Church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints?

Question

Funnily enough I see mormons on here argue they are Christians because their church has the name of Jesus in it. Is it just me or is this a pitiful argument? What if I started a church? The church of Jesus Christ of latter day bank robbers. I write the book of robbers in which I say an angel named Thievus tells me that robbing bank is the will of God. Does the fact that the church has the name of Jesus in it make it Christian?

gumby - I really don't know any way to say this that will not offend you. However I have studied your beliefs. They do not line up with the Bible. Joseph Smith was a false prophet and according to Galatians he is cursed. God said it not me.

caveman - I agree. However I think we need to get them to realize the religion is false first.

meissen97 - Ignorant? Hypocritical? I am far from ignorant. And in order to be hypocritical I would have to say mormons are Christians.

tur b - I do pray for them.

Midge - Maybe you should be able to defend your faith without getting so mad. I have plenty of Catholic people on here I get along with fine. Questioning tradition is not attacking. One day you will be mature enough to know that.

Bartolomeo - Actually I would say most of the liberal democrats are very much less American than me. Half of them would rather commit treason than support our troop or president.

Answer 1

In my opinion, they should be called:

The company of latter day people.

But, how many "Christian" churches deserve the title also? If they are dead, if they don't love the Lord, if they don't believe the Bible, if they are only a social club... I'm not talking about cults, but about some Baptist (I'm Baptist!), Methodist, Pentecostal, reformed, presbeterian and other Christian churches... how many stand Christs judgement in Revelation 2-3?

But, Mormons are definetely not Christian, nor a Church nor saints!

Answer 2

No, the fact that we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour is what makes us "Christian". However, it IS misleading that we want to be called "Christian" because in the Bible, believers in Christ called themselves "Saints". That's why we are The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day SAINTS. I know the word "Christian" is used in theBible three times, but, it's not Christians hailing each other as "Christian".

You can define "Christian" any way you want to, that will exclude those who don't believe as you do, but that doesn't change what is. Like Lincoln said (I think it was he), you can call a dog's tail a leg, but that doesn't mean that the dog now has five legs.

You said to gumby >>I have studied your beliefs. They do not line up with the Bible. Joseph Smith was a false prophet and according to Galatians he is cursed. God said it not me.<<

Did you study from us what we believe? Did you take the missionary discussions? Did you attend our own Sunday school classes for investigators?

Or, did you learn from anti-Mormon sources? Do you THINK you know what we believe? Cause nine times out of ten, what you THINK we believe is not what we believe at all. Or, it's a twisted version of what we believe.

As for lining up with teh Bible, it's more like, they don't line up with your interpretation of the Bible. One of the big reasons I like teh LDS church is because they are (IMHO) the most biblical church.

Joseph Smith was only false, again, IYHO. As for Galatians 1, I don't know how many ways to say it, but you just totally take it out of context! You can't prove at all that Paul was speaking about any specific angel, or that he literally meant angels giving messages, because that's what angels are, they are messengers! And theh gospel brought by the angel Moroni is the gospel of Jesus Christ! Maybe not exactly the way you see it, or the way you think we should, but it is the gospel. Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, THAT is the gospel preached by Moroni.

If I ever recognized my religion as false, I never would ave joined in the first place, but, you know what? I believe I am right where God wants me and the more I study my own faith, read the scriptures, whatever, the more convinced I am that I am right where God wants me.

Answer 3

I agree! The name "Jesus Christ" in of itself does not make someone a Christian. (Look at how many people, Christian or not use the name in a vain sense as an exclamation).

I disagree however with your ultimate premise that LDS are not Christians. You insist that LDS doctrine does not align with the Bible, however for you to conclusively argue this the Bible would have to be written in very black and white terms and/or you must have been an author of it or have personally known someone who was in order to stand as a witness to their state of mind. Since neither of these three things are such, it is A MATTER OF INTERPRETATION.

We interpret the Bible one way, Protestants another way, Catholics another, and I'm sure other groups even another. The fundamentals are what distinguish large bodies of religions (i.e. WHO the deity is, WHAT they revere as scripture, and less importantly: FROM WHERE they came)

As Christians, we all share these three things:

-We all revere Jesus as divine. (though how such divinity is assumed is a matter of interpretation).

- We all rever the Bible as scripture (though some of us read it literally, other figuratively, and some even have other sources of scripture in addition to the Bible. Are Catholics & Orthodox not Christian because they have both books of Maccabees, Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, and others in their cannon while Protestants & Mormons don't?)

-We all some how trace our beliefs to a common source. Mormonism is obviously not Islam, and it isn't Judaism, nor is it Buddhism or Hinduism. Mormonism was founded by a Christian (who had already believed in Jesus prior to it's founding) in a Christian community, and the first adherants were all self-proclaimed Christians.

Let me liken this to American politics:

Democrats & Republicans are obviously VERY different. But is either party more or less "American" than the other?

Both parties strongly believe in upholding the US Constitution, but how they INTERPRET the Constitution is as different as night and day. Democrats want a stronger federal government while Republicans want more power given to the States. Democrats want to leave morality in the hands of the constituents while Republicans want to pass legislation on ethical matters they feel strongly about. Many Democrats (including myself) want to abolish gun ownership in its entirety even though it is alloted for in the constitution because we interpret it with respect to the time, while many Republicans read the constitution letter by letter and insist that the right to bear arms is the opitome of being American.

Does this mean that us Democrats are "true" Americans? Are we fake? Are we lying to deceive other Americans? NOOOO! We're simply a different variety of American.

Answer 4

Well I'm exmormon and agnostic and what you say still offends me. You are entitled to your opinion even if you are wrong. As far as I'm concerned being Christian is believing in Jesus Christ as one's saviour and leading "Christ-like" lives, and most LDS/Mormons are better examples of that than the rest of the supposed "real" Christians.

Liesel.

Answer 5

No...that wouldn't be a Christian church. We believe in the bible (specifically the KJV) and we believe salvation comes through Jesus Christ. Whether or not you like it or agree with it, that does make us a Christian church.

However, based on the way the Christians on here behave, I think I'd rather NOT be identified with them.


EDIT: not offended. I just don't think I'm going to hell, even if I am wrong about my religion.

Besides, the bible was written by men who were inspired by God. It was not written literally by God himself. That automatically leaves room for error and interpretation. And that's not to mention the editing that the bible has had over the years. The verse that you say condemns us I have a different interpretation of, but I've said it before and others like you have argued that I'm wrong. But I wonder where you got your interpretation from?

EDIT:David, I specified not because other version would make or break whether or not because someone is Christian but because some people don't know that we use the KJV. They think we only use the Book of Mormon.

Answer 6

your argument is very valid. not because a denomination or a religion has a name that includes "Jesus Christ" in it, it certainly doesn't mean it's a Christian Church.

by the way, if what you mean by getting them "saved" is to preach to them, might as well just pray for them. prayer works, you know.

lovinghelpertojoe --- in other words you're praying that all people would think like you, not necessarily be a Christian, but just believe like you do. I doubt you know anything about everything, so I pray that I and other people won't fall into the trap of fundamentalism like you did.

Answer 7

That is a pitiful argument. However, I wonder at *your* definition of Christian. Here's mine (basically - not all-inclusive)

Christians must
1) Believe that Jesus is the son of God
2) Believe that Jesus was born to a virgin (Mary)
3) Believe that Jesus was without sin
4) Believe that Jesus died for our sins so that we might obtain eternal life
5) Believe that Jesus rose from the dead, and later ascended into heaven
6) Love Jesus (for his sacrifice of his life for our sins, which we do not deserve)
7) Obey Jesus (if you love me, you will obey my commands)
8) As the opportunity arises, perform good works (you came to visit me when I was sick...etc.)

I wonder - what other requirements to be a Christian? I am not Mormon, but I believe that they are Christians. I do not agree with many of their teachings - but that does not divorce them from the title of Christian.

Jim, http://www.life-after-harry-potter.com

Answer 8

The believe in His Holiness the Christ is what makes a Christian a Christian ... not the way other people ascribing the same name to themselves call themselves.

Who are you to say he is NOT a Christian, you can only speak for yourself.

Gumby:
you cant say we believe in a specific version of the bible in an argument AGAINST other Christian sects. By acknowledging that there are other versions you are validating the claim that others besides yourself have their own views on why they are the Christian you think them not to be.

Answer 9

I pray that one day the Catholics, JV's and mormons will be called to the Lord and saved. I am not familiar enough with mormon beliefs, but I do know that they do not follow the Bible in most of them.........just one talk from a visit from them and you know that.....

Answer 10

I love it -
they are not Christians because they depart from the most basic and important teachings of Christianity.