In order for your answer to be considered for "best", you must indicate your own religious background (i.e. "none", "protestant", "muslim", "mormon", etc.) Christians, please specify whether Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox. Mormons please indicate that you are "mormon" or "LDS". Atheists/Agnostics also must indicate.
This is for research I am doing, so any answer with NO religious affiliation indicated will not be considered. Thank you.
2006-11-26 15:37:35 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Absolutely not.
Evangelical Christian
There is one important thing that is essential for you to know about Mormonism: the difference between the Mormon's Jesus and the Jesus of Christianity.
Mormons believe that Jesus opened the door for us to be saved. However, in order to be saved, you have to live a worthy life--and walk through the door yourself. Therefore, Mormons believe you are saved by works--and after you do everything in your power to be righteous, that's when Jesus' grace kicks in.
Christians believe that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. It's through our faith in Jesus that we're saved. As Romans 3:20-end says, we're saved by grace alone, but our faith in Jesus convicts us to follow the law.
This may seem like a small difference between Mormons and Christians, but it's HUGE!! Therefore, even though Mormons call themselves Christian (and say they have to be since their church has His name in it and since they have the BOM.."another testament of Christ"...then they have to be Christian) they're not Christian.
HOWEVER, when you get to the HEART of who Jesus Christ is, the Jesus of the Mormon faith is NOT the same Jesus Christ of the Christian faith-- The theology between Mormonism and Christianity differs with: who Jesus is, where He came from, His grace, and His relationship with God (trinity vs. mormon's "godhead"). (Mormons believe that Jesus was a spirit brother like you, me & Satan-- Where the Bible very clearly states that Satan was a fallen angel (Isaiah 14:12-23). The Bible also states clearly that Jesus has existed since the beginning (meaning: Jesus can't be the creator & the created at the same time--fallacy in Mormonism) and that he was with God & is God (trinity...where, Mormonism views them as 3 separate individuals). (John 1:1). If Jesus is God and separate from God (like Mormons think), then they believe in multiple Gods--even though God says many times that there is no other God beside him.
If you truly know the Jesus Christ of the Bible and who He is, His teachings, and His Purpose--then it'll be very clear that mormons aren't Christians.
Mormons are great people with strong values. Heck, if the LDS church was actually true--it'd be great! We could be come Gods (can you imagine??) and this life & the afterlife would be all about us--
Thankfully, God & Jesus are so much bigger than the Mormons view them. Mormons just don't realize that they believe in a different Jesus than we do.
In our humanly mind, the grandeour of being God & having families forever seems great-- But if you truly accept Christ, you realize that it's not all about you. Jesus must increase, I must decrease. In your faith, it shouldn't matter what benefits you get in heaven, it shouldn't matter if you see your family again-- what matters is that God is great! He's the beginning and the end! He's faithful and true! And that should be all you need to feel complete.
Mormons really believe they're Christians--which my be the saddest part of all.
2006-11-26 20:07:20 · answer #1 · answered by applesoup 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, as for why or why not? I would say, "Why not?"
I mean really, they have the name, Christian. So let em' in and play the game. I do not mean that disrespectfully.
I don't think they're beliefs match very well with other Christian groups to be honest. First of all the plates found in the desert don't seem to match well with the Bible at all.
And they have a whole different version of the Garden of Eden story.
Other than that, they don't seem to be harmful like a cult can be, and if they became such I suppose the government would step in. They may be less harmful then many other churches and groups that we have.
If they feel there beliefs make them happy and answers the questions they have in life, then why not?
As for me, formerly Catholic.
Many Gnostic groups throughout history have offered differing, sometimes widely differing, versions of Christianity.
And that was done to stimulate thought.
I do like the way the Mormons don't tend to blame Eve for man's downfall. This lead me to believe they may have a more positive view of women then many other denominations.
2006-11-26 23:48:37 · answer #2 · answered by smoothsoullady 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rainfog couldn't have said it any better. And YES I am LDS also, 53 baptized when I was 8. The only thing I can add is for those that quote Deuteronomy 4:2 and Revelations 22:18-22 they need to read them again. Deuteronomy says "YE" meaning MAN and Revelations say if added to BY MAN nothing says god can't add to. Besides if they want to use those verses then think about this EVERYTHING AFTER DEUTERONOMY SHOULD NOT BE IN THE BIBLE. All of the other books were written after Deuteronomy. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were written after Revelations. The order the books are in the Bible is NOT the order they were written in.
The books of the Bible were scattered all over the country and had to be gathered together. It took approx. 50 Priests about 3 years to combine them into one book. They argued for that 3 years about which books they should include and which ones to leave out. If the Bible is all there is then why weren't ALL the books put into the Bible? Also the Bible mentions approx. 160 books that have not been found, they are called the lost books. Also you might want to check Ezekial 37:16-17, it mentions two sticks (Books, Scrolls) one of Judah one of Joseph. If the stick of Judah is the Bible, what is the stick of Joseph? Also it states in the scriptures that it takes TWO witnesses, if the Bible is ONE withness WHERE is the OTHER WITNESS. So also for those that say we are not Christians then they need to re-read the meaning of BEING a Christian. It is a follower of Christ and one that strives to be Chist like.
2006-11-27 00:29:56 · answer #3 · answered by trollwzrd 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This is an interesting question. But what is to be understood by the term "real Christians"? Can any one person, whether he or she be a Baptist, or Catholic, or Evangelical, or Jehovah's Witness, or Non-Denominational, or Mormon, etc., claim authority in behalf of the whole of Chrisitianity to say what "real Christians" are? By some of the answers you've received, it would appear that Christianity is some kind of club, and only those who are invited can call themselves Christians.
Now, if we can generalize, and define the word "Christian" to mean anyone who believes the New Testament is divinely inspired, and that Jesus is the Messiah, then yes I would argue that Mormons are Christians. Many here have applied their own interpretations to specific scriptures in an attempt to exclude Mormons from Christianity. I'm sorry, but if all Christians interpreted every scripture the same way, then there should only be one Christian faith, right? But the reason why there are so many (literally, tens of thousands) of Christian sects is because of different interpretations of scripture.
The following is quoted from the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 25:26):
"And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."
I know what I believe, and God knows what I believe. It does not matter what other people think. If they consider me to be Christian, that's fine with me. If they don't, that's fine too. And yes, I am LDS (so my answer probably doesn't count).
2006-11-27 15:40:48 · answer #4 · answered by hmmm... 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
The Mormon Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible. "For if someone comes to you and preaches to you a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one that you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough" (II CORINTHIANS 11:4 N.I.V.). If one reads the context, it is clear that Paul is reproving the Corinthians. He says further down of these false preachers: "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan Himself masquerades as an angel of light" (verses13,14, same chapter).
Paul pronounces a curse upon this and every cult when he says; "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said and so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:8,9 N.I.V.)
There are many other major differences between Mormonism and the Christianity of the Scriptures, most notably the Mormon concept of the deity is totally alien to the teachings of Scripture. The notion that God begot God begot God, ad infinitum, is in no way in harmony with the revelation of the God of the Bible. Therefore it is my opinion that Mormonism is not Christian in the usual sense of the word.
I am a born again Christian - no denominational affiliation
2006-11-27 00:06:44 · answer #5 · answered by wefmeister 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am of The True Christian Faith. However, my pov of the Lost and deceived of Satan(LDS) was fromed long befor I bcame one of The Church.
over 30 yrs I was visited by several mormons trying to recruit me. as my father had converted... so I was on the list. I listened to what they had to say. Read what they said to read. Did the prayer thing... asked questions of them...For some reason I could never bring myself to go further with it... finaly I did some looking into some of their "history" from their own books... and then went to public, non religious, library and other sources... I could not find anything in the public domain that was supportive of their claims of being God's truth... The so-called bible that J. Smith suposadly received from God had never been mentioned by any of the ones trying to recruit me... when I ask mormons about it they side steped the issue and said that the Books of the mormons were all that was needed and that the old bible was just for aditional study or some such excuse...the history of J.Smith is different in their history than in the public history... now I find that most of the books I found readaly available in public libraries are no longer there and I can not find most any of the material I found 25 years ago in any of the local libraries... librarians say that it is just a case of old books that were never used had been deleted from inventory... but I suspect the rise of that cult to near majority in this area is the real reason... in any case I could never find any thing of substance in their teachings... everything is very questonable in my opinion... even back then as a clear non believer in the "Christian" fairy tales...I could see even the Christians had a better deal by far than any thing the LDS had to offer... I just did not believe any of that God crap back then... 6 1/2 yrs ago... in a matter on minutes...I became of the True Christian Faith... I still believe the LDS cult is no good and deceives many other wise very good people... I just now know who they are being deceived from... mormonisim is just another deception of satan to keep as many as he can from God.
NO Way in hell are LDS Christians....
2006-11-26 23:59:57 · answer #6 · answered by IdahoMike 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I am LDS and yes, we are Christians. The correct name of our church The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints. We claim the same organization and authority as Christ's original church (prophets,apostles, tithing, baptism by immersion, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the Priesthood, temples, revelation, assisting the poor and widowed, etc.) We believe in Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, that He died and was resurrected, and that He will come again. We believe in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon, both of which testify of Him and are witnesses to each other.
If you receive differing answers from those who are not LDS/Mormon about what we believe, I hope you are wise enough to consider the source. If you want the truth, you can go to mormon.com or lds.org and find it there. Or you can go to Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, and partake of the paintings, statues, missionary messages, and other references to Christ which abound. Mormons are indeed Christians.
2006-11-26 23:50:48 · answer #7 · answered by Rainfog 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I am born again, and I believe many of them are adding to the word and the bible clearly says not to. And Paul says even if an angel himself comes and preaches another Gospel than we have received he is to be dammed. And that's what Joesph smith did, and angel came and said some stuff that is not in our bible and then they wrote there own version, but the bib reason is that when I reveal blatant truth of the word that any born again spirit filled person would agree and there gospel don't line up!
2006-11-26 23:42:42 · answer #8 · answered by bungyow 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, I am a Mormon and Jesus Christ is the basis of the church. Being a Christian is anybody who believes in Christ and that he is the Savior of the world. We definitely believe in that to be true.
2006-11-26 23:44:18 · answer #9 · answered by Allison W 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If believing in christ makes you christian,yes. I'm LDS converted at 16 now 52
2006-11-26 23:41:28 · answer #10 · answered by Sid B 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋