Members of the LDS church, and even many ex-members tend to get pretty hung on on the doctrine of the Trinity.
They say it’s confusing. But understanding and explaining exactly who and how God is, isn’t the point. There’s a different reason altogether that the doctrine of the Trinity matters (and why denying this doctrine is enough to make a person or institution not Christian), and when looked from that angle it really isn’t complicated at all.
The trinity is not about understanding God exactly as He is— because we can’t. Can ants understand humans? Their intelligence, and simply just their low perspective, does not have this capacity. Ants are nothing like humans, and their faculties are far from that of humans. And how much farther are humans from God!
So no, the doctrine of the trinity simply isn’t about comprehending the state or persons of God. It never claimed to.
Rather, it’s about conceding that there is ONE true God; there is only ONE eternal God. The God of Abraham was distinct because ALL the other nations and systems were polytheistic, where gods were divided up between various tasks and “subpowers”—no one God held ALL the power.
The Old Testament is clear on this distinction.
God is one; there is none like Him. There is only one Eternal, omnipotent God!
(yes, LDS doctrine denies this, but you cannot deny it is biblical—see Isaiah 43:10-11; 44:6, 8; 45:5-6, 18, 21-22. Deuteronomy 4:35,39; 32:39. 1 Kings 8:60. Hosea 13:4)
And yet, the Bible is also very clear that there are different manifestations or forms of God. It refers to a Father, who is distinct from the Son, and it mentions a Spirit many times as well.
And yet there is only one.
The doctrine of the trinity is simply a crude tool for the minuscule “ant” of humankind to article this triune being.
Does that mean we understand this God exactly?
No, we never claimed to.
And I definitely hope not!
A God I could understand is not a God worthy of my worship.
Is the doctrine of the trinity really something to argue about?
Can anyone argue against the Bible saying there is only one God? And the singular, striking distinction of the Christian God compared to other world religions? No.
Can anyone argue against the Bible showing us time and time again that God manifests in three different forms? No.
If the doctrine of the trinity is confusing, you’re simply calling the Bible confusing. Mainstream Christians didn’t make it up. The officers at Nicea didn’t make it up. Constantine didn’t make it up.
It’s simply a word to articulate what was already clear and consistent in the Word, the Holy Bible.
And we don’t have to understand God. We just needed a concept to communicate and relate generally to Him.
All I Possess 