Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, believed in "the plurality of Gods", saying "I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods". Mormonism, which emerged from Protestantism, teaches exaltation defined as the idea that people can become like god in the afterlife. Mormonism also affirms the existence of a Heavenly Mother, and the prevailing view among Mormons is that God the Father was once a man who lived on a planet with his own higher God, and who became perfect after following this higher God.. Some critics of Mormonism argue that statements in the Book of Mormon describe a trinitarian conception of God (e.g. ; ), but were superseded by later revelations. Due to teachings within Mormon cosmology, some theologians claim that it allows for an infinite number of gods.
