Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes mistakenly referred to as “Mormons,” believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, born to the Virgin Mary. In Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah prophesied of Jesus’ birth: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Latter-day Saints believe that this prophecy was fulfilled and recorded in Matthew 1 and Luke 2, both of which chronicle Jesus’ birth.
New Testament Accounts
In Luke chapter 1, we see the account of an angel appearing to Mary and telling her that she would have a son. Mary at first was confused, and asked the angel, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” The angel replied, “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” (Luke 1:30-35). Latter-day Saints believe this account to be true, and that Mary was a virgin, just as other Christian denominations believe. Latter-day Saints also believe the account in Matthew of Jesus’ miraculous birth.
Modern Revelation
In the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, there are several places where Mary, or Jesus’ mother, is mentioned by way of prophecy or vision. In the book of 1 Nephi, the prophet Nephi sees a vision of Jesus’ birth. Nephi said of Mary, “And in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white . . . most beautiful and fair above all other virgins” (1 Nephi 11:13-14). During his vision, Nephi was escorted by an angel. In the next verse, Nephi records what the angel said to him:
And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God? And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things. And he said unto me: 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 time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms (1 Nephi 11:15-20).
From Nephi’s vision, the account in the New Testament is corroborated. Mary was a pure virgin, and the mother of the Son of God. Nephi also states that Mary was “carried away in the Spirit,” similar to Luke’s description of her being “overshadowed” by the Holy Ghost.
Later in the Book of Mormon, the prophet Alma teaches the people that Jesus “shall be born of Mary, . . . she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost” (Alma 7:10). Again, the language of the Book of Mormon echoes the Bible, teaching that Mary was a virgin and was overshadowed by the Holy Ghost.
Jesus is the Son of God
Latter-day Saints believe that God the Father is Jesus’ father, not the Holy Ghost. The Church of Jesus Christ’s official website, lds.org, states: “Mary was Jesus’ only earthly parent because God the Father was Jesus’ father”[1, emphasis added]. We believe that Jesus inherited different characteristics from each of His parents: from His mortal mother, Mary, Jesus inherited the ability to die; from His immortal father, God the Father, Jesus inherited the ability to rise again. However, Latter-day Saints don’t profess to understand exactly how Jesus’ conception took place. The how of the virgin birth is not important; what’s more important is that we know it did happen.
What Latter-day Saints Don’t Believe About Mary
While Latter-day Saints do believe in the Virgin Birth, we do not believe in the Immaculate Conception, as the Catholics do, nor do we believe in Mary’s perpetual virginity or her assumption into heaven. We believe that Mary was a precious and chosen individual, but also that she was mortal, and, in that sense, just like any other mortal on earth. We do not pray to Mary or believe she can intercede on our behalf. We do honor her as the mother of the Son of God on earth, and as a virtuous and chosen woman.
What do you mean by “we do not believe in the Immaculate Conception”? The paragraph above clearly says we do believe in the Virgin Birth, and that the Holy Ghost “overshadowed” or “carried away” Mary. So we believe Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, by way of the Holy Ghost… but we don’t believe in Immaculate Conception? Really, it sure sounds like we do.
The dogma of Immaculate Conception refers to “the unique privilege by which the Virgin Mary was conceived in her mother’s womb without the stain of original sin through the anticipated merits of Jesus Christ” (Dictionary.com). In other words, that she was sinless like the Savior. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that Mary was a pure, righteous and chosen vessel of the Lord, but not that she was perfect and sinless. Elder James E. Talmage said of Jesus,
“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…. 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).
Though she was mortal, she was obedient to the commandments of God. Mormon scholar Robert J. Matthews taught,
“When we consider the strong influence that a mother has on the personality and attitude of a young child in the home, we sense the responsibility that our Heavenly Father gave Mary by entrusting her with the rearing of his chosen and Beloved Son. This would require the adequate training of Mary, both as a premortal spirit and as a young woman in mortality. Notwithstanding her preearth assignment, Mary would not have been worthy to bear the Son of God and give him a body of flesh and blood unless she was clean and pure in mortal life” (Mary and Joseph, Ensign, December 1974).
Thus, Mary was worthy to be the mortal mother of Jesus Christ not because she was perfect and sinless but because she kept herself clean and pure through her righteous choices.
A female’s egg contains two X chromosomes. The male sperm cell has an X and a Y. Each parent provides one chromosome. If two X’s combine, a girl is produced. If an X and a Y, the child will be male.
Laboratory-induced parthenogenesis causes a female egg to divide and grow, so the result (XX) must be a female.
Such a type of parthenogenesis could not have occurred with Mary, for her firstborn (Jesus) was a male. Since she was a virgin, the Y chromosome must have been supplied miraculously, as the Bible indicates.
Surely the One who created the amazing process of human reproduction could also cause the conception and birth of Jesus from a chaste virgin. If God created the universe and its finely tuned laws, he could also use an egg cell from Mary’s ovary to produce a perfect human Son.
Our Great God, the Grand Creator and Source of Life would be able to supply the Y (Mat 1:20).
God’s spirit ensured that what developed and what came to be known as the Son of the Most High (Ps 83:18; Luk 1:32) was a perfect man to be a ransom for imperfect mankind.
The immaculate conception is about Mary being conceived by her parents without original sin as she was to be the mother of Jesus, the Savior. It’s not about how Jesus was conceived (which was through the power of the Holy Spirit).
Also Mary had other children from Joseph her husband.Her being a virgin was gone sometime after Jesus birth. Joseph was told by God in warning not to touch her until after Jesus was born.
That is a beautiful, knowledgeable and intelligent way to explain what we believe about Mary. Thank you for posting this to help others understand our revering Mary, but not worshiping her.
I am Catholic (formerly LDS). To be clear, the Church asks us to honor Mary, not worship her. Very different. Worthy of worship are God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
I am Catholic (formerly LDS). To be clear, the Church (Catholic) asks us to honor Mary, not worship her. Very different. Worthy of worship are God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.