As far as my personal belief in God, I see God as the combined intelligence in the universe. As such, we are each part of God, and as we humans become more united in heart and mind, we are able to begin to collectively exercise the kind of power we normally associate with a God. Joseph Smith and John Taylor both taught that no man (you could just as well add women), exercises the Priesthood alone, but does so in concert with all who now hold and have held the Priesthood in the past.
Churches, such as the LDS church, think they own and control the Priesthood, but the power of god is nobody’s exclusive right. To think otherwise, is like claiming an exclusive right to air, rain, and sunshine. They are available to everyone.
But, I also believe there are multiple planes of existence, and those who have evolved farther than us, exist on these higher planes, and through the exercise of natural laws, which we don’t fully understand, and aren’t yet ready to live, are so much more advanced than we that we would consider them gods, though they are really our friends and co-workers, possessing enough enlightened self-interest to understand that when they reach down to assist us, they are, at the same time, reaching up to beings above them, and we are all lifted up together.
Therefore, I see god as somebody I relate to on a personal and daily basis as a friend and co-worker — somebody I can deal with as an equal.
John144 