In his sermon to the priests of Noah, Abinadi affirms that Christ is the Father and the Son, "the Father because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and the Son." (Mosiah 15:3.)
The point was explained at length by the First Presidency and the Twelve in a "Doctrinal Exposition" written June 30, 1916, and printed on pages 465-472 of The Articles of Faith by Elder James E. Talmage of the Quorum of the Twelve.The exposition explains that Jesus Christ is known as the Father in the following ways:
As Creator.
As the Father of those who abide in His gospel.
As the Father by divine investiture of authority (delegation).
Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet elaborate on the doctrinal exposition in their book Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon:
"Because Jehovah-Christ created the heavens and the earth, He is appropriately known in the Book of Mormon as "the Father of heaven and of earth." The Nephite and Jaredite prophets came to know full well that the Messiah, the Only Begotten Son of the Father in the flesh, was the same being who had created all things (see Ne. 25:12).
". . . Jesus Christ becomes the Covenant Father of all who receive and abide by the terms and conditions of the new and everlasting covenant, the fulness of His gospel (see D&C 66:2; 133:57). As it was with the physical formation of the heavens and the earth, so it is in regard to to the human character and personality: Christ is the Father of creation, and through applying His atoning blood men and women become `new creations,' new creatures of Christ through the medium of the Holy Ghost (see Mosiah 5:1-7; 15:11-12; 27:25-26).
" . . .
Regarding divine investiture of authorityT President Joseph Fielding Smith aids our understanding with the following explanation: `All revelation since the fall has come through Jesus Christ, who is the Jehovah of the Old Testament. In all of the scriptures where God is mentioned and where He has appeared, it was Jehovah. . . . The Father has never dealt with man directly and personally since the fall, and He has never appeared except to introduce and bear record of the Son. (Doctrines of Salvation 1:27.)' "
