Jesus Christ
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Some other Christians might claim that Mormons worship Mormon, or Joseph Smith—but if you ask them, the Mormons will insist they believe in Christ. Are they lying? Not at all. The Church is centered around Christ and His great sacrifice for all mankind. Mormons believe, like all Christians, that Christ is our Savior. And what did He save us from, through His suffering, death, and resurrection? The resurrection has saved us from physical death. Everyone, regardless of who they are or what they’ve done, will be resurrected. We will all rise again with an immortal body of flesh and bones, in Mormon belief. And His atonement has saved us from spiritual death. Our separation from God is the spiritual death and, through the atonement, we are able to return to God again. Christ suffered for our sins to allow us, through His aid, to forsake them. We are able to repent, change, and thus return. No one else could have done what Christ has done. Mormon doctrine states that, before the beginning of the world, Christ was ordained to be the Savior. |
The Mormon Church’s First Presidency bore testimony of Christ’s mission in the Living Christ. You might want to read their actual testimony, but some of the points will be paraphrased below.
Christ has had more influence on the earth than any other person. No one will ever match him. His perfect life was the example of how we ought to live and the sacrifice He made touches us all. No matter where we live, no matter who we are.
In the beliefs of Mormonism, Christ was the Old Testament’s Jehovah as well as the New Testament’s Savior. Mormons believe that it was Christ who created the earth, with the direction of Heavenly Father. John 1:3 tells us, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Christ was baptized, although He didn’t need to be cleansed from the sin He’d never committed. He asked to be baptized, despite John the Baptist’s protests, to “fulfill all righteousness.” And although He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38), He was despised for the good He did. He gave us a message of peace and goodwill—and He did more than speak it. He lived it. He healed the sick. He raised the dead. The truths He taught were eternal—who we were before we were born, who we are now, and who He would help us to become.
He left us the sacrament as a reminder of His sacrifice and that it was ever meant for us. Although His death was unjust and painful, He gave His life willingly to complete His atonement.
And that He gave up His life didn’t mark the end of it. His birth was not the beginning of His time. His time will never end. He lives today, the Only Begotten and Firstborn of God. He is our Savior and Redeemer. Our Prince of Peace. Our Lord of Lords.
He was resurrected on the third day after His death and visited those He loved—His Apostles, His disciples. He visited, also, His “other sheep” (John 10:16) in America, and this account is given in the Book of Mormon. In more recent days, a little less than two centuries ago, Christ and God the Father appeared to Joseph Smith to bring about the “dispensation of the fulness of times” (Ephesians 1:10).” This dispensation is the Mormon Church. This Church is His.