Posted by
Gene Thomas on Thursday, June 14, 2007 12:57:04 PM
Is the Mormon church a Christian church?
First, lets be clear on the name of the church we are talking about. It is The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints, sometimes referred to as LDS, and sometimes as Mormon.
A young Boy named Joseph Smith tells of a vision he had (see notes at end). This vision came, he said, as a result of his being unable to determine which of the various churches to join. There was a revival in his neighborhood with several of the sects setting up their tents and preaching for converts. Joseph Smith was confused by what he saw as differences in what they each required for salvation. His first mistake was in thinking that the true church must be only one of the denominations (as opposed to the church being the people of all of the denominations). His second error was not recognizing that virtually all of the segments of mainline Christianity agree on the the requirement of salvation. In any event, he went into the woods to pray for an answer to which, of all these, he should join.
Smith reports that as he prayed a force of evil came over him which he could not resist, and as he was about to succumb to this force a shaft of light shone down from above. He was released from the force, and looking, he saw two personages standing above the ground and within the shaft of light. (A personage is defined as a person, especially one of high rank or one who can strongly influence the course of events). One said of the other, "This is my beloved son. Hear him!"
What he was told in answer to his inquiry was to ". . . join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors [of these creeds] were all corrupt;. . ." (Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith History--this is one of the Mormons' "Standard Works" of scripture.)
Note three things especially. Smith says that the Son of God told him that 1) All of our churches are wrong, 2) all of our creeds are abominable, and 3) all of us who profess them are corrupt.
Now, it must be understood that the LDS church is firmly planted and stands solidly on that vision of Smith's. Without that vision there is no reason or excuse for the Mormon church to exist. Take away that vision and Mormonism collapses in a heap of ruin. But, of course, it stands today, still perpetuating that lie, and all those other untruth's that stem from it. Take a closer look.
What do we learn from the reported vision of Smith. To start with we are told that God and Jesus are two completely separate and individual persons. Each with his own body, even God, who the Bible tells us is pure spirit. This is a direct contradiction of our Christian creeds and beliefs. Then we are told that these creeds are an abomination. And finally, that those of us who believe them are corrupt.
Whatever Christian church you belong to, it accepts as doctrine the Apostles creed, the Nicene creed, or some form of one of them which probably doesn't differ in any important respect; especially in the view that the Trinity is one God and eternally consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all as one substance. This is admittedly a difficult concept, this 3 in 1 God, and many people give up on trying to understand it. But is is clearly supported by the Bible. That much every Christian should understand. Not coming to terms with who and what God says He is, is one reason people fall for the Mormon deception. You see, from a position of purely worldly logic, Smith's description may seem to humans to be acceptable, even preferable.
We can conclude from our discussion so far that given Smith's reported vision we Christians are apostate (something that he later says, using exactly that word). We are heretics. That conclusion, if Smith were right, is inescapable. Of course, the opposite is true. That is, the Mormon church takes heretical views of God and Christ. These views of theirs are such that the Mormons cannot be considered merely as Christians whose doctrines have gone a little astray. They are not Christian. They are not Christian because they do not hold Christian beliefs about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
But, they say, His name, Jesus, is even in the name of our church. Well, so what. I once knew a man named Blacksmith. Does that make him a black smith? What was it Shakespeare said, "a rose by any other same would smell as sweet." What's in a name. in Biblical times, a lot, but in our modern time a name is simply a handle to go by. A way of identifying one as apart from being someone else. Simply putting the name Jesus in the name of their church doesn't make them Christian.
NOTES
I have shortened Joseph Smith's telling of this story somewhat by paraphrasing, but you can confirm my accuracy at Smith history where You can read the official account of this vision in the Pearl Of Great Price. <<Here>>
Here is a working definition of a cult: They change the Bible and/or add more "scripture." The Mormons have done both. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a cult.