Question:  Dear Greg,

            What are the differences in Christianity and Mormons?  I had two young men knock on my door to tell me about Mormons, but I am a Christian.  Please help me with some of the differences so I can be prepared to witness to them instead of them to me.

            Aaron

Answer:  Dear Aaron,

            The Mormon Church, the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, departs from historic Christianity in many ways.  They are currently trying to persuade the world at large, particularly with the Winter Olympics in early 2002 being held in Salt Lake City, that they are Christian.  But while there may be individual Mormons who are Christians (that would be God’s business), Christians are encouraged (by the Bible) to judge organizational teachings of groups that call themselves Christian by the Bible—and we find much in Mormon teaching and practice that contradicts the Bible.  In fact, the differences are profound enough that they differ with the core doctrines of Christianity and therefore the Mormon Church cannot be considered a Christian church.  Here are a few basic issues:

1.      The doctrine of God.  The Christian church teaches and has always taught that God exists eternally as one God in three co-equal Persons, separate but distinct: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  Mormonism, from Joseph Smith, teaches a plurality of gods.  On its face, such a teaching is polytheism (paganism).  Mormons teach that each god is begotten of other gods (our human destiny is to become a god, they say), while God the Father is a superior god, because he is “first” if you like.  They also believe that all gods were once men, including God the Father.  The fifth president of the Mormon Church once said, “As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become.” According to the Bible, and according to all of Christian history, such teaching is heresy.

2.      Mormons accept Jesus Christ as the “son of God” but deny that he is God, the Second person of the Trinity, God the Son, God in the flesh, unlike and exclusive of all humans who have ever lived.  For Mormons, Jesus was simply God’s firstborn, as indeed we can be as well.  Once again, this is heretical teaching by biblical definition, and according to historic Christianity.

3.      While on the one hand saying that we are saved by grace, Mormons teach that salvation is conditional (upon baptism—that would be baptism as administered by the Mormon Church), and by enduring to the end, by keeping the commandments, both of God, of the Book of Mormon, and of the Mormon Church.  The Mormon Church adds to the gospel, teaching that “all men, by the grace of God, have the power to gain eternal life.”  Mormons add to the gospel of Jesus Christ by insisting upon a humanly devised legalism that must be adhered to for salvation—including no coffee, no soft drinks, no smoking, etc.

4.      There are many other biblically based Christian beliefs and teachings with which Mormons disagree—the “Kingdom of the Cults” is an excellent reference, as are many other books carried by Christian bookstores.

            The Mormon Church emphasizes clean living, traditional morality, high birth rates, and family values.  And of course, these attributes are wonderful and make for a strong public image.  But we must realize that the Bible does not teach that we are saved because of our own goodness, but because God is good.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht