So I was looking for some information on this question and I came across the following from the
LDS teaching manual posted on LDS.org:
Display the following statement by Elder James E. Talmage (1862–1933) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and ask a student to read it aloud:
“That Child to be born of Mary was begotten of Elohim, the Eternal Father, not in violation of natural law but in accordance with a higher manifestation thereof; … In His nature would be combined the powers of Godhood with the capacity and possibilities of mortality; and this through the ordinary operation of the fundamental law of heredity, declared of God, demonstrated by science, and admitted by philosophy, that living beings shall propagate—after their kind. The Child Jesus was to inherit the physical, mental, and spiritual traits, tendencies, and powers that characterized His parents—one immortal and glorified—God, the other human—woman” (
Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. [1916],
81).
- What important traits did the Savior inherit from each of His parents?
As students respond, list on the board under “Mary” the traits Jesus Christ inherited from His mother (such as mortality—the ability to suffer pain and to die physically). List under “Heavenly Father” the traits Jesus inherited from His Father (such as the powers of Godhood—
immortality or the power to live forever; see
John 10:17–18).
Then invite a student to read
Mosiah 3:7–8 aloud. Ask:
- Why did the Savior need the powers of both mortality and immortality to complete the Atonement? (As students respond, make sure they understand the following truth: As the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh, Jesus Christ was able to perform the Atoning sacrifice, which required Him to endure more than a mortal person could, and thereby fulfill His role in the Father’s plan. In addition, because Jesus had power over death, He had the capacity to rise from the dead. Make sure students understand that if Jesus Christ had been born of two mortal parents, He could not have overcome death or endured the infinite pain and suffering of the Atonement. If He were born of two immortal parents, He would not have been subject to physical suffering and death.)
To further emphasize this critical doctrine, provide each student with a copy of the following statement by Elder Robert E. Wells of the Seventy, and give them time to read and ponder it:
“The divine Sonship of Jesus Christ … is central to understanding the entire plan of salvation. He is the First Begotten Son of the Father in the premortal existence and the Only Begotten Son of the Father on earth. God the Eternal Father is the literal parent of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and of His other spirit children. …
“The ‘divine Sonship’ also refers to the designation ‘Only Begotten Son in the flesh.’ … This title signifies that Jesus’ physical body was the offspring of a mortal mother and of an immortal Eternal Father, which verity is crucial to the Atonement, a supreme act that could not have been accomplished by an ordinary man. Christ had power to lay down His life and power to take it again because He had inherited immortality from His Heavenly Father. From Mary, His mother, Christ inherited mortality, or the power to die.
“This infinite atonement of Christ and Christ’s divine Sonship go together hand in hand to form the single most important doctrine of all Christianity” (
“Our Message to the World,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 65).
+++'
I'm not a Mormon myself (obviously), but as it says above that God the Father/Elohim is the literal parent of Jesus Christ in a genetic sense (see the two quotes from the elders), then doesn't it follow that the Mormon Jesus is not God until the impregnation of Mary by Elohim? After all, it is their own teaching materials and leaders that emphasize how God the Father is the literal father of Jesus "through the ordinary operation of the fundamental law of heredity", and since we all know something of how heredity works by virtue of being ourselves offspring and/or parents, we know it is not proper or accurate to treat the normal genetic relation of father and son as preexisting the establishment of that relationship (read: you can only pass on your traits by virtue of having a child, and that's something that happens within space and time, not eternally).
So...when Mary got pregnant, maybe?