Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths, the “Mormon Church”) believe that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer and Lord over all mankind. He was born of the virgin Mary and was conceived and brought forth by the power of God. Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus Christ was the literal son of God in the flesh, and that Jesus Christ suffered for all the sins of mankind so that all people might be able to repent and be made clean from their sins in order to return back to live with God our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ came forth as the resurrected Lord on the 3rd day after His death. He lives today, and leads and directs the affairs of His kingdom on this earth.

The Divinity of Jesus Christ and His Atonement

The subtitle of the Book of Mormon is “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.” The Old Testament in the Bible contains prophesies of the birth, ministry, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Then in the New Testament are found four eyewitness accounts of the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies, making the Bible a powerful testament that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Savior of the world. The Book of Mormon contains numerous, inspired prophecies and testimonies of the birth, ministry, and atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, as well as the account of the visit of the resurrected Jesus Christ in ancient America shortly after His ascension in Jerusalem, and thus fulfills the law of witnesses by joining the Bible as “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.”

The Book of Mormon is full of prophecies of the Savior’s life and mission. Consider the following powerful statements of the divinity of Jesus Christ. Between 600 and 592 bc, Nephi recorded a vision he had of the birth and baptism of the Savior:

I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white. . . . And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! . . . And I looked, and beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him. . . . And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove. (1 Nephi 11:13, 21, 24, 27)

Nephi also witnessed the Savior’s ministry and His crucifixion:

And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them. And I also beheld twelve others following him. . . . And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out. . . . And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world. . . . And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world. (1 Nephi 11:28–29, 31–33)

In addition to this amazing prophecy of the ministry and crucifixion of the Savior, Nephi also recorded a masterful testimony by his younger brother Jacob in 2 Nephi 9. This chapter contains 54 verses and beautifully explains how the “infinite atonement” of Jesus Christ ransoms mankind from the Fall of Adam and eve.

O how great the goodness of our God, who pre- pareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit. . . . O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! For he delivereth his saints from that awful monster the devil, and death, and hell…which is endless torment….And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men . . . who belong to the family of Adam. And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day. And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God. . . . O, my beloved brethren, turn away from your sins; shake off the chains of him that would bind you fast; come unto that God who is the rock of your salvation. (2 Nephi 9:10, 19, 21–23, 45)

Repeated readings of 2 Nephi 9 with sincere prayer and pondering could motivate a grievous sinner to repent and receive mercy and forgiveness through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, an apostle of Jesus Christ, called Jacob’s discourse, “one of the most enlightening discourses ever delivered in regard to the atonement. . . . It should be carefully read by every person seeking salvation.”1

The first four hundred pages of the Book of Mormon contain the prophecies of more than a dozen different prophets who testified of the birth and saving Atonement of Jesus Christ. Consider the specificity of the following prophecy given by Nephi, given around 545 bc, shortly before his death: “There is save one Messiah spoken of by the prophets, and that Messiah is he who should be rejected of the Jews. For according to the words of the prophets, the Messiah cometh in six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem; and according to the words of the prophets, and also the word of the angel of God, his name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (2 Nephi 25:18–19).

How could it be clearer? To help us understand how important the knowledge of the Savior was to Nephi and his people, he explained: “We labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ. . . . And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (2 Nephi 25:23, 26).

Various Book of Mormon prophets prophesied and bore testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ from hundreds of years before the Savior’s birth right up to 5 bc:

• Enos—Between 544 and 421 bc (enos 1:26–27) • Amaleki—Between 279 and 130 bc (omni 1:26) • King Benjamin—About 124 bc (Mosiah 3:5–8, 17) • Abinadi—About 150 bc (Mosiah 16:6–13) • Alma the Elder—Between 100 and 92 bc (Mosiah 26:22–26—words of the Savior) • Alma the Younger—Between 83–73 bc (Alma 5:48; 7:7–14; 34:4–8; 36:17–20) 38 • Aaron—About 90 bc (Alma 22:12–14) Helaman, son of Helaman—About 30 bc (Helaman 5:9–12) Samuel the Lamanite—5 bc (Helaman 14:2–8)

The Book of Mormon contains the sacred account of the visit of the resurrected Jesus Christ to the inhabitants of ancient America, after his crucifixion and resurrection in Jerusalem. The following was recorded by another prophet named Nephi, who lived on the American continent in ad 34, as he related the account of a group of people gathered in the land called Bountiful:

They heard a voice as if it came out of heaven . . . and it said unto them: Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him. And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multi- tude were turned upon him. . . . And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying: Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. . . . And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come. And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying: Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him (3 Nephi 11:3, 6–10, 15 –17).

The resurrected Lord and Redeemer then taught these people his gospel, called twelve special witnesses, gave them power and authority to baptize, organized His Church, instituted the sacrament, and ministered among the people for three days. Third Nephi chapters 12–30 is the account of the resurrected Christ’s ministry among the Nephites in America in ad 34. Third Nephi contains the actual teachings of the resurrected Christ and may be referred to as the fifth Gospel, along with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Following the Savior’s ministry in America the people enjoyed, an unprecedented, millennial-like era that lasted for nearly two hundred years. The four-page book of Fourth Nephi is a brief account of this peaceful time during which “there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people. And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God” (4 Nephi 1:15–16).

The prophet Mormon lived about ad 310–385. At age ten, he was recognized as a serious-minded youth, and at age fifteen he became a military leader among the Nephites. Mormon was selected by the Lord to make an abridgment of the sacred history of his people and was the principle recorder of the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. Mormon was a great prophet and witnessed the downfall of his people. He prophesied that the record he made on plates of gold would be brought to light in the latter days. Of this record, Mormon declared,

Now these things are written . . . to be hid up unto the Lord that they may come forth in his own due time . . . they shall come forth according to the commandment of the Lord. And behold, they shall go unto the unbelieving of the Jews; and for this intent shall they go—that they may be persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God . . . unto the fulfilling of his covenant; and also that the seed of this people may more fully believe his gospel (Mormon 5:12–15).

Mormon’s son, Moroni, the last of the Book of Mormon prophets, recorded his testimony of Jesus Christ before burying the plates in the hill Cumorah: “Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ” (Moroni 10:32).

“The principal and commanding figure in the Book of Mormon, from first chapter to last, is the Lord Jesus Christ. In its unparalleled focus on the Messianic message of the Savior of the world, the Book of Mormon is rightly referred to as . . . ‘another testament’ of Jesus Christ.”2

The Book of Mormon testifies of the redeeming power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ by relating accounts of the change of heart experienced by the “most vile” of sinners. The list includes Alma the elder, Alma the younger, the four sons of king Mosiah, king Lamoni’s father, and Zeezrom, a wicked lawyer.

Additional Resources:

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is paramount to the beliefs of Mormons. Learn more at the official site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. Request a free copy today.

Attend a local meetinghouse.

Source:

T. Rose, How to Know the Book of Mormon is True, (Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, Inc., 2010), 35-41.

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.

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).

As heretofore shown in another connection, the Father operated in the work of creation through the Son, who thus became the executive through whom the will, commandment, or word of the Father was put into effect. It is with incisive appropriateness therefore, that the Son, Jesus Christ, is designated by the apostle John as the Word; or as declared by the Father “the word of my power”. (John 1:1, Moses 1:32) The part taken by Jesus Christ in the creation, a part so prominent as to justify our calling Him the Creator, is set forth in many scriptures. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews refers in this wise distinctively to the Father and the Son as separate though associated Beings: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” (Hebrews 1:1-2; see also 1 Corinthians 8:6) Paul is even more explicit in his letter to the Colossians, wherein, speaking of Jesus the Son, he says: “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.” (Colossians 1:16-17) And here let be repeated the testimony of John, that by the Word, “who was with God, and who was God even in the beginning, all things were made; and without him was not anything made that was made.” (John 1:1-3)

That the Christ who was to come was in reality God the Creator was revealed in plainness to the prophets on the western hemisphere. Samuel, the converted Lamanite, in preaching to the unbelieving Nephites justified his testimony as follows: “And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and of earth, the Creator of all things, from the beginning; and that ye might know of the signs of his coming, to the intent that ye might believe on his name.” (Helaman 14:12; see also Mosiah 3:8; 4:2: Alma 11:39)

To these citations of ancient scripture may most properly be added the personal testimony of the Lord Jesus after He had become a resurrected Being. In His visitation to the Nephites He thus proclaimed Himself: “Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.” (3 Nephi 9:15) To the Nephites, who failed to comprehend the relation between the gospel declared unto them by the Resurrected Lord, and the Mosaic law which they held traditionally to be in force, and who marveled at His saying that old things had passed away, He explained in this wise: “Behold I say unto you, that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses. Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel: therefore, the law in me is fulfilled, for I have come to fulfil the law; therefore it hath an end.” (3 Nephi 15:4-5)

Through revelation in the present or last dispensation the voice of Jesus Christ, the Creator of heaven and earth, has been heard anew: “Hearken, O ye people of my church to whom the kingdom has been given—hearken ye and give ear to him who laid the foundation of the earth, who made the heavens and all the hosts thereof, and by whom all things were made which live, and move, and have a being.” (D&C 45:1) And again, “Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of the living God, who created the heavens and the earth; a light which cannot be hid in darkness.” (D&C 14:9; see also D&C 29:1, 31; 76:24)

James Talmage, Jesus the Christ

In a previous post, we have shown that the entire human race existed as spirit-beings in the primeval world, and that for the purpose of making possible to them the experiences of mortality this earth was created. They were endowed with the powers of agency or choice while yet but spirits; and the divine plan provided that they be free-born in the flesh, heirs to the inalienable birthright of liberty to choose and to act for themselves in mortality. It is undeniably essential to the eternal progression of God’s children that they be subjected to the influences of both good and evil, that they be tried and tested and proved withal, “to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Job 38:7). Free agency is an indispensable element of such a test.

The Eternal Father well understood the diverse natures and varied capacities of His spirit-offspring; and His infinite foreknowledge made plain to Him, even in the beginning, that in the school of life some of His children would succeed and others would fail; some would be faithful, others false; some would choose the good, others the evil; some would seek the way of life while others would elect to follow the road to destruction. He further foresaw that death would enter the world, and that the possession of bodies by His children would be of but brief individual duration. He saw that His commandments would be disobeyed and His law violated; and that men, shut out from His presence and left to themselves, would sink rather than rise, would retrograde rather than advance, and would be lost to the heavens. It was necessary that a means of redemption be provided, whereby erring man might make amends, and by compliance with established law achieve salvation and eventual exaltation in the eternal worlds. The power of death was to be overcome, so that, though men would of necessity die, they would live anew, their spirits clothed with immortalized bodies over which death could not again prevail.

Let not ignorance and thoughtlessness lead us into the error of assuming that the Father’s foreknowledge as to what would be, under given conditions, determined that such must be. It was not His design that the souls of mankind be lost; on the contrary it was and is His work and glory, “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”* Nevertheless He saw the evil into which His children would assuredly fall; and with infinite love and mercy did He ordain means of averting the dire effect, provided the transgressor would elect to avail himself thereof (Psalm 25:14; Amos 3:7). The offer of the firstborn Son to establish through His own ministry among men the gospel of salvation, and to sacrifice Himself, through labor, humiliation and suffering even unto death, was accepted and made the foreordained plan of man’s redemption from death, of his eventual salvation from the effects of sin, and of his possible exaltation through righteous achievement.

James Talmage, Jesus the Christ

Prior to the placing of man upon the earth, how long before we do not know, Jesus 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. In that great concourse of spirit-intelligences, the Father’s plan, whereby His children would be advanced to their second estate, was submitted and doubtless discussed. The opportunity so placed within the reach of the spirits who were to be privileged to take bodies upon the earth was so transcendently glorious that those heavenly multitudes burst forth into song and shouted for joy (Job 38:7).

Satan’s plan of compulsion, whereby all would be safely conducted through the career of mortality, bereft of freedom to act and agency to choose, so circumscribed that they would be compelled to do right—that one soul would not be lost—was rejected; and the humble offer of Jesus the First-born—to assume mortality and live among men as their Exemplar and Teacher, observing the sanctity of man’s agency but teaching men to use aright that divine heritage—was accepted. The decision brought war, which resulted in the vanquishment of Satan and his angels, who were cast out and deprived of the boundless privileges incident to the mortal or second estate.

In that august council of the angels and the Gods, the Being who later was born in flesh as Mary’s Son, Jesus Christ, took prominent part, and there was He ordained of the Father to be the Savior of mankind. As to time, the term being used in the sense of all duration past, this is our earliest record of the Firstborn among the sons of God; to us who read, it marks the beginning of the written history of Jesus the Christ.

Old Testament scriptures, while abounding in promises relating to the actuality of Christ’s advent in the flesh, are less specific in information concerning His antemortal existence. By the children of Israel, while living under the law and still unprepared to receive the gospel, the Messiah was looked for as one to be born in the lineage of Abraham and David, empowered to deliver them from personal and national burdens, and to vanquish their enemies. The actuality of the Messiah’s status as the chosen Son of God, who was with the Father from the beginning, a Being of preexistent power and glory, was but dimly perceived, if conceived at all, by the people in general; and although to prophets specially commissioned in the authorities and privileges of the Holy Priesthood, revelation of the great truth was given,(Psalm 25:1-4; Amos 3:7) they transmitted it to the people rather in the language of imagery and parable than in words of direct plainness. Nevertheless the testimony of the evangelists and the apostles, the attestation of the Christ Himself while in the flesh, and the revelations given in the present dispensation leave us without dearth of scriptural proof.

In the opening lines of the Gospel book written by John the apostle, we read: “In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made…. 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”(John 1:1-3, 14; see also 1 John 1:1; 5: 7; Rev. 19:13; compare Doctrine and Covenants 93:1-17, 21).

The passage is simple, precise and unambiguous. We may reasonably give to the phrase “In the beginning” the same meaning as attaches thereto in the first line of Genesis; and such signification must indicate a time antecedent to the earliest stages of human existence upon the earth. That the Word is Jesus Christ, who was with the Father in that beginning and who was Himself invested with the powers and rank of Godship, and that He came into the world and dwelt among men, are definitely affirmed. These statements are corroborated through a revelation given to Moses, in which he was permitted to see many of the creations of God, and to hear the voice of the Father with respect to the things that had been made: “And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth” (Pearl of Great Price, Moses 1:32, 33; see also Moses 2:5).

John the apostle repeatedly affirms the preexistence of the Christ and the fact of His authority and power in the antemortal state (1 John 1:1-3; 2:13-14; 4:9; Rev. 3:14). To the same effect is the testimony of Paul (2 Tim. 1:9-10; Rom. 16:25; Eph. 1:4; 3:9, 11; Titus 1:2. See especially Rom. 3:25; and note the marginal rendering—”foreordained”—making the passage read: “Whom God hath foreordained to be a propitiation”) and of Peter. Instructing the saints concerning the basis of their faith, the last-named apostle impressed upon them that their redemption was not to be secured through corruptible things nor by the outward observance of traditional requirements, “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Peter 1:19-20).

Even more impressive and yet more truly conclusive are the personal testimonies of the Savior as to His own pre-existent life and the mission among men to which He had been appointed. No one who accepts Jesus Christ as the Messiah can consistently reject these evidences of His eternal nature. When, on a certain occasion, the Jews in the synagogue disputed among themselves and murmured because of their failure to understand aright His doctrine concerning Himself, especially as touching His relationship with the Father, Jesus said unto them: “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” And then, continuing the lesson based upon the contrast between the manna with which their fathers had been fed in the wilderness and the bread of life which He had to offer, He added: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven,” and again declared “the living Father hath sent me.” Not a few of the disciples failed to comprehend His teachings; and their complaints drew from Him these words: “Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?” (John 6:38, 51, 57, 61, 62).

To certain Jews, wrapped in the mantle of racial pride, boastful of their descent through the lineage of Abraham, and seeking to excuse their sins through an unwarranted use of the great patriarch’s name, our Lord thus proclaimed His own preeminence: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58; see also John 17:5, 24; and compare Exo. 3:14) The fuller significance of this remark will be treated later; suffice it in the present connection to consider this scripture as a plain avowal of our Lord’s seniority and supremacy over Abraham. But as Abraham’s birth had preceded that of Jesus Christ by more than nineteen centuries, such seniority must have reference to a state of existence antedating that of mortality.

When the hour of His betrayal was near, in the last interview with the apostles prior to His agonizing experience in Gethsemane, Jesus Christ comforted them saying: “For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world again, I leave the world, and go to the Father” (John 16:27, 28; see also John 13:3). Furthermore, in the course of upwelling prayer for those who had been true to their testimony of His Messiahship, He addressed the Father with this solemn invocation: “And this is the life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father glorify thou with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was” (John 17:3-5, 24, 25).

Book of Mormon scriptures are likewise explicit in proof of the preexistence of the Christ and of His foreappointed mission. One only of the many evidences therein found will be cited here. An ancient prophet, designated in the record as the brother of Jared, (see Christ’s Premortal Life) once pleaded with the Lord in special supplication: “And the Lord said unto him, Believest thou the words which I shall speak? And he answered, Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie. And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord shewed himself unto him, and said, Because thou knowest these things, ye are redeemed from the fall: therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I shew myself unto you. 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 my daughters. And never have I shewed myself unto man whom I have created, for never has man believed in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning, after mine own image. Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit, will I appear unto my people in the flesh” (Book of Mormon, Ether 3:11-16.  See also 1 Nephi 17:30; 19:7; 2 Nephi 9:5; 11:7; 25:12; 26:12; Mosiah 3:5; 4:2; 7:27; 13:34; 15:1; Alma 11:40; Hela. 14:12; 3 Nephi 9:15). The main facts attested by this scripture as having a direct bearing upon our present subject are those of the Christ manifesting Himself while yet in His antemortal state, and of His declaration that He had been chosen from the foundation of the world as the Redeemer.

Revelation given through the prophets of God in the present dispensation is replete with evidence of Jesus Christ’s appointment and ordination in the primeval world; and the whole tenor of the scriptures contained in the Doctrine and Covenants may be called in witness. The following instances are particularly in point. In a communication to Joseph Smith the prophet, in May, 1833, the Lord declared Himself as the One who had previously come into the world from the Father, and of whom John had borne testimony as the Word; and the solemn truth is reiterated that He, Jesus Christ, “was in the beginning, before the world was”, and further, that He was the Redeemer who “came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men.” Again, He is referred to as “the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh.” In the course of the same revelation the Lord said: “And now, verily I say unto you, I was in the beginning with the Father and am the firstborn” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:1-17, 21). On an earlier occasion, as the modern prophet testifies, he and an associate in the priesthood were enlightened by the Spirit so that they were able to see and understand the things of God—”Even those things which were from the beginning before the world was, which were ordained of the Father, through his Only Begotten Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, even from the beginning, of whom we bear record, and the record which we bear is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:13, 14).

The testimony of scriptures written on both hemispheres, that of records both ancient and modern, the inspired utterances of prophets and apostles, and the words of the Lord Himself, are of one voice in proclaiming the preexistence of the Christ and His ordination as the chosen Savior and Redeemer of mankind—in the beginning, yea, even before the foundation of the world.

James Talmage, Jesus the Christ

We affirm, on the authority of Holy Scripture, that the Being who is known among men as Jesus of Nazareth, and by all who acknowledge His Godhood as Jesus the Christ, existed with the Father prior to birth in the flesh; and that in the preexistent state He was chosen and ordained to be the one and only Savior and Redeemer of the human race. Foreordination implies and comprizes preexistence as an essential condition; therefore scriptures bearing upon the one are germane to the other; and consequently in this presentation no segregation of evidence as applying specifically to the preexistence of Christ or to His foreordination will be attempted.

John the Revelator beheld in vision some of the scenes that had been enacted in the spirit-world before the beginning of human history. He witnessed strife and contention between loyalty and rebellion, with the hosts defending the former led by Michael the archangel, and the rebellious forces captained by Satan, who is also called the devil, the serpent, and the dragon. We read: “And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels” (Revelation 12:7; see also verses 8 and 9.

In this struggle between unembodied hosts the forces were unequally divided; Satan drew to his standard only a third part of the children of God, who are symbolized as the “stars of heaven”; (Revelation 12:4; see also Doctrine and Covenants 29:36-38; and 76:25-27 the majority either fought with Michael, or at least refrained from active opposition,[Pg 7] thus accomplishing the purpose of their “first estate”; while the angels who arrayed themselves on the side of Satan “kept not their first estate”, (Jude 1:6) and therefore rendered themselves ineligible for the glorious possibilities of an advanced condition or “second estate” (Pearl of Great Price, Abraham 3:26). The victory was with Michael and his angels; and Satan or Lucifer, theretofore a “son of the morning”, was cast out of heaven, yea “he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:9). The prophet Isaiah, to whom these momentous occurrences had been revealed about eight centuries prior to the time of John’s writings, laments with inspired pathos the fall of so great a one; and specifies selfish ambition as the occasion: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascent into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit” (Isaiah 14:12-15; compare Doctrine and Covenants 29:36-38; and 76:23-27).

Justification for citing these scriptures in connection with our present consideration will be found in the cause of the great contention—the conditions that led to this war in heaven. It is plain from the words of Isaiah that Lucifer, already of exalted rank, sought to aggrandize himself without regard to the rights and agency of others. The matter is set forth, in words that none may misapprehend, in a revelation given to Moses and repeated through the first prophet of the present dispensation: “And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold,[Pg 8] here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. But, behold, my Beloved son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever. Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; and he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice” (Pearl of Great Price, Moses 4:1-4; see also Abraham 3:27- 28).