Jesus Christ

by Eric Kotter, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Mormon“), student at BYU-Idaho studying communications, and freelance writer. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths, The Mormon Church), I have sought to gain a personal testimony of Jesus Christ. As a little child I was taught about Jesus Christ, I remember going to church and learning about Him. There is one particular time at church when I was being a little fussy and impatient. I remember my Mom telling me to do my best to think about Jesus Christ during sacrament meeting (similar and yet different from Catholic Communion). I remember asking my mother, “How do I think of Him?”;  my mother said that I need to remember the things He did for us. This memory stands out to me because it reminds me of a point in my life when I started developing a more serious and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Not too many years... Read the rest of this entry »

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... Read the rest of this entry »

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,... Read the rest of this entry »

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... Read the rest of this entry »

Anna: Witness of Birth of Jesus In the providence of God, the marvelous testimony of Simeon was not to stand alone. Anna, an aged widow, a devout and saintly woman who worshiped constantly in the temple with fasting and prayer both day and night, now approached the holy family. As Simeon was a prophet, so she was a prophetess, and her voice now joined his as a special witness of the birth of Jesus Christ. Anna, whose name means “full of grace,” bore testimony to all Jerusalem who “looked for redemption” (Luke 2:38). Through the countless hours she had spent within the walls of the temple, she was undoubtedly well known to those of the holy city who also faithfully sought the coming of the Messiah. All such would hear her testimony of His birth–the birth of the Savior of the World, the birth of Jesus Christ. (see Luke 2:36-38). Sperry Symposium Classics, Joseph Fielding McConkie, 2006, Brigham Young University & Deseret Book, 115-116. Additional Resources: Learn... Read the rest of this entry »

Simeon: Witness of Birth of Jesus Christ The birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated, revered, as a marvel to each of us.  His coming was long prepared for, eagerly awaited, prepared from the pre-mortal life. The birth of Jesus Christ was anticipated by those who were holy saints, seeking to live by the promises of the Old Testament given by Jehovah, the Savior of the World.  Simeon was one who received a revelation regarding the birth of Jesus Christ and who lived to see Him in the flesh. In the words of one Mormon scholar: Our attention now turns to Jerusalem and its temple. There an aged man, described by Luke as “just and devout,” one who in faith had awaited the coming of the Messiah and who had received the promise of the Lord that he would not die until he had seen the Savior, was moved upon by the Holy Ghost to go to the temple. His is the first testimony within the sacred walls of the temple of which we have records that announced the birth of Jesus Christ. Appropriately,... Read the rest of this entry »

The Shepherds: Witness of Birth of Christ On the eve of the birth of Jesus Christ in the stable at Bethlehem, there were in the fields not far distant shepherds watching over their flocks. The fact that they were in the fields by night gives us some indication of the season of the year in which Jesus Christ was born. It was the custom among the Jews to take their sheep to the fields about the time of Passover and bring them home at the coming of the first rains–thus they would be in the fields from about April to October. Of these shepherds, late LDS (“Mormon“) apostle, Elder Bruce R. McConkie has suggested: Read the rest of this entry » Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Tell a friend  Read More →

Joseph: Witness of Birth of Christ The birth of Jesus Christ is a miraculous and beautiful story. Our joys where born when He was born. Jesus Christ is definitely the Author of our Salvation!  For those who don’t know Him, we invite you to read, study, hear His word, see His life, and engage in a relationship with Him through prayer to the Father in His name. He is real. He is not just a wise man who lived in the Meridian of time. He is the Son of God.  The birth of  Christ is the beginning of His mortal mission, but not the beginning of His life or plan of happiness. He lived in the realms above, as we did, in the presence of God before coming to earth. Regarding the birth of Christ, according to Joseph McKonkie, we have no scriptural record of any words spoken by Joseph, the foster father of Jesus Christ. Despite the lack of words, Joseph’s testimony as to Jesus Christ‘s divine sonship is most eloquent. He was, as we are told, a “just man,” meaning that... Read the rest of this entry »

What a marvelous scene it must have been–John, yet within his mother’s womb, filled with the Holy Ghost and leaping for joy in an unspoken testimony of the divine sonship of the unborn child that Mary carried; Elisabeth greeting her cousin Mary in the spirit of prophecy and Mary responding by that same spirit. Again we are compelled to say, how perfect! The testimony of two women: the aged Elisabeth and the youthful Mary; each bearing a child conceived under miraculous circumstances, rejoicing together. Read the rest of this entry » Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Tell a friend  Read More →

As we read of John, that he would be “filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb,” it tells us something of the purity of the temple in which his body was housed (Luke 1:15). Indeed, Elizabeth was a prophetess in her own right. None could tell the story more beautifully than Luke. When Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: Read the rest of this entry » Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Tell a friend  Read More →