Are Mormons Christian?


Connie
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Apparently people miss the fact that our church bears His name:

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"

and they wonder if we are Christians?

Elder Holland gave a pair of talks in recent General Conferences about whether we are Christians. Those talks are very enlightening:

The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent

and

?My Words . . . Never Cease?

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Thanks Connie its not that I have a problem anyone calling me a Christian thats OK, but for me the term can apply to anyone who puts their faith in God and brings forth Good Fruit, and only that person and the Saviour can truly determine it. I hate the way it has become a religion, Some of the very best Christian's I know are not Christian by label, but you can truly see Christ in their Countenance, every movement they make you can see the peace he promised if you follow him

-Charley

-

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  • 5 months later...

I'm comfortable defining myself as a Christian. The way I see it, that term fits us in the Church of Jesus Christ better than it fits any other religion. By the simple virtue of our doctrine, we know Him better than virtually anyone outside the Church. I don't say that to boast, but the better we understand the character and nature of Heavenly Father and the Savior, the better we can serve Them and know Their will.

The way I see it, the true Church of Jesus Christ was taken from the earth due to apostasy in the last dispensation (as with every dispensation before), and every "Christian" religion that has come along since has claimed authority it does not have. While I don't begrudge them for considering themselves Christians, I believe the Saints of any dispensation have first right to the title "Christian". I think it's something we share with them, rather than something they might share with us.

When someone asks me if I'm a Christian, I respond in the affirmative without any hesitation. They usually ask me next which Church I go to, obviously expecting me to name a Protestant denomination or perhaps Catholicism (some Protestants don't even consider Catholics to be Christians). To that I respond "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. A lot of people assume it's a Protestant Church they never heard of.

I suppose some might consider this to be deceptive. Though my answers are all true, they may not be 100% forthcoming. I choose to disregard the superstitions and misconceptions that divide us. I don't claim to not be a Christian because I genuinely consider myself to be one. I say "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" because I prefer that over "Mormon". Mormon was the name of at least two Prophets we know of, as well as a body of water which was used for baptism in or near the land of Nephi, and of course there is the Book of Mormon, so named by Moroni, in honor of his father, who abridged it from the records that had come before. There is no dishonor in the name Mormon, but to use it as a religious term, to me, is belittling to the Savior, who commanded that the Church should be named after Him. Plus, the term "Mormons" is mostly the result of those who scorned the Church in the early days of this dispensation, and I have no wish to validate that.

If, in a conversation with someone, they can accept me as a Christian, I suspect they are at least slightly more inclined to accept or at least tolerate my beliefs. At least they'll know that's how I see myself: Christian. If they want to argue against that, they'll have to come up with something rather than just silently rest upon their own prejudice and assumption. Regardless, my testimony bares out that I am a Christian in the true sense of the word.

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  • 2 months later...

I'm still not comfortable saying I am a Christian:) my spirit feels badly wrong when I say it - I am proud of being a Latter Day Saint.

-Charley

I actually like it when you LDS members say this.

Because imo. I don't think LDS members are Christian. And i don't know why LDS members would want to say they were Christian.

My two cents.

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I actually like it when you LDS members say this.

Because imo. I don't think LDS members are Christian. And i don't know why LDS members would want to say they were Christian.

My two cents.

Why don't you think so? If it's doctrine, where's the line between Christian and non-Christian. Just to give an example:

If it's believing in Christ, then the demons believe, but the Bible says they tremble in fear. Muslims believe, but they don't even consider themselves to be Christians.

OK, what if it's believing in the Trinity? Are Oneness Pentecostals not Christians? They agree with just about everything my church (Assemblies of God) teaches--EXCEPT the Trinity. Further, they do not deny the Father, Son or Holy Spirit, and they believe that Jesus is God. They simply argue that God is 1 in 3, rather than three in one. He is one person, revealed in three manifestations. I don't agree. The teaching is heretical. But will they be damned for it? Will they go to hell. Are their tongues and interpretation demonic? Are the faith healings they experience demonic?

Personally, I've taken the easy-out, and leave the determining of who is and is not a Christian, to God. I'll hash out doctrine 24-7, and tell folk I disagree. But, judging the soul...as Prez. Obama once said, "That's above my pay grade."

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Seems to me that Muslims are followers of the teachings of Mohammed, Buddists are followers of the teachings of Budda, etc. Muslims believe that Mohammed was Allah's messenger. Buddists believe that Budda was enlightened. There are sub-groups within both religions, yet they are viewed as one big religion anyways. Many of those differences are drastic, especially in the case of Buddism.

All one needs to ask themselves is this: Do members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints earnestly seek to follow after Christ? Yes, they do. Do they believe in the divinity of Christ and that their salvation and hopes for the next life are contingent upon Jesus of Nazareth? Yes.

I think that the psycho-babble of far too many religious bigots has adled the brains of many people. Christianity contains more than 30,000 denominations, so I'd have to say it's pretty ridiculous for "Christianity" to fit into a complex definition with a long checklist in order to qualify. The suffixes "ism" and "inity" and "ist" just imply association. In religious conversation, it implies devotion to the teachings of that individual's teachings. The early Christian Church wanted to codify and standardize Christian beliefs so that everyone believed in the same doctrines and theological ideas. That ship sailed long ago, and Christianity is hopelessly diverse. Why must so many cling to the notion that there is a long checklist?

At the end of the day, "Christian" = association and devotion to Christ. I refuse to let anyone disassociate me from Christ and claim that I have no devotion to my Savior. They have no right to do so, even by implication.

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Why don't you think so?

Because besides the belief in Christ. There is a big difference between Christian beliefs and LDS beliefs.

If it's doctrine, where's the line between Christian and non-Christian. Just to give an example:

I think being a Christian is than just the belief in Christ. I think it has a lot to do with beliefs of what happened before and what happens after this life. But thats my own opinion.

.

OK, what if it's believing in the Trinity? Are Oneness Pentecostals not Christians? They agree with just about everything my church (Assemblies of God) teaches--EXCEPT the Trinity.

I don't think i know too much about that to give a reasonable answer.

Further, they do not deny the Father, Son or Holy Spirit, and they believe that Jesus is God. They simply argue that God is 1 in 3, rather than three in one.

In that case they do not believe Jesus Christ to be an actual person. Hense they don't believe in Christ being a seperate person.

He is one person, revealed in three manifestations. I don't agree. The teaching is heretical.

Perhaps.

But will they be damned for it? Will they go to hell. Are their tongues and interpretation demonic? Are the faith healings they experience demonic?

Who knows.

Personally, I've taken the easy-out, and leave the determining of who is and is not a Christian, to God.

Good.

I'll hash out doctrine 24-7, and tell folk I disagree. But, judging the soul...as Prez. Obama once said, "That's above my pay grade."

Imo it is beyond anyone's pay grade. But that's my own opinion.

I guess the question what makes a Christian is hard to come to a solid conclusion on. I for one though do not see why LDS members would want to make sure they are under the Christian banner.

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Because they have very different ideas on what was before and what will be after this life.

Ah, okay: So you would obviously disagree with Catholics calling themselves Christian as well, since they believe in Purgatory.

Let's look at Dictionary.com:

1. of, pertaining to, or derived from Jesus Christ or His teachings: a Christian faith.

2. of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ: Spain is a Christian country.

3. of or pertaining to Christians: many Christian deaths in the Crusades.

4. exhibiting a spirit proper to a follower of Jesus Christ; Christlike: She displayed true Christian charity.

5. decent; respectable: They gave him a good Christian burial.

6. human; not brutal; humane: Such behavior isn't Christian.

–noun 7. a person who believes in Jesus Christ; adherent of Christianity.

8. a person who exemplifies in his or her life the teachings of Christ: He died like a true Christian.

9. a member of any of certain Protestant churches, as the Disciples of Christ and the Plymouth Brethren.

10. the hero of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress.

11. a male given name.

So are you using Definition 9 as your definition of Christian? If so, then you can rest assured that we do not mean we are Protestant Christians. We go by Definition 1.

So: Christian.

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I don't know why some people don't want the LDS members to be under the Christian banner.

I can't believe that after four years on this site, I have an answer to your question--and I just thought of it now. What is it that separates LDS (and Jehovah's Witnesses, btw) from the rest of the Christian world? What do we do to each other, that we don't do amongst ourselves?

WE EVANGELIZE EACH OTHER!

LDS leaders and missionaries are so convinced that the rest of Christianity is deficient enough that we need conversion, that they will continue to seek the conversion of those who say, "Oh well, I'm pentecostal, Baptist, Lutheran, etc." Likewise, most of us evangelicals would believe a hugely good thing happened if an LDS member left her church to join one of ours.

Professors Blomberg (Denver Seminary--evangelical) and Robinson (BYU--LDS) both agreed in their joint theological book, that both traditions would continue to evangelize each other. So, while it is still probably not useful to label people as Christian or not, based only on their church membership, the temptation comes from this divide that is so significant we try to win each other over.

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Hahah. Touche, PC:

I should point out that many Protestants evangelize Catholics(For an example: Read the Chick tract on Catholicism) and, up until a few years ago, Catholics did the same to Protestants. In fact, in the 19th century in the US, 'Theological poaching' was a common thing as churches sought to correct the errors of others by bringing them to their own biblically true church.

This has changed in the past century as enough people were drifting from the various churches in to inactivity that the numbers in North America have dwindled to the point that evangelizing simply isn't done on the level it was done before. A great deal of hostility, in my opinion, comes from the hemmorhaging of members away from traditional churches.

I can't believe that after four years on this site, I have an answer to your question--and I just thought of it now. What is it that separates LDS (and Jehovah's Witnesses, btw) from the rest of the Christian world? What do we do to each other, that we don't do amongst ourselves?

WE EVANGELIZE EACH OTHER!

LDS leaders and missionaries are so convinced that the rest of Christianity is deficient enough that we need conversion, that they will continue to seek the conversion of those who say, "Oh well, I'm pentecostal, Baptist, Lutheran, etc." Likewise, most of us evangelicals would believe a hugely good thing happened if an LDS member left her church to join one of ours.

Professors Blomberg (Denver Seminary--evangelical) and Robinson (BYU--LDS) both agreed in their joint theological book, that both traditions would continue to evangelize each other. So, while it is still probably not useful to label people as Christian or not, based only on their church membership, the temptation comes from this divide that is so significant we try to win each other over.

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I was thinking about what makes a Christian a Christian and thinking about that in the LDS context vs. other ways defining it. For us, it is baptism that brings us "into the fold" but we don't label ourselves "Christians" I think the way other denominations do. We call ourselves "saints". Not like the Catholic definition.

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In light of all the threads on this topic. I thought y'all might like a look at this article.

LDS.org - New Era Article - Are Mormons Christians?

When I first saw the topic header, my first thought was, 'oh no, not again!':eek: So I clicked on the OP and it was a link to an article. Great article! Yes, it is in a LDS mag -- but still quite interesting. I think Stephen E. Robinson hit all the points

*exclusion by special definition

*exclusion by misrepresentation

*name calling

*exclusion by tradition

*the canonical or biblical exclusion

*the doctrinal exclusion

I have seen all these arguments on these threads for claiming that Latter-day Saints are not Christians.:rolleyes:

In the conclusion of this article -- "Notice that not one of these addresses the question of whether we accept Jesus Christ as the divine Son of God and Savior. Our critics don't address this -- the only issue that really matters -- for the LDS position here is an unassailable matter of record. Our first Article of Faith declares our belief in Jesus Christ."

Good article!:)

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I could not imagine calling myself a Mormon if I were not a Christian first and foremost. When I approach the title "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" I take it to heart. If not for the message of redemption and reunification offered through following Jesus and our Prophets, my entire world perspective would be changed

Did not mean to make this my testimony time, but Christ seems essential to me in understanding our being as the shining children of God and our place in the Cosmos. When I reach into my wellspring of faith on Sundays, I do it in remembrance of Jesus Christ and our covenants. Our blessing and sanctification come from the Source.

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