Jesus Christ, the Son of God

Introduction
To know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the
living God, is imperative for all who desire eternal
life (see John 17:3). This knowledge comes by the
power of the Holy Ghost. Joseph Smith taught,
“No man can know that Jesus is the Lord, but by
the Holy Ghost” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph
Smith, 223).
Doctrinal Outline
A. Jesus Christ is literally the son of God the
Eternal Father.
1. Jesus Christ is the firstborn spirit son of God (see
D&C 93:21; Colossians 1:13–15; Hebrews 1:5–6).
2. Jesus Christ is the only begotten son of God in the
flesh (see JST, John 1:1, 13–14; 1 Nephi 11:14–22;
Jacob 4:5, 11; Alma 5:48; D&C 20:21; 76:22–24).
B. Jesus Christ is a being of glory, might, and
majesty.
1. Jesus Christ has a resurrected body of flesh and
bones (see D&C 130:22; Luke 24:36–39; 3 Nephi
11:12–15).
2. Jesus Christ possesses all power in heaven and
on earth (see D&C 93:17; 100:1; Matthew 28:18;
1 Peter 3:21–22).
3. Jesus Christ possesses a fulness of the perfection,
attributes, and glory of the Father (see 3 Nephi
12:48; D&C 38:1–3; Colossians 1:19; 2:9–10; D&C
93:4, 12–17).
4. Jesus Christ is the light and the life of the
world (see D&C 88:5–13; 93:2, 9; John 1:4; 8:12;
3 Nephi 9:18).
C. As the Son of God, Jesus fills many roles
essential to our salvation.
1. Jesus created the worlds under the direction of
God the Eternal Father (see 3 Nephi 9:15; Hebrews
1:1–3; Helaman 14:12; Moses 1:33; Ephesians 3:9;
D&C 93:10).
2. Jesus Christ is Jehovah, the God of the Old
Testament (see Isaiah 12:2; 1 Nephi 19:10; D&C
110:1–4; JST, Exodus 6:1–3; Abraham 2:7–8).
3. The Savior came to earth and set a perfect
example for us to follow (see 1 Peter 2:21;
2 Nephi 31:7, 9–10; 3 Nephi 18:16; 27:21, 27).
4. Only through Jesus Christ can we be saved (see
Acts 4:12; Mosiah 3:17; 5:8).
5. Through the Atonement, the Savior provided
redemption from physical and spiritual death (see
Alma 11:40–43; 34:8–10; 2 Nephi 9:6–13, 26; D&C
18:11–12; 19:16; Helaman 14:15–18; 1 Corinthians
15:19–23).
6. Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and us
and is our advocate with the Father (see 1 Timothy
2:5; D&C 45:3–5; JST, 1 John 2:1; Moroni 7:28).
7. The Son of God is our true and righteous judge
(see Psalm 9:7–8; 2 Timothy 4:8; John 5:22, 27, 30;
Acts 10:40–42).
8. The Father’s will is carried out to perfection by
the Son (see John 4:34; 5:30; 5:19; Matthew 26:39,
42; 3 Nephi 11:11).
9. Although Jesus is the Son of God, He is sometimes
called the Father (see Mosiah 15:1–8, 11; Isaiah 9:6;
Mosiah 5:7; Helaman 14:12; Ether 3:14).
10.Jesus Christ is the rock upon which we must
build our foundation in order to overcome the
temptations of Satan (see Helaman 5:12; Psalm
18:2; 1 Nephi 15:15).
Supporting Statements
A. Jesus Christ is literally the son of God the
Eternal Father.
■ “Among the spirit children of Elohim, the firstborn
was and is Jehovah, or Jesus Christ, to whom
all others are juniors” (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel
Doctrine, 70).
■ “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.’” (James E.
Talmage, Jesus the Christ, 81).
■ “We believe absolutely that Jesus Christ is the
Son of God, begotten of God, the first-born in the
spirit and the only begotten in the flesh; that He is
the Son of God just as much as you and I are the
sons of our fathers” (Heber J. Grant, “Analysis of
the Articles of Faith,” Millennial Star, 5 Jan. 1922, 2).
■ “There cannot be any doubt in the heart of a
Latter-day Saint regarding Jesus Christ’s being
the Son of the living God, because God Himself
introduced Him to Joseph Smith. . . .
“Any individual who does not acknowledge
Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Redeemer of
the world, has no business to be associated with
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”
(Heber J. Grant, Gospel Standards, 23–24).
B. Jesus Christ is a being of glory, might, and
majesty.
■ “Jesus Christ is the heir of this Kingdom—the
Only Begotten of the Father according to the flesh

in Conference Report, Oct. 1984, 82; or Ensign,
Nov. 1984, 66–67).
■ “God himself was once as we are now, and is
an exalted man. . . . If the veil were rent today, . . .
if you were to see him today, you would see him
like a man in form—like yourselves in all the
person, image, and very form as a man. . . .
“. . . It is the first principle of the Gospel to
know for a certainty the Character of God, and to
know that we may converse with him as one man
converses with another, and that he was once a
man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of
us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ
himself did; and I will show it from the Bible”
(Smith, Teachings, 345–46).
■ “God made man in his own image and
certainly he made woman in the image of his
wife-partner” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings
of Spencer W. Kimball, 25).
C. God is perfect in His person, character, and
attributes.
■ “What did Jesus do? Why; I do the things I
saw my Father do when worlds came rolling into
existence. My Father worked out his kingdom
with fear and trembling, and I must do the same;
and when I get my kingdom, I shall present it to
my Father, so that he may obtain kingdom upon
kingdom, and it will exalt him in glory. He will
then take a higher exaltation, and I will take his
place, and thereby become exalted myself. So that
Jesus treads in the tracks of his Father, and inherits
what God did before; and God is thus glorified
and exalted in the salvation and exaltation of all
his children” (Smith, Teachings, 347–48).
D. God is the Supreme Being in the universe.
■ “By definition, God (generally meaning the
Father) is the one supreme and absolute Being; the
ultimate source of the universe; the all-powerful,
all-knowing, all-good Creator, Ruler, and Preserver
of all things” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon
Doctrine, 317).
■ “God is the only supreme governor and
independent being in whom all fullness and
perfection dwell; who is omnipotent, omnipresent,
and omniscient; without beginning of days or end
of life; and that in him every good gift and every
good principle dwell; and that he is the Father of
lights; in him the principle of faith dwells
independently, and he is the object in whom the
faith of all other rational and accountable beings
center for life and salvation” (Joseph Smith, comp.,
Lectures on Faith, 10).
■ “Our relationship with the Father is supreme,
paramount, and preeminent over all others. He is
the God we worship. It is his gospel that saves
and exalts. He ordained and established the plan
of salvation. He is the one who was once as we
are now. The life he lives is eternal life, and if we
are to gain this greatest of all the gifts of God, it
will be because we become like him” (Bruce R.
McConkie, “Our Relationship with the Lord,” in
Brigham Young University 1981–82 Fireside and
Devotional Speeches, 101).
E. The Father presides over the Godhead.
■ “Three glorified, exalted, and perfected
personages comprise the Godhead or supreme
presidency of the universe. . . . They are: God the
Father; God the Son; God the Holy Ghost. . . .
“Though each God in the Godhead is a
personage, separate and distinct from each of
the others, yet they are ‘one God’ . . . , meaning
that they are united as one in the attributes of
perfection. For instance, each has the fulness
of truth, knowledge, charity, power, justice,
judgment, mercy, and faith. Accordingly they all
think, act, speak, and are alike in all things; and
yet they are three separate and distinct entities.
Each occupies space and is and can be in but
one place at one time, but each has power and
influence that is everywhere present” (McConkie,
Mormon Doctrine, 319).
■ “Everlasting covenant was made between three
personages before the organization of this earth,
and relates to their dispensation of things to men on
the earth; these personages, according to Abraham’s
record, are called God the first, the Creator; God the
second, the Redeemer; and God the third, the
witness or Testator” (Smith, Teachings, 190).
■ “There is a oneness in the Godhead as well
as a distinctness of personality. This oneness is
emphasized in the sayings and writings of
prophets and apostles in order to guard against
the erroneous idea that these three may be distinct
and independent deities and rivals for our
worship” (Joseph F. Smith, “Answers to
Questions,” Improvement Era, Jan. 1901, 228).