All About Mormons

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Mormons aren’t Christian because they don’t believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ and don’t worship Him.

Not true. Consider, for example, this quote from an official Mormon declaration: “We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles–that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.”

Mormons aren’t Christian because they accept scriptures besides the Bible.

It is true that Mormons have scriptures that other Christians don’t. But what about Catholics, who have seven deuterocanonical books that are not included in the Protestant canon? Are we all right with the claim that Catholics aren’t Christian? What about the anagignoskomena of the Eastern Orthodox Church? What about the extra books in the canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, or the Letter of Baruch, accepted as scripture by some Syriac churches? Why aren’t people calling for these churches to be excluded from the Christian fold?

What about the earliest Christians, who added the whole New Testament to the scriptures of their day? Are we comfortable saying that Jesus Christ was not a Christian? Peter, James, and John were not Christians?

Mormon’s aren’t Christian because they don’t believe in the Trinity.

The argument here is usually that Christians believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one God, and Mormons believe they are three. However, this is a misrepresentation of both Mormon and Christian theology. The Nicene-creed definition of the Trinity is that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are simultaneously three and one. Many Christians and some Christian leaders believe that God is a single being that “wears different hats,” effectively functioning in three roles. These Christians are actually modalists, not Trinitarians. Ironically, these modalist Christians are not expelled from their churches. Their view of the Trinity may be wrong from the standpoint of creedal Christianity, but they still have faith in Christ, so they are still considered to be Christian.

The same Christian charity is not generally applied to the Mormons. It’s not enough to say that Mormons are wrong in their view of the Trinity; it’s that their view disqualifies them from being Christian at all. This condemnation is particularly ironic because the critics generally misrepresent the Mormon position. Mormons do differ in their view of the Trinity; our view cannot be properly called “Nicene.” However, we are Trinitarian. Like creedal Christians, we also believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are simultaneously three and one. Our view is closer to the idea of “social Trinity,” eloquently described by the Catholic theologian Karl Rahner and the Protestant theologian Jürgen Moltmann, than the Nicene definition of Trinity, but we are Trinitarian nonetheless.

The well-respected Harper’s Bible Dictionary, published by the interdenominational Society of Biblical Literature, states the following: “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].” In other words, the first Christians, including Jesus Christ, were not Nicene Trinitarians. A convincing case can be made that they were social Trinitarians like the Mormons. Why are other Christians not climbing over each other to exclude Jesus Christ from the Christian fold? Why not apply the same standard to Christ’s early disciples that is so unforgivingly applied to the Mormons?

Mormons aren’t Christian because they believe that their works save them.

Wrong again. Mormons believe that to be saved one must accept Jesus Christ. But accepting Jesus doesn’t mean just saying pretty works or feeling pretty feelings. We truly accept Christ when we do the things he’s asked us to do. It’s not that our works save us. They are totally inadequate. Christ is the one who saves, but doing good works is part of the process of accepting Christ. He expects us to make a good-faith effort to do His will, even though He knows that effort will be totally inadequate.

Ironically, the view that works play a role in salvation is the predominant view in Christianity. Catholicism, the largest Christian denomination, likewise teaches that good works, together with faith, lead to salvation. Eastern Christianity embraces the same principle. Heck, even some Protestant Christians reject Sola Fide, and with good reason; the Bible is full of verses, including the sayings of Jesus Himself, that teach the importance of good works.

Mormons aren’t Christians because they believe Jesus is a created being.

It is true that Mormons believe God the Father created Jesus Christ. We take all that Bible stuff way to literally, I guess. When Jesus calls Himself the Son of God, we tend to believe Him. Sons are created by their Fathers. We don’t pretend to know the details of that creation, but the overriding principle is hard to deny.

Some have made the argument that because we believe Jesus is created, we do not really consider Him to be divine. This argument is entirely non sequitur. We see Jesus as God the Son, Jehovah of the Old Testament, and the divine Savior described in the New Testament. We worship Him. We’ve even named our church after Him.

Mormons aren’t Christian because they believe they can become equal to God.

Again, not true. We do believe in theosis, the idea that men can progress to become more like God in the next life. We’re hardly the only Christian denomination that accepts this theology; a similar idea is taught in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and is supported by the Bible. While we do believe in the possibility of eternal spiritual progress, we do not believe that we will ever be greater than the Father or the Son. We will always worship God as our Creator and Head.

Mormons aren’t Christians because they believe God has a physical body.

It is true that Mormons believe God has a physical body, and that does make us unique among Christian denominations. All Christians agree that Christ had a physical body during His mortal ministry here on earth. Was He not divine at that time? Of course He was; He was still God the Son. So clearly having a physical body does not mysteriously negate divinity. Physicality and divinity need not be mutually exclusive.

It’s worth pointing out, too, that there are many Bible passages that support the idea that God has a physical body. Mormons do not apologize for taking the Bible at face value and believing what it says.

Mormons only recently started claiming to be Christians anyway.

Not so. Mormons have always claimed to be a restoration of Christ’s original gospel. We always saw ourselves as Christians. It is true that Mormons do not now, nor have we ever, claimed to be Protestants or even Creedal (post-New-Testament) Christians. We don’t accept qualifying labels on our Christianity that could not also be applied to Christ Himself.

Conclusion

It is true that Mormons have beliefs that differ from those of Catholics and Protestants, but critics of the church grossly exaggerate the differences in order to portray Mormons as “other.” The truth is, the “theological distance,” so to speak, between Mormons and Protestants and Mormons and Catholics is about the same as that between Protestants and Catholics. We are different, yes, but not nearly so different that attempts to exclude us from the Christian fold are justified.