To Mormons, Jesus Christ is our God. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament. He is the God of Israel. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus Christ is the only way back to the Father. He is the great I AM, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. Jesus Christ is also our Father because he has purchased us with his blood through the atonement. He suffered for the sins of the world, but also our pains, sicknesses, etc. (D&C 19:16-19) He Truly descended below all things. (D&C 88:6) He is the creator of this world and all other worlds, stars, universe, etc. He was born in Bethlehem from a virgin who's name is Mary! (1 Nephi 11:13-18) His body was literally half God because of his father, and half mortal because of his mother. If it were not so, he could not have accomplished his mission on earth. He lived a perfect life and was therefore sinless. He died on the cross for our sins and was resurrected on the 3rd day. He is the Mediator between us and the Father, therefore we believe that is it only through Him and by His grace that we are saved. Nothing we do will ever be able to save us from our sins or the fall of Adam. We believe in the Jesus Christ who guided Israel in the Old Testament and who lived in the New Testament. Mormons typically use the King James version of the Bible. (see LDS Bible Dictionary: Christ)
How do the beliefs that Mormons have about Jesus differ from most Evangelicals?
Mormons believe that God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are 3 separate and distinct persons (Matthew 3:16-17 , Matthew 17:5 ). Mormons, therefore, do not believe in the Nicene Creed as most traditional Christians do that states that God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are the same person, but manifests himself in 3 personages.We believe that God the Father and Jesus Christ are both spiritual & physical, meaning they have resurrected bodies of flesh and bone. (Genesis 1:26 , Luke 24:39 , D&C 129:2 ) We believe that they are one in purpose (John 10:30 , John 17:21 , D&C 35:2) We believe that they are so unified in purpose that they would have the same thoughts, do the same things, etc. Jesus also can talk on behalf of the Father as he does much in the Old Testament. (John 5:19) They are all infinite beings, all powerful & perfect in every way. The appearance of Jesus is so similar to that of the Father that it is said to see Jesus is to see the Father. Everything that Jesus does is under the direction of the Father (John 14:28).
Mormons also believe that we are all literal spirit children of God the Father, his offspring, (Deuteronomy 14:1 , Psalms 82:6 , Acts 17:29 ) and that we lived with him before we came to this earth as spirits. (Jeremiah 1:5 , John 9:2 ). Jesus Christ was the first born of the Father. (Colossions 1:15 , D&C 93:21) Therefore we are all brothers and sisters with Jesus being the eldest brother in the family of the Father. Lucifer was also a spirit child of Heavenly Father, and a prominent one at that. He carried the title of Son of the Morning (Isaiah 14:12 , Luke 10:18 , Moses 4:3 ). He rebelled against God and Jehovah (Jesus) and was cast out of heaven taking 1/3 of the hosts of heaven with him who followed him (Revelations 12:3-4). You might hear many Evangelicals say that Mormons believe that Jesus and the Devil are brothers. We believe that we're all spirit children of the Father, and therefore we are all brothers and sisters. Many Evangelicals do not believe that Jesus is our elder brother (John 20:17) or our brother at all. Mormons do also believe that Jesus is our Father as well because he has purchased us with his blood, and because the Father has given Jesus the title of Father ( Mosiah 15:1-5 ).
Mormons believe that Jesus Christ suffered for our sins, not only on the cross, but also in the garden of gethsemane when he bled from every pore. It is my understanding that most evangelicals believe that He only suffered on the cross, and not in the garden as well.
Mormons are encouraged to pray only to the Father, in the name of Christ, as Jesus taught us in the bible. (Matthew 6:9) Therefore, you will not usually hear a Mormon praying to Jesus. It's not forbidden, but it's not encouraged either. In the Book of Mormon, the Nephite people, when Jesus appeared to them, did pray to Jesus. (3Nephi 19:15-17) Mormons do pray, and do everything in the name of Jesus Christ though!
Mormons believe that when Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, they were in God's presence. After partaking of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they were cast out of God's presence, and therefore Jehovah became the Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5 , 2Nephi 2:28 , D&C 76:69 )between mankind and the Father, to act as our advocate before the Father, and to act in the Father's place on earth.
Mormons also do not make any claim to know whether or not Jesus Christ was ever married. Most Mormons believe, as many traditional Christians do, that Jesus was single. There have been, and are probably some church leaders who personally believe that Jesus was married at some point in time, but they do not and are not permitted to talk about such things in a leadership role since it is not doctrine! The idea of Jesus being married would not be strange to Mormons though, given our beliefs on celestial marriage and eternal families. There are many traditional Christian who also believe that Jesus was married and make very strong and convincing arguments, and you can find them by Googling them. But let me repeat that the official church doctrine makes no claims that Jesus was ever married.
Mormons also do not make any claim to know whether or not Jesus Christ was ever married. Most Mormons believe, as many traditional Christians do, that Jesus was single. There have been, and are probably some church leaders who personally believe that Jesus was married at some point in time, but they do not and are not permitted to talk about such things in a leadership role since it is not doctrine! The idea of Jesus being married would not be strange to Mormons though, given our beliefs on celestial marriage and eternal families. There are many traditional Christian who also believe that Jesus was married and make very strong and convincing arguments, and you can find them by Googling them. But let me repeat that the official church doctrine makes no claims that Jesus was ever married.
To Mormons, Jesus Christ is the center of our lives, the corner stone of the Gospel. Without the Atonement of Jesus Christ, this entire life, our entire existence, is meaningless! By accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, and striving to follow His teachings, we can be saved with Him and Exalted with Him! (Romans 8:16-17) And HE will come again!
I have been to many different Evangelical and traditional Christian sermons and I find very little, if anything in them that I, or any of my Mormon friends disagree with. This is from the Mouth of a life long Mormon age 31!
To follow up on this topic, you can research or study the following! You can also watch a playlist of short videos on youtube starting with this video!
*Read the book Jesus the Christ by James E Talmage or go to this website.
*You can click here to search LDS Church archives for talks on Jesus Christ.
*Here is a link to the LDS Scriptural tool called the Topical Guide on Jesus Christ.
*You can go to Mormon.org
*You can search for and download MP3 talks about Jesus from LDS scholars, Apostles, Prophets and other church leaders at BYUbroadcasting.org
*You can search through any of our scriptures, which are also posted online!
*You can look through our Hymn Book, which is also posted online!
*You can go to youtube and look for Mormon Messages.
