KEEPER: Mormonism is not Christianity

Mormonism is Not Christianity

by Bethany Blankley


Reading the results of the Pew poll about Mormonism, reminds me of what Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in Strength to Love: "Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

The fact that two thirds of mainline Protestants and Catholics believe Mormonism is a Christian religion is an unfortunate example of both.

The Mormon faith is not the same as the Christian faith. Examples abound, consider these few.


The ministry of Jesus:

In the 2 Nephi 5:21, in the Book of Mormon, in 600 B.C., Lehi, a Jewish prophet from the tribe of Manassah, left Jerusalem with several others, sailed east, and landed in South America. Two of Lehi's sons, Lamen and Lemuel, rebelled against God. God cursed them and gave them dark skin -- birthing the Native American race. In 2 Nephi 12:3-12, in A.D. 34, Jesus Christ descended from heaven, baptized the Native Americans, called and commissioned twelve disciples, instituted sacraments, and taught the message of the Sermon on the Mount.

According to the first four gospels of the Bible, Jesus Christ lived and ministered in the region of modern-day Israel. He never appeared in the Americas.

The virgin birth:

The Mormon Church teaches that Mary, the mother of Jesus, conceived Jesus through sexual relations with God the father. Brigham Young wrote in the Journal of Discourses 8:115, "The birth of the Savior was as natural as are the births of our children; it was the result of natural action. He partook of flesh and blood -- was begotten of his Father, as we were of our fathers." Likewise, the Mormon Apostle Bruce McConkie wrote, "Christ was begotten by an Immortal Father in the same way mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers" (Mormon Doctrine, 1966, pg. 547; Read also, The Seer, by Orsen Pratt; Doctrines of Salvation Vol. 1; or The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson).

The Bible teaches that Mary, a virgin, "was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 1:18). It is a miracle that is difficult for many to understand, but not one that occurred as a result of Mary having intercourse with a human or a spiritual being.

The spirit world:

Mormons believe that God, angels, and humans are the same. BYU religion professor Robert Millet clarifies this concept in The Mormon Faith: A New Look at Christianity (1998, pg. 39): "Latter-day Saints believe that angels are men and women, human beings, sons and daughters of God, personages of the same type as we are. Parley P. Pratt, an early apostle wrote, 'Gods, angels and men are all of one species, one race, one great family.'"

Additionally, angels are created through sexual relations, better known as "celestial exaltation" between God and his heavenly wife in the spirit world. In the LDS Church manual, Achieving a Celestial Marriage, celestial exaltation "includes the ability to procreate the family unit throughout eternity. This our Father in heaven has power to do. His marriage partner is our mother in heaven. We are their spirit children, born to them in the bonds of celestial marriage."

Spirits are gender specific, immortal, and eternal: "Each [male and female] is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose" (The Family: A Proclamation to the World, issued by the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church, 1995).

Brigham Young stated: "Mankind are organized of element designed to endure to all eternity; it never had a beginning and never can have an end. There never was a time when this matter, of which you and I are composed, was not in existence, and there never can be a time when it will pass out of existence; it cannot be annihilated.

"It is brought together, organized, and capacitated to receive knowledge and intelligence, to be enthroned in glory, to be made angels, Gods -- beings who will hold control over the elements, and have power by their word to command the creation and redemption of worlds, or to extinguish suns by their breath, and disorganize worlds, hurling them back into their chaotic state. This is what you and I are created for" (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 48; see also Doctrines and Covenants 93:29-33).

The Bible teaches that angels (immortals) and humans (mortals) are to worship God (the sole eternal being) their creator (Heb. 1). Angels have taken on anthropomorphic characteristics but they are not human. They bore messages to humans from God (Matt. 1:20; Luke 1:11, 26, 2:9; Acts 8:26) and assisted Jesus (Matt. 26:53; Luke 22:43) and his people (Psalm 91:11, 12; Acts 5:19; Heb. 1:14).


Jesus and Satan:

The Mormon church explicitly teaches in the Pearl of Great Price in both the books of Moses (chapter 4) and Abraham (chapter 3) that Jesus Christ and Satan are both sons of God and are not only spirit brothers to each other but are spirit brothers to humans and angels as well. Brigham Young referred to "the Devil, the mighty Lucifer, the great prince of the angels, and the brother of Jesus" in the Journal of Discourses 6:207. In an Ensign magazine (a publication of the Mormon church) answer to a question from a reader, "How can Jesus and Lucifer be spirit brothers when their characters and purposes are so utterly opposed?" the magazine stated, "On first hearing, the doctrine that Lucifer and our Lord, Jesus Christ, are brothers may seem surprising to some--especially to those unacquainted with latter-day revelations. But both the scriptures and the prophets affirm that Jesus Christ and Lucifer are indeed offspring of our Heavenly Father and, therefore, spirit brothers....But as the Firstborn of the Father, Jesus was Lucifer's older brother" (1986, pg. 25).

The Bible teaches that God has only one son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16, 17) who came to destroy the work of the devil (I John 3:8).

Both Mormonism and Christianity make very different truth claims.

Christians must know what they say they believe otherwise their claim to faith is meaningless.

Unfortunately, We're Not all Christians

Just read this, from the Salt Lake Tribune: 

We’re all Christians
First published Oct 22 2011 01:01AM
Updated Oct 22, 2011 01:01AM

Some Evangelical Christians are noising it about that Mitt Romney’s Mormonism is a new and frightening cult, far removed from traditional Christianity.

In fact, Mormons represent a tradition that was present in the beginning of the Christian faith. Mormons believe in a separation of the personalities of God the Father and the Son, while most Catholics and Protestants believe they are one and the same.

This idea of physical distinction between the two deities goes back to the early Christian church’s Arian wing, which was a quite large minority segment of Christianity. At times, Arians were the established or preferred denomination of Roman and Byzantine emperors and their realms.

When politically motivated church people wag tongues and shake fingers today at Mormons, making them seem like second-class citizens, they display a degree of ignorance of this history. They also act like religious bullies, lording it over a minority just because they can. This invites the question, are they truly Christian?

Kim Shinkoskey
Woods Cross

This is my response:

Wow. Arius was twice deemed a heretic, first by the First Council of Nicea in 325, and then again by the First Council of Constantinople in 381. How very postmodern of this writer to think that just because Arianism was a "marginalized" view that it should be approved. By this reasoning, the LDS should abandon their views and embrace the RLDS/CofC understanding of the Trinity as three persons in one substance, their refusal to baptize the dead, and their conviction that men do not become gods. The CofC is, after all, a minority compared to the LDS! 

That said, I think it is quite possible that we will see our Mormon friends at the great feast...it's just that I don't think they are justified in saying that they represent traditional, orthodox Christianity.

For more information about the differences between the LDS and RLDS/Cof C, look here

Yesterday the Mormons Came Wearing Skirts

Yesterday the Mormons made the rounds in our neighborhood. But this time they wore skirts, and I was taken aback. This is the first time I've ever seen female Mormon missionaries. Apparantly there has been another new revelation permitting women to go out, but they must be 21. (Males go on their two year mission when they are 18).

As is my practice with all door-to-door religious witnesses, I invited them in, but of course I didn't offer coffee! They did get some wonderful home-made baklava. It's my way of being hospitable and also keeping them occupied, so that at least for a brief period of time they aren't able to convert anyone.
I give Mormon missionaries lots of credit for making the cold calls and putting their beliefs out there; but when it comes to "giving a reason for the hope that is within them" it always boils down to the utterly sincere and overwhelming feeling that God has spoken in the Book of Mormon, and that Joseph Smith is His prophet. After small talk, we had the usual chat yesterday:

Me: So, what if I deeply and wholly feel that God has spoken in the Koran, and that Mohammed is His prophet? What reason should I have to consider becoming a Mormon?

Them: Well, you just have to open your heart and pray for the Holy Spirit to show you the truth.

Me: What if I was searching for some sort of faith, and when I did that and I felt God was calling me to Islam, instead of Mormonism? Feelings are important, but is that all there is?

Them: Oh no! There's God's word! The Bible, the Book of Mormon! Once you read it you'll see.

Me: I have read it, and I didn't see.

Them: That's because you weren't reading it the right way. You need to be open to the truth!

Me: This is rather circular reasoning, isn't it? What if I was sincerely open, asking God to lead me to the truth; and then I read both the Koran and the BoM. Then once I finished, I felt drawn to the Koran? Are you now saying I shouldn't trust my feelings?

Them: No, no!! Maybe you could make your decision on character...look at the kind of persons Mormons compared to the kind of persons Moslems are.

Me: Hmmm. That's promising. But right now I know a Moslem fellow, a Sayed, whose wife is dying of cancer. He is the most compassionate, sacrificial, loving person I think I may have ever met. I hate to admit it, but honestly, he is putting me and other Christians to shame. Does that mean I should convert to Islam?

Them: No, no! But don't you want to be with your family for all eternity?

Me: Sure, but I don't have to be a Mormon for that to happen. In fact, when I was baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, I was born into a much larger family than just the Bilynskyj or Tichacek clan. Now anyone, from any time, who trusts Jesus Christ as Lord and lives in relationship with Him is my brother and my sister, my mother and my father.

Them: But don't you want to be with your family?

Me: Of course I do...but I don't want to be with my family only. I want to be with God--Father, Son and Holy Spirit--because if I have Him, I have everything; what more could I desire?

Them: But if you want that you have to be in the celestial kingdom, and to do that you have to accept the teachings of the book of Mormon and live faithfully according to them!

Me: And what is this "celestial kingdom?" Where is that written?

Them: It is part of the revelation given to Joseph Smith--

Me: Aha. So we are back to accepting his revelation in order to accept his revelation. No thanks, I'll stick with what revelation I've already got.

Them: Oh dear, it's five o'clock, and we have an appointment we need to be at...

Me: That's too bad. Thanks so much for coming! Here, have some baklava to take with you. Can I pray for you before you leave?
Later on, Steve said, "I wonder what mark they've put on the sidewalk to warn others not to come near this place." Funny. I thought the baklava was wonderful. ; )