30). They can't be broken, not because we're not allowed to break them, but rather because they are simple unchangeable facts. (Feel free to ponder on this more in light of the previous "Light and Truth" post.)

Second, God cannot do anything that would be considered a lie. No falsehoods, no broken promises, etc. In other words, there are also rules and laws (whether literal or just practical I won't guess) that He is also bound by. And He cannot break those rules. Well, I suppose He could, but the consequence would be to lose His godhood, thus losing the power that we're talking about now.

So, in conclusion, the general consensus held by modern religion that God can do anything, and for Him absoutely nothing is impossible, is a misunderstanding of the scriptures, and is not really true. It is a matter of perspective. God does have power to do any and all things possible. Thus He is omnipotent. But again, as I've discussed previously in other posts, we as a church seem to have held on to nicean doctrines as true, even though we all know the Nicean Creed is largely false. We still hold notions of an incredible and unimaginable god, a god that we could never hope to understand. While I very much believe that our understanding of God's immense knowledge and power is miniscule, I do not support the notion that it is beyond the realm of reason, and thus completely and literally incomprehensible.

God is a real being, human in form, emotion, and ability. Our potential is equal (or at least near) to His. I think the doctrine that God is incomprehensible is a doctrine of the devil, intended to separate us from the idea that we are like Him, and are gods in training. The idea leads us to make comments like, "We can't understand that in this life with our limited minds", or "We're so imperfect. We can't even come close to being like God is in this life." God's station is our goal. We are training for it. Why would we, in any way, put such a ceiling on our own progress toward that goal?? We are limited by our lack of faith in ourselves. Satan has created such an image of God that most people believe we are nothing like Him. A very successful strategy. Don't buy into it. God is great, powerful, and wonderful, just like we're learning to be… even now.

Okay, now back to the original question, what is God's power?

Keep in mind my earlier question on whether or not God has power over us. Well, does He? No, because He commands and yet we don't obey. But what of those, like Job and other righteous men, who do always obey? Does He have power over them? Yep. Whatever God commands of him, he does it. God speaks, it happens. That's power.

So what gives Him power over all the elements?

Well, remember the fact that if God lied He would cease to be God? Why is that? Because breaking the rules results in demotion? No, it's because His power is completely dependent on His trustworthiness.

All things are made of intelligence. Trees, rocks, mountains, etc. They all have intelligence, a spirit if you will, some greater than others. (Are we all on the same page still?) And they all have agency. Whoa. Thus they all have the opportunity to choose (albeit with little intelligence their choices can be pretty limited). God has power over them all because they all choose to do as He commands. Every time. Why? Because they trust Him. He is 100% trustworthy, as we've already discussed. If God was to ever break that trust, He would lose His power over all those intelligences who previously would have obeyed Him in a moment. Crazy, huh? I hope that made sense...

So, you gods in training, how can you become powerful?