“Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten and Beloved Son of God. He is our Creator. He is the Light of the World. He is our Savior from sin and death. This is the most important knowledge on earth ....”

DALLIN H. OAKS

OCTOBER 2011

WE AGREE

  • Jesus Christ is the most important topic in all the earth.

  • How one defines Jesus has eternal ramifications.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

LET’S BEGIN WITH LDS TEACHING

LET’S BEGIN WITH LDS TEACHING

  • What does the Book of Mormon teach about Jesus?

  • What does the LDS Church teach about Jesus?

  • Then we’ll stop and interact.

WHAT DOES THE BOOK OF MORMON
TEACH ABOUT JESUS?

THE BOOK OF MORMON TEACHES

MOSIAH 16:15, JESUS IS THE ETERNAL FATHER

Mosiah 16:15, The Book of Mormon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, accessed December 7, 2018 from https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/16?lang=eng

THE BOOK OF MORMON TEACHES

Ether 3:14, JESUS IS THE ETERNAL FATHER

Ether 3:14, The Book of Mormon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, accessed December 7, 2018 from https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/3?lang=eng

THE BOOK OF MORMON TEACHES

ALMA 11:38–39, JESUS IS THE ETERNAL FATHER

Alma 11:38–39, The Book of Mormon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, accessed December 7, 2018 from https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/11?lang=eng

THE BOOK OF MORMON TEACHES

MOSIAH 13:33–35, GOD CAME TO EARTH AND BECAME A MAN

Mosiah 13:33–35, The Book of Mormon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, accessed December 7, 2018 from https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/13?lang=eng

THE BOOK OF MORMON TEACHES

3 NEPHI 11:27, FATHER, SON, AND SPIRIT ARE ONE

3 Nephi 11:27, The Book of Mormon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, accessed May 13, 2019 from https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/11?lang=eng

WHAT DOES THE LDS CHURCH
TEACH ABOUT JESUS?

THE LDS Church TEACHES

FATHER/SON/SPIRIT ARE SEPARATE BEINGS

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Godhead. Retrieved March 25, 2019 from https://www.lds.org/topics/godhead?lang=eng#_

THE LDS Church TEACHES

JESUS IS JEHOVAH OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved December 7, 2018 from https://www.lds.org/liahona/2000/04/the-living-christ-the-testimony-of-the-apostles-the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints?lang=eng

THE LDS Church TEACHES

JESUS WAS THE FATHER’S FIRST SPIRIT CHILD

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Bible Dictionary: Firstborn. Retrieved January 5, 2019 from https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/firstborn?lang=eng

THE LDS Church TEACHES

JESUS WAS SENT TO EARTH

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Jesus Christ is Central to Heavenly Father's Plan. Retrieved January 5, 2019 from https://www.lds.org/ensign/2010/02/jesus-christ-is-central-to-heavenly-fathers-plan?lang=eng

Let’s REVIEW

The Book of Mormon Teaches

  • Jesus is the very eternal Father (Mosiah 16:15; Ether 3:14; Alma 11:38–39).
  • God the Father came to earth to become a man (Mosiah 13:34; 15:1).
  • Father, Son, and Spirit are one (3 Nephi 11:27).

The LDS Church Teaches

  • Father/Son/Spirit are separate beings.
  • Jesus is Jehovah, the Father's first spirit child.
  • Jesus was sent to earth.

Stop: Let’s INTERACT

STOP: Let’s interact

  • Before today, had you ever seen the Book of Mormon Scriptures that say Jesus is the Eternal Father (Mosiah 16:15; Ether 3:14; Alma 11:38–39)?
  • How can Jesus be both “the very eternal Father” and Heavenly Father’s first spirit child?
  • How can God the Father have become a man if that was Jesus’s role?
  • How would you describe the LDS version of the godhead?

Born-Again
Perspective

J. GRESHAM MACHEN (1923)

“Christ died”–that is history; “Christ died for our sins”–that is doctrine. Without these two elements, joined in an absolutely indissoluble union, there is no Christianity.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT JESUS?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT JESUS?

  • The Old Testament predicts a divine Messiah will come.
  • The New Testament proclaims Jesus as that divine Messiah.
  • Let’s read what the Bible has to say.

OLD TESTAMENT: A DIVINE MESSIAH

That He’ll be born of a woman
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15).

OLD TESTAMENT: A DIVINE MESSIAH

That He’ll be fully God
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).

 

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness… (Psalm 45:6–7; see also Hebrews 1:8–9).

OLD TESTAMENT: A DIVINE MESSIAH

That He’ll suffer
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:4–5).

OLD TESTAMENT: A DIVINE MESSIAH

That He’ll rise from the dead
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol [the grave],
or let your holy one see corruption (Psalm 16:10).

OLD TESTAMENT: A DIVINE MESSIAH

That He’ll rule forever
I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13–14).

NEW TESTAMENT: JESUS IS THE DIVINE MESSIAH

Jesus claimed to be the Divine Messiah.
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the Temple (John 8:58–59).
 

The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he” (John 4:25–26).

NEW TESTAMENT: JESUS IS THE DIVINE MESSIAH

Jesus was worshiped as God.
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:27–28).

So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. (Matthew 28:8–9).

NEW TESTAMENT: JESUS IS THE DIVINE MESSIAH

Jesus’s disciples taught that He is God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).

Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).

To them [the Jewish people] belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen (Romans 9:5).

JESUS’S DEITY: STRAIGHT TO THE POINT

  • Jesus claimed to be God (John 8:58).
     
  • Jesus’s opponents accused him of blasphemy when He claimed to be God (John 8:59).
     
  • Jesus’s closest disciples claimed he was God (John 1:1–3).

Putting it all together

The Bible teaches three clear points:

  1. Father, Son, and Spirit are all God
       (Galatians 1:1; Romans 9:5; Genesis 1:2).
  2. Father, Son, and Spirit are three Persons
       (Matthew 3:17; Ephesians 4:30).
  3. Father, Son, and Spirit are One
       (Deuteronomy 6:4).

LET’S TAKE ONE MORE STEP AND
TALK ABOUT THE TRINITY

TRINITY SIMPLIFIED

  1. Father, Son, and Spirit are God
  2. Father, Son, and Spirit are three Persons
  3. Father, Son, and Spirit are One

If we removed the word “trinity,” would you accept these three biblical points?

The term “trinity” is just a word that tries to combine these clear points from the Bible:

If not, do any of these objections come to mind?

COMMON LDS OBJECTIONS

common lds objections

Let’s answer those objections in order...

  1. The Trinity is never mentioned in the Bible.
  2. The Trinity is too complicated.
  3. The Trinity is incompatible with certain titles for Jesus.

“THE TRINITY IS NEVER
MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE”

Answer: Both Latter-day Saints and born-again Christians use non-biblical words to describe something that’s clearly in the Bible. Examples include “sacrament,” “incarnation,” “divinity,” etc.

“THE TRINITY IS TOO COMPLICATED”

Answer:

  1. Simplicity isn’t the issue; conformity to the Bible is.
  2. God is eternal and beyond our ability to completely comprehend Him—that’s what makes Him worthy of worship.

“THE TRINITY IS INCOMPATIBLE
WITH CERTAIN TITLES FOR JESUS”

Only Begotten: “One and Only”

Son of God: Title of Deity

Firstborn: Title of Honor

segolilyfoundation.org/articles/titles-for-jesus

Why Does it matter?

We have a God-sized Problem

Our sin has incurred the wrath of God eternal:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Romans 1:18).

WE NEED A GOD-SIZED SOLUTION

Only an eternal Son can quench the wrath of the eternal Father:

[Jesus] entered once for all into the Holy place, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:11-12).
 

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2).

JESUS IS OUR SUFFICIENT PROPITATION