For Mormons, Jesus Christ is the centerpiece of faith. Mormon is a nickname for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His sacred name at the center of the church’s name is representative of His place in their faith and in their hearts.
Mormons believe that Jesus Christ is the firstborn of God as a spirit and the only begotten son of God the Father on Earth. His parentage was a unique blending of the mortal, through His mother Mary, and the divine, through God, His literal Father. This parentage was essential for Him to be able to carry out the work chosen for Him by His Father. He was ordained before the world began to be the Savior of the world, a responsibility He voluntarily accepted.
God understood that those who were fully mortal would be unable to live the sinless life justice required of those who would return home. We would need an atonement that was performed by someone who was sinless and who was willing to suffer for our sins. This would balance justice and mercy. Only Jesus Christ could be this Savior and so we are entirely dependent on Him for our salvation. Nothing we could do on Earth would allow us to return home to God without His intervention.
Mormons believe it is Jesus who is the Jehovah mentioned in the Old Testament. He created the Earth under the direction of God the Father. When He came to Earth, it was not to live a life of privilege and ease, but to experience the fullness of mortality. He lived a life of service to others, setting the example through His treatment of the poor, the needy, and the friendless, through His baptism, and through His adherence to His Father’s teachings. He taught the gospel without fear, despite increasingly fierce persecution.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, He took on the sins of the world, a highly personal time of intense and painful suffering that was in individual gift to each one of us. Then He died on the cross in order to be resurrected. When He was resurrected, He made it possible for all of us to be resurrected as well.
He spent time with people He had known and loved during His lifetime to prove the resurrection had occurred. Later, He also traveled to visit others who knew of Him and loved Him but who lived in other lands. The Book of Mormon records His visit to people on the American continent.
Jesus Christ will one day return to rule and at that time, everyone will know who He is.
For Mormons, Jesus Christ is at the center of their lives. They strive every day to become more like Him as their gift of love to Him. This website is an unofficial attempt to learn how living a Mormon Christ-like life plays out in real life.
