Do you consider Mormons to be Christians? Why or why not?

Question

Please do not flame me (not a Mormon) or the Mormons in your answer. Please be able to back up your answer with a specific citation. If you're going to claim that Mormons believe a certain thing, please cite your source. If you think the Mormons are a cult, please, again, explain why you think that and cite your source. If you're going to get on your soapbox and rant at me about either Mormonism OR Christianity, please move on to the next question.

Answer 1

I am a new convert Latter-Day Saint, and I consider us to be Christian.
This is the longest answer I have ever put on R&S. It took a lot of time, and I hope that it is read by our critics and supporters.
Many people have clearly said why we should be considered Christians, but many others take aim at us by distorting our doctrines.
So, I corrected their statements so that you can get a clearer picture of who we are:
----------------
alanagkelly
The God quote from Numbers refers to God's need to repent and whether he should be trusted, but the "... Technique" hides the intent of the verse:
"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"
Psalm 82 and John 10:34 talk more clearly about our beliefs.

CJ:
We believe that Jesus Christ is the creator God spelled out in Philippians 2:5-8 and Colossians 2:9
-We believe that we are grace through faith in Jesus dying on the cross and raising from the dead. We believe what Paul said about the 3 levels of glory in the Resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:40-42 and 2 Corinthians 12:2
-The scripture referenced is Revelations 22:18, which talks about adding to the book of Revelations. 2 notes:
*Neither the Bible nor any precursor to the Bible were compiled at the time that Revelations was written, so the scripture clearly does not refer to a book that didn't exist.
*The book of Revelations was chronologically not the last book of the Bible.
The belief in the Trinity was added between the 5th and 7th century AD.


Laptop Jesus:
-Baptism for the dead by proxy, as referenced in 1 Corinthians 15:29, the Shepherd of Hermas (a book considered scripture by early Christians, linked below), and Irenaeus (a Roman historian) occurred from the time of Christ to approximately 300 AD.
-Our concept of eternal marriage comes from latter-day revelation and other teachings in the NT. Too long to go into here.
-We believe in a tiered form of heaven as Paul taught, and we do believe that a mightily select few will be exalted as powerful figures in heaven.

Booth:
We believe that Jesus Christ is the creator God of the world who took on human form - Philippians 2:5-8, Colossians 2:9.
.

hisgloryisgreat:
If sacred is the same as the occult, then did the Lord smile or frown upon on the Temple of Solomon? Were all of its' areas accessible by anyone? Read 1&2 Chronicles for more info.
In the OT, the Ark of the Covenant's contents were/are secret (and considered sacred) as well. What happened when a man who did not hold the priesthood handled it? Was that an object of the occult as well?

dooltaz:
-God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are separate beings united in purpose. Otherwise, was Christ mumbling to himself in the Garden of Gethsemane? Praying to himself? I don't think of my Lord and Savior being a narcissist or having Multiple Personality Disorder.
-How do we preach a different gospel? The Book of Mormon is another testament of the same gospel. Christ says the same stuff, just on another continent.
All of his other points have been easily answered by a Google search.


Buzz S:
-The "First Vision" is what you are referring to. We have always recognized the original church before its' doctrines were corrupted by men teaching their own doctrine. Look up "Great Apostasy" on Google to get a clearer understanding.
-There are no scriptures in the Bible that tells us where God comes from, just how he is to be known to the earth. Teachings on salvation are the same, but we agree more with James on the definition of faith than Paul.

Answer 2

They are not Christians.
There are several reasons:
1. that they are not is the Mormons don't recognize the historical Christian church as a valid church. If you want a source, have a look in the "First Visitation" at what God allegedly told Joseph Smith about all other churches.
2. The Mormons have a different explanation of the nature of God, salvation and other key topics. They are unable to reconcile what the Bible or even the Book of Mormon says with current LDS theology.
3. Baha'is tend to lump everyone in to their religion in one form or other. They however looked at Mormonism and declared that it is not Christian because the story that it tells and what it believes is too different from that what the historical Christian church tells.

Answer 3

I am a Mormon, and I am a Christian. simple as that. full stop.

I was once a Catholic, and since I don't know much about the belief system of the Mormons before, I thought they weren't Christians. Pure lack of knowledge. I suppose that may be the reason why some people from different Christian sects do not deem Mormons as Christians.

Answer 4

What qualifies somebody to be Christian? Is it doing what other Christians do? We know Christian church do things differently or they wouldn’t be so many churches.
Is based in Tradition of others? No, each Christian church has had there own belief system?
Is being Christian a belief in the bible? That could be part of it, but even the early apostles didn’t have “the bible” as we do now.
To be a Christian is to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Atoned for our sins and was resurrected. This the Mormons believe (LDS Church). If anybody has read the book of mormon they would know this.

Answer 5

Yes, but I do not agree with their principles.

This isn't a rant, more of my beliefs--I had a Mormon as a roommate my first semester in college and I do believe that they ARE based on Christian foundations. They seem to preach more out of the Book of Mormon than the Bible, but if that's what they want to believe then so be it.

Are they right? I don't know. Am I right in my beliefs? For me I am.

Honestly I would have no problem with Mormons had my roommate not told me I was worshipping the devil by being Methodist.

Personally I think all demoniations are little bit off target in some areas, including the demoniation I'm in. No on REALLY has the answers to all the questions, much like Buddism.

Answer 6

I am ex-LDS and belong to another Restoration church that believes in the Bible and BoM (Book of Mormon).

Some Utah LDS beliefs are Christian, some are not. Their doctrines of Baptism by Immersion, Laying on of hands, Jesus visiting the Americas after his resurrection I agree with.

The Book of Mormon itself is very Christian, every bit as much as the Bible is. It does not teach one doctrine opposite of the Bible. Critics will find some minutia to complain about but all in all it is very compatible with the Bible. Most of the complaints critics have are against LDS beliefs or Joseph Smith, most of which I agree with.

LDS used to believe in polygamy which the BoM bitterly condemns in several places, terming it a whoredom and abomination to God, no excuses, no exceptions. Oddly the LDS disavow the practice today but will go out of their way in excusing Brigham Young doing it in the past.

LDS currently believe in a 1st President which is much like a Pope is to the Catholics. The BoM never teaches this office and teaches 12 were overseers of the church with Christ as the head, not one man.

LDS believe in Celestial Marriage where those who are sealed in their temples inherit the highest degree of the 3rd glory and be as Gods eternally procreating spirit children in their own worlds. Again the BoM never teaches either Celestial Marriage or 3 Degrees of Glory. The Bible teaches that the worthy will not be married in the afterlife but be as angels of God.

LDS believe in vicarious baptism where a dead person can reject or accept a baptism done on thier behalf by the living. The BoM condemns this by stating those who die cannot change, and that the innocent (infant or adult) need no baptism. The BoM also teaches that those who are accountable must repent in this life or be damned... so baptism for the damned would be utterly meaningless.

LDS have altered many of their original revelations that were compiled in the Book of Commandments and now call it the Doctrine and Covenants. Yet the Bible clearly states man should not add or take away from God's revelations.

The LDS religion has some similarities to the Bible or BoM Christian doctrines, but in many ways openly goes against both books. Apostates often do not follow their own books. I left the LDS faction BECAUSE I believe in the BoM, as well as the Bible. There are some 100 different churches today that believe in the Bible and BoM and are quite different from the Utah faction. In reality the BoM religion is much closer to say a Baptist or SDA church than the LDS are.

Answer 7

Mormons believe that Jesus Christ is the savior of mankind and that because of and through his atonement, mankind can be saved. Yes, Mormon's believe that through their own works they can receive a place or appointment in the world to come, but because of Jesus Christ, it makes salvation possible. In other words, Mormons believe that with or without their own works, nothing word be possible with Jesus Christ.

To me that is Christian. And I agree with the above answer that states that it really does not matter what mankind thinks, if God and Christ think Mormons are Christian, that is what really matters.

Answer 8

I consider them Christians - those who profess belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

First, there is much common ground with other Christians. Like most other Christians, Mormons, or Latter-day Saints, believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Savior of the world and their personal Savior. They commemorate this belief in Sunday worship services with what they call “the sacrament” — somewhat equivalent to communion in other churches. They try to model their lives on Christ’s teachings. They also believe in the Holy Bible and regularly teach from it. The Church frequently joins with other faiths to address humanitarian and other needs around the world.

There are also significant differences between Latter-day Saint doctrine and that of Christian faiths rooted in the creeds developed by the early Christian fathers.

The Mormon Church, or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is not Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox but holds a unique place in the Christian world as restored New Testament Christianity.

The “latter-day” Church, like the ancient church in Christ’s day, is also led by apostles and served by a lay ministry and sends out missionaries two by two.

In addition to the Bible, Mormons use other scriptures, including the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, which supports the Bible and serves as an additional witness to the ministry of Christ. Mormons believe these additional scriptures have given them deeper understanding of why people are born into mortality, where they came from and what awaits them in the next life. Similarly, they have a view of the nature of God and the eternal progression of His children that is found in no other Christian faith.

Answer 9

Heya :)

First off, completely unrelated to the question, AWSUM screen-name, I just loved Road Trip and that song was a work of genious.

Now, onto Mormons. I believe that they BELIEVE they are Christians, and I think that they have every right to. When I went to an LDS church I found that they were all lovely people, and honestly felt that Jesus Christ was their saviour - you've only got to look at their name to see how much they love Jesus - their church is called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!

They believe the Bible, which certainly suggests that they are Christian, but I did notice that they placed a lot more emphasis on the Book of Mormon than the Bible. Then again, throughout school and in day-to-day life people get to know the Bible a lot better than the BOM, so maybe it's just an attempt to balence things out.

I would call them a Christian denomination, even if they aren't 'mainstream' - after all, a Christian follows the teachings of the Bible (which they do), tries to live a Christ-like life (which they do), loves their family (which they do), believes that Jesus died to save them (which they do) and believes in a Heavenly Father and a Holy Spirit (which they do).

As for them being a cult... well, no, I don't think they are. I went into the church and left the church without anyone stopping me, and during the time when I was with them doing door-to-door work with the missionaries, I repeatedly noticed how respectful they were - they gave out their free pamphlets and Bibles and Book of Mormons, and if someone said it wasn't for them, they would ask why politely (something to do with improving their teaching and learning I guess) and then wish the person a nice day and the best of luck in all their future endevours - and then they would leave them in peace, with their contact number in case they changed their minds. They wouldn't harrang or harrass, however.

I think perhaps they do push people into baptism, but I think in most cases it's more to do with the missionaries than the religion - they get moved from place-to-place at such short notice, and they want to get as many baptisms in as possible before they move on - some go home without ever having achieved a conversion after their long mission.

I also think that the Church should train it's missionaries to have a greater understanding of mental health issues - while I was there I saw quite a few people who met with the missionaries who obviously needed to see a psychiatrist rather than a bishop. One of the nicest women in the church was approached by the missionaries while going through a hectic divorce, which was messy for her kids, and in which she nearly ended up homeless. She was severely physically disabled and during the time when she first met the missionaries was also on a lot of painkillers and medication that messed up her psychologically. Personally, I think that as soon as the missionaries knew what she was going through, they should have given her time to work through those issues before pressing her to get baptized - choosing a religion is a BIG deal, and you need to have a clear state of mind to do so. I also met with one woman who, without going into too much detail, I was very, very concerned about - she was on the edge of suicide and rather than reccomend seeing a doctor or talking to friends and family, the missionaries simply told her that if she joined the church everything would get better. That's not only a lie, it's dangerous - I encouraged her to join clubs to meet new people, to drink less, to look into hobbies she enjoyed and to speak to her doctor and seek councelling.

I don't think this lies with the church itself, but it's important that anyone who is spreading their faith understands that a lot of people who are searching for God are doing so because they need the help of a higher power, which may well mean that they have other unresolved issues in their life as well, and missionaries should be trained to suggest helplines, support groups and councelling services that are appropriate for the area they're in, as well as how to tell people about God.

I don't think for a second the Mormons are a cult - it's easy to leave, you just say it's not for you or don't turn up to church. If you want your name off of their records, just ask for them to take it off. Dead simple.

The reason a lot of people think it is a cult or that it isn't Christian is because it doesn't conform to the beliefs of the 'main' Christian churches, e.g. Methodist, Catholic etc. But then again, there are like, 15,000 seperate Christian denominations around the world, and they all believe very slightly different things - why should they be given 'Christian Status' and not the Mormons, who, quite besides anything else, are delivering the message of the Bible to a wider audience than almost anyone?

Answer 10

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, aka Mormon, I look to Jesus Christ for my salvation. He is the Creator, Redeemer, and Savior of this world. He is the only way to salvation. I consider myself and all other practicing "Mormons" as Christians. I believe that Jesus feels the same way. How others define Christian doesn't really matter to me. It doesn't effect my relationship with my Savior.