Do Latter-day Saints Believe Jesus Is God? Yes: Jehovah, Creator and “the Eternal God”

The short versionYes, Jesus Christ is God

The Book of Mormon states its purpose on its title page: “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations” (Title Page of the Book of Mormon). Nephi repeats it: “Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God” (2 Nephi 26:12).

In 2000 the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve testified in “The Living Christ”: “He was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New. Under the direction of His Father, He was the creator of the earth” (The Living Christ). Latter-day Saints worship Jesus Christ as divine, the Son of God, our Lord and Redeemer.

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The BibleWhat the New Testament says

John’s Gospel opens: “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” (John 1:1–3). “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).

Isaiah foretold that the child to be born would be called “The mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). Paul wrote that “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). Hebrews says that to the Son the Father says, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever” (Hebrews 1:8). And when the risen Jesus showed Thomas His wounds, Thomas answered, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Latter-day Saints say the same.

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Book of Mormon“The Lord Omnipotent” came down

The Book of Mormon may be the most emphatic book of scripture on Christ’s divinity. About 124 B.C., King Benjamin prophesied: “the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay” (Mosiah 3:5). “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” (Mosiah 3:8).

When the resurrected Christ appeared in the Americas, He said: “Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world” (3 Nephi 11:10), and invited the people to feel the prints of the nails, “that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world” (3 Nephi 11:14). To the brother of Jared He said, “Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son” (Ether 3:14), Father because He is the Creator and the Father of those who are born again, “they shall become my sons and my daughters.”

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D&C and Pearl of Great PriceJehovah and the Creator

In modern revelation the Lord introduces Himself: “Thus saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, the Great I Am, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end” (D&C 38:1). In the Kirtland Temple in 1836, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery saw Him: “his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father” (D&C 110:3–4). The God of the Old Testament is the One who was slain.

Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon testified, “That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God … That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created” (D&C 76:22–24). The Father told Moses: “worlds without number have I created … and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten” (Moses 1:33). In the premortal council, when the Lord asked, “Whom shall I send?”, it was “one … like unto the Son of Man” who answered, “Here am I, send me” (Abraham 3:27).

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The GodheadFully God, and the Son of the Father

What Latter-day Saints don’t accept is the later creedal idea that the Father and the Son are one substance. The first article of faith reads: “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost” (Articles of Faith 1:1). Three distinct, divine persons, one in purpose. See The Trinity or a literal Father–Son relationship? and “One” in the Bible: John 10:30.

Jesus Himself spoke this way. He prayed, “this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). He said, “my Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), and after rising, “I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God” (John 20:17). So Christ is truly God, the Creator and Jehovah, and He honors His Father as greater. Saying Jesus is God doesn’t compete with saying He is the Son of God. The Bible says both.

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Check the premiseThe presuppositions baked into the question

Before this question can be answered fairly, the person asking has to justify a few assumptions packed inside it:

1. That Latter-day Saints think Jesus is just a good man or a prophet. The Book of Mormon’s stated purpose is to convince all “that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God” (title page; 2 Nephi 26:12).
2. That denying the Trinity creed means denying Christ’s divinity. Thomas called Him “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28) centuries before Nicaea. Latter-day Saints affirm Christ’s full divinity while seeing the Father, Son and Holy Ghost as distinct persons (Articles of Faith 1:1).
3. That the Jesus of Latter-day Saints is a lesser being. Latter-day Saint scripture calls Him “the Lord Omnipotent” (Mosiah 3:5), “the Creator of all things” (Mosiah 3:8), “the Great I Am” (D&C 38:1) and Jehovah (D&C 110:3–4).
4. That saying “the Father is greater” makes Jesus not God. Jesus Himself said it (John 14:28) and still accepted Thomas’s worship (John 20:28).

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FAQQuick answers

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Sources

• King James Bible (churchofjesuschrist.org): Isaiah 9:6 · John 1:1–3 · John 1:14 · John 8:58 · John 14:28 · John 17:3 · John 20:17 · John 20:28 · Colossians 2:9 · Hebrews 1:8
• Book of Mormon: Title Page · 2 Nephi 26:12 · Mosiah 3:5 · Mosiah 3:8 · 3 Nephi 11:10–14 · Ether 3:14
• Doctrine and Covenants: D&C 38:1 · D&C 76:22–24 · D&C 110:3–4
• Pearl of Great Price: Moses 1:33 · Abraham 3:27 · Articles of Faith 1:1
• “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles,” January 1, 2000

• Featured image and in-article graphic: original graphics by thebookofmormon.ai (painterly backgrounds; no photographs or likenesses of real people).