“Of course we believe in Jesus,” one of the missionaries asserted in a kind but firm tone. “He’s even in the name of our church—the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (LDS). She emphasized Jesus to make sure I got it.
The name tag pinned to her dress was a familiar sight in Salt Lake City, and the ensuing conversation with these LDS missionaries brought to light an important question: what do Mormons believe about Jesus?
Here are four things you should know.
1. Mormons believe Jesus was the spirit child of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother.
The Son of God was the product of divine procreation—the firstborn of many spirit children made by heavenly parents. Mormonism implies something like historic Arianism, that “there was a time when the Son was not.” Some LDS adherents claim Jesus is eternal, but they mean “always will be,” not “always has been.”
Some LDS adherents claim Jesus is eternal, but they mean ‘always will be,’ not ‘always has been.’
Heavenly Father chose Mary to give birth to Jesus, at which point the Son of God received a mortal body. Jesus reached maturity through his resurrection and glorification and was ultimately exalted. He became a god, paving the way for the divination of his siblings in the future.
So Jesus was first made, then progressed, then eventually became exalted to godhood, where he’s now united in purpose and power with Heavenly Father. Jesus was a man who became a god, as opposed to the eternal Son who took on flesh.
2. Mormons believe Jesus became the Redeemer because he had a better strategy than Lucifer.
Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation was taught to his spirit children during their premortal existence. He wanted a redeemer, and both Jesus and Lucifer said, “Here am I, send me.” With two willing candidates, the Father listened to their respective proposals.
Lucifer competed for the messianic title by suggesting a plan of compulsion. The children of God would be safely conducted through their mortal existence on earth by being obligated to do right.
Jesus, on the other hand, offered to assume mortality, live among men as a teacher and example, and uphold the sanctity of free agency. Heavenly Father accepted Jesus’s plan because it preserved the freedom to act and choose.
Consequently, war broke out in heaven—and Satan and one-third of the spirits were cast out. Jesus was ordained to be the Savior and won the title of Redeemer.
3. Mormons believe Jesus’s greatest atoning work was in Gethsemane, not on the cross.
Brigham Young University professor Robert J. Matthews explained, “It was in Gethsemane, on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, that Jesus made his perfect atonement by the shedding of his blood—more so than on the cross.” That last phrase explains how the cross is diminished in LDS teaching. Mormons view wearing or displaying the symbol of Jesus’s death as taboo, which is why the steeples in Salt Lake City are topped with spires instead of crosses. It was an agonizing Savior, not a crucified Savior, who atoned for sin.
Mormons believe it was an agonizing Savior, not a crucified Savior, who atoned for sin.
This coincides with the depth of atonement LDS people believe they need. As Brigham Young put it, “My faith is, when we have done all we can, then the Lord is under obligation, and will not disappoint the faithful; he will perform the rest.” In other words, Christ’s atonement doesn’t make all the difference; it just makes up the difference.
4. Mormons believe in an historical Jesus, but not the biblical Jesus.
Sincere Latter-day Saints fervently seek to live out 2 Nephi 25:26 from the Book of Mormon: “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ.” You could say they desire to be “Christ-centered.” But, sadly, the Christ in the Book of Mormon isn’t the Christ of Christianity. Though they believe in a historical figure named Jesus who called apostles, performed miracles, died on a cross, and rose again—and though they include his name in their church’s moniker—he’s not the Jesus of the Bible.
In Mormon theology, Christ’s atonement doesn’t make all the difference; it just makes up the difference.
I know two different guys named Jared Jenkins. One is a young single man serving as a pastoral resident and finishing his seminary education. Another is a pastor in Utah, seminary professor, husband, and father of four. Imagine a scenario in which I tell you Jared Jenkins dropped by my house for a visit. “Oh, that’s wonderful,” you say. I go on to explain that he gave me a book to read from one of his seminary classes. You reply, “I wish I could have seen him. I’ve been meaning to set him up on a date with a lovely young lady.” Shocked, I reply, “A date? He’s a happily married pastor with four kids!” Of course, we both then realize that even though we’ve been discussing Jared Jenkins, we’ve been referring to different people.
While both Mormons and historic Christians believe in “Jesus Christ,” they’re referring to different people. Timothy Tennent has helpfully pointed out the importance, when it comes to the divine, of “noting the predicates.” The predicates Mormons ascribe to Jesus in their sacred texts and prophetic teachings are vastly different from the predicates revealed in the Bible. They’re so different that Mormonism and historic Christianity can’t be talking about the same subject.
Mormons talk about a Jesus who was the spirit child of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother. They refer to Jesus as the brother of Lucifer who proposed a better plan of redemption and won the designation “Messiah.” They believe in a Jesus who filled in the gap of humanity’s need through his atoning sweat in the garden.
Mormonism and historic Christianity can’t be talking about the same Jesus.
But that’s not the Jesus of the Bible. He reveals himself as the beginningless Son of God, from everlasting to everlasting (John 1:1; 17:24; Col. 1:17). The Scriptures present Satan as a fallen angel, a created being—nothing like the Son of God, the Creator of all things (Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2–4). According to God’s Word, Jesus is the satisfactory payment for sins (1 John 2:2; Heb. 9:12, 26). When it comes to salvation, we don’t accomplish some of it and allow Jesus to finish the job. It’s all from him, the One who died declaring, “It is finished” (John 19:30; cf. Gal. 2:21).
It’s my heart’s desire that my LDS friends and neighbors come to believe in this Jesus.
The Gospel Coalition