Matthew 16:15-16; “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Those two verses changed my life. Little did I know when I read them as a Mormon they would be the theme of my vocation later in life. At the age of about ten I didn’t know what the word Christ meant but sensed that it held power. Let’s take a look at what the Mormons think of Jesus to get a better idea of how to witness to them and how to pray for them!
It’s important to understand the Mormons believe many things about Jesus Christ, but nothing in their doctrine in regards to Him is scripturally correct. We have listed scripture from the Bible to refute the various false teachings after each LDS doctrine. When no scripture is listed it is because there is absolutely nothing in scripture that remotely suggests the idea they’ve presented.
Jesus was created spiritually by a Heavenly Father and Mother before coming here to earth. In Gospel Through the Ages, by Milton Hunter, pg. 21, it says; “Jesus is man's spiritual brother. We dwelt with Him in the spirit world as members of that large society of eternal intelligences, which included our Heavenly Parents… In that spirit-creation, when we became children of God, Jesus was the "first-born," and so He is our eldest brother.”
Col. 1:15-7 says; “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”
Jesus is the firstborn spirit child of God - Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pg. 724; “Jesus Christ, whose main title was Jehovah, was the firstborn spirit child of God the Father and thus the eldest brother and preeminent above all other spirit children of God.”
Phil. 2:7-8 says; “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Jesus not begotten by the Holy Ghost – Journal of Discourses 1:51 says; “Now remember from this time forth, and for ever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost—"if the Son was begotten by the Holy Ghost, it would be very dangerous to baptize and confirm females, and give the Holy Ghost to them, lest he should beget children…"” – Brigham Young
Luke 1:35 says; “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
The Only Begotten according to the flesh…Anytime you see the phrase “after the manner of the flesh” or “according to the flesh” in Mormonism, it is code talk for “through a sexual union”. From the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 323 it says; “Jesus Christ is the heir of this Kingdom—the Only Begotten of the Father according to the flesh, and holds the keys over all this world.”
Jesus born in Jerusalem – Alma 7:10 says; “And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.”
Matt. 2:1; “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.”
Jesus and Lucifer are brothers – James Talmage wrote in Jesus the Christ, pg. 8; “Thus it is shown that prior to the placing of man upon the earth, how long before we do not know, Christ and Satan, together with the hosts of the spirit-children of God, existed as intelligent individuals, possessing power and opportunity to choose the course they would pursue and the leaders whom they would follow and obey.”
John 1:1, 14; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
Jesus is God – The Introductory page of the Book of Mormon says; “Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God”.
Isaiah 9:6; “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Jesus is “a” God – Joseph Fielding Smith said in Doctrines of Salvation 1:32; “Our Savior was a God before he was born into this world, and he brought with him that same status when he came here. He was as much a God when he was born into the world as he was before. But as far as this life is concerned it appears that he had to start just as all other children do and gain his knowledge line upon line.”
John 8:58; “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”
Exodus 3:14; “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”
Jesus was the Great High Priest and Adam was next – Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 158; “How have we come at the Priesthood in the last days? It came down, down, in regular succession. Peter, James, and John had it given to them and they gave it to others. Christ is the Great High Priest; Adam next. Paul speaks of the Church coming to an innumerable company of angels—to God the Judge of all—the spirits of just men made perfect; to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant. (Hebrews 12:22-24.)”
Hebrews 7:24; “But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.”
Jesus is the Father and the Son – Milton Hunter said in Gospel Through the Ages, pg. 23; “Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have light, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and daughters.”
Jesus grew into Messiah- Neal A. Maxwell wrote in “Even as I am”, pg. 69; “Elder James E. Talmage asserts authoritatively that the realization that He was, indeed, the Messiah came to Jesus gradually. As a lad, He knew He was the Son of God. Yet as He grew, grace upon grace, and in wisdom and knowledge, there came a point when He knew with fulness who He was and what He had to accomplish. We do not know precisely when that full awareness occurred, but it surely preceded those special days of stress in the wilderness.”
Luke 2:40-2; “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.”
Belief in Jesus saves you – Helaman 14:8 says; “And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall believe on the Son of God, the same shall have everlasting life.”
John 3:16; “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Jesus’ grace and your works saves you – 2 Nephi 25:23 says; “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”
Eph. 2:8-9; “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Jesus had to obey to receive fullness of the priesthood – Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 308 says; “If a man gets a fullness of the priesthood of God he has to get it in the same way that Jesus Christ obtained it, and that was by keeping all the commandments and obeying all the ordinances of the house of the Lord.”
Jesus was married – Orson Hyde in Journal of Discourses 2:210; “…some of the Eastern papers represent me as a great blasphemer, because I said, in my lecture on Marriage…that Jesus Christ was married at Cana of Galilee, that Mary, Martha, and others were his wives, and that he begat children…they worship a Savior that is too pure and holy to fulfil] the commands of his Father. I worship one that is just pure and holy enough "to fulfil all righteousness;"…Startle not at this! for even the Father himself honored that law by coming down to Mary, without a natural body, and begetting a son; and if Jesus begat children, he only "did that which he had seen his Father do."”
The entire Christian world is wrong about Trinity – Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 311 says; “There is much said about God and the Godhead. The scriptures say there are Gods many and Lords many, but to us there is but one living and true God…The teachers of the day say that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, and they are all in one body and one God. Jesus prayed that those that the Father had given him out of the world might be made one in them, as they were one [one in spirit, in mind, in purpose]. If I were to testify that the Christian world were wrong on this point, my testimony would be true.”
Gal. 1:6-7; “marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.”
Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith are related – From the book “Jesus Was Married”, pg. 94, by Ogden Kraut it says; “Since Joseph Smith did hold the keys of the kingdom in the last days, (D&C 65:2, 115:19) and was the “Rod” from the loins of the Stem of Jesse, he would have the blood of Abraham, Jesse, and the Savior, according to the testimony of scripture and revelation. It would be evident that Joseph Smith should also know these facts. The Prophet did understand them—and more—but he was reluctant to tell them because of the traditions and ideologies of modern Christianity.”
Jesus’ lineage can be found in the books of Matthew and Luke; neither of these books says anything about Joseph Smith being in the lineage of Jesus Christ.
Jesus paid for man’s sin in the Garden of Gethsemane – Jesus the Christ, pg. 568 says; “… the Savior took upon Himself the burden of the sins of mankind from Adam to the end of the world…In March 1830, the glorified Lord, Jesus Christ, thus spake: "For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent, but if they would not repent, they must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore…and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men."” – James Talmage
The Garden of Gethsemane doesn’t qualify as the place for the atonement of Christ. First of all there are numerous verses in the Old Testament which prophecy about the atonement that would eventually be made at the cross – Isaiah 53 is just one example. Secondly, there is what God said in Lev. 17:11; “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”
Jesus and the Cross – Joseph Fielding Smith said in Doctrines of Salvation 1:130; “A great many people have an idea that when he was on the cross, and nails were driven into his hands and feet, that was his great suffering. His great suffering was before he ever was placed upon the cross. It was in the Garden of Gethsemane that the blood oozed from the pores of his body.”
1 Cor. 1:18; “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
Jesus’ blood can’t atone for all sins – There are three sins that Jesus cannot forgive -
Murder-
D&C 42:79; “And it shall come to pass, that if any persons among you shall kill they shall be delivered up and dealt with according to the laws of the land; for remember that he hath no forgiveness; and it shall be proved according to the laws of the land.”
Apostasy-
D&C 85:11; “And they who are of the High Priesthood, whose names are not found written in the book of the law, or that are found to have apostatized, or to have been cut off from the church, as well as the lesser priesthood, or the members, in that day shall not find an inheritance among the saints of the Most High.”
Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost-
D&C 132:27; “The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which shall not be forgiven in the world nor out of the world, is in that ye commit murder wherein ye shed innocent blood, and assent unto my death, after ye have received my new and everlasting covenant, saith the Lord God; and he that abideth not this law can in nowise enter into my glory, but shall be damned, saith the Lord.”
This standard would eliminate King David and the Apostle Paul from salvation.
Dear Friends;
If this is the first time you’ve heard that Jesus is in fact God, don’t feel alone! Many Mormons have never heard this before, including me! If you’re a Mormon how would you have answered the question Jesus asked Peter? Would you have known where He was even born?
Our prayer for the Mormon people at Life After Ministries is that they would know the Jesus of the Bible. Our hearts are grieved knowing they have the wrong Jesus. If you are a Mormon we want you to know we don’t do this out of animosity or “revenge”. We provide this information so that you will know the truth and because we love you!
