Do Latter-day Saints believe in an infinite regression of Gods?

Question

The claim can be found in the article Mormonism’s Infinite Regression of Gods:

Tenth President Joseph Fielding Smith seems to have understood that Joseph Smith was teaching what is known as an “infinite regression of gods.” This can be seen by the words “and so on,” in Joseph Fielding Smith’s book, Doctrines of Salvation (1:12). In what appears to be an obvious reference to the Sermon in the Grove, he wrote, “The Prophet taught that our Father had a Father and so on. Is not this a reasonable thought, especially when we remember that the promises are made to us that we may become like him?”

Is this true?

Answer 1

I note that the article in the link you provided does not support the views of the LDS on this subject. However, it may be useful to simply quote from LDS sources without making any comment or attempt to interpret. That way, the reader can draw their own conclusions.

Tenth President Joseph Fielding Smith seems to have understood that Joseph Smith was teaching what is known as an “infinite regression of gods.” This can be seen by the words “and so on,” in Joseph Fielding Smith’s book, Doctrines of Salvation (1:12). In what appears to be an obvious reference to the Sermon in the Grove, he wrote, “The Prophet taught that our Father had a Father and so on. Is not this a reasonable thought, especially when we remember that the promises are made to us that we may become like him?”

[Joseph] Smith went on to tell his audience, “I have always and in all congregations when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods. It has been preached by the Elders for fifteen years.” He added, “I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods.” ¹

In a general conference message in 1977, Apostle Richard G. Scott stated, “Jesus Christ possessed merits that no other child of Heavenly Father could possibly have. He was a God, Jehovah, before His birth in Bethlehem” (“The Atonement Can Secure Your Peace and Happiness,” Ensign, May 1997, 53). This concurs with what Apostle Bruce R. McConkie taught twenty years prior. He wrote, “Christ himself, the Firstborn of the Father, rose to a state of glory and exaltation before he was ever suckled at Mary’s breast” (“The Salvation of Little Children,” Ensign, April 1977, 3).

Yet in an undated message Joseph Smith also gave in Nauvoo, he stated, “There is no God in heaven but that God who has flesh and bones” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church – Joseph Smith, 42, see footnote 13).

The article concludes that if humanity is required before godhood, there is no reason to accept “in the beginning, God.” This passage from Genesis 1 must be rejected for the alternate understanding that “in the beginning, Man.”

I realise that the above quotations from Joseph Smith, President Joseph Fielding Smith, and Apostle Richard G. Scott may be rejected as not official LDS doctrine, or even given under prophetic inspiration. Nonetheless, the article which is partially quoted in my post helps to shed some light on the subject.

_{1 Joseph Smith Papers, History, 1838–1856, volume F-1 [1 May 1844–8 August 1844]}

Answer 2

Maybe*

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_{* (speculation)} There is much, even in LDS theology, that is not stated about heaven, God, or the pre-existence. For all we know God the Father could have been the first of the 'infinite' gods going forward. Or he is one in a chain, but that does not change who we worship.¹

Based on Gospel Topics: God the Father:

God the Father is the Supreme Being in whom we believe, whom we worship, and to whom we pray. He is the ultimate Creator, Ruler, and Preserver of all things.

It could be concluded that God is the first God.

Related:

• God title as a relationship specifier (as Adam was the first man/father, God could be first God)
• According to LDS, on what earth did God live before he became God and created everything? (we don't know, possible there was none)
• Does our Heavenly Father have a father?

_{1 Do Mormons actually believe in any sort of supreme being/ultimate reality/"Absolute"?}

Answer 3

Yes.

There is no such thing as a child without a father and a mother.

The Scriptures teach that "we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16).

The central message of Scripture is that God has a Son, who is like His Father in every respect, and through whom we can be joint-heirs in all that the Father has. This certainly includes family.

The highest teaching and the central objective of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is exaltation, namely, a man and a woman who rise to the full level of maturity of the children of God, and become Heavenly Parents of their own eternal offspring.

This is the logical consequence of all of the Savior's teachings.

To fall short of this is damnation.