JOEL - No one has ever called me crazy or scary because I am a Mormon; although they have called me that for other reasons :-) Mormons believe these things because they have faith that God reveals these doctrines through His prophets and scriptures, but you also need to understand that we really don't fully understand them all yet. As the scriptures tell us God imparts His doctrines and commandments to us little by little as we are ready for it(Isaiah 28: 9-13, John 16:12, 1 Cor. 3:2). Because we don't understand these teachings fully we really don't talk about them much in Church; but our critics like to make a big deal out of them because of how strange they seem compared to traditional Christian doctrines.
There is only one God for this universe that we worship; and that one God is God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost; three separate beings but one God in purpose. Perhaps there are other gods of other universes, but we don't worship them nor do we recognize them as our God. If any of us ever do become a God and have our own spirit children it will be for a different time and a different universe.
I have already answered similar questions on the following pages:

http://www.mormonhaven.com/nature.htm
http://www.mormonhaven.com/debbie2.htm