The Zeroth Article of Faith

The first 4 articles of faith logically depend on the previous article. Faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost (Article 4) are brought about by the Atonement (Article 3) which was necessary because of our sinful nature and the fall of Adam (Article 2) which we must overcome to live again with Heavenly Father(Article 1).

If there were to be an even more basic article to precede article 1 what would it be? It would describe those things that are more basic than the God. What is more basic than the God? It is reality with its eternal laws. These eternal laws take primacy over God. God's power comes from his knowledge of these laws. The glory of God is intelligence (D&C 93:36). If intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge, then what does God have knowledge of? He has knowledge of reality.

God's commandments compose a map that allow us to navigate a reality that He understands perfectly. The apostle D. Todd Christofferson in the April 2010 conference said, "[God's] Commandments are the voice of reality." This same idea was echoed by Benjamin Franklin when he said, "Sin is not harmful because it is forbidden, but it is forbidden because it is harmful." The words "sin" and "wickedness" are defined as those choices that never bring happiness in reality. These constraints are not set arbitrarily by God. They are set by a reality which has primacy over God.

Why is this such a big deal to talk about? As far as I know, Mormon theology is the only religion that holds such a view of reality. If we did have a zeroth article of faith then it would be something like: "We believe in reality (that existence exists)," or, "We believe in eternal laws," or, "We believe that reality has primacy over consciousness." I think that most people automatically assume this but many are confused by the philosophies of men. The explicit articulation of this point provides a firm foundation to (1) understanding the gospel, (2) understanding reality, and (3) avoiding confusion.

Ontological Frameworks

Mormon theology holds a unique ontological framework. What is an ontological framework? Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations. The ontological framework of Mormon theology asserts that reality exists and God is subject to that reality.

The ontological framework of traditional Christianity, Islam, and Judaism asserts that God created reality out of nothing. I once heard a rabbi say that everything that exists is simply a thought in the mind of God. They believe that consciousness has primacy over reality:

The ontological framework of eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism is that God and reality are the same and that man is working to become one with God by reaching Nirvana, or nothingness.

There are many other variations of ontological frameworks. Atheism would be an ontological framework that simply denies God though they generally believe that reality still has primacy over consciousness. Understanding the ontological framework of a religion or belief system is to understand the most basic premise or starting point of that religion. From a logical or systematic viewpoint, the ontological framework is the most important belief to get right because as Aristotle said, “A small error in the beginning will lead to a huge one in the end.”

The Most Fundamental Premise of Mormon Theology

The most fundamental premise of traditional Christianity, Judaism, and Islam is that reality is contingent upon God. This means that consciousness (God) has primacy over reality. What does primacy mean? It means that something comes first. In this case God comes first and then reality comes second. God created reality "Ex Nihilo" meaning 'out of nothing'. According to this assumption, God can change the laws of the universe and the laws of morality. This view assumes that God has complete omnipotence to do whatever He wants.

The Greek Pagan religions assumed the opposite. They believed that God was contingent upon reality. In their system of belief, reality has primacy over consciousness (the gods). The gods could only do their work within reality. They could not change the laws of the universe. In other words, they were not omnipotent but subject to reality.

Eastern religions in general assume both premises. They believe that God is the universe and that we are all part of God. God has primacy and reality has primacy. They generally accept contradictory premises.

Where does Mormon Theology fit in?

Mormons agree with the Greeks! Reality has primacy over consciousness. God is contintingent upon reality. This is why traditional Christianity thinks that Mormons worship a different God. It is because we do! The Mormon conception of God is very different from traditional Christianity (which was influenced by Platonism).

According to Mormon theology, there is no such thing as immaterial matter (D&C 131:7-8). Therefore God is made of matter. He cannot create or destroy matter. He cannot create or destroy intelligence. He can learn of what reality is like and work within the constraints of natural laws (D&C 93: 29–34). This belief assumes the primacy of reality over God.

The glory of God is intelligence (D&C 93:36). According to traditional Christianity, the glory of God is His power. Now if God really has all power to do whatever He wants, then intelligence and knowledge is meaningless. God would not have to know anything since He could just will things to be however He wishes. He would not need knowledge about gravity for instance since He could just will it to cease existing. In Mormon theology God's power comes from His intelligence. He has all power that can be had—in other words He can do whatever can be done within the constraints of eternal laws because He perfectly understands the eternal laws.

If we assume that consciousness has primacy over reality, then it follows that intelligences do not follow eternal unchanging laws but are laws unto themselves. This is the goal of Satan. He seeks not to be governed by law, but seeketh to become a law unto himself. In other words, he wants to choose how to act and he wants to choose the consequences of his actions (D&C 88:34-39). Satan did not seek to take away our agency by forcing us to conform to reality. He sought to take away our agency by taking away the consequences of choices. Therefore the fundamental falsehood of the great apostasy is the belief that God is a law unto himself—in other words, that God's nature is the same as what Satan desires but can never have.

The scriptures say that the great and abominable church was founded by Satan (1 Ne 13:6). That church is comprised of traditional Christianity, Islam, Judaism. Each rests on the premise that God is a law unto himself. All other beliefs rest on this premise. If you change this foundation—the rock of reality—then you pervert all other beliefs of the gospel. What more cunning thing could Satan do to cause confusion than to turn the fundamental premises of the true church upside down?