Unquestionably the Virgin Birth is central to Biblical Christianity. To believe that God, a resurrected man, now God, came to earth and had sex with his own daughter to create Jesus is blasphemous to Christianity. I’m only going to give a few of numerous quotes from Mormon Prophets on down. Space won’t allow me to fully develop this. If you want a thorough review, in Chapter Two and Appendix Two of my book “When Salt Lake City Calls,” I give many more quotes and much more detail. -Rocky Hulse, Mormon Outreach
My own research has concluded the following:
Members of the LDS Church may be surprised to learn that many Christians teach that Christ was begotten of the Holy Ghost. The Apostles Creed, a doctrinal statement which is nearly universally accepted among Catholics and Protestants, states that "Jesus Christ... was conceived by the Holy Ghost" (Book of Common Prayer, p. 52; see also Mormon Doctrine, pp. 47-48,535-537). The creed sung in conjunction with the Holy Communion of the Church of England says: "Jesus Christ... Begotten not made, was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary" (Ibid., pp. 291-292).
Although Matthew states that Mary was "found with child of the Holy Ghost" (1:18) and "that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost" (1:20), Luke provides us a more detailed and clear account. While Matthew describes the visit of an unnamed angel to Joseph in only two verses, Luke takes ten verses to describe the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary. The additional insight provided by Luke's account helps clarify Matthew's statement in this instance. He tells us initially that Jesus "shall be called the Son of the Highest" (1:32) and thereafter affirms Christ's divine sonship by informing us that the angel told Mary: "the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (1:35), not the Holy Ghost. Luke and other inspired writers clearly used the titles "highest" and "most high" to refer to God the Father (Ps. 77:10; Luke 6:35-36; Rom. 8:16-17; Heb. 1:1-3; 1 Jn. 3:1, 10; 5:2, 5, 10-12). They also unmistakably believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God the Father (2 Jn. 3; see also Ps. 2:7, John 20:17; Acts 13:33; Rom. 15:6; 2
Cor. 11:31; Eph. 1:3, 17; Col. 1:3,12-14; Heb. 1:5; 5:5; 1 Pet. 1:3). Three of the four Gospel accounts of the baptism of Jesus Christ also testify that Jesus Christ is Son of God the Father. Luke, for example, tells us that "the Holy Ghost descended in bodily shape like a dove upon him [Christ], and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased" (Luke 3:22). It is clear that the Holy Ghost was present at the baptism while God the Father spoke from heaven declaring Jesus Christ to be his Son (see also Matt. 3:16-17; 28:19; Mark 1:10-11; John 12:26-30).
Irenaeus (ca. 190 A.D.) in his exposition "Against Heresies" confirmed "that the Holy Ghost came upon Mary, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her, and so what was born (of her) is holy and the Son of God Most High, the Father of all..."(v. 3 as quoted in Cyril Richardson, Early Christian Fathers, p. 388).
The Book of Mormon also clearly identifies God the Father as Christ's Father. 1 Nephi 11:18-21 reads:
... Behold the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh. And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the
Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!
Alma testified that he knew "that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father..." (Alma 5:48). This statement is not unique to the Book of Mormon, New Testament authors as well used the phrase "only begotten of the Father" (John 1:14, 18; 3:16; 1 Jn. 4:9). It is interesting to note that Isaac was similarly referred to as Abraham's "only begotten son" (Heb. 11:17; see also Gen. 22:2, 16; Jacob 4:5). The
scriptural witness is clear, Jesus Christ is the literal Son of God the Father and Mary and of none else (Matt. 3:17; 16:16, 27; 17:5; 26:63-64; John 3:13-17; 5:18?20; 8:19; 20:17, 31; Heb. 1:1-3; 1 Pet. 1:3; 1 Jn. 1:3;
5:11; 2 Jn. 3; Rev. 1:6; 1 Nephi 13:40; 2 Nephi 25:12; Alma 13:9; 3 Nephi
11:7; D&C 20:21; 93:11; Moses 1:6, 33; 2:1, 26-27; 5:7).
The second part of this question asks by what means Christ was conceived. Although this would seem a delicate subject to most of us, the writers of the gospels apparently felt it was very important. The previously cited verses from Matthew, for example, are quite explicit concerning Mary's conception. Matthew and Luke clearly believed that this information was proof of the fulfillment of prophecy (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:22-23) and crucial to the establishment of Christ's divinity (Isa. 9:6-7; Luke 1:35). Unfortunately, despite these scriptural accounts, Christians are highly divided on the facts concerning this event. In discussing this issue, other Christians often introduce misleading terms such as virgin birth and immaculate conception, which can cause further confusion and misunderstanding.
Although most of Christianity agrees that Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary, there is ample disagreement as to what this actually means. Catholics, for example, believe that Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Christ and for the rest of her life while Protestant scholars are largely divided on whether only the conception was miraculous or whether virginity was retained after both conception and birth.
LDS apostles and prophets affirm the virgin conception of Mary but also make it clear that the birth of the Savior was "as natural as the births of our children" (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 8:211; see also Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Religious Truths Defined, p. 44; Bruce R. McConkie Mormon Doctrine, pp. 741-742, 822). Mormons, therefore, do not believe in a miraculous birth nor that Mary remained a virgin in latter life. Luke confirms this view since Mary had to accomplish the required purification, following Mosaic law, after the opening of her womb at birth (Luke 2:22-23; see also Lev. 12:2-6). The fact that Mary later had other children is also made abundantly clear in Bible scripture (Matt. 1:25; 12:46; 13:55-56; Mark 6:3; Gal. 1:19).
The term immaculate conception, mentioned earlier, is defined as the view that Mary herself was conceived in her mother's womb without the stain of original sin. This false belief has no basis in scripture and is not accepted by the LDS Church (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 375). The "original" sin of Adam brought death into the world (1 Cor. 21?22) but it is our own sins that spiritually separate us from God. Jesus Christ atoned unconditionally for Adam's transgression (Rom. 5:11-18; Moses 6:54) and conditionally atoned for our own personal sins (Heb. 5:9).
Enemies of the Church have, through the years, made attempts to portray LDS doctrine as radically anti-Christian. Some, for example, have tried to use the above-cited words of our apostles and prophets and others to show that Mormons believe that God had "sexual intercourse with the virgin Mary". Quotes from Bruce R. McConkie's Mormon Doctrine on the topic "Son of God" (pp. 741-742) and others by Brigham Young (Journal of Discourses; 1:51) and Joseph Fielding Smith (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:18) are misconstrued to convey a false concept of the truth. These quotes emphasize the fact that Christ was both the spiritual and physical Son of God and that Christ's birth took place in the normal course of events. None of the above statements indicates that God had "sexual relations with Mary" as some critics so shockingly contend. Indeed, even LDS scripture refutes this false doctrine and affirms our belief in a virgin conception (1 Nephi 11:13-21). While we do believe that Christ is the "only begotten Son" of God in the flesh (Ezra Taft Benson, Come Unto Christ, pp. 2-4, 128), I find no speculation by LDS leaders as to how this was accomplished. On the other hand, the importance of Christ's divine Sonship as the "only begotten" is
found throughout our scriptures and other LDS writings (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; Heb. 5:5; 1 Jn. 4:9; 1 Nephi 11:18-21; Jacob 4:5, 11; Alma 12:33-34; 13:5; D&C 20:21; 29:42; 49:5; 76:13, 23-25; Moses 1:6, 33; 2:1, 26-27; 3:18; 4:1; 5:9; Jesus the Christ, p. 81; Mormon Doctrine, p. 546-547; Mortal
Messiah, 1:313-315). The only satisfactory interpretation of Christ's Sonship is a physical one since all men may be spiritually "begotten of God" by being born again (1 Jn. 5:18; Mosiah 5:7). Christ alone is the only begotten Son of God in the flesh (John 1:14). An understanding of this concept is critical since those who are not unified in the faith and of the Son of God (Eph. 4:13) and who deny his divine Sonship will not be among
those who overcome (1 Jn. 5:5).
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