Why do Mormons claim to be Christians?

  • Thread starter Thread starter thephilosopher6
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Who are “the Brethren”? The Mormons I spoke with are members of your church’s priesthood.
 
The church has been correct on its websites, sadly that is not pleasing to the critics.

The church’s mission is not to please the critics.
 
Who knows. Jehovah’s Witnesses are the same in not really being Christian.
They claim an apostasy happened yet use the same New Testament as propagated in 398 long after it allegedly occurred yet only accept books Luther allowed in his Canon. They are hipocrites.
 
gazelam said:
Please provide a generally accepted definition of the Trinity that allows for the Father to be the Son at the same time. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
One title for Mary is Theotokos, meaning the Mother of God. This title is an affirmation of the believe in the Trinity. A title for Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God.

In 1830, Joseph Smith published the Book of Mormon which contained Trinitarian language.
And he said unto me, Behold, the virgin whom thou seest, is the mother of God, after the manner of the flesh. … And the angel said unto me, behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Eternal Father!- Book of Mormon page 25, now 1 Nephi 3
Click to expand...
Clearly God and Christ are one.

In about 1835, Joseph Smith rejects his belief in the Trinity.

The 1837 Book of Mormon added the phrase “the son of” as in "the Mother of the son of God,” to the Book of Mormon.
 
The thing that really got me was how they denied that they still teach that Lucifer is the brother of Jesus. They steadfastly denied it until it was shown them on one of their websites (which they always said we could get the truth from). They stopped promoting that site after that and said to talk to their prophet, Monson.

They also claimed that Satan is a" Son of God" (yes, they capitalized “Son”) because the Bible says the sons of God came before Him and Satan came among them also. We all tried explaining the verse to them. But they wouldn’t have any of it. Did you encounter or experience that during your time as a Mormon?

If they could just see the truth about their church, their beliefs and teachings. They would have to leave since they cannot serve two masters. If they had to choose between leaving the Mormon church and serving Jesus or staying and remaining loyal to their founder, Joseph Smith and those who followed him to the present day, I know for a fact which one Mormon would choose since he told me. But what about the rest? It’s a real battle for souls.
 
If Lucifer and Jesus are brothers, wouldn’t that make Lucifer our brother, since Jesus is our brother?
 
It’s actually the Mormons who are displeased when the truth of what we say is shown them.
 
adamhovey1988 said:
If Lucifer and Jesus are brothers, wouldn’t that make Lucifer our brother, since Jesus is our brother?
Click to expand...
The way I put it to them was, “So if Lucifer is the brother of Jesus, as your church claims, you make Lucifer God also since Jesus is God or you make Jesus a fallen angel since Lucifer is a fallen angel banished to earth and now known as Satan. Are you sure you really want to go there?”

That was when they quoted Scriptures, most of which had nothing to do with what I’d just said to them, along with the aforementioned “sons of God” verse. It became evident very quickly that they do not understand Scripture.
 
Last edited:
lilypadrees said:
Did you encounter or experience that during your time as a Mormon?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, I was one of those Mormons who was a good follower and believed everything that I was taught. It wasn’t until my later years that I decided that there was nothing wrong with doing some of my own research. I mean, what’s to fear if it’s the truth?

So, no, I never really had that experience. I just blindly accepted that that’s how it was.
 
Lemuel said:
40.png
adamhovey1988:
If Lucifer and Jesus are brothers, wouldn’t that make Lucifer our brother, since Jesus is our brother?
Click to expand...
Yes. Mormons refer to Jesus as their “older brother”. Satan is also a brother. Just a rebellious one.
Click to expand...
Yep. They gave that reasoning as well.
 
I’d rather Lucifer not be my brother, no thank you.
 
Last edited:
The Church doesn’t excommunicate people for divorce.

Your friend is lying or misunderstanding.

Also, Catholic excommunication simply means “you cannot take Communion”.

It doesn’t mean you’re shunned by the Church like it does in JW and I presume LDS communities.

Although it did have that connotation in the past - but not for several centuries now.
 
Last edited:
Spyridon said:
It doesn’t mean you’re shunned by the Church like it does in JW and I presume LDS communities.
Click to expand...
In the LDS church, being excommunicated means that your name is blotted out, in other words, you are no longer a member. You can’t do anything that members can do except attend meetings. You can’t offer prayers in public, join in gospel discussions, give talks, hold positions, take the sacrament, pay tithing and so forth. You’re basically a pariah. The only way to get back into the church is to be baptized again. If you were a priesthood holder, you have to wait at least a year before you can hold the priesthood again. The same goes for any temple work that was done. They do this thing called a restoration of blessings when magically, everything that you lost is suddenly restored. The Mormon church holds that there are two levels of forgiveness. You must obtain forgiveness from Jesus and you must obtain forgiveness from the Church.

They won’t call it being shunned, but it’s basically that. The hardest part of it is that people know who has been excommunicated and they often don’t know how to act around them. It’s really awkward for everyone involved.
 
I think I’ve figured out what’s going on here.

Catholics are using a different definition of the word “Christian” which is contrary to that which is used by the secular world and Mormons themselves.

Merriam-Webster defines Christian thus:
a :one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ

Catholics define Christian this way:
One who is a Baptized member of the Body of Christ.

So using the secular definition of a Christian, Mormons ARE Christians. Even Bahai’s and Muslims could be shoehorned into being a Christian using this broad definition.

But theologically speaking, from a Catholic POV, Mormons are not Christians - they are Abrahamic Theists.

So it depends on how one defines the word “Christian”.

I personally would concede to the LDS that they are Christians according to their own belief and secular definition, but they are not true Christians theologically speaking from a Catholic POV.

Tl;dr

Mormons ARE Christians in a broad, secular sense.

Mormons are NOT Christians in a narrow, Catholic theological sense.

I hope this helps clarify this issue.

Also, in our dealings with LDS members, the charitable thing to do is call them what they call themselves - Christians.

Amongst ourselves or in technical theological discussions, we can refer to them as Abrahamic theistic non-Christians.
 
Last edited:
That’s truly bizarre about obtaining forgiveness from Jesus and then from the Church.

In Catholic thought, the Church IS Jesus. It is His Body. When Paul was persecuting Christians, Jesus appeared to him and said “why are you persecuting ME?” Jesus acknowledged that Christians are members of His Body, therefore One with Him Who Is One with the Father.

How then do Mormons make sense of the Scriptures which talk about the Body of Christ with Jesus as the Head and Christians as the Bricks and Parts of the Body? The Church is a living, breathing organism Whos Name is Jesus. It is a Mystery of our Faith.

I find it truly outre that Mormons essentially decapitate Jesus. They cut off the head from the body? They hold the body is a separate organism and Jesus is what? Some transcendent being who rules over the body?

I am lost now.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top