In Mormonism, Jesus is the firstborn spirit child of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother in the premortal existence. He is considered the literal elder brother of all people — and even of Lucifer. He volunteered to be the Savior in Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation, making it possible for humankind to be resurrected and to progress toward exaltation. In LDS teaching, Jesus is divine, but he is not equal in essence with the Father; he is a separate being who does the Father’s will.
Mormons believe Jesus lived a sinless life, suffered in Gethsemane and on the cross for the sins of the world, died, and rose again. His atonement guarantees resurrection for all and provides forgiveness and grace to those who keep the commandments, receive the proper ordinances, and endure faithfully to the end.
Biblical Christianity teaches that Jesus is not a created being, but the eternal Son of God, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the Trinity. He is fully God and fully man, whose death and resurrection provide full forgiveness and eternal life as a free gift to all who believe (John 1:1–14; Colossians 1:15–20; Hebrews 1:3). Unlike Mormonism’s conditional view, the Bible presents Jesus’ work as complete and sufficient apart from human merit.
