Perhaps a review of Hippolytus & his writtings would be helpful. He was certainly not a trinitarian as shown in his writtings, see http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0521.htm. So, what happened between the time Hippolytus died in 236 & 325 AD when the veiw of the church swung from 3 entities acting as one God to one God made up of 3 manifestations?
He also had some very intersting thoughts about the plan of salvation that closely resemble LDS beliefs from “Against one Noetus” book X:
“Such is the true doctrine in regard of the divine nature, O you men, Greeks and Barbarians, Chaldeans and Assyrians, Egyptians and Libyans, Indians and Ethiopians, Celts, and you Latins, who lead armies, and all you that inhabit Europe, and Asia, and Libya.6 And to you I am become an adviser, inasmuch as I am a disciple of the benevolent Logos, and hence humane, in order that you may hasten and by us may be taught who the true God is, and what is His well-ordered creation. Do not devote your attention to the fallacies of artificial discourses, nor the vain promises of plagiarizing heretics,6 but to the venerable simplicity of unassuming truth. And by means of this knowledge you shall escape the approaching threat of the fire of judgment, and the rayless scenery of gloomy Tartarus, where never shines a beam from the irradiating voice of the Word!
You shall escape the boiling flood of hell’s6 eternal lake of fire and the eye ever fixed in menacing glare of fallen angels chained in Tartarus as punishment for their sins; and you shall escape the worm that ceaselessly coils for food around the body whose scum6 has bred it. Now such (torments) as these shall you avoid by being instructed in a knowledge of the true God. And you shall possess an immortal body, even one placed beyond the possibility of corruption, just like the soul. And you shall receive the kingdom of heaven, you who, while you sojourned in this life, knew the Celestial King. And you shall be a companion of the Deity, and a co-heir with Christ, no longer enslaved by lusts or passions, and never again wasted by disease. For you have become God:7 for whatever sufferings you underwent while being a man, these He gave to you, because you were of mortal mould, but whatever it is consistent with God to impart, these God has promised to bestow upon you, because you have been deified, and begotten unto immortality.7 This constitutes the import of the proverb, “Know yourself” i.e., discover God within yourself, for He has formed you after His own image. For with the knowledge of self is conjoined the being an object of God’s knowledge, for you are called by the Deity Himself. Be not therefore inflamed, O you men, with enmity one towards another, nor hesitate to retrace7 with all speed your steps. For Christ is the God above all, and He has arranged to wash away sin from human beings,7 rendering regenerate the old man. And God called man His likeness from the beginning, and has evinced in a figure His love towards you. And provided you obey His solemn injunctions, and becomest a faithful follower of Him who is good, you shall resemble Him, inasmuch as you shall have honour conferred upon you by Him. For the Deity, (by condescension,) does not diminish anything of the divinity of His divine7 perfection; having made you even God unto His glory!7”
Pretty interesting reading. Coupled w/ what Grig has posted, perhaps this isn’t as clear cut as you may have thought. And that’s not just from LDS sources, but Hippolytus, one of the most respected theologians of his time & reportedly the great grandson of John the Beloved.
“So, what happened between the time Hippolytus died in 236 & 325 AD when the veiw of the church swung from 3 entities acting as one God to one God made up of 3 manifestations?”
INDEED Reno! Once you understand what happened in history
and how the Church had to respond to heresy, you will have
your answer. It just won’t be what you want to hear, since
the early Church had to deal with many of the same
heresies that modern day Mormonism, circa 1800’s, espouses.
Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” This
seems to apply doubly to Satan’s fashion show, the cults.
You see, Mormonism asserts --as its basis for being-- that for the past 1900+ years the promise of Christ, the means of salvation and transformation by the Holy Spirit, has been missing from humanity and in need of restoring with Mormonism. This is why they have baptism for the dead. This is why they continue to post quotes from men in early Christian History they feel contradict Orthodox Christianity. Mormonism apologists are trying to create doubt and division in the minds of those they desire to proselytize.
Mormonism apologsts are all about stealthily calling God a liar and denigrating the means and activity of Salvation for human history prior to Joseph Smith arriving on the scene. If you expect rationalism to come with Momron apologetics, you will be sadly disappointed. They are all about sowing the devil's seeds of doubt in order to direct folks to Mormonism.
Hippolytus, an orthodox Trinitarian Christian was writing in opposition to Noetus and pope Callixtus I of Rome and the Monarchian Modalists.
He also had some very intersting thoughts about the plan of salvation that closely resemble LDS beliefs from “Against one Noetus” book X:
You will have to demonstrate that, for there is nothing resembling Mormon doctrine in the following exerpt from Hippolytus.
“Such is the true doctrine in regard of the divine nature, O you men, Greeks and Barbarians, Chaldeans and Assyrians, Egyptians and Libyans, Indians and Ethiopians, Celts, and you Latins, who lead armies, and all you that inhabit Europe, and Asia, and Libya.6 And to you I am become an adviser, inasmuch as I am a disciple of the benevolent Logos, and hence humane, in order that you may hasten and by us may be taught who the true God is, and what is His well-ordered creation. Do not devote your attention to the fallacies of artificial discourses, nor the vain promises of plagiarizing heretics,6 but to the venerable simplicity of unassuming truth. And by means of this knowledge you shall escape the approaching threat of the fire of judgment, and the rayless scenery of gloomy Tartarus, where never shines a beam from the irradiating voice of the Word!
You shall escape the boiling flood of hell’s6 eternal lake of fire and the eye ever fixed in menacing glare of fallen angels chained in Tartarus as punishment for their sins; and you shall escape the worm that ceaselessly coils for food around the body whose scum6 has bred it. Now such (torments) as these shall you avoid by being instructed in a knowledge of the true God. And you shall possess an immortal body, even one placed beyond the possibility of corruption, just like the soul. And you shall receive the kingdom of heaven, you who, while you sojourned in this life, knew the Celestial King. And you shall be a companion of the Deity, and a co-heir with Christ, no longer enslaved by lusts or passions, and never again wasted by disease. For you have become God:7 for whatever sufferings you underwent while being a man, these He gave to you, because you were of mortal mould, but whatever it is consistent with God to impart, these God has promised to bestow upon you, because you have been deified, and begotten unto immortality.7 This constitutes the import of the proverb, “Know yourself” i.e., discover God within yourself, for He has formed you after His own image. For with the knowledge of self is conjoined the being an object of God’s knowledge, for you are called by the Deity Himself. Be not therefore inflamed, O you men, with enmity one towards another, nor hesitate to retrace7 with all speed your steps. For Christ is the God above all, and He has arranged to wash away sin from human beings,7 rendering regenerate the old man. And God called man His likeness from the beginning, and has evinced in a figure His love towards you. And provided you obey His solemn injunctions, and becomest a faithful follower of Him who is good, you shall resemble Him, inasmuch as you shall have honour conferred upon you by Him. For the Deity, (by condescension,) does not diminish anything of the divinity of His divine7 perfection; having made you even God unto His glory!7”
Pretty interesting reading. Coupled w/ what Grig has posted, perhaps this isn’t as clear cut as you may have thought.
Perhaps you can actually make a point specifically.