The Living Christ: The Scriptural Basis for Latter-day Saint Beliefs About Christ

On January 1, 2000 the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a document which contained their special witness of the reality and divinity of the life, ministry, and atonement of Jesus Christ entitled The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles. (Read it in its entirety HERE).

 

When this remarkable declaration was issued to the world, the First Presidency (President Gordon B. Hinckley and his two counselors, James E. Faust and Thomas S. Monson) sent a letter of introduction to church leaders around the world which stated:

“The Prophet Joseph Smith declared: ‘The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.’ In that spirit, we add our witness to that of our predecessors...We encourage you to use this written testimony in helping to build the faith of our Heavenly Father’s children” (First Presidency letter, Dec. 10, 1999).

The mere existence of this document is powerful evidence that we do indeed have a living prophet and living apostles once more in our day.  Much like the apostles and prophets of old, these modern day apostles have been called to be special witnesses that Jesus is the Christ and that He died for our sins and was resurrected on the third day.

Acts 10:39-43  And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.  And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.  To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

If you are willing to study the remarkable claims and statements of belief made in The Living Christ, it will become clear to you that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has an understanding of Jesus Christ, His nature, His mission, and His atonement that is unique in the history of this world for its clarity and simplicity. Moreover, there are aspects of Christ's nature that ONLY the Latter-day Saints fully grasp and teach. Not only that, but The Living Christ helps to establish that Latter-day Saints truly do believe in the Christ of the Bible, and not "another Jesus." It also helps to show that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints truly is Christ's Church in the latter days, and that it is led by a living and active Savior who directs the work for the good of the whole world.

If The Living Christ proves anything, it is that the Latter-day Saint case for Christ is stronger than even most Latter-Day Saints understand. All of the scriptures testify of the truths taught in it, and it bears the testimony of prophets and apostles of God. The Living Christ is special (in part) because it is NOT another creed or formulation which tries to parse dry semantics or technical distinctions concerning Christ and his nature. It is powerful truth, derived from continuing revelation given to living prophets directly by God.

If we truly grasped the unique power and clarity of what we Latter-day Saints believe and teach and know about Jesus Christ we would realize that what we have is truly a "pearl of great price." To those many skeptics in this modern world, we know and can testify that Jesus did indeed live, and die, and then rise again, and we can explain why that matters. Our knowledge that He lives and that He is active in the world today has the power to change the world. The world needs to know that Christ's mission and ministry wasn't limited to a few years in Judea two thousand years ago. Instead, we know that His power (and His work) extends for all eternity; past, present, and future. On a more personal level, we know that each one of us can develop our own real, meaningful, and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He is interested in our individual welfare and happiness, and He involves Himself in the lives of all those who will let Him in. Christ is not an incomprehensible mystery, or a remote and formless spirit. He lives, and He loves us, and we can know him for ourselves in a very real, and deeply profound way.

The Living Christ is a remarkable document for many reasons, and not least because the doctrines set forth within it do not depend, wholly or even substantially, on the so-called restoration scriptures (such as the Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, or The Pearl of Great Price).  In fact, as I studied “The Living Christ,” I was pleased to find that the major doctrinal points in it can be amply supported by scripture contained in the Bible.  The Living Christ goes a long way towards demonstrating that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe in and teach of the genuine Christ of the Bible. What I mean by this is that Latter-day Saint beliefs and teachings concerning Christ can be supported wholly and directly from the Bible, with the added caveat that Latter-day Saints reject the innovations made in the creeds and councils that took place in the centuries since the death of the last of the Apostles. 

Due to our rejection of the creeds, Latter-day Saints are often accused of “preaching a different Jesus” (see 2 Cor. 11:4) than the rest of Christianity.  Further, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are often informed that their beliefs are not biblical because they depart from the standards established by the creeds (rather than the Bible alone). That is why this document is so valuable--even though we can rely on the "more sure word of prophecy" as the source for our claims about the Living Christ--it demonstrates that we can also confidently point to the Bible to lend additional strength to those claims, and that while we may choose to reject the creeds, this does not make our beliefs any less “biblical” (in fact I would argue that our rejection of the creeds makes our beliefs more biblical in nature, also See 2 Peter 1:19).

It is true that we have (or rather God has) added several books to the scriptural canon that most Christians do not accept, and so those who accuse us of not being Christian might well suspect that any declaration that we may make concerning Jesus Christ must depend largely upon our own scriptures for substantiation, because surely we cannot support our beliefs biblically.  On occasion I have noted that some Latter-day Saints also tend to assume that we rely on the Book of Mormon (or other scriptures unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) in order to establish our version of things, and that the Bible is only a secondary source for those beliefs.  In this regard The Living Christ is important because it demonstrates these various assumptions to be entirely false, while simultaneously illustrating the central role that the Bible plays in establishing our most basic doctrines and beliefs.

The Living Christ has great value as a missionary tool, and the truths contained within it have the power to change hearts and minds throughout the world, and to bring many to a personal knowledge of (and relationship with) their Savior. However, The Living Christ has equal value as a teaching tool for each member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to use to learn exactly what it is that we believe and teach concerning Jesus Christ. It is not enough that we know that we know these things. We need to be able to explain our doctrine to the rest of the world in a way that is meaningful, and which they can understand. That is why a deeper study of The Living Christ is important and necessary.

To the end of fostering a deeper study of this landmark document, as well as demonstrating the centrality of Jesus Christ and His atonement in Latter-day Saint beliefs, and demonstrating the importance of the Bible in establishing those beliefs, I have included my own breakdown of The Living Christ which highlights some of the more important statements contained in the document and presents a number of scriptures that can be used to support each assertion.  Most of these scriptures, as you will see, come from the Bible but I have included scriptures from the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants in order to further establish the truth of the statements made in The Living Christ as well as to show how well these scriptures harmonize with what is taught in the Bible.

The rest of this article focuses mainly on tying scripture references to the principles taught by the Prophet and the Apostles in The Living Christ. However, I have written extensively (and in great detail) elsewhere about practically every aspect of Jesus Christ, His nature, and His atonement. If you are interested in learning more about what Latter-day Saints believe and teach about the Savior and His atonement, I invite you to check out the following series of articles:

Why Only Jesus Could Be The Christ

Why Did Jesus Have to Die on the Cross?

Why Gethsemane is as Important as Calvary

Are You A Christian If You Don't Believe In The Trinity?

Is the Atonement of Jesus Christ Enough for All of Us?

Christ and the Healing Power of the Atonement

He is Risen! The Case For the Resurrection of Christ

The Atonement Defined I: Justification

The Atonement Defined II: Sanctification

You Are Never Beyond The Reach of God's Love

The Living Christ

1    1)      “He was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New.”

Isaiah 43:1, 3, 10-12  But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.  For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.  Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.  I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.

Daniel 3:25  He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

1 Corinthians 10:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

John 8:56-59  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.  Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.  Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

I included the last verse about the people’s attempt to stone Christ after His declaration that “Before Abraham was, I am” because it shows that the people understood exactly what He was telling them; namely that He was the God of the Old Testament, which statement they considered to be blasphemy and a thus a stoning offense.

D&C 110:2-4  We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.  His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father.

What happens to us when we die? Part VII: What happens to people of other faiths after they die?

Click to go to a previous installment:

Part VI: What is Hell?

Part V: Degrees of Glory

Part IV: Judgment

Part III: Resurrection

Part II: The Spirit World

Part I: Death


Q: According to the LDS church, what happens to people from other religions after they die? How do they fit into this plan?

What happens to us when we die? Part IV: Judgement

Follow these links to go to a previous installment:

Part III: Resurrection

Part II: The Spirit World

Part I: Death


IV. JUDGMENT

a. Jesus Christ performed the atonement in order to bring mankind back into the presence of God. All mankind will be brought to stand before Christ so that they might be judged.
Helaman 14:17 But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.

3 Nephi 27: 14-15 And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.

b. We will be brought to stand before the Savior to be judged.
John 5:22-23 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

Is the atonement of Jesus Christ enough for all of us?

A friend of mine sent me this question, and I responded, quite a while ago. I happened to re-read my response to her question this morning, and I decided that I had not covered all of the points that should properly be covered in addressing a subject such as this. In light of the things that I have learned since I wrote this, I thought that I could add some new insights to an old question.

Q: Why was the suffering and death of Jesus Christ ENOUGH to atone for the sins of all of us?

A: In the Book of Mormon, the great teacher Amulek taught that "there can be nothing which is short of an infinite atonement which will suffice for the sins of the world" (Alma 34:12).  That means that only a sacrifice which endures for eternity, and which is infinite in capacity, can satisfy the debt which each of us has incurred through our transgressions. What is it about Christ, and the atonement which He performed, that made his sacrifice sufficiently infinite to atone for the sins of the world?

Christ kept the whole law (see 1 Peter 2 :21-25 and 1 John 3:4-5 and James 2:10) so he could intercede for us based on his own merits, a claim that no other can make. (See Hebrews 5:8-10)  Also, Christ (in concert with God) was acting in accordance with the lawfully prescribed method for expiating sins (by offering himself). (I deliberately chose not to use the term "legally" though one might make the argument that it applies in this instance.) He did so namely by complying with the ordinance that called for the sacrifice of blood to atone for sins (see Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 17:11). Alma 34:11-16 explains this rather well. I refer you also to Hebrews 8:18-22, and Hebrews 9:13-14. Hebrews 10 explains in great detail the ways in which animal sacrifice was only a precursor to and ultimately an inferior shadow of that great and last sacrifice wherein "we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all". Christ’s sacrifice not only surpasses the power and effectiveness of the old law of sacrifice, but it is also in perfect harmony with (and in fact fulfills the requirements of) that same Law, as Paul explains in Hebrews. Paul goes on to explain that the demands of the Law required Christ to make that final redeeming sacrifice by “ the offering of [his] body…once for all” (see Hebrews 10:10) and he declares further that “… by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” (See Hebrews 10:14).

The Atonement Defined I: Justification

It is common to hear religious people marvel at the "incomprehensible" nature of the atonement and suffering of Christ.  This can be attributed to many true statements made by the general authorities along those lines:

"How One could bear the sins for all is beyond the comprehension of mortal man" (Ezra Taft Benson, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson, (2014), 89–101).

"In some incredible way that none of us can fully comprehend, the Savior took upon Himself the sins of the world" (M. Russell Ballard, "The Atonement and the Value of One Soul," Ensign, May 2004).

"We can’t fully understand how Jesus suffered for our sins" (Mormon.org).

“While we do not fully understand how the Atonement of Christ was made, we can experience 'the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.'” (Boyd K. Packer, “The Touch of the Master’s Hand,” Ensign, May 2001, lds.org).

However, while there are clearly aspects of the atonement which defy mortal understanding, or which have not yet been revealed to us, there is much that has been taught in the scriptures and by latter-day prophets concerning the atonement which is plain and easy to understand.  Furthermore, the fact that there are are some incomprehensible aspects of the atonement is not an excuse for members of the church to remain ignorant of the workings of the atonement when there is so much we do (or can) understand if we will only apply ourselves to study and reflection.

To fail to grasp the plain and simple truths to which we, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have been granted unprecedented access, is to waste one of the most precious gifts which has been given to man.  Moreover, if we fail to fully comprehend what is comprehensible about the atonement, we may keep ourselves from fully enjoying the blessings and the peace which Christ offers to each one of us.  In fact, I daresay that much of the personal suffering and anxiety among the individual members of the church can be traced back to an imperfect (or downright incomplete) understanding of the blessings and power of the atonement.  Worse, as a  missionary church, we try to communicate to others the blessings of a greater light and knowledge regarding the gospel which Christ taught, and which is supposed to bring us closer to Him; however, if we ourselves do not have a correct understanding of Christ's atoning sacrifice and its meaning in our own lives, then how can we expect to be able to convert others to the truth?  How can we expect others to represent our beliefs correctly if we ourselves do not possess a correct understanding of the very foundation of our faith?

"We need to understand the Atonement more fully than we do, both because outsiders may misperceive our doctrine and because we may view the Atonement too narrowly in our own lives. For example, Newsweek magazine has stated: “Unlike orthodox Christians, Mormons believe that men are born free of sin and earn their way to godhood by the proper exercise of free will, rather than through the grace of Jesus Christ. Thus Jesus’ suffering and death in the Mormon view … do not atone for the sins of others.” (Newsweek, 1 Sept. 1980, p. 68.)

It disturbs me that Newsweek would miss the point of our core doctrine, even though the article purported not to summarize our theology but to report what Latter-day Saints actually believe. It is unfortunate when we convey incorrect ideas to others; but it is worse when we, by our limited doctrinal understanding, deny ourselves the reassurance and guidance we may desperately need at pivotal moments in our lives" (Bruce C. Hafen, "Beauty for Ashes: The Atonement of Jesus Christ," Ensign, May 1990, lds.org).

To the end that we might more fully understand the power and blessings (and the basic workings) of the atonement, I have begun a series in which I will define certain basic terms which are commonly used in scripture to describe certain aspects of the atonement and how or why it was made.  The terms include words and phrases such as, justification, sanctification, and propitiation.  It is my hope that a more complete understanding of the terms used in the scriptures to communicate the power and meaning of the atonement will provide a jumping off point whereby those who read these articles might enabled to make discoveries and gain insights of their own as they study the scriptures to learn more about the atonement.  Hopefully, they might be taught more fully by the Holy Ghost as they revisit the scriptures with new eyes, and with the aid of an increased understanding.

Justification: Being accounted righteous by God through faith in Him. This is essentially a purely legal term that does not in fact deal with one’s inner nature in any way. It is the declaration by God that