The covenant or proper name of the God of Israel. It denotes the “Unchangeable One,” “the eternal I AM” (Ex. 6: 3; Ps. 83: 18; Isa. 12: 2; Isa. 26: 4). The original pronunciation of this name has possibly been lost, as the Jews, in reading, never mentioned it, but substituted one of the other names of God, usually Adonai. Probably it was pronounced Jahveh, or Yahveh. In the KJV, the Jewish custom has been followed, and the name is generally denoted by LORD or GOD, printed in small capitals.

Jehovah is the premortal Jesus Christ and came to earth being born of Mary (see Mosiah 13: 28; Mosiah 15: 1; 3 Ne. 15: 1-5; D&C 110: 1-10). Although Ex. 6: 3 states that the God of Israel was not known by the name Jehovah before Moses’ time, latter-day revelation tells us otherwise (Abr. 1: 16; Abr. 2: 8; cf. JST Ex. 6: 3); see also Gen. 22: 14).