Are Mormons Christian

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Criticism

Many of the Church's critics like to claim that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not Christian.

Source(s) of the Criticism

• Hank Hanegraaff, CRI, MORMONS — CAN THEY BE CONSIDERED CHRISTIANS?*

Better known as Mormons, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now numbers over 9 million members in almost 130 territories around the globe. Are they really the true followers of Jesus Christ as they claim to be?

To quote one Mormon apologist: “Latter-day Saints are Christians because they emphatically believe in Christ, use His name in their official church title, and believe in the Bible and the Book of Mormon which testify repeatedly of the reality of Christ and the truth of His teachings.” Jesus Christ, no doubt, plays a central role in Mormon theology. However, Paul warns that to be a Christian, one must believe in the true Christ—the Jesus of the Bible—and not another Jesus. In fact, we would all agree with the late Mormon apostle Bruce R. McConkie when he says, “it matters not that people simply say they believe in Christ, or think they are followers of Moses, or the Apostles. What counts is the reality.” And the reality is that Mormons believe in a Jesus vastly different than the Jesus of the Bible.

You see, Mormonism teaches that Jesus is just one of countless other gods—a belief known as polytheism. Now, a Mormon may try to deny being a polytheist by affirming the existence of other gods, while in the same breath worshipping only God the Father. However, don’t forget Christ’s proclamation in Mark chapter 12—that God’s most important commandment is to recognize that there is only one God and only one Lord.

Where does this leave Jesus in Mormon Theology? Well, Mormons say they believe that Jesus is Jehovah, the LORD, the God of Israel, yet they refuse to pray to Him, as Jehovah Himself commands in the Old Testament (cf. Deut. 4:7; 2 Chron. 7:14; Pss. 5:2; 32:6; Jer. 29:7,12)—the same Jehovah who knows of no other God besides Himself, the One worshipped and honored by all true Christians (Ex. 34:14; cf. Matt. 2:11; 14:33; Luke 24:52). And so, judging by its own teachings, Mormonism cannot be rightly considered Christian.

On Mormonism, that’s the CRI Perspective. I’m Hank Hanegraaff.

Response

While acknowledging that Jesus Christ plays a central role in LDS theology, this is downplayed by the insistence that "our" Jesus is not the same as the Jesus found in the Bible.

Conclusion

A summary of the argument against the criticism.

Further reading

FAIR wiki articles

• Christian Research Institute or CRI

FAIR web site

• Cooper Johnson, Mormons--Can They Be Considered Christians?, FAIR Article.

Printed material

• Printed resources whose text is not available online