1012/2019 ‘Ave Mormons Christian? Are Mormons Christian? “Are Mormons Christian? Gospel Topics Essays (2016) Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unequivocally affirm themselves ta be Christians, They worshi God the Eternal Father in the name of Jesus Christ. When asked what the Latter-day Saints believe, Joseph Smich put Christ ¢ the center: “The fundamental principles of our religion is the testimony of the apostles and prophets concerning Jesus Chris ‘that he died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended up into heaven’ and all other things are onl ‘appendages to these, which pertain to our religion.“1 The modern-day Quorum af the Twelve Apostles rea‘firmed the testimony when they proclaimed, “Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. ... His way Is the path that leads t happiness in this life and eternal lfé in the world ta come."2 In recent decades, however, some have claimed that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not a Christian churct The most oft-used reasons are the following: I. Latter-day Saints do not accept the creeds, confessions, and formulations of post-New Testament Christianity. 2. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doos not descend through the historical line of traditional Christianity. The 's, Latter-day Saints are not Romen Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Protestant. 3. Latter-day Saints do not believe scripture consists of the Holy Bible alone but have an expanded canon of scripture the includes the Book of Morman, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price Each of these is exerined below. Latter-day Saints Do Not Accept the Creeds of Post-New Testament Christianity Scholars have long acknowledged that the view of God held by the earliest Christians changed dramatically over the course ¢ centuries. Early Christian views of God were more personal, more anthropomorphic, and less abstract than those the emerged later from the creeds written over the next several hundred years. The key ideological shift that began in the secon century A.D, after the loss of apostolic authority, resulted from a conceptual merger of Christian doctrine with Gree philosophy.3 Latter-day Saints believe the melding of early Christian theology with Greek philosophy was a grave error. Chief armong th doctrines lost in this process was the nature of the Godhead. The true nature of God the Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, and th Holy Ghost was restored thraugh the Prophet Joseph Smith. As a consequence, Latter-day Saints hold that God the Father | ‘an embodied being, a belie’ consistent with the attributes ascribed to God by many early Christians.4 This Latter-day Sair bolief differs from the post-New Testament creeds, ‘Whatever the doctrinal differences that exist between the Latter-day Szints and members of other Christian religions, th roles Latter-day Saints ascribe to members of the Gochead largely correspond with the views of others in the Christian worl. Latter-day Saints believe that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and al-loving, and they pray to Him in the name of Jesus Chris: ‘They acknowledge the Father as the ultimate object of thelr worship, the Son as Lord and Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit as th messenger and revealer of the Father and the San. In short, Latter-day Saints do not accept the post-New-Testament creed yet rely deeply on each member of the Godhead in their dally religious devotion and worship, as did the early Christians. Latter-day Saints Believe in a Restored Christianity ‘Another premise used in arguing that Latter-day Saints are not Christians is that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da Saints does not descend from the traditional line of today's Christian churches: Latter-day Saints are not Catholic, Easter Orthodox, or Protestant. Latter-day Saints believe that by the ministering of angels to Joseph Smith priesthood authority to ae In Gods name was returned or brought back to earth, This is the “restored,” nat a “reformed,” church of Jesus Christ, Th Latter-day Saint belief in a restored Christianity helps explain why so many Latter-day Saints, from the 1830s ta the presen have converted from other Christian denominations. These converts did not, and do not, perceive themselves as leaving th Cristian fold; they are simply grateful to learn about and become part of the restored Church of Jesus Christ, which the believe offers the fulness of the Lord's gospel, a more complete and rich Christian church—spiritually, organizationally, an doctrinally Members of creedal churches often mistakenly assume that all Christians have always agreed and must agree on a historicall static, monolithic collection of beliefs. As many scholars have acknowledged, however, Christians have vigorously disagree hitps:/wiw churchoflesuschristorgimanualigaspel-topcs-essayslcvstans lang=eng 18‘Are Mormons Christian? s leading to the creation of a multitude of Christia. — non-Christian, Latter-day Saints Believe in an Open Canon ed Justification argued to label Latter-day Saints as non-Christian has to do ‘with their belief in an open scriptural can< tre ne pate OS amen be a hrs means ase othe pre soasepnna he ce But toca tha: the Bible | the Sle and fal Word of God--mee ceo re or claim more for the Bible than it claims for itself. Nowhere does the Bi lan etal nae er cede Christan No branch of Cristy its tev ena the oo it sel ertray othe ible in malngdocenalcccalons rather a principles. Roman Catholics, for example, turn to church tradition and th i i wie ang councis) for answers, Protestants, particularly evangelicals, turn to linguists and scripture scholars for ther ares Together with the Old and New Testaments, the Book of Mormon supports an unequivocal testimony of Jesus Christ. On passage says that the Book of Mormon “shal establish the truth” of the Bible “end shall make known to all Kindreds, tongue and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must com Lunto him, or they cannot be saved."8 In ts more than six thousand verses, the Book of Mormon refers to Jesus Christ almo: four thousand times and by over one hundred different names: “Jehovah,” “Immanuel,” “Holy Messiah,” “Lamb of God “Redeemer of lsrze,” and so on.8 The Book of Mormon is Indeed “Another Testament of Jesus Christ" as its ttle pag proclaims. Conclusion, Converts across the world continue to join The Church of Jesus Christof Latter-day Saints In part because of its doctrinal an spiritual distinctiveness. That distinctiveness flaws from the knowledge restored to this earth, together with the power of th Holy Ghost present in the Church because of restored priesthoad authority, keys, ordinances, end the fulness of the gospel ¢ Jesus Christ. The fruits of the restored gospel are evident in the lives ofits faithful members, While members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have no desire to compromise the distinctiveness of th restored Church of Jesus Christ, they wish to work together with other Christians—and people of all falths—to recognize an remedy many of the moral and family issues faced by society. The Christian conversation is richer for what the Latter-da Saints bring to the table. There is no good reason for Christian faiths to ostracize each other when there has never been mar Urgent need for unity in proclaiming the divinity and teachings of jesus Christ. The Church acknowledges the contribution of scholars to the historical content presented in this article; thelr work is use swith permission, This response attempted to answer the frequently asked query, ‘What are the fundamental principles of your religion Published in Eiders'fournal 1 (uly 1838): 44, available at www.Josephsmithpapers.org: republished with punctuation change in Teachings of Presidents of the Church: jaseph Smith (2007), 49, 2."The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles,” Ensign, Apr. 2000, 3. 4. See, for example, Roger E. Olson, The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition and Reform (Downers Grov IL IVP Academic, 1999; D. Jeffrey Bingham, ed., The Routledge Companion to Early Christian Thought (London: Routledg: 2010}; Daniel W. Graham and James L. Siebach, "The Introduction of Philosophy into Early Christianity," in Noel 8. Reynold ed, Early Christians in Disarray: Contemporary LDS Perspectives on the Christian Apastasy Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancler Research and Mormon Studies, Brigham Young University Press, 2005), 205-37. 4 For evidence of this belief among early Christians, see David L. Paulsen, “Early Christian Belief in Corporeal Deity: Origen an Augustine as Reluctant Witnesses,” Harvard Theological Review 83, no. 2 (1980): 105-16. For the increasing complexity « creedal formulations over time, See J, Stevenson, ed., Creed, Councils and Controversies: Documents illustrating the Histor of the Church, AD 337-461, rev. ed. (London: SPCK, 1985}. htpsiwonchurchofjesuschistorgmarwaligospel-topics-essayslcstians ansoreo1s hntps:trawchurchoflesuschristorgmanual/gospel-topics-ossaysichristans lang: ‘Are Mormons Chistian? 5. The scholarly literature on debates over Christian theology and practice is vast. For early Christianity, see, for example, Bart C Ehrman, Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew(New York: Oxford University Press, 2005 For Christian theological debates in the early United States, see E. Brooks Halifield, Theology in America: Christian Thougi from the Age of the Puritans to the Civil War (Now Haven: Yale University Press, 2003). «6 Many Christians understand Revelation 22:18-19 to mean that nothing can be added to the Bible, The warning In this seriptur ‘against adding “unto these things," however, refers to the book of Revelation and nat to the Bible as a whole. See Howard \ Hunter, "No Man Shall Add to or Take Away,” Ensign, May 1981, 64-65. 17 See, for example, Lee M, McDonald, The Formation of the Christian Biblical Canon, rev. ed, (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995 254-56, 1 Nephi 13:40, 9 See Boyd K. Packer, “The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ—Plain and Precious Things,” Ensign ar Liahon ‘May 2005, 6-9; Susan Ward Easton, “Names of Christ in the Book of Mormon," Ensign, July 1978, 60-61.