The Christ continuum

"The whole of history is incomprehensible without him (Jesus)." — Ernest Renan, "La Vie De Jesus"

In varied forms and media, artistic depictions of Jesus Christ reflect the disparity of vision and understanding about where he came from, how he lived, who he was, what he taught, where he suffered and how he died.

The artist's focus is often a reflection of his or her feeling about, and faith in, the reality of the subject. That Christ was born, lived, ministered to the Jews, then was crucified are foundational premises. But the ultimate depiction lies in the details.

Similarly, Christianity as a whole rests on some basic foundational theology about Jesus. But the detail that shapes major denominational divisions between Latter-day Saints and other Christians is stark enough that some evangelicals in recent years have accused The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of not being Christian.

So is Christianity based solely in theology, or does one's adherence to Christ's teachings — including admonition to "love thy neighbor as thyself" — figure in?

During LDS General Conference last weekend, more than 100,000 Latter-day Saints in downtown Salt Lake City were the target of a group of street preachers.

Carrying signs, banners and a hefty dose of biblical vocalizing, they loudly decried LDS beliefs, urging all to "believe in Jesus." Though their tactics have been derided, their message points to one of the most fundamental differences between the LDS Church and virtually every other historical Christian denomination.

According to President Gordon B. Hinckley, "The traditional Christ of whom (historic Christians) speak is not the Christ of whom I speak."

And it is, perhaps, at Easter that the differences in belief about Jesus are most readily apparent for Latter-day Saints, who join the larger Christian world in celebrating his atonement and resurrection, but forgo any focus on Holy Week. Rather than his death, it is Christ's life — including a detailed premortal and postmortal theology — that is at the heart of LDS devotion during Easter.

If diagrammed along a historical continuum, the differences in the Christian "Trinity" (three beings in one God) versus the LDS "Godhead" (three distinct personages) date not just to Adam and Eve of the Old Testament but to a time before the book of Genesis begins.