Why do people assume "Moromons" aren't Christian?

Question

Growing up with faith and a devote belief in Jesus Christ it astounds me when people discover I am a Mormon and am shocked that I am also Christian. I just dont understand how this misconception came to be. I mean, even the formal name of our church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...I just dont see where the misunderstanding comes from. So if anyone can offer some perspective here I would greatly appreciate it.

Answer 1

It has to do with the fact that we don't believe in the Trinity, or most other Christian sects views on God. They think we believe in a different God of the bible. Or a different Christ for that matter, since we don't see them as being one and without form or passions. They can't understand that what they believe was brought about by a panel of MEN!!!! It wasn't inspired of God, it wasn't given as revelation to them. It was a group of them that got together to discuss WHO and WHAT God is. As if the bible doesn't say many times over that Christ and God aren't one.

It also has to do with the fact that some think that their religion hasn't changed since Christ was on the earth. They can't see the subtle changes that were brought about by the men of these faiths. There is still truth in them, but some of that truth has been diluted over time, or changed to be what someone else thought was right.

I always say that if there is this much hatred towards something, there must be something to it. There must be some underlying truth to it, or there wouldn't be so many people trying to fight against it. I always think of what revelation was given to Joseph Smith when he was sitting in jail, for months. He prayed about why this was happening, and what was the answer he got? This is it D&C 122. The whole section. It's only 9 versus, but read it. It really puts me in my place and helps me to know that people can fight us, but we won't go away!!!!

On a side note, we don't label ourselves Mormon, others have. We call our selves either LDS or Latter-Day Saints, not mormons. In fact, I hate the term Mormon. It was brought about to be mean, by the people who were persecuting the church. It was never a real title for us.

Answer 2

Most people believe that as far as Christianity is concerned, the New Testament is the Final Testament and Jesus was the final prophet. Since the Mormons have "added" the book of Mormon to their holy literature and consider Joseph Smith a prophet, many believe they are not true Christians.

I personally believe that the common denominator for all sects of Christianity is whether or not they believe Jesus died for their sins (regardless of whether they are trinitarian or not). However, I am neither Mormon nor Christian, so I have no personal stake in how "right" or "wrong" someone's beliefs are in regards to the God of Abraham.

Answer 3

Christian is a relative term.

Since the LDS Church teaches that you can't get into the Celestial Kingdom without believing Joseph Smith was the Lord's greatest prophet (See D&C 135) and that we will all be judged by him before Christ (See "Doctrines of Salvation", by Joseph Fielding Smith), many Christian pastors claim that Mormons are required to have faith BOTH in Jesus Christ AND in Joseph Smith.

To them, true Christians worship Jesus and have faith in ONLY Him, for His is the "only name under Heaven by which man may be saved", and He is the "first and the last". By asserting that a belief in Joseph Smith is necessary for heaven, as well as a belief in Jesus Christ, it is almost (note: almost) like saying that there are two names by which man is saved. For the majority of Christians, that disqualifies you from being a Christian in the same sense that Muslims are not Christian, since they must believe in both Jesus and Muhammed as God's messengers.

HappyGoLucky: You may have the Mormons confused with someone else.
1) They believe that Christ is the Eternal Son of God and that He created the heavens and the earth under the direction of His Father. They believe He is Jehovah, the God of Israel (the JW's believe that JC is just the Messiah and isn't Divine himself)
2) The Mormons believe that they are saved by Grace, but that they need to show Christ good works in following His words as proof of their faith in Him in order to qualify for Grace, which erases the sins they have repented of
3) Mormonism teaches that Christ was resurrected in both body and spirit; that His spirit met His glorified body and that He rose from the tomb on the third day

Answer 4

because, our two views of God and man are 180 degrees different. There is only one Heaven, not 3 levels. Joseph Smith, Brigham Young or anyone else in the last 1800 years couldnt be a prophet, at least not by the Bible's standards. I am not trying to judge, but the word Christ means "Christ Follower" or more literally translated "Little Christ", and if someone beleives in documents such as "The Pearl", then i am not seeing how you could be described as Christian. Plus Christianity has now taken on a life of its own as a decription of beliefs and practices, most of which are completely different from Mormons. I used to have trouble with the issue too, but its much more black and white than you are making it.

Answer 5

I knew that people in general know that but mormons are looked on by others as more of a cult really than a church (Im really not wanted to offend you) I know that in general the church has good people and that you guys do take the religion very seriously but at the same time we both know that negative stuff is more widely heard about and we always see the stories of little girls being forced into poligamist relationships with old men.

Answer 6

Having read the Book of Mormon and knowing several Mormons I concluded that this religion is close to a cult. The members of your faith do not believe in Jesus the same way other Christians believe in Jesus, from their statements, not mine. I know that most Christian denominations have different interpritations of the Bible, but they do not have anything close to what Mormons believe and do not have another book on which they base their religion.

Answer 7

Mostly it is the fundamentalists/evangelicals who assume that. Since Joseph Smith wrote the book of Mormon, he added another book to the bible, which was forbidden in the last line of the bible (Revelation 22:18) "no man shall add unto these things". But since all religious texts are equally mythological, Mormons are Christian so long as they define themselves that way.

Answer 8

The problem is fourfold:

1. The mormons preach a non-biblical view of God and Christ.
2. The mormon church teaches salvation by works.
3. The mormon church tolerates and was founded upon the teachings of a false prophet and its teachings are perpetuated by false prophets.
4. The mormons have added to the scripture in clear violation of commandments not to do so.

Answer 9

Because Mormons aren't Christians! The next time Jesus Christ comes back to earth He will take his followers with Him. In your Bible He came back to earth and revealed Himself to Joseph Smith. In the Holy Bible it says to not take away or add to scripture! BY WRITING ANOTHER GOSPEL YOU HAVE ADDED TO SCRIPTURE! You have also foretold when the earth will come to an end, and it says in the Bible that only God knows this! I do not see any misconception at all!

Answer 10

It's just what I've heard ...Do you believe Jesus is God ? and he is still giving revelation ? You can have more than one wife ? John Smith was a murderer ? A book appeared in front of him and then a pair of special glasses so could read the book ?