Are Mormons Christians

[StephenL]

Are Mormons Christians? If not then why do they believe in Christ?

 

[IgnatianPhilo]

In virture of their very pagan oriented faith, no.

 

[VanSensei]

They have a small semblance of Trinitarian belief, but faith in Christ like we do. They’re Christian.

 

[iepuras]

No, Mormons are not Christian despite their protestations otherwise. Their beliefs on Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost (Mormon godhead) are light years away from Trinitarian theology of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is uncreated and the cause of all creation; whereas Heavenly Father is an exalted man with a resurrected body of flesh and bone, and Jesus is his son, both in the spirit and flesh. Mormons don’t really have a very defined theology on the Holy Ghost, just that he has a body of spirit. The Mormon Heavenly Father and Jesus organized the earth with existing materials. They didn’t create anything out of nothing, unlike the Trinity. The Trinity is one God in three distinct but not separate persons. The Mormon godhead of Heavenly Father, Jesus and Holy Ghost all have separate bodies and are merely one in purpose. Mormon beliefs on god and generations of gods makes them polytheistic.

When I was Mormon I believed I was Christian but never got worked up about Christians saying that Mormons are not. Now that I am studying real Christianity, I clearly see that Mormons are not Christians.

 

[dmar198]

Are Mormons Christians? If not then why do they believe in Christ?

They’re not Christian because they don’t believe in the Trinity, and they believe in Christ because Mormon teaching includes some comments about Christ, which is because Joseph Smith (Mormonism’s founder) grew up in a Christian context and wanted his religion to appeal to Christians on the surface level, so he included some Christian language and characters in his teachings.

 

[Linusthe2nd]

Are Mormons Christians? If not then why do they believe in Christ?

No and neither are Seventh Day Adventists. Though I have met many good people in both. Though the Seventh Day Adventists seem to have a particular dislike for Catholics.

Linus2nd

 

[dmar198]

No and neither are Seventh Day Adventists.

This one I don’t get. They believe in the Trinity, ipso facto they are Christian. Am I missing something? Even Catholic Answers puts them in the Christian category: catholic.com/quickquestions/is-seventh-day-adventism-a-cult

Seventh-day Adventism is not a cult. It does promote some strange ideas, including some with a decidedly anti-Catholic foundation, but it is a genuinely Christian denomination. Its members are both validly baptized Christians and theologically Christian in their beliefs (unlike, for example, Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, who are neither).

 

[Adamski]

They have a small semblance of Trinitarian belief, but faith in Christ like we do. They’re Christian.

Your 100% wrong they don’t believe in the same jesus

 

[SteveVH]

Are Mormons Christians? If not then why do they believe in Christ?

The LDS do not believe in the Trinity, therefore they do not believe in the same Christ in which Christianity believes. They believe in three divine beings who are one in purpose, not three Persons in one divine Being. They are, simply, polytheistic, and are not considered Christians by the Catholic Church, but an entirely different religion altogether.

 

[stephe1987]

They believe that God used to be a man on another planet, and became a god by living a good Mormon life. People who live good Mormon lives can have “eternal progression” and become gods someday.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Joseph Smith’s LDS teaching was that the Catholic Church (and other Christian churches) are false and apostate. Smith claimed to be chosen by God as the Prophet to (re-)establish the true faith, which exists only in the LDS church. Mormon teachings are very significantly different than Biblical Christianity. The LDS do not accept the validity of Trinitarian Baptism and the Catholic Church (and other Christian churches) do not accept the validity of LDS baptisms.

Having said all that, there is much to admire in the LDS church, particularly their strong devotion to family.

 

[gazelam]

We Mormons are full-blown non-Trinitarian Christians.

Let’s just disabuse the notion that to be Christian one must believe in the doctrine of the Trinity.

Harper’s Bible Dictionary states: “The formal doctrine of the Trinity as it was defined by the great church councils of the fourth and fifth centuries is not to be found in the New Testament.”

Matthew 27 (KJV)

*51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.*

Clearly, not a single Trinitarian was to be found among these resurrected early Christian Saints.

 

[SteveVH]

We Mormons are full-blown non-Trinitarian Christians.

That is like saying “I am a monotheistic Hindu”.

Let’s just disabuse the notion that to be Christian one must believe in the doctrine of the Trinity.

Harper’s Bible Dictionary states: “The formal doctrine of the Trinity as it was defined by the great church councils of the fourth and fifth centuries is not to be found in the New Testament.”

Gazelam, do you understand the difference between “formal” and “material” doctrine? Of course the formal doctrine is not to be found in the Bible, but it is found “materially” in the raw data of Scripture. The “formal doctrine” is the Church’s “formal” teaching on the dogma of the Trinity. So your statement kind of misses the mark, if you know what I mean.

Matthew 27 (KJV)

*51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.*

Clearly, not a single Trinitarian was to be found among these resurrected early Christian Saints.

You are probably very correct. I don’t think any of them were Trinitarian, since they had just come out of their graves and probably had not yet been taught by the Apostles, don’t you think? This was before Pentecost and therefore before the Church had even begun. What does that prove?

In any event, what in the world do any of the verses you quoted have to do with whether or not one is a Trinitarian?

 

[Per_Crucem]

We Mormons are full-blown non-Trinitarian Christians.

Oxymoron. There is no such thing as a non-Trinitarian Christian.

Let’s just disabuse the notion that to be Christian one must believe in the doctrine of the Trinity.

Only if we disabuse the notion that words have meaning.

Harper’s Bible Dictionary states: “The formal doctrine of the Trinity as it was defined by the great church councils of the fourth and fifth centuries is not to be found in the New Testament.”

Both the formal and the material doctrine of the Trinity are to be found in both the Old and New Testaments. While the early church councils were instrumental in the defense of the Trinity against those who rejected it, the Christians of those councils were Trinitarian because it is biblical.

 

[gus]

In someways they resemsemble Islam
later prophets receiving directions from God
different book Koran, Book of Morman
Both borrowing from the Judeo Christains traditions.
but their belief that their were multiple gods
predating the current God and that men can become gods put them into a category all by themselves.

 

[Judas_Thaddeus]

Believing in Christ is not enough (SHOCKING AS THAT SOUNDS!), but to be
a Christian, one must follow certain tenets that make a Christian a Christian.

• Christians believe in the Trinity, Mormons do not.
• Christians believe in ONE GOD, Mormons do not.
• Christians believe that the Fall was bad, Mormons do not.
• Christians believe that the Bible is inerrant, Mormons do not.
• Christians believe Christ suffered for sin on the Cross, Mormons do not.
• Christians believe that the Cross is a wonderful sign of faith, Mormons do not.
• Christians believe that Jesus is our only High Priest after the Order of Melchizedek, Mormons do not.
• Christians believe that, although people can have the gift of prophecy, there will be no more new prophets, Mormons do not.
• Christians believe that wine and unleavened bread should be the representing elements of Jesus’ body and blood, Mormons do not.
• Christians believe not only that there is only ONE GOD, but that God has always been God, even that Jesus Christ
  is the same yesterday and today and forever, and that God is God from Eternity unto Eternity, Mormons do not.

Those are a few tenants of the top of my head, I’m sure there are more, but do we really need to ask this anymore?

 

[SteveVH]

Both the formal and the material doctrine of the Trinity are to be found in both the Old and New Testaments. While the early church councils were instrumental in the defense of the Trinity against those who rejected it, the Christians of those councils were Trinitarian because it is biblical.

I would disagree that the “formal doctrine” can be found anywhere in the Bible for the reasons I have already stated. It is an impossibility. We can certainly find the evidence for the Trinity in the Bible, but nothing like a formal exposition; a definitive statement using terms such as “Person” or “Being” or “Consubstantial”. That is the purpose of “formal” doctrine. While the doctrine certainly existed “materially” in the Church from the beginning, the formal expression of this truth developed later.

 

[Per_Crucem]

I would disagree that the “formal doctrine” can be found anywhere in the Bible for the reasons I have already stated. It is an impossibility. We can certainly find the evidence for the Trinity in the Bible, but nothing like a formal exposition; a definitive statement using terms such as “Person” or “Being” or “Consubstantial”. That is the purpose of “formal” doctrine. While the doctrine certainly existed “materially” in the Church from the beginning, the formal expression of this truth developed later.

If you’re talking about the terminology, yes. That is, the words chosen as descriptive.

 

[RebeccaJ]

We Mormons are full-blown non-Trinitarian Christians.

Let’s just disabuse the notion that to be Christian one must believe in the doctrine of the Trinity.

Harper’s Bible Dictionary states: “The formal doctrine of the Trinity as it was defined by the great church councils of the fourth and fifth centuries is not to be found in the New Testament.”

Matthew 27 (KJV)

*51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.*

Clearly, not a single Trinitarian was to be found among these resurrected early Christian Saints.

The NT view of a Triune God is very evident.

Beyond that, Catholics are do not accept the heresy of sola scriptura.

 

[SteveVH]

If you’re talking about the terminology, yes. That is, the words chosen as descriptive.

I am, because that is what “formal doctrine” means. The Church has held many beliefs as true without having them formally defined. In fact, a doctrine was usually never fully defined until it was challenged by heretics. That is when councils were formed and doctrines defined for the most part, in order to leave no doubt as to the teaching of the Church.

By the way, I see that you are new to CAF and just wanted to say welcome.