As I read my Book of Mormon with new eyes, one thing I noticed now is that Jesus is God! It is so clear! It was nice to have LDS doctrine backing up what I was feeling at The Well, so I could have some validation I wasn’t being deceived.
One day I was explaining to my husband why Christians think Mormons aren’t Christian — because we “have a different Jesus.” You can compare Jesuses all day, but all this really means is that Mormons don’t believe Jesus is God. I was telling my husband how I have felt such a sweet witness in the worship songs at The Well, and I now believe Jesus is God! I believe they are One — a trinity or modality sort of understanding.
I was feeling frustrated because he wasn’t quite getting it. Maybe I wasn’t explaining it well. Maybe I still needed some more validation. But we were interrupted and we had to go read scriptures with our kids.
So we sat down to read scriptures and opened up close to where we were reading in the Book of Mormon. But as soon as I opened up my book, it fell open to Alma 11. I looked down at the page–and it was RIGHT THERE!
“Is the Son of God the very Eternal Father? And Amulek said unto him, Yea, he is the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth, and all things which in them are; he is the beginning and the end, the first and the last; and he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name” (Alma 11:38-40)
Wow! Thank you Lord!
And now we had our kids with us! So I got to preach to my whole family. I said, “Who does this fit? Heavenly Father or Jesus? Someone who created all things, even heaven itself. Someone who is from the very beginning, so He always existed. And then came to earth to die for our sins.”
Well that’s a tricky question, because Mormons believe Heavenly Father is the ultimate creator, but Jesus is the one who came to earth.
How could Jesus create the Heavens? He was supposedly a sport child of God, same as us. Heaven predates us.
But it says right there, the Son is the Eternal Father. One and the same.
I told my kids, “This fits neither the LDS concept of God or the LDS concept of Jesus. It is both, combined into the same person!”
There is no literal son of God, there’s just God. The “son of God” is a Hebrew term that means God in the flesh.
This video explains this really well, along with other questions about the trinity. (Note: this video is based on RLDS doctrine, another “restoration branch” or Joseph Smith church. Turns out, Brighamites are the only ones who teach they are separate!)
Later, I found an even better Book of Mormon scripture to explain it:
“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, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles….” (Mosiah 3:5)
(I don’t need to finish that, but the rest — these next several verses — is so beautiful. Please read it for yourself!)
These verses are important because not only do they show God himself came to earth, but also that God is from the beginning to the end, all eternity to all eternity. He has always existed.
(And Mormons don’t believe either of them always existed. Mormons believe Gods have origins.)
He created all things, so nothing created Him. He wasn’t spiritually born of a higher God. He is the only God. There has always been just one God–this amazing God Jehovah, Elohim (same person) who came to earth to die for us.
Read more in Mosiah 15:1-5. How could it be any more obvious? Even the chapter heading says Christ is both the Father and the Son.
“God himself shall come down…and redeem his people.”
Notice it doesn’t say he will send someone else. God himself came.
“Because he dwelleth in the flesh, he shall be called the Son of God.”
Notice he wasn’t already the “son of God.” It’s just a title he was called because he was in mortal form.
“And they are one God, the very Eternal Father of Heaven and of Earth.”
We’ve already covered how the Mormon Jesus can’t possibly be the Father of Heaven.
They are one. One identity. One being.
And Here’s another important website, listing many Book of Mormon verses that say Jesus is God the Father.
“Before me there was no God formed. Nor shall there be any after me” (Isaiah 43:10).
“I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6).
There is no one above you, no one beside you, nobody like you.
All I Possess 