Hello! I’m Danny, and I was an active LDS member for 60 years. During most of my lifetime, we referred to ourselves and were broadly known to the world as Mormons. But in 2018, President Russell Nelson insisted that the church be called by its proper name - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Names were important to Mr. Nelson. He was tired of being called a Mormon.
I mention this because along the same line of thinking - does it really matter if the Jesus - described in Mormonism - is identified differently than the Jesus in the Bible? As a Mormon, I would have said “no” because in the end - aren’t we talking about the same person?
Now, consider this. If your birth name was William and I called you Frank each time I spoke to you, would it bother you? Would it matter? Would you care enough to correct me? Or would you let it slide, knowing I meant well? Besides, it is still you, right?
But what if I told others that you, Frank, was born in another country and are a – green card holder when in, reality you, William, were born a US citizen? Would that bother you? Would that matter? Would you want that apparent misinformation widely known about you? Besides, you would be known by millions as Frank, the green card holder. How would you feel about that?
In somewhat comparable circumstances, we call the Son of God - Jesus. However, that is not His birth name. His Aramaic/Hebrew name was Yeshua. In the original New Testament Greek, it was Iesous. Eventually, it was changed in the 16th century, when the alphabet added the letter “J” and the Anglicized English form of His name became Jesus.
As a side note: How did the name “Jesus” anachronistically end up in the Book of Mormon gold plates, when the name hadn’t been invented till the 16th century?
Most of the world calls Him Jesus instead of His real name, Yeshua. Do you think that distinction matters? Do you think that bothers Yeshua being called Jesus - like it bothers William being called Frank? Hopefully, because Yeshua is divine, forgiving, and loving - He just smiles at it.
Personally, I love to call Him by His true given name - Yeshua. It seems much more personal and accurate. Of course, if we want to get technical, we should call Him “I AM.” Remember the conversation He had with the Jews when in John 8:58 “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” And the Jews tried to stone Him because He was in essence saying He was God.
As a Latter-day Saint, I also thought of Jesus differently than the Yeshua, I discovered Him to be in the Holy Bible. Today, I want to discuss and compare what Mormonism teaches about Jesus, and contrast it with what the Bible teaches about Yeshua.
Brigham Young said in Journal of Discourses, Vol. 16, p.46 “Take up the Bible, compare the religion of the Latter-day Saints with it, and see if it will stand the test.” So that is what we will do in this video.
There’s a term called “Christology” which is the study of the whom Christ is. Christology explores Yeshua’s life, humanity, and divinity using the New Testament Gospels, historical context, and theological doctrines to understand Yeshua’s nature, teachings, and significance to humanity and the Christian faith. On that basis, we might agree on some aspects of Christology - that the man Yeshua of Nazareth is the same historical Jesus in both Mormonism and Christianity. But we DO NOT agree when it comes to His divine nature.
Let me demonstrate. In Mormonism, Jesus is a created being. Meaning He was created as the literal spirit offspring of a heavenly father and mother in a pre-existent mortal state. Consequently, He is the brother of the rest of all mankind, including Satan – making us also the literal spirit offspring of a heavenly father and heavenly mother or mothers. If that doesn’t sound biblical to you - that’s because it’s not! The Jesus in Mormonism’s comes from the inventive minds of Joseph Smith and other LDS leaders.
Conversely, from the Bible we learn correctly that Yeshua was the uncreated Word of God. It says in John 1:1-2 “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.
And in John 1:3 “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
Paul declares in Colossians 1:16 “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.” Thus, it was the Word who created Satan, his powers, and his demons too.
It states in Hebrews 1:1-2 “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” It doesn’t get any clearer that that!
Then, it goes on to state in, John 1:14 “And the Word (Creator of ALL things) was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Thus, the man Yeshua was God incarnate.
Now, another point of disagreement between Mormonism and biblical Christianity is in what is called – “Soteriology.” What is meant by that? Soteriology is the study of the doctrine of salvation. Soteriology discusses how Christ’s death secures the salvation of those who believe on Him. It is the understanding of the doctrines of redemption, justification, sanctification, propitiation, and substitutionary atonement.
Soteriology is the area where Christianity is the MOST different from Mormonism. Understanding Biblical Soteriology will help us to know why salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. It’s a fact that no other world religion bases salvation on faith alone. Paul clearly taught in Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” This is in direct contrast with the Book of Mormon teaching in 2 Nephi 25:23 “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” In Mormonism, good works are expected before grace is applied to save a person.
A wonderful summary of Soteriology is found in Titus 3:5-8 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.”
This is where Latter-day Saints might realize that the Holy Bible is anti-Mormon literature. That’s because it disputes Mormonism in its most important doctrines – especially, the salvation of mankind through Jesus Christ or Yeshua Mashiach.
Like Jews, Muslims, and even demons - Mormonism acknowledges that a historical Jesus of Nazareth existed and they have a basic understanding of who He is and what He did. In that sense, they do believe in Yeshua or at least know about Yeshua. But that does not mean that Jews, Muslims, or Mormons love, trust, and worship the same Yeshua.
Does it really matter what we believe when it comes to the true, identity of Yeshua? Is there a chance that someone who believed in Yeshua could have their faith misplaced when it comes to His true, identity? I think so.
If our faith is in the wrong Yeshua, then it is misplaced faith. It wouldn’t matter how sincerely you believed in a false or mistaken Jesus, if He cannot save you.
There is only one God, and He became a man in the person of Yeshua. As Yeshua walked the earth, He showed us His divine qualities and who He truly was. All of that was captured in the writings of His disciples and preserved in the Bible. He gave us the opportunity to truly know Him in a personal way. You’d have to agree - the better, clearer understanding we have of another person, the stronger our relationship can be with that person. The same thing applies to knowing and understanding who Yeshua is.
After two full years of ministry, Yeshua wanted to get an assessment of the people’s opinion about Him. We read in Matthew 16:13-17 “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.” Obviously, there was mistaken, identity all around Him - about who He really was.
Then He asked His closest friends - His disciples the same question. “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” Peter was right that all other teachings and speculations about Him were unsuitable. In return, Yeshua blessed Peter for knowing who Christ truly was.
Today, when misinformed religious people say Yeshua was only a man – maybe a wise man, maybe a prophet, or an elder spirit brother - we should be prepared to defend Yeshua’s true, identity - which can be easily done by simply reading the Bible.
Since Mormonism teaches a different Yeshua than what we find in the Bible – how do you reconcile that? As a Latter-day Saint, you would have, to trust that mortal men in the 19th and 20th Century calling themselves modern apostles and prophets know better than those apostles and disciples, who lived with and was taught directly by Yeshua, Himself.
In the Bible, the apostle Paul warns about believing in a different Yeshua, or spirit, or gospel - than the one the early Saints originally received by him. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:4 “For if he that cometh preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted.” Paul’s warning is a reminder to stay true to who Christ is and not be led astray by false teachings about Him. Stick to the Bible!
Paul believed that false apostles were deceiving the early Saints. He states in 2 Corinthians 11:13 “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his (Satan’s) ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” The Corinthian Saints had failed to compare the biblical gospel of Christ with what false teachers were claiming about Yeshua. Likewise, I believe Latter-day Saints fail to compare Mormonism’s teachings about Jesus with the true Yeshua and gospel of the Bible.
Paul’s warning to the followers of Yeshua equates to the warning he wrote in another one of his epistles. Galatians 1:6-8 “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”
Who really is the Jesus in Mormonism? Is He the same Yeshua described in the Bible? To find out, let’s see what a prophet of the LDS Church has to say on the matter. It was in 1998, that the Mormon Prophet, Gordon B Hinckley, admitted to believing in a different Jesus than in Christianity. This is that quote reported in LDS Church News Week ending June 20, 1998, p. 7 “In bearing testimony of Jesus Christ, President Hinckley spoke of those outside the Church who say Latter-day Saints ‘do not believe in the traditional Christ.’ ‘No, I don’t. The traditional Christ of whom they (biblical Christians) speak is NOT the Christ of whom I speak.”
That is why it is important to have a correct understanding of who the true Yeshua is. Does it align with what the Bible teaches, or is it a distorted even a perverted view - invented by men calling themselves modern-day apostles and prophets and ministers of righteousness? If so, then THAT in my estimation would be a “victory for Satan.”
Because the Mormon view of salvation is so vastly different – so is their view of Yeshua. Mormons and Christians can be look at and talk about the same Yeshua -and not love, trust, and worship the same Yeshua at all. Most Mormons and many Christians have a hard time seeing the vast difference, and often for some reason they don’t want to. But there is a huge difference. It’s the difference between eternal life with God or eternal separation from God. It simply and truthfully is not the same Savior.
I’ll end with this: Yeshua Himself said in John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Eternal life – life with God and Yeshua – is knowing the reality of who they truly are.
I hope this helps you.
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God Bless!