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Through the theology of the Holy Trinity, hypostatic union, divine essence, etc.

I cannot claim for myself any deep knowledge of those doctrines; however, if we accept the idea of a hypostatic union—and could understand it—the human nature of Jesus certainly changed; the divine nature presumably did not. Stated that way, that is not too different from what I said previously.

It's quite far from LDS teaching of course, but it's complete. You could look for "An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith" by St John Damascene for the long form.

Thanks for the recommendation. I will look it up.

On another tack, it is pretty much universal in all religions that God is infinite in being (The Doctrine of the Holy Trinity also holds this). This of course is what makes it monotheistic.

Much depends on what you mean by "infinite." We believe God is infinite in goodness, power, glory, knowledge, and so forth. However, we believe him to be finite in the sense that he possesses a physical body. Therefore, he occupies a particular point in space; he is not omnipresent.

I believe we've touched this point before, but LDS, I think you would agree, is polytheistic, multiple Gods, if as others have stated (some) men are destined to become God(s).

No, I would not agree that we are polytheistic. As I have said before, polytheism connotes the worship of multiple gods, usually personifying the forces of nature. Mormons most assuredly do not worship the Sun, the Moon, or the stars, or a Pantheon of gods.

Some polytheists also worship their ancestors; we do not. Nor do we worship angels or prophets.

We are taught to worship God the Father, in the name of the Son, by the power of the Holy Ghost. We see the three as constituting one governing power in the Universe. In that sense, we are monotheists.

However, some prefer to reserve the term monotheism for Judaism or Islam (which do not recognize Jesus as divine) or for Trinitarian Christianity (which considers Jesus as God). For them, I will admit to being a tritheist.

Thanks for your reply.

I see your point about the definition of polytheism. If it’s the belief in more than one God, LDS qualifies; if it’s the worship of more than one God, then it doesn’t. So, since you define it differently, I’ll try hard not to use the term in conjunction with LDS in the future, but use “belief in more than one God” instead, if you feel this is accurate.

Pantheism is another and different category; I wasn’t saying LDS were pantheists.

God not being omnipresent and being finite is also a major difference in LDS theology. I can’t think of any major religion that teaches this.

The divine nature did not change, it is immutable. This, immutability, in orthodox Christiainity is another attribute of God the LDS do not share.

“For them [Trinitarians], I will admit to being a tritheist.”

I’m trying to allow our religions to define themselves and their beliefs and point out differences on the basis of what they say they are, rather than what we say they are. I think this is the better way to discuss religion.

thanks again...