The opening chapter of the Bible contains one of the most important pieces of information to all of God’s children.

And God said, “Let us make man in our image; after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” So God created man in his own image; in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them (Genesis 1:26–27).

What exactly does it mean to hold the image of God aka the Imago Dei? It has been debated for a long time. The core of the doctrine tells us that we are created with a kind of autonomy to make choices and hold dominion over the earth and everything on it as explained in Genesis. The finer details, however, are disputed.

‍Got Questions, a popular Christian apologetics and general information website, represents a prevailing understanding:

Having the “image” or “likeness” of God means, in the simplest terms, that we were made to resemble God. Adam did not resemble God in the sense of God’s having flesh and blood. Scripture says that “God is spirit” (John 4:24) and therefore exists without a body. However, Adam’s body did mirror the life of God insofar as it was created in perfect health and was not subject to death. The image of God (Latin, imago dei) refers to the immaterial part of humanity. It sets human beings apart from the animal world, fits them for the dominion God intended them to have over the earth (Genesis 1:28), and enables them to commune with their Maker. It is a likeness mentally, morally, and socially.^114“

In contrast, Latter-day Saints affirm that this scripture teaches that God and man are of the same general kind or species–and this understanding of these verses is affirmed by mainstream biblical and theological scholarship. Scholars point to passages such as Genesis 5:1-3 where Seth is created “in [Adam’s] likeness, after his image.” Note the parallel between this and Genesis 1:26. Of Genesis 5:1-3, one scholar wrote:

By setting the image-likeness formula in the context of sonship, Genesis 5:1-3 contradicts the suggestion that the image idea is a matter of representative status rather than of representational likeness or resemblance. For Seth was not Adam's representative, but as Adam's son he did resemble his father. The terminology "in his likeness" serves as the equivalent in human procreation of the phrase "after its kind" which is used for plant and animal reproduction and of course refers to resemblance (emphasis added).¹¹⁵

Other scholars affirm this same understanding of Genesis 1 and 5.¹¹⁶

How does knowledge that we are created in the image of God change our relationship with Him? What unique gifts can we find as we seek personal revelation from Him and know that we are literally created in His image and likeness?