Is Mormonism Christian?

The Question of Whether Mormonism Is Christian

Is Mormonism Christian? It's not really a difficult question, to be perfectly honest with you. As long as Christianity can define itself, and as long as fundamental defining issues are allowed to be stated and defined, then it's not really much of a question.

Christianity is a monotheistic religion. We believe God has eternally been God, that God's the creator of all things, that God himself is not created, and that man is the creature of God, that God creates man, he does not beget man, man is not of the same species as God.

Mormonism is the most polytheistic religion that I have ever encountered. I have, in fact, encountered Mormon apologists who have said that there are an unlimited number of gods in existence in the cosmos.

When Joseph Smith in 1844 preached the King Follett funeral discourse and said that we have imagined, suppose, that God was God from all eternity, I will refute that idea and take away the veil so that you may see.

By so doing, Joseph Smith separated his followers from biblical Christianity forever. And until Mormons are willing to repudiate Joseph Smith and repudiate his writings, the Book of Mormon, then they will not be Christians.

Mormonism is not a part of Christianity because Mormonism denies the most fundamental affirmations of the Christian faith. Now, back when I first started witnessing the Mormons, that wasn't much of an argument.

Mormons were very clear about what they believed, and they would pass out Joseph Smith's testimony wherein he says that the Christian churches of his day, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, that their creeds were an abomination, their professors were corrupt.

They didn't have any problem saying that. That's not the first thing they tell people anymore. Mormonism has changed in 25 years, not theologically in the sense that these are still the things that are taught in the LDS Temple.

This is still what Mormons know they believe when they actually study their faith. But the outward expression of these beliefs has really changed. Mormons have changed. Mormonism grew tremendously during the 1980s and 1990s.

That growth has really leveled off. But in that growth process, there doesn't seem to have been a lot of teaching going on. And there's a lot of Mormons that just don't know a lot about what they believe.

And I think postmodernism has really had an impact. I think the last prophet had a real impact because he was in the advertising area, shall we say, the public relations area. And Mormons, Mormonism as a whole has seemed to have sort of lost its way.

I think that's why the growth is so flat now too, by the way. Be that as it may, I saw a video on YouTube and I wanted to respond to it. One of the apostles, Apostle Holland as I recall, is testifying that Mormonism is Christian.

Well, I would like to look at this briefly and comment on some of the things he says. And I'd like to point out once again, language has meaning. And Mormonism takes Christian words and changes the meaning and then calls itself Christian.

And people need to understand that. So let's take a look at what he had to say.

The LDS Claim That Mormonism Is Christian

Various cross currents of our times have brought increasing public attention to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But even as we invite one and all to examine closely the marvel of it, there is one thing we would not like anyone to wonder about.

That is whether or not we are Christians. Now to anyone within the sound of my voice who has wondered regarding our Christianity, I bear this witness. I testify that Jesus Christ is the literal living Son of our literal living God.

The literal living Son of our literal living God. What does that mean in historic orthodox Mormonism? As taught by the general authorities of the Mormon Church. Well remember, according to Mormonism, God the Father is a body of flesh and bone, no blood.

He has a physical form. He has many wives. His first begotten spirit child is Jehovah who becomes Jesus. But the reason that Jesus is immortal, according to the general authorities of the Mormon Church, is because he has a literal physical father.

That is that Mary, also one of the offspring of God, is impregnated by Elohim, who is God the Father, in a physical body. And that's why he has the capacity and ability to be immortal. Because he has an immortal father.

The virgin birth, which you're going to hear about, for the Mormon, is not what it is for the Christian, as is everything else. And that is, in Mormonism, she is a virgin at the time of conception, not the time of birth.

Because God the Father, in a physical body, has begotten the body of Jesus. So he is the literal physical offspring of their literal living God, who is literally a man who, according to Mormon scriptures, lives on a planet that circles a star named Kolob.

So, this sounds, again, notice how this sounds. How it sounds, you've got the piano music in the background, and all the beautiful videography, and so on and so forth. And what is it meant to do? It is meant to communicate something that is simply not true.

And the post-modernist goes, oh, you know, he seems like a nice man. And the music is beautiful, and that's a nice background behind him. It just must be true. We need to be discerning. We need to understand that words have meaning.

And that what Mormonism means when it says these things is very different than what the Bible teaches.

The Mormon Atonement and the Cross of Calvary

I bear witness he was born of a virgin mother, that in his lifetime he performed mighty miracles, observed by legions of his disciples and by his enemies as well. He took upon himself the sins of the world, paying an infinite price for every sorrow and sickness, every heartache and unhappiness from Adam to the end of the world.

Did you notice something in what was just said? Did you notice what was being shown? It was Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, not Jesus on the cross. Because, you see, we need to understand in Mormonism, the atonement is primarily associated with Jesus sweating, as it were, drops of blood in the Garden, not with the cross of Calvary.

I have often said to Mormons it is without the shedding of blood, not the sweating of blood, that there is no salvation, that there is no forgiveness of sins. It is not a biblical concept that the atonement is primarily focused in the Garden at all.

And, in fact, it is a fundamental misunderstanding of Mormonism of what actually takes place in the atonement of Christ. Not only the substitutionary aspect, but the perfection of it. All the aspects of the union of believers with Christ, all these things are just not a part of the LDS understanding of the atonement.

Instead, you have this idea of the... Not even the concept of original sin, because that is not even a Mormon understanding either. But, basically, Adam's sin is dealt with, to use the words of LeGrand Richards, one of the LDS apostles, Adam's sin is dealt with leaving us to deal with our own.

It opens up a way. It does not actually accomplish what the biblical atonement accomplishes. And so, that atonement in Mormonism takes place in the Garden of Gethsemane, not upon the cross of Calvary.

You would never find any of that kind of an idea in the book of Hebrews, or if Mormonism derived itself from biblical parameters. But, again, I refer you to LeGrand Richards' book, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, where he just pounds away on the idea that Mormonism does not come from the Bible.

It is a restored religion, over and over again. This is emphasized, and you can see that in its unbiblical doctrine of atonement.

The Book of Mormon and the LDS Story of Jesus in the New World

"...world, I testify he had power over death, because he was divine, but that he willingly subjected himself to death for our sake, because for a period of time he was also mortal. I bear witness that he was literally resurrected from the tomb, and after ascending to his father to complete the process of that resurrection, he appeared to hundreds of disciples in the old world and in the new.".

In the old world and in the new, that is opening the door for the entire story of the book of Mormon, a work of historical fiction that has no meaningful connection to the prehistory of the peoples of this land whatsoever.

It's amazing to watch the new LDS apologists, especially the folks at Farms, trying to work miracles with Joseph Smith's own perspective on who the Indians were, where the events of the book of Mormon took place, trying to find some way, in light of our ever-growing knowledge of the prehistory of this period, of this area, to fit the book of Mormon story in somehow.

It is truly amazing, but beyond our time in this brief video to address. But here you have the idea that Jesus, after his resurrection in Jerusalem, does not ascend back to the father, but comes here and chooses twelve disciples, three of whom, by the way, are still alive today, according to Mormonism, and establishes his church amongst the Nephites and the Lamanites and all the other things that the book of Mormon teaches, being added to the gospel of Christ.

And, of course, the book of Mormon contradicts the Bible in many places, especially in Joseph Smith's egregious misunderstanding of grace and the nature of salvation itself.

John 17 and the Meaning of the Only True God

I know he is the Holy One of Israel, the Messiah, who will one day come again in final glory, to reign on earth as Lord of lords and King of kings. Through the Holy Spirit of truth, may we all know the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent.

Then may we live their teachings and be true Christians in deed as well as in word.

It is truly ironic to hear LDS apostles, and you need to understand from their perspective, apostles just as Paul was, using that text from John chapter 17, you need to understand that from their perspective, what that means that he is the only true God, the only true God for this planet, for us.

He is not the only true God. He was once a man who lived on a planet himself and had a God before him, and a God before him. And the worthy Mormon himself hopes to become a God and be a God to his offspring.

And so, the video values are great, the music is wonderful. Not sure how they came up with a white, blonde, almost blonde looking Jesus. That's not what he looked like in any way, shape, or form. Sorry if any of you are offended by that.

I didn't produce it, the Mormons did. But the fact of the matter is that when you actually study Mormonism and you allow the LDS leaders to speak for themselves, there is nothing Christian about any of this.

But it certainly is made to look that way. And in our day and age where appearance is significantly more important to people than substance and meaning, I guess they've decided that's the direction to go.

Be warned, the Bible tells us, be careful beyond the outlook for those who would capture you with deceitful words. Because indeed, that is a great danger today. Thanks for watching.