Why is Jesus Christ called the Son of Man?  While others in the Scriptures (particularly the Old Testament) who are called “son[s] of man” (Jeremiah 49:18, Ezekiel 4:16, Psalms 8:4), the word “son” is uncapitalized.  Elder James E. Talmage, a Biblical scholar, sheds light on the answer in his renown work, Jesus the Christ.  He says,

“In applying the designation to Himself, the Lord invariably uses the definite article. ‘The Son of Man’ was and is, specifically and exclusively, Jesus Christ. While as a matter of solemn certainty He was the only male human being from Adam down who was not the son of a mortal man, He used the title in a way to conclusively demonstrate that it was peculiarly and solely His own. It is plainly evident that the expression is fraught with a meaning beyond that conveyed by the words in common usage. The distinguishing appellation has been construed by many to indicate our Lord’s humble station as a mortal, and to connote that He stood as the type of humanity, holding a particular and unique relationship to the entire human family.”

Others are called by the title “son of man,” but only the Lord Jesus Christ is called The Son of Man.  Said the Spirit of the Lord to the prophet Nephi, “Knowest thou the condescension of God?” (Book of Mormon: 1 Nephi 11:16; emphasis added).  But, as Talmage says,

There is, however, a more profound significance attaching to the Lord’s use of the title ‘The Son of Man’; and this lies in the fact that Jesus Christ knew His Father to be the one and only supremely exalted Man, whose Son Jesus Christ was both in spirit and in body—the Firstborn among all the spirit-children of the Father, the Only Begotten in the flesh—and therefore in sense applicable to Himself alone, He was and is the Son of the ‘Man of Holiness,’ Elohim, the Eternal Father.

Moses wrote,
Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time” (Moses 6:57).

In other words, “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22).

Joseph Smith, a prophet God raised up to re-establish Jesus Christ’s Church on earth in our day, said,

The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 121). Since ‘all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to [Jesus Christ],’ and since the Old Testament is something ‘which pertains to our religion,’then the Old Testament must somehow testify of Jesus Christ.1

Yet, the somewhat gruesome nature of blood sacrifice [in the Old Testament] has led some to ask, “How could such an activity have anything to do with the gospel of love?” We can better understand the answer to that question when we understand the two major purposes for the law of sacrifice. These purposes applied to Adam, Abraham, Moses, and the New Testament Apostles, and they apply to us today as we accept and live the law of sacrifice in a different way: through exemplifying a broken heart and contrite spirit. Its two major purposes are to test and prove us and to assist us in coming unto Christ” (M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7).

Mormons (a nickname for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) often use the term “fulness of the gospel.” Mormons refer to modern times as the dispensation of the fulness of times, referring to the fact that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in full.

Mormon beliefs; Jesus Christ's gospel restored

Mormon beliefs teach that Adam and Eve, the first people to live on the earth, were given the full gospel. They shared it with their children. However, people often found it difficult to live the full gospel, and so, periodically, the fulness of the gospel was replaced with preparatory laws, such as the Law of Moses, to help people progress to a point where they could live the full gospel. In addition, truths were sometimes lost. There have almost always been those who wanted God to change truth to something more pleasing to them, and periodically, those false beliefs became widespread among the people. During these times, God often took away the prophets, which also removed access to God’s word. This was known as apostasy, since the people had chosen to apostatize by ignoring or changing God’s word. However, God never allows apostasy to last forever. Each time, He eventually returns the prophets to the earth, as we see while studying the Bible.

His gospel was first established on the earth beginning with Adam and has been taught in every dispensation through such prophets as Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others. Each of these prophets foretold the coming of Jesus Christ to atone for the sins of the world. Those prophecies have been fulfilled. The Savior did establish His Church. He called His Apostles and established His priesthood. Most importantly, He laid down His life and took it up that all will rise again, thus carrying out the atoning sacrifice. But that was not the end.

After the Savior’s Resurrection, He commissioned His Apostles to lead the Church and administer gospel ordinances. Faithful to this charge, they were persecuted, and some were eventually martyred. As a result, the Lord’s priesthood authority was no longer on earth, and the world fell into spiritual darkness. In the centuries that followed, God’s children had the Light of Christ, could pray, and could feel the influence of the Holy Ghost. But the fulness of the gospel had been lost. There was no one left on earth with the power and authority to lead the Church or perform sacred ordinances such as baptism, conferral of the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the saving ordinances of the temple. Almost everyone was denied access to the scriptures, and most people were illiterate (Robert D. Hales, “Preparations for the Restoration and the Second Coming: ‘My Hand Shall Be over Thee’,” Liahona, Nov 2005, 88–92)

The Mormons call this the Great Apostasy. It was very long and very thorough. We can see the impact of this time as we look around us on earth. Even while the apostles were on the earth, apostasy was beginning, and the apostles grieved at losing people and even entire nations through apostasy. Today, as we observe the landscape of our nation, we see hundreds of churches, all teaching different things and most claiming to have the truth. This happened because the truth was lost and people had to try to decide on their own what was true and what wasn’t. Often these choices led to the formation of new Christian churches with new beliefs not found in the Bible or the church as it existed when Christ was on the earth and even directly contradict those teachings. Because God is not a God of confusion, and because truth matters to Him, as we see by the many references to it in the Bible, we know it matters to God what we believe and how we act based on the truth Jesus Christ taught while on the earth.

However, God began to prepare His people for a restoration of prophecy and the fullness of the gospel. Literacy increased and the printing press made it possible for people to read the Bible on their own. Reformations began which challenged the traditions of some long-standing religions.

In the 1700s, a nation was formed which guaranteed freedom of religion. This made it possible for a restoration to occur. Finally, in the 1800s, the world was ready for the restoration to occur. Joseph Smith, a teenager in upstate New York, lived in a time of great excitement over religion. People were anxious to align themselves with a church and many opportunities were given to them to choose one that suited their beliefs. Joseph, his mother, and his siblings attended many of these revivals and churches, but this exploration only confused Joseph. He couldn’t figure out how to tell which of the churches was true.

He turned to the Bible for help. While studying, he found James 1:5-6: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” This verse, believed by many scholars to be the work of the half-brother of Jesus Christ, was, Joseph realized, the key to solving his dilemma. He went into the woods near his home and prayed with faith. God and Jesus appeared to Him and instructed Him not to join any of the churches currently on the earth, since none were entirely correct. Later, when he had grown and matured, an angel named Moroni came to begin tutoring him in preparation for the restoration. Joseph eventually translated a set of ancient records we call the Book of Mormon, which is a companion to the Bible and testifies of its truthfulness. When this was complete, the restoration of the Savior’s gospel could begin.

Today, we live in a time that again has the blessings of prophets to share with us God’s word. While some think God has turned His back on His children forever, Mormons know that just as prophets were needed to prepare God’s people for the first coming of Christ, prophets are just as necessary to prepare us for the second coming. Perhaps the need is even greater, since this return will be made known to all the world.

Our message is unique. We declare to the world that the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth. We declare with boldness that the keys of the priesthood have been restored to man, with the power to seal on earth and in the heavens. The saving ordinances pronounced by the Lord as requirements for entering into eternal life with Him can now be performed with binding authority by those who worthily exercise the power of His holy priesthood. We declare to the world that this is the day referred to by biblical prophets as the latter days. It is the final time, before the coming of Jesus Christ to rule and reign over the earth.

We invite all to listen to the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ from us. Then you can compare the glorious message with what you may hear from others, and you can determine which is from God and which is from man (L. Tom Perry, “The Message of the Restoration,” Ensign, May 2007, 85–88.)

The fullness of the gospel, then, means that God’s prophets are on the earth, allowing us to sort truth from the teachings of men, and helping us to prepare for the triumphant return of the Savior, and for our own return to God’s presence. We can know for ourselves if this is true, because God has promised us that we can pray to find out, rather than simply trusting man’s word. Just as the brother of Jesus said, if we lack wisdom, God promises to give it to us if we ask in faith, with a sincere desire to know the truth.

Mormons teach that they have the fullness of the gospel found in their own faith. However, James E. Faust, a previous apostle of the Lord, teaches what this means in relationship to other faiths:

We believe The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a restoration of the original Church established by Jesus Christ, which was built “upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” 24 It is not a breakoff from any other church.

We believe that the fulness of the gospel of Christ has been restored, but this is no reason for anyone to feel superior in any way toward others of God’s children. Rather, it requires a greater obligation to invoke the essence of the gospel of Christ in our lives—to love, serve, and bless others. Indeed, as the First Presidency stated in 1978, we believe that “the great religious leaders of the world such as Mohammed, Confucius, and the Reformers, as well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received a portion of God’s light. Moral truths were given to them by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals.” 25 Thus, we have respect for the sincere religious beliefs of others and appreciate others extending the same courtesy and respect for the tenets we hold dear (James E. Faust, “The Restoration of All Things,” Liahona, May 2006, 61–62, 67–68.”)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes called Mormons, teaches that after the death of the Savior and His apostles, priesthood authority to administer God’s church was withdrawn from the earth. 3276People disagreed over what the scriptures meant and over what Jesus had taught, and as a result, thousands of Christian churches teaching conflicting doctrine began to appear across the earth. Although Christianity continued to be taught and its core doctrine, that of the Savior’s divinity, spread, each church had its own version of Christianity. Many of the doctrines were critical to salvation, and so, as the last days before the second coming of Christ approached, it was important that the truth be completely restored.

It was in preparation for this eternally significant moment that a fourteen-year-old boy named Joseph Smith found himself becoming very interested in religion. The area in which he lived was in the midst of a religious fervor. There were revivals and many people were deciding which church to join. Joseph’s family participated in this movement, and Joseph wanted to choose a church as well. However, his visits to various churches and revivals left him confused. No one could explain to him how to know which of the conflicting teachings he heard in the various churches was right. He knew they couldn’t be right. God is not a God of confusion. If a doctrinal teaching was essential to salvation, it could only have one answer.

He began reading the Bible, looking for his own answers. There, he found James 1:5, believed to have been written by the brother of Jesus Christ. He read:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (James 1:5)

As Joseph thought about this verse, he realized this was the best solution to his problem. Men gave him conflicting information, but God knew what was true. He trusted this counsel and set off for the woods to pray, the first time he would pray aloud. His prayer was answered, just as promised, but in a way he could not have anticipated. This prayer was the moment chosen by God to take the first step toward the restoration. Like many Biblical prophets, a young boy was given a powerful spiritual experience to prepare him for events to come. God and Jesus Christ appeared to him. God introduced the Savior, who then instructed him not to join any of the churches, because the complete gospel was not yet on the earth.

It would be a number of years before the restoration began, as Joseph Smith grew up and matured. He was then tutored by an angel named Moroni, who taught Joseph the important initial principles of the gospel and also helped him develop the maturity to cope with the challenges ahead.

The restored gospel is the gospel of Jesus Christ, as He taught it when He lived on the earth. He is the head of the restored church and guides it from day to day. The Mormons have a prophet who leads the church on earth, but the prophet himself is lead by the Savior, and can’t do anything of himself. He can’t invent doctrine or put truth to a vote. He is not permitted to “keep up with the times” by altering doctrine to make the church more popular with society. Only the Savior decides what is truth and He directs the church leadership accordingly.

There are many articles appearing in the press advising the church to make changes to its doctrine in order to become more acceptable to a changing world. However, this suggests that we must counsel God, instead of taking our counsel from God.

Russell M. Nelson, an apostle of the Lord in modern times, taught:

Another unchanging principle is that of divine or moral law. Transgression of moral law brings retribution; obedience to it brings blessings “immutable and unchangeable” (D&C 104:2). Blessings are always predicated upon obedience to law. 39 So the Church teaches us to embrace the right and to renounce the wrong—that we might have joy. 40

The Savior and His servants 41 do not speak words of complacency but teach what people need to know. Through the ages, history attests that contemporary critics have pressed Church leaders to modify a decree of the Lord. 42 But such is eternal law, and it cannot be altered. Not even for His Beloved Son could God change the law that required the Atonement. Divine doctrines cannot be squeezed into compact molds to make them fit fashionable patterns of the day. Nor can they be fully expressed on a bumper sticker (Russell M. Nelson, “Constancy amid Change,” Ensign, Nov 1993, 33).

It is reassuring to those who have found the source of truth to know that truth is unchanging. In a world where everything changes by the moment, a few things will never change. We can always depend on God’s truth. Practices might change, but principles of truth do not.

The Savior is the head of the restored gospel. Any person is given the ability to do as Joseph Smith did and turn to God for counsel on which church to join. This is not an opportunity reserved for future prophets, but something every person can do. People who meet with Mormon missionaries are taught that before baptism, they must ask God if this is the true church, so they will know for themselves, rather than relying on the testimony of men. Those who honestly do this are able to develop an unshakable testimony because they received their knowledge personally from God and Jesus Christ.

While most people will not receive a personal visit from God, since they aren’t being prepared to restore the gospel, they will receive a sure knowledge of truth in their hearts. When Jesus Christ was on the earth, He taught that prayer was an essential part of the spiritual life. It is equally essential today, and because God promised us wisdom if we ask for it, as recorded by James in the New Testament, He will give us that answer in a way we can recognize as His, if we are patient and come to Him with complete faith.

The evening before the Lamb of God was to be crucified for the sins of the world and hours before He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus was sitting with his Apostles in a “large upper room” (Mark 14:15). It was here that He first instituted the sacrament: “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples,” (Matthew 26:26). Then He said, “Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me” 1 Corinthians 11:24). Then, “After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:25). Thus, the purpose of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is to look back and remember Jesus the Christ and what He has done for each of us. Everything points “to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice [is] the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal” (Alma 34:14). Blood sacrifices looked forward; the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper looks backward, and the central act—the atonement of Jesus Christ—is right in the middle—the meridian of time.

In the previous two articles about the law of sacrifice, we have discussed how the law was used anciently to teach God’s children to look forward to this “great and last sacrifice.” With the Savior’s ultimate sacrifice, the law of Moses was done away. The law of Moses, however, “is not the same thing as the law of sacrifice” (M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7). The Savior said after His resurrection from the dead, “And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood . . . [but] ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 9:19-20). Hence, what we sacrifice has changed; that we sacrifice, and the reasons why we sacrifice have remained the same.

The word sacrifice means to make holy. It also means “To surrender or give up (something) for the attainment of some higher advantage or dearer object” (Oxford English Dictionary, “Sacrifice”). Or, as Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Bruce R. McConkie put it, “Sacrifice involves giving up the things of this world because of the promises of blessings to be gained in a better world” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. “Sacrifice,” Bookcraft: 1966).

But what is a broken heart and a contrite spirit? A broken heart is the opposite of a hard heart. The image of a hard heart is used in the scriptures to denote pride. Hence, a person with a broken heart is one who is humble. The word contrite means repentant. A person with a contrite spirit is one who has an awareness of his or her guilt. This person remembers the things he or she has done wrong, but because the person is repentant, he or she strives to change and be better than before. This person knows that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, he or she can overcome all obstacles.

To have a broken heart and a contrite spirit therefore means we are willing to submit to God. We are willing to submit to God as Christ was willing to submit to His father. The Savior said, “And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men, even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil” (3 Nephi 27:14).

God loves us. He wants us to come unto Him. The law of sacrifice tests us and assists us in coming unto Christ (M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7). Another Apostle of the Church, Russell M. Nelson, has taught: “Our highest sense of sacrifice is achieved as we make ourselves more sacred or holy. This we do by our obedience to the commandments of God” (“Lessons from Eve,” Ensign, Nov. 1987, 88). Hence, “the sacrifice changed from the offering to the offerer” (M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7).

Sacrifice is therefore a wonderful blessing. Joseph Smith said, “A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation” (Lectures on Faith 6:7). In other words, sacrifice gives us faith, and with faith we can receive salvation. It is not always easy to give up something we want, especially when we can’t actually see the end results. But I testify that it is worth it in the end. Sometimes we must take a few steps into the darkness in order for the light to turn on and go before us. That’s faith. And sacrifice takes faith.

I end with one of my favorite quotes on the law of sacrifice: “Real, personal sacrifice never was placing an animal on the altar. Instead, it is a willingness to put the animal in us upon the altar and letting it be consumed!” (Neal A. Maxwell “ ‘Deny Yourselves of All Ungodliness,’ ” Ensign, May 1995, 68).

The atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ “embraces, sustains, supports, and gives life to all other gospel doctrines.  It is the foundation upon which all truth rests and all things grow out of it and come because of it.”1 “The wondrous and glorious Atonement was the central act in all of human history.”2 Because of these statements, all things also point to Christ and His atonement.  Those who lived before Christ looked forward to Him and His infinite and eternal sacrifice.  Those who live after Christ look back to this greatest of all events and “remember what was done.”3

There were many different ways in which the blood sacrifices before Christ were types and shadows of the great and last sacrifice.  Note a few of the details:

First, like Christ, the [sacrificial] animal was chosen and anointed by the laying on of hands. (The Hebrew title Messiah and the Greek title Christ both mean “the Anointed One.”) Second, the animal was to have its life’s blood spilt. Third, it had to be without blemish—totally free from physical

flaws, complete, whole, and perfect. Fourth, the sacrifice had to be clean and worthy. Fifth, the sacrifice had to be domesticated; that is, not wild but tame and of help to man (see Lev. 1:2–3, 10; Lev. 22:21). Sixth and seventh, for the original sacrifice practiced by Adam and the most common sacrifice in the law of Moses, the animal had to be a firstborn and a male (see Ex. 12:5; Lev. 1:3; Lev. 22:18–25). Eighth, the sacrifice of grain had to be ground into flour and made into breadstuffs, which reminds us of our Lord’s title the Bread of Life (see John 6:48). Ninth, the firstfruits that were offered remind us that Christ was the firstfruits of the Resurrection.”4

About 74 years before Christ, the prophet Amulek wrote about how Christ’s sacrifice would eventually end blood sacrifices:

It is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice . . .
And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal. (Alma 34:10, 14)

Nine years before that, the prophet Alma also testified of Christ,

And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. (Alma 7:11-12)

The Savior of all mankind came and fulfilled the law.  He is the great and last sacrifice.  The pain that He went through was “so hard to bear” that we cannot comprehend it, and His suffering was so great that He–God, the greatest of all–trembled because of the pain, bled from every pore, and suffered both body and spirit (See Doctrine and Covenants 19:18).

With His death, the law of Moses was fulfilled.  Yet, the law of Moses is not exactly the same thing as the law of sacrifice.5 We still keep the law of sacrifice.  The Savior taught concerning the fulfilling of the law and what we are to sacrifice nowadays:

And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.
And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.  And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost. (3 Nephi 9:19-20)

Malachi 3:8-10 is often quoted to motivate us to pay our tithes and offerings.  “Will a man rob God?” the record reads,

Yet ye have robbed me.  But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee?  In tithes and offerings.
Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.  (Malachi 3:8-10)

Because one of the offerings we are to give to the Lord is “a broken heart and a contrite spirit,” the same principle of blessings applies.  I testify that when we offer up to the Lord a broken heart and a contrite spirit that He will pour out a blessing upon us that is so great that we will not have room enough to receive it.  Our cup of blessings will fill to overflowing, even so much that those around us will also receive blessings.

Yet, no matter how contrite our spirit or how broken our heart, our sacrifice is nothing compared to the one that happened in the meridian of time.  Indeed, there is one offering that pours out a blessing so great upon all of mankind, that none can even begin to comprehend the greatness of it.  This offering is so great that it has power to bless—and save—all mankind: “black and white, bond and free, male and female” (2 Nephi 26:33).

In conclusion, hear another testimony from another prophet in the Book of Mormon–King Benjamin:

And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.
And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.
And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him, and shall crucify him.
And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men.
For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned. (Mosiah 3:7-11)

Hence, “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”6

Notes

1 Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966, 60.
2 Neal A. Maxwell, “Willing to Submit,” Ensign, May 1985, 70.
3 Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Salt Lake City, 1980, 185.
4 M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7.
5 Ibid.
6 Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Ed. Joseph F. Smith, Deseret Book: Salt Lake City, 1976, 121.

Before I say anything else, I want to make it clear that the real answer to this question is beyond the scope of this article; indeed, it is beyond the scope of mortality and all things temporal: for “this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). Furthermore, “it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil before you will have learned [all the principles of exaltation]. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 6:306-7).

I am now able to attempt a basic answer to the above question.

One of the most profound statements that will act as a beginning to our answer was made by the Prophet Joseph Smith. He said, “It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. 1938. 345). Because “character” means both “attributes” and “nature” (Cf. Gordon B. Hinckley. Faith: The Essence of True Religion. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. 1989. 20-27.), in order to know God and thereby receive eternal life, we must learn of both his divine attributes and his divine nature. For “Knowledge of divine and spiritual things is absolutely essential for one’s salvation” (Bible Dictionary, “Knowledge,” see also Romans 10:14). There has been much written regarding God’s divine attributes, so in this article I will attempt a short explanation of the other meaning of character, one that is seldom spoken of—the divine nature of God.

I have already stated that it is “the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God.” In addition, “If men [and women] do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1938], p. 343). This is because “All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1995.).

The reason men and women are created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27) is because “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit” (Doctrine and Covenants 130: 22). This is the basic, corporeal nature of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ the premortal Jehovah, and the Holy Ghost are three separate and distinct personages (Cf. Jeffery Holland. The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent. Broken Things to Mend. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. 2008. 208-214.).

For some, it may be a strange thing to say that God has a body as tangible (or “able to touch and feel”) as man’s.  Jeffery R. Holland eloquently stated,

“If the idea of an embodied God is repugnant, why are the central doctrines and singularly most distinguishing characteristics of all Christianity the Incarnation, the Atonement, and the physical Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ? If having a body is not only not needed but not desirable by Deity, why did the Redeemer of mankind redeem His body, redeeming it from the grasp of death and the grave, guaranteeing it would never again be separated from His spirit in time or eternity? Any who dismiss the concept of an embodied God dismiss both the mortal and the resurrected Christ. No one claiming to be a true Christian will want to do that” (Ibid.).

It is easy to come to the conclusion that Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, has “a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s,” for He said so Himself (Cf. Luke 24:39). Jesus the Christ was resurrected, and to be resurrected means “the uniting of a spirit body with a body of flesh and bones, never again to be divided” (Bible Dictionary, “Resurrection”). There were many who touched the palms of His hands, felt the nail prints in his feet, and thrust their hands into His side (Cf. John 20:27, 3 Nephi 11:14-15).

It is also easy to come to the conclusion that the Holy Ghost “has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, [He] could not dwell in us” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22). Hence His name is the Holy Spirit.

However, to say that God the Father has “a body of flesh and bones” is a bold statement, especially when considering some seemingly contradictory statements found in the New Testament. One of the most perplexing of these statements is given by the Savior Himself: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).

This passage is often taken out of context. In John chapter four, the Savior was teaching the woman of Samaria how to worship. He was not giving her a discourse on His Father’s corporeal nature—or lack of it. But out of context or not, just because God is a Spirit does not mean that he is only a spirit and not anything else. Indeed, “man is spirit” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:33), and God is, therefore, a Spirit in the same sense that we are spirits—namely a spirit body clothed with a physical body (Cf. Ether 3:9). Finally, the common translation of this passage (John 4:24) is in error. A more complete version of it was given to the prophet Joseph Smith by revelation and confirms that the Savior is teaching how to worship, “For unto such hath God promised his Spirit. And they who worship him, must worship in spirit and in truth” (JST John 4:26).

God’s body is, of course, different from ours. It is immortal, perfected, glorified, and resurrected. And because Jesus the Christ was resurrected and has broken the bands of death, all who have ever lived and will ever live on the earth will also be resurrected and receive their bodies after they die–bodies that are immortal, perfected, and glorified.  The the most faithful will receive celestial bodies (Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:22, 40-42).

Hence, “if men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves.”

Finally, something must be said about the “oneness” of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.  The biblical passage in John 10:30, “I and my Father are one,” is often misunderstood.  The word “one” means completely unified, one in accord, and in perfect harmony.  A husband and wife are counseled to be “one” (Ephesians 5:31), as are all those who abide in Christ (see Galatians 3:28).  Hence, God the Father and Jesus Christ are not the same personage, but separate and distinct personages who are one, or work in perfect harmony, in bringing to pass “the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).

Joseph Smith said that “the fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.” Jesus the Christ is central to everything. He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). It is “by him, and through him, and of him the worlds are and were created and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:24). He was resurrected from the dead and He and His Father did not only show themselves in vision to Stephen during his martyrdom (Acts 7:56), but They also appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, early in the Spring of the year 1820. Of Them, the Prophet declared that he “saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description . . . One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!’ (Joseph Smith History 1:17).

Sometimes some of the simplest questions are also some of the most profound.  These types of questions are therefore some of the most difficult to answer.  “Why is Jesus called the Son of God?” is one of these questions, simple, profound, and difficult to answer.  But as one of my English Professors told me the other day, “The hard questions are really the only questions worth asking.”  In that case, Why is Jesus called the Son of God?

In a basic sense, the question is closely related to the question the Spirit of the Lord asked Nephi: “Knowest thou the condescension of God?” (1 Nephi 11:16).  Note a definition of “condescend” that the Oxford English Dictionary gives the word, “To depart from the privileges of superiority by a voluntary submission; to sink willingly to equal terms with inferiours.”  I feel like I can use Nephi’s response to the Spirit’s question as my own response, “I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things” (1 Nephi 11:16-17).

What the record says next is a basic answer to the question.

“And he [the Spirit] said unto me [Nephi]: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.
And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!
And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.
And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!”  (1 Nephi 11:18-21).

James E. Talmage, a biblical scholar, wrote about the Savior’s birth and what it means that Jesus is the Son of God:

“That Child to be born of Mary was begotten of Elohim, the Eternal Father, not in violation of natural law but in accordance with a higher manifestation thereof; and, the offspring from that association of supreme sanctity, celestial Sireship, and pure though mortal maternity, was of right to be called the “Son of the Highest.” In His nature would be combined the powers of Godhood with the capacity and possibilities of mortality; and this through the ordinary operation of the fundamental law of heredity, declared of God, demonstrated by science, and admitted by philosophy, that living beings shall propagate—after their kind. The Child Jesus was to inherit the physical, mental, and spiritual traits, tendencies, and powers that characterized His parents—one immortal and glorified—God, the other human—woman. (Jesus the Christ. Deseret Book: Salt Lake City, 1990. 77.)

When speaking of a son, we mean a male child of a father and a mother.  Calling Jesus Christ the Son of God is closely related to calling Jesus the Firstborn.  Also, to be called a firstborn son implies being an heir and inheriting “the leadership of the family. . . This is often spoken of in the scriptures as birthright” (Bible Dictionary: Firstborn).  Because Jesus is the Son of God and the Firstborn, He is therefore heir to “all . . . that the Father hath” (John 16:15).  Furthermore, He “is the firstborn of the spirit children of our Heavenly Father, [and] the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh” (Bible Dictionary: Firstborn).

The second of these last two statements from the Bible Dictionary, that Jesus is the “Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh,” reiterates what the Spirit said to Nephi, that Mary is “the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh” (1 Nephi 11:18).  The phrase “after the manner of the flesh” is interesting.  It specifies that Mary is Jesus’ mortal mother.  But by specifying, the phrase alludes to the existence of a life before Jesus received a physical body.  “We are not now thinking about the Virgin Birth,” said C. S. Lewis, “We are thinking about something that happened before Nature was created at all . . . ‘Before all worlds’ Christ is begotten” (Lewis, 157).  This is essentially a rewording of the first statement from the Bible Dictionary, that Jesus “is the firstborn of the spirit children of our Heavenly Father.”

But because of the definition of “son” that was defined above, that a son is a male child of a father and a mother there is another corollary.  The definition of “son” implies that during the Premortal Life, “before Nature was created at all,” Jesus, “the firstborn of the spirit children,” must have a Heavenly Mother as well as a Heavenly Father.  Eliza R. Snow once wrote,

I had learned to call thee Father,
Thru thy Spirit from on high,
But, until the key of knowledge
Was restored, I knew not why.
In the heav’ns are parents single?
No, the thought makes reason stare!
Truth is reason; truth eternal
Tells me I’ve a mother there. (Hymns 292)

For some, all this will be hard to comprehend.  But, “There is no good complaining that these statements are difficult.  Christianity claims to be telling us about another world, about something behind the world we can touch and hear and see.  You may think the claim false, but if it were true, what it tells us would be bound to be  difficult—at least as difficult as modern Physics, and for the same reason” (Lewis, Mere Christianity 156).

Yet, just because these statements are difficult does not mean they are not possible to comprehend with study and faith.  “For with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27).

I know I have certainly not come close to describing every way (or even one way) in which Jesus is the Son of God, but I hope this basic explanation will invite the reader to study more deeply the life of the Savior, and the “great . . . plan of our God” (2 Nephi 9:13).

When we think about what it means to be born, we usually think of being given life and a mortal body from a father and a mother. Therefore, when asking “What does it mean to say that Christ is the Firstborn?” another question usually comes up: “How can Christ be the firstborn if he lived in what is sometimes called the meridian of time?” In order to answer these questions, we must rethink our definition what it means to be born.

The scriptures speak of receiving a rebirth when one receives a remission of sins. But since Christ never sinned, this cannot be the case. “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick” (Matthew 9:12). At any rate, when people are born, they are thought of as receiving life. Hence, to be reborn is to receive life anew. One way in which Jesus is the firstborn is because he “is risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20). By calling Christ the Firstborn we make reference to his act of conquering death in order that “all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). One could say then, that it is therefore an act of worship–of awed reverence–to remember that Jesus Christ is the Firstborn, the first to be resurrected and receive his physical body anew.

But there is more than one way in which Jesus Christ is the firstborn.

Under the term “Firstborn” in the Bible Dictionary, one reads of three ways that Jesus is called by this title:

“Jesus is the firstborn of the spirit children of our Heavenly Father, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh, and the first to rise from the dead in the resurrection, ‘that in all things he might have the preeminence’ (Colossians 1:13-18).”

Because I have just written about the last statement, how Jesus is “the first to rise from the dead in the resurrection,” and because an article has already been written on the middle statement, Christ as “the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh,” I prepare now to address the first statement, that “Jesus is the firstborn of the spirit children of our Heavenly Father.”

In order to understand what this statement means, one must understand that all men and women, before they were born on this earth, existed as spirits. These spirits of premortal men and women “knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life” (The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102). These spirits are the “spirit children” referred to above, and Jesus is the firstborn—preeminent–of these “spirit children.”

In 1909, the governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) issued a statement that explains this idea further: “The Father of Jesus is our Father also. Jesus himself taught this truth, when He instructed His disciples how to pray: ‘Our Father which art in heaven,’ etc. Jesus, however, is the firstborn among all the sons of God–the first begotten in the spirit, and the only begotten in the flesh. He is our elder brother, and we, like Him are in the image of God.” (The First Presidency [Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder, Anthon H. Lund], “The Origin of Man,” Improvement Era, November 1909, 75-81).

This seems to make sense, but now I want to ask, is it wrong to consider a God to be our Elder Brother? Does it not seem at least a little strange to say that we are related—at least spiritually—to the greatest being that ever walked the earth? But strange or not, “. . . [a]mong the spirit children of Elohim [Heavenly Father] the firstborn was and is Jehovah or Jesus Christ to whom all others are juniors” (First Presidency and Council of the Twelve, in Improvement Era, August 1916, 940-1).

So, Christ is the firstborn of all of God’s spirit children and while he can be considered in a sense to be our Elder Brother, yet at the same time the God of all the earth still desires to call us His friends (Cf. John 15:15).

The late Elder Neal A. Maxwell eloquently stated a remedy for this strangeness,

“In intelligence and performance, He [Jesus Christ] far surpasses the individual and the composite capacities and achievements of all who have lived, live now, and will yet live! (See Abraham 3:19). He rejoices in our genuine goodness and achievement, but any assessment of where we stand in relation to Him tells us that we do not stand at all! We kneel!” (Neal A. Maxwell, in Conference Report, Oct. 1981, 9).

So can we call Jesus Christ our Elder Brother? Well, in the sense of having the same Eternal Father in Heaven—the Father of our spirit bodies—the answer is yes. But I personally would not feel comfortable doing it. I would much rather stick to the term Firstborn, because it encompasses so much more of what He is—”the firstborn of the spirit children of our Heavenly Father, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh, and the first to rise from the dead in the resurrection, ‘that in all things he might have the preeminence’ (Colossians 1:13-18)” (Bible Dictionary: Firstborn).

Before Jesus Christ was born, even before the world began, Jesus Christ committed Himself to taking on the role of our advocate to the Father. An advocate is someone who pleads for another person.

John explained this role in 1 John, chapter 2 of the King James Bible:

1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

God is a just God. He’s given us laws we’re expected to obey. However, He is also a loving God and He knows us perfectly. Because of this, He knows we will not keep all the laws and will sin during our life. Justice would require us to be punished for every sin, including the punishment of being unable to return to God’s presence. The scriptures teach us no unclean thing can enter into God’s presence. Since it would be impossible for any fully mortal person to refrain from sin, God lovingly provided a Savior for us. This allows justice to be tempered with mercy.

This was done prior to the creation of the world. God created the spirits of all those who lived, and we lived with Him for a while in a premortal existence. There we developed our personalities and talents and learned about the gospel. Since we were ourselves, some were righteous and some were not. After a time, God told us we had progressed as far as we could in that spirit life, and would now have an opportunity to go to a new home, where we’d be given a family and a body, and would have an opportunity to have experiences and trials. During this time, we were expected to seek, find, and then live by the truth. If we lived the truth we knew, we could return to Him someday. However, knowing we’d not be perfect, the law was tempered by mercy. He offered to send us a Savior. Jesus Christ volunteered to do this for us.

Jesus was the first Spirit created by God, and so He is our oldest brother. He offered to come to earth and live a sinless life. Only He could do this, because He would come not as the child of two mortal parents, but as the child of a mortal mother and a Heavenly Father. This combination of mortal and divine would allow Him to experience the things we experienced as mortals, and to die, but would also allow Him to live sinlessly and to choose death, rather than to have it forced on him as mortals do. No one would be able to take His life. He would give it as a gift. Just before His death, He would take on Himself all the sins of the world and then die for us. This satisfied the demands of justice, and tempered it with mercy.

After our deaths, it will be Jesus who will judge us. Because He lived here on earth and shared our experiences, and because He is the one who atoned for our sins, He’s qualified to do this.

22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. (John 5:22)

In turn, He will assign judgment to those who were our leaders in our own lifetime-the Twelve Apostles judging those who lived in their time, for instance, because they have a fuller understanding of the special challenges of their own lifetimes. But it is the Savior who will be the final judge and our advocate to God, pleading our case for mercy to temper justice. His atoning sacrifice gives Him the right to do this. His judgment will be completely fair. The Bible is clear in our responsibility for keeping the commandments:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21, KJV of the Bible)

Our responsibility, then, is to seek out the truth, learn to live it, and repent when we fall short. When we’ve done the best we can, the Savior will make up the difference.

In the Great Intercessory Prayer, Jesus demonstrated this role for us:

6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. (John 17)