LDS calling themselves Christians since 1975?

[kimg901]

I was watching a local tv program awhile back and the gentleman that speaks on there said “The LDS Church started calling themselves Christian in 1975, before that they did not” I cannot find any evidence that supports his claim. Any ex-mormon or current mormon know or heard of this? I submitted my question to this tv show but never got a reply? Utahns probably know of this show, its called Heart of the Matter.

 

[RebeccaJ]

I was watching a local tv program awhile back and the gentleman that speaks on there said “The LDS Church started calling themselves Christian in 1975, before that they did not” I cannot find any evidence that supports his claim. Any ex-mormon or current mormon know or heard of this? I submitted my question to this tv show but never got a reply? Utahns probably know of this show, its called Heart of the Matter.

I remember clearly in the early 70’s being taught that Mormons were not Christians, with a list of all the things that make Christianity false, usually focused on Catholicism and the Trinity. Sometime between then and when I started paying attention to Mormonism in the early 2000’s, Mormons started saying they are Christians. I’ve never heard an exact year put to this change, but I’ve just always assumed it was for the purposes of proselyting. If you are trying to convert Christian populations, but saying that you, yourself, are not Christian, and bag all the time on Christian teachings, well, makes for turning off people to Mormonism.

Mormons still do the same, as far as I know, just keep it to themselves as insiders. Put on a friendlier face to the outside world.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

The Mormon Church has always called itself “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.” Joseph Smith claimed that his new church was the restored Church of Christ, the same claim made by many other protestant churches. They more or less admit that the Catholic Church was the original Church of Christ, but argue that it went apostate at some point. There is wide protestant variation on the date and type of the supposed Catholic apostasy. The Mormon version of the Catholic apostasy is more radical than most others. They claim that the Catholic Church went apostate immediately after the death of the last apostle and that the Christian Bible and other early Christian writings are false and unreliable.

 

[JHow]

For what it’s worth as a means of establishing a date, the first Mormon I ever met (in basic training) told me that Mormons were Christian. That was in 1985.

 

[TexanKnight]

The Mormon Church has always called itself “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.” Joseph Smith claimed that his new church was the restored Church of Christ, the same claim made by many other protestant churches. They more or less admit that the Catholic Church was the original Church of Christ, but argue that it went apostate at some point. There is wide protestant variation on the date and type of the supposed Catholic apostasy. The Mormon version of the Catholic apostasy is more radical than most others. They claim that the Catholic Church went apostate immediately after the death of the last apostle and that the Christian Bible and other early Christian writings are false and unreliable.

Not true. God kept changing his mind on what to call his Church.

The Church of Christ was the original name of the Latter Day Saint church founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. Organized informally in 1829 in northwestern New York and then as a legal entity on April 6, 1830, it was the first organization to implement the principles found in Smith’s newly published Book of Mormon, and thus represents the formal beginning of the Latter Day Saint movement. Later names for this organization included the Church of the Latter Day Saints (by 1834 resolution), the Church of Jesus Christ, the Church of God, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (by an 1838 revelation).

 

[Marie5890]

For what it’s worth, Alma 46:15 calls believers of Christ Christian, so I cant image Mormons prior to the '70s claiming they were not…

Goes against the BoM.

 

[aspirant]

For what it’s worth, Alma 46:15 calls believers of Christ Christian, so I cant image Mormons prior to the '70s claiming they were not…

Goes against the BoM.

In fairness, though, joining the Masons would also go against the BoM, and that didn’t stop Smith & his followers from joining. Which of their scriptures Mormons follow seems dynamic.

 

[KathleenGee]

Didn’t some president back in the 1990’s, may be 1997, say that they were not Christians?..that is why they name themselves Mormons…and we are actually called ‘Gentiles’??

He was very adamant about what he said, but I am not clear on details, but saw enough into his statement.

Mormonism is very much a man made religion for man, and I would say that literally. I don’t know what Mormonism is for their women that much. And the women want to learn more about Mary but their bishops won’t let them pursue her and study about her.

 

[Marie5890]

Didn’t some president back in the 1990’s, may be 1997, say that they were not Christians?..that is why they name themselves Mormons…and we are actually called ‘Gentiles’??

He was very adamant about what he said, but I am not clear on details, but saw enough into his statement.

Mormonism is very much a man made religion for man, and I would say that literally. I don’t know what Mormonism is for their women that much. And the women want to learn more about Mary but their bishops won’t let them pursue her and study about her.

“Mormons” were a nickname and there was a time that the LDS church was pushing to get away from it and encouraging the membership to do the same.

I believe what you are referring to was when then President Gordon Hinkley was being interviewed (or perhaps TIME Magazine?) by Larry King and Hinkley was very clear that they were not “traditional Christians” as most people think of traditional Christians (ie creedal, not believing in the Trinity.

He very much agreed that they were not traditional Christians in that sense. But didnt say that they were not Christian.

Those are the only 2 interviews that come to mind for me

(edit to add…It was a General Conference talk…)

Link
lds.org/general-conference/2002/04/we-look-to-christ?lang=eng

"As a Church we have critics, many of them. They say we do not believe in the traditional Christ of Christianity. There is some substance to what they say. Our faith, our knowledge is not based on ancient tradition, the creeds which came of a finite understanding and out of the almost infinite discussions of men trying to arrive at a definition of the risen Christ. Our faith, our knowledge comes of the witness of a prophet in this dispensation who saw before him the great God of the universe and His Beloved Son, the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. They spoke to him. "

 

[RebeccaJ]

As usual, it is a matter of definition. Mormonism uses “Christian” in two ways. One, as a definition of what their leaders have called “so-called Christians”. In this use, “Christian” has a negative meaning, and represents everything that Mormonism seeks to “restore”. It goes with labels like “the great and abominable church”, “the church of Satan”, “Babylon”, and the “whore of the earth”.

The second usage, which is the “calling themselves Christian since 1975” version, is where Mormonism has redefined Christian to mean “restored Christianity”, in other words, themselves. When Mormons say they are Christian, they are NOT saying they are Christian as all of Christianity understands the meaning. In this usage it is a relative term, covering anyone who has a positive view of Jesus Christ, no matter how Mormon that view is, or from a Catholic view, how orthodox that view is.

The early Mormon church leaders purposely distanced themselves from Christianity. Brigham Young was adamant that Mormonism was not Christian, because his view was rooted in the first understanding. The great and abominable church, which Mormons will say they are the remedy for, not a part of.

As I said, this doesn’t endear them to the Christian populations they hope to convert, so there is a softer sell of Mormonism today, and Christian to Mormons now means “We love Jesus too!”.

In this way, they are accepting Christianity as Christian, rather than defining us a “the whore of the earth”. In that sense, it is a HUGE change for Mormonism.

I once asked a Mormon if this means they viewed an atheist who has a positive view of Jesus, as being a Christian, and she said ‘yes’.

So, there’s where they are at, never mind that they worship a different idea of God, and spend a considerable amount of effort mocking the God Who Christians worship.

 

[TexanKnight]

if they are true Church of God led by God in all things…why so many different names of their church before the current LDS name?

 

[superwimp]

if they are true Church of God led by God in all things…why so many different names of their church before the current LDS name?

Hello,
My understanding (and some of this may be wrong) is that it was 1st known as the Chruch of Christ as Jesus instructed in the BOM. Then the church seemed to separate into two parts one located around Ohio and the other was around Missouri. Both groups wanted to distinquish themselves from the large Chruch of Christ. The group in Ohio (and this was where JS was) called themselves the Chruch of LDS. The group further west Called themselves the Church of Jesus Christ. JS started a banking scam and when it fell through he had to leave town and go further west. He then combined the two names to what it is today.

 

[CarolNoel]

I worked in a hospital in the late 1960’s (1967-74). I would have to get information on patients admitted to my floor. One of the questions was their religious identity. Jewish, Catholic, Protestant. They always said none of the above as they were LDS and not Christian. That was my experience at that time.

 

[Marie5890]

I worked in a hospital in the late 1960’s (1967-74). I would have to get information on patients admitted to my floor. One of the questions was their religious identity. Jewish, Catholic, Protestant. They always said none of the above as they were LDS and not Christian. That was my experience at that time.

No, they wouldnt identify themselves as either Catholic or Protestant for they arent. They believe that both Catholic and Protestant are in apostasy.

For they believed that the LDS Church is the original church Christ founded, but restored.

 

[CarolNoel]

Right, but they were very emphatic about not being classified as Christian at that time.

 

[Marie5890]

Right, but they were very emphatic about not being classified as Christian at that time.

Their way of disquishing themselves from what they believe are corrupt believes of other faiths.

 

[TexanKnight]

Hello,

My understanding (and some of this may be wrong) is that it was 1st known as the Chruch of Christ as Jesus instructed in the BOM.  Then the church seemed to separate into two parts one located around Ohio and the other was around Missouri.  Both groups wanted to distinquish themselves from the large Chruch of Christ.  The group in Ohio (and this was where JS was) called themselves the Chruch of LDS.  The group further west Called themselves the Church of Jesus Christ.  JS started a banking scam and when it fell through he had to leave town and go further west.  He then combined the two names to what it is today.

so, it was a JS creation and not a God creation.

Got it

 

[KathleenGee]

Marie and Rebecca…Thanks for clarifying. Yes, the first link you gave me, Marie is most likely the one I looked at.

I would also counter, what makes their men and their beliefs any different than the Apostles and their successors?..

 

[Marie5890]

Marie and Rebecca…Thanks for clarifying. Yes, the first link you gave me, Marie is most likely the one I looked at.

I would also counter, what makes their men and their beliefs any different than the Apostles and their successors?..

Kathleen,
A lot of “compartmentalizing” has to take place when one is LDS. One has to basically dismiss both early Christianity and even Judaism.

The beliefs of the LDS, both now in the 21st century, in the 20th and back to the 19th in no way resemble the Apostles, early disciples and their successors.

I think all of these threads clearly demonstrate that.
Even the LDS temple and it’s rites look NADA, ZERO, ZIP like the Jewish temples and the rituals that went on there…

It’s all a BIG BIG fabrication. But in order for Mormons to accept it, they have to have a reason to reject what really the early disciples and Apostles both believed and taught…IE an apostasy…

 

[KathleenGee]

Yes…I would say that Mormonism invalidates Judaism as well.