[sand lake bar]

Just want to let you know that a lot of us support what you’re saying. As far as I’m concerned (and I think as far as most mainstream religious scholarship is concerned), Mormanism is a form of Christianity. But it really doesn’t matter how we label it. Mormans are good people who do good work in this world. I’m not a Morman, but I have many friends who are. Of course I’d vote for a Morman presidential candidate, as long as I saw him/her as the better candidate.

[Colofornian]

Mormans are good people who do good work in this world

(Hey, if you were auditioning for godhood, you'd be on your best behavior, too!)

[Tennessee Nana]

Mormans are good people who do good work in this world
____________________________________________________

Kid they didnt come near my COG/Baptist county when we needeed help after the tornadoes last month

Oh thats right you said “good work”

as in doing good works and working their way into their after life

You never did accuse the mormons of helping their non-mormon neighbors

I stand corrected

[ejonesie22]

If you are going to make the claim that Mainstream religious scholarship considers Mormonism Christian (which it doesn’t)in an attempt to defend MormONism spell MormON right...

[muawiyah]

No doubt from the point of view of a Chinese Buddhist, or a Chinese Taoist, Mormonism and Christianity would appear to be essentially the same thing with only a few points of trivial difference.

On the other hand from the viewpoint of a Western Christian or Mormon, finding any difference between Taoists and Buddhists is equally difficult.

Getting beyond the problem of observation from afar there's this problem of self-depiction. The current Mormon church (in all it's many manifestations ~ hundreds of groups) is made up mostly of CONVERTS who were used to calling themselves Christian.

I think that explains a lot of it.

A buddy of mine in the Army became a Mormon because tithing (and its promise) was less costly than a comparable insurance policy. I'm sure he still thinks of himself as a Christian ~ but I never did. He's kind of like Milo Minderbender in Catch 22.

[Elsie]

As far as I’m concerned (and I think as far as most mainstream religious scholarship is concerned), Mormanism is a form of Christianity.

Then you think incorrectly.

---

The general meetings of the United Methodist Church, and Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Southern Baptist Convention have stated, in their opinion, the LDS is a denomination that is separate from the Christian religion:

 

	The General Conference of the United Methodist Church approved a document on 2000-MAY-10:  "Sacramental Faithfulness: Guidelines for Receiving People From the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)"  The document says, in part, that: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by self-definition, does not fit within the bounds of the historic, apostolic tradition of Christian faith...[Mormons'] explicitly [profess] distinction and separateness from the ecumenical community." The document also recommends that individual Mormons first formally remove themselves from the LDS before seeking membership in the United Methodist Church.
	According to a pamphlet produced by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), "...Mormonism is a new and emerging religious tradition distinct from the historic apostolic tradition of the Christian Church, of which Presbyterians are a part...Latter-day Saints understand themselves to be separate from the continuous witness to Jesus Christ, from the apostles to the present, affirmed by churches of the "catholic" tradition. Latter-day Saints and the historic churches view the canon of scriptures and interpret shared scriptures in radically different ways. They use the same words with dissimilar meanings. When the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints speaks of the Trinity, Christ's death and resurrection, and salvation, the theology and practices related to these set it apart from the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant churches." Presbyterians do not recognize the baptism administered to Mormons. A convert must be re-baptized. Similarly Presbyterians do not allow LDS officials to administer the Lord's Supper.
	The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) agrees closely with LDS beliefs concerning the submissive role for women in marriage, exclusion of women from the clergy, opposition to abortion access, equal rights for gays and lesbians, physician assisted suicide, opposition to same-sex marriage, etc. But the SBC has long criticized the LDS church theologically. They regard Mormons in the same category as Jews, Muslims. etc. All are viewed as non-Christians who are destined to spend eternity in Hell, and need to be "saved" in order to attain Heaven.

[DelphiUser]

Thanks, I think I'm pretty mainstream, then again, I think most people do, even the people at the fringe.

Delph