Basic Beliefs of Mormons

Jesus Christ. That name evokes such emotion, power, strength and unmatched love. He is known by so many names: Immanuel, Shiloh, Son of God, Son of Man, Prince of Peace, Wonderful, Counselor . . . they go on and on, every one testifying of the divinity of our Lord and Savior.

He is the promised Messiah, our Redeemer and Savior. He is the second member of the Godhead, which is comprised of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. Each is a distinct and separate personage. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have bodies of flesh and bone (1st Corinthians 15: 20-22.) This is evidenced by His invitation to the Apostles to touch the scars in the palms of His hands and wrists, side and feet after He was resurrected. They watched Him hang on that cross, suffer and die. They cared for the Savior's body and took Him to Joseph of Aramathea's tomb. And yet His spirit and body were reunited in resurrection. And with His resurrection the bands of death were broken forever. He insured immortality for all of Heavenly Father's children. Eternal life, now that's up to us and is what the Atonement is all about. But that's another post.

In their testimony of Jesus Christ, the modern day prophet (Gordon B. Hinckley) and apostles of the Lord in The Living Christ identified the Savior and His role:

"He was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New. Under the direction of His Father, He was the creator of the earth. "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3). Though sinless, He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He "went about doing good" (Acts 10:38), yet was despised for it. His gospel was a message of peace and goodwill. He entreated all to follow His example. He walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our premortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come."

It goes on to say:

"He rose from the grave to “become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20). As Risen Lord, He visited among those He had loved in life. He also ministered among His "other sheep" (John 10:16) in ancient America. In the modern world, He and His Father appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, ushering in the long-promised "dispensation of the fulness of times" (Ephesians 1:10).

Jesus left His heavenly throne and was born into mortality that He might accomplish two things: the Atonement and the defeat of death. He faithfully followed the admonition of the Father to redeem mankind. In doing so, He walked from city to city in the Middle East and restored and corrected the plain and precious truths which had faded away with time or been corrupted by evil men. For three years He went about His Father's business and the night He entered the Garden of Gethsemane, He knew what was next.

There are many who deny He is God. But can a man take on the weight of untold numbers of worlds' -- sin, sorrow, grief, illness and pain, bleed from every pore, the pain so excruciating that He asked, "[Abba] O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." Could a man endure that and then survive the beatings, the whippings, the vinegar, the lack of sleep and more to hang on a cross and not die until it, the Atonement, was complete?

I testify to you that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only begotten of the Father in the flesh. He is the Savior and Redeemer of this world and the only path to redemption and eternal life. It is only by Jesus Christ that we may be saved. Denying it will not make so. It is truth, truth eternal. Jesus Christ awaits you, will you do all you can to return and express with utmost and heartfelt gratitude, indeed with a "broken heart and contrite spirit" and thank Him for His sacrifice?