Do Mormons Believe in a Different Jesus?

Posted by Jenny Evans Nov 1, 2009

Occasionally I'll hear someone say about Mormons, "They worship Jesus, but it's a different Jesus!" As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), that never fails to baffle me.

The Jesus Christ Worshiped by Mormons

Mormons believe in the Jesus of the New Testament in the Bible. He was the Son of an immortal father (God) and a mortal mother (the virgin Mary), making Him unique among all humankind. He was born in a stable in Bethlehem and there were miraculous signs of His birth.

When he was about thirty he began His ministry, getting baptized by immersion by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. He called 12 disciples and spent the next three years preaching eternal salvation, healing, and performing miracles.

He suffered in Gethsemane for our sins, and was crucified and resurrected. His Atonement ended animal sacrifice by the Law of Moses - it was the great and last sacrifice. He ascended into heaven after visiting his Jerusalem disciples and "other sheep" (John 10:16.)

How that can possibly be a different Jesus Christ than other Christians believe in, I don't think I will ever really understand. Mormons may understand a few things about Christ's eternal identity differently than other Christians, but it is obviously the same Jesus as the one in the Bible.

Mormonism's "Different Jesus"

What things do Mormons understand differently about Jesus Christ? The biggest difference is that Mormons do not accept the Trinity (the concept that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are the same essence or being.) There are various scriptural problems with the trinity which I won't get into here, but Mormons believe in the Jesus of the Bible who constantly said "I am the Son of God" (John 10:36) and about whom the Father said "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:7.) Please see The Mormon Godhead for more on the relationship between God and Jesus Christ in Mormonism.

The Trinity doctrine was accepted by debate and majority vote in the 4th century to reconcile apparent contradictions in the Bible; but Mormon doctrine isn't formed that way. It comes from authorized revelation contained in modern scriptures and teachings of the prophet.

I cannot emphasize enough that Mormons accept all that it written in both the Old and the New Testament about Jesus. Their additional beliefs about Jesus do not contradict the Bible's account, though they do contradict the post-Biblical notion of the Trinity.

Some of the things Mormons believe about Jesus aren't explicitly spelled out in the Bible, but are still in harmony with the Bible's teachings and even clarify some of the more nebulous passages in the Bible that have confused scholars for centuries.