Mormon Dilemma 113
Jesus the Only Begotten?
Gospel Through the Ages, pg. 15; “The appointment of Jesus to be the Savior of the world was contested by one of the other sons of God. He was called Lucifer, son of the morning. Haughty, ambitious, and covetous of power and glory, this spirit-brother of Jesus desperately tried to become the Savior of mankind. At the great council he proposed a new plan of salvation, event, the Lord revealed the following to Moses…”
Okay so let’s imagine we’re all still in spirit form before the world began. Lucifer, Jesus, you, me and the guy down the street are all begotten spirit brothers and sisters. The above scenario is true Mormon theology.
How is it that Jesus is given the name “mine Only Begotten” if we’re all begotten spiritually by God?
And if the skeptic says that Jesus is the Only Begotten for the earth then why does Mormon scripture refer to him with that title while still in the pre-existence?
See Moses 4:1-3; “And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. 2 But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever. 3 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down.”
Also take notice of the phrase “…here am I, send me…” which sounds like it was taken from Isaiah 6:8; “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”
Keep in mind Isaiah was written circa BC 700.
Only Begotten is a title given to Christ. This is why it is always capitalized in LDS scripture. It is not so capitalized in the Bible because previous, as well as modern scholars do not understand this. They see it only as a description.
While it is a description, it is also a title. It is a title to designate his position here on Earth as well as in Heaven. He is the Only Begotten, meaning he is the only one born of God on this Earth.
Why is he referred to by this title some thousand years before he was actually born? Because the truths of God are unalterable. He would be born, and so even at that time this title was applicable; and was even more useful as a means of instructing people concerning his mission and life on earth.
To get begotten is to become born and Jesus was born in a special way, because he was implanted by the Holy Spirit (The Force of God) = in such a way he was the only begotten, because all the other humans were conceived by conception by elements from two people. Jesus did not exist before as a person, but was part of the Plan of God.
His birth was to be in the future when the texts of the Old Testament were written. He was to become the promised Messiah.
Jesus was the Jehovah of the Old Testament, as he testifies to when he states “Before Abraham was, I Am.” He thus identifies himself as the Great I Am who appeared to Moses, and states that he existed before Abraham did.
While he had not yet performed the work of the Atonement he was the promised Messiah from the beginning, and thus to call him such from the beginning is perfectly accurate.