What are the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses views about Christ's preexistence?

Answer 1

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Mormon" church) believes that Jesus Christ, as well as all of God's spiritual creations (all mankind) existed spiritually in heaven with God the Father before the creation of the earth. Here in this 'preexistence' or 'premortal life', we chose to receive mortal bodies and come to earth in order to progress in our knowledge and understanding of God. In order to make this and our subsequent return to God's presence possible, Jesus Christ was chosen and ordained to be our Savior and Redeemer. Mormons believe that Jesus then assisted God the Father in the creation of the earth. Prior to His mortal birth, Jesus Christ was the God of the Old Testament, acting under the direction and authority of God the Father - Jesus was the 'God of Israel' that revealed Himself to all the Old Testament prophets. Indeed, "we affirm that Jesus Christ was and is Jehovah, the Eternal One." (Jesus The Christ, pp.32) If you'd like to read an in-depth study of the Mormon view of the preexistence of Jesus Christ, I highly recommend the first five chapters of Jesus The Christ by Apostle James E. Talmage, which available free online.

Witnesses believe that Jesus Christ is the first born of all creation and the Son of God -NOT God himself. All creation was through Jesus Christ and he has thus had milleniums of prexistence (before he came to earth). They will use the following:

(Proverbs 8:22-31) 22 "Jehovah himself produced me as the beginning of his way, the earliest of his achievements of long ago. 23 From time indefinite I was installed, from the start, from times earlier than the earth. 24 When there were no watery deeps I was brought forth as with labor pains, when there were no springs heavily charged with water. 25 Before the mountains themselves had been settled down, ahead of the hills, I was brought forth as with labor pains, 26 when as yet he had not made the earth and the open spaces and the first part of the dust masses of the productive land. 27 When he prepared the heavens I was there; when he decreed a circle upon the face of the watery deep, 28 when he made firm the cloud masses above, when he caused the fountains of the watery deep to be strong, 29 when he set for the sea his decree that the waters themselves should not pass beyond his order, when he decreed the foundations of the earth, 30 then I came to be beside him as a master worker, and I came to be the one he was especially fond of day by day, I being glad before him all the time, 31 being glad at the productive land of his earth, and the things I was fond of were with the sons of men.

*** w12 12/1 p. 16 Why Did God Send Jesus to Earth? ***

Where was Jesus before God sent him to earth?

Jesus lived as a spirit person in heaven before he was born in Bethlehem. He was God's first creation and the only one created directly by God. Therefore, he is fittingly referred to as God's only-begotten Son. In heaven, he often spoke as God's representative. That is why he is called the Word. He also acted as God's helper and took part in the creation of all other things. (John 1:2, 3, 14) Jesus lived with God in heaven for aeons before humankind was created.-Read Micah 5:2; John 17:5.