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From the answer to another question, someone suggested that the LDS (Mormon) church teaches that Jesus is distinct from God--that though He is a part of the Godhead, the Godhead is not a Trinity defined by the "Three-in-One" idea.

What specifically, then, does the LDS Church teach about who Jesus is and where He came from? Is He eternal, not eternal, uncreated, created?

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Would you mind linking to the original source? This interpretation appears to be a vastly oversimplified view of the issue. – Mason Wheeler♦ Jan 18 '12 at 21:50
@MasonWheeler Included the source... hoping a good answer will make it clear... (and not overly simplified). – Narnian Jan 18 '12 at 21:53
@MasonWheeler Do you have suggestions on how I could word this better? – Narnian Jan 18 '12 at 21:58
Some Christianity believes that the Holy Trinity is three-in-one, or three beings in one being. LDS doctrine distinctly teaches the doctrine of the godhead, which means 3 separate individuals. My answer in the question you linked to says nothing to indicate that Mormons think Jesus is excluded from or believe in the Holy Trinity. To be clear, "Holy Trinity" is a term not really found in LDS teachings. "Godhead" is more correct, and it includes Jesus. (I since clarified further my other answer.) – Matt Jan 18 '12 at 22:02
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@Matt Thanks for clearing up my misunderstanding. I have updated the question to hopefully accommodate a correct understanding. – Narnian Jan 18 '12 at 22:07
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2 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

The below is pulled from The Araonic Priesthood Manual 3: Lesson 1 The Godhead

Jesus Christ is—

  1. The Firstborn Son of Heavenly Father in the spirit.
  2. The Only Begotten Son of Heavenly Father in the flesh.
  3. The Creator of heaven and earth under Heavenly Father’s direction.
  4. The Savior and Redeemer of mankind.
  1. Mormons believe we are all the spirit children of Heavenly Father, Jesus is our older brother in spirit.
  2. Kind of self explanatory
  3. If the Godhead means 3 distinct Individuals, one of them was responsible for the physical creation of the earth. Going further on this point would be a whole different answer.
  4. This is, as far as I know, the common denominator among all christian denominations.

So that is who the Mormons believe he is, as far as created, Mormons believe all spirits are created, thus given #1 above, Heavenly Father Created Jesus. I would like to note though that from what I have learned the definition of Created to a Mormon is a bit different than to many other christian groups.

As far as eternal, President Ezra Taft Benson 13th President of the LDS Church said "Life is eternal. We are eternal beings." If we are eternal then Jesus is Eternal.

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up vote 6 down vote

I agree with @Matt's comment. And from what I understand, LDS believe that all people, Jesus, and angels (including Lucifer and co.) are God's children and existed and lived with God before creation in what they call the "pre-earth" life, and that Jesus was chosen to be Savior in this pre-earth life. Also, in our "pre-earth" life we (the people) all had faith in Jesus. They believe God sent us to Earth to learn to make the right choices, and by choosing to have faith in Jesus, again, can we return home to the father.

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I don't know for sure but you might be confusing the Jehovah's Witnesses with the LDS. – nickecarlo Jan 19 '12 at 0:53
@nickecarlo No, I've spoken with LDS elders before and this is the doctrine they presented. They gave me a pamphlet that goes over this. I can quote it later when I get home if you'd like. – Shredder Jan 19 '12 at 1:11
That would be nice or maybe a link that everyone can go to and see the information as coming from them. – nickecarlo Jan 19 '12 at 1:16
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@nickecarlo No, that is LDS belief. Those who chose to follow Christ (and thus the Father) come to Earth, gain physical bodies, and prove themselves and learn and grow. Those who followed Satan in the pre-earth life forfeited that blessing and are servants of the devil. Their official website explains this more: lds.org/plan/our-eternal-life (see all the links on the left side) – Matt Jan 19 '12 at 1:16
@Matt Thanks for the link. – nickecarlo Jan 19 '12 at 1:23
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