Doctrine & Theology
Doctrine & Theologyjehovahjesusyahwehchristology

Jehovah Is Jesus Christ

Do Latter-day Saints demote Jesus by distinguishing Him from the Father, or do they actually identify Him with Jehovah of the Old Testament?

Bible

The Bible answers

Bible · 1 Corinthians 10:4

KJV + NRSVUE

King James Version

And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

NRSVUE

and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.

Bible · John 8:58

KJV + NRSVUE

King James Version

Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

NRSVUE

Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”

Our explanation

Before Abraham was, I am. That is Jehovah in Galilee.

Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon answers

Mosiah 3:8

And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.

Modern Revelation

Doctrine and Covenants 110:3–4

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: I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father.

Ancient witnesses

Dead Sea Scrolls and related extra-biblical texts that illuminate the same pattern the Restoration restores.

Septuagint kyrios and 1 Enoch’s Chosen One / Son of Man

Greek-speaking Jews rendered the divine name as Kyrios, “Lord”—the title the New Testament then heaps on Jesus. 1 Enoch’s Son of Man sits on the throne of glory and is named before the Lord of Spirits.

Identifying Jesus with Israel’s Lord is the New Testament’s own move. Latter-day Saints make it consistent: the Father is the Most High; Jehovah who appears, covenants, and redeems is the Son. That solves the Bible’s two-powers-in-heaven problem without Nicea and without lowering Jesus to a mere prophet.

Faithful answers

Scripture Central

Scripture Central

Scripture Central

Book of Mormon prophets already teach that the God of Abraham, the Holy One of Israel, would be born of Mary and slain. Restoration Christology is Jehovah-Christology.

The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants identify Jesus Christ as Jehovah, the God of Israel, the Creator, and the Redeemer who was slain and now lives.

  • Paul says the wilderness Rock was Christ. That is not poetic decoration.
  • John 8:58 takes the divine name “I am” on Jesus’ lips.
  • D&C 110: the risen Lord speaks “the voice of Jehovah” and immediately says He is the one who was slain.
  • Distinguishing the Father from the Son does not shrink Jesus. It lets Jehovah be the Jesus of history.
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Suggested videos

Faithful voices only. Most of these are independent — not official Church productions unless marked as such.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

What Mormons Believe about the Godhead | Now You Know

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Further reading

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