Thank you for your reply.
“Jesus said he is the way, the truth, and the life. There is no other way. There is no other truth. There is no other life.”
Agreed. 100%.
“Like I said in another post, Mormons don’t get to decide if they are Christians or not, orthodox Christians get to decide if Mormons are or not, and they are not, I am sorry to say.”
This statement really surprises me. To me, you are saying that you are taking upon yourself the power of Christ to say who follows Him, and who doesn’t.
I firmly believe that He retains the privilege of making this judgment to Himself. I can only hope I qualify; but you do not get a vote in the matter. Please, do not try to abrogate such authority.
“Why do Mormons want to be considered Christians? And if you know that LDS is not orthodox Christianity, does it bother you to be “unorthodox”?”
We are Christians, because we believe in, worship, and follow Jesus Christ - independently of whether or not you would consider us such.
We do not shy away from the word “unorthodox.” There are many things that we believe that flatly contradict orthodoxy; and we are not embarrassed to admit it. To be frank, many “orthodox” doctrines are extra-Biblical in nature - they are traditions, handed down by men who didn’t have any better answers. I believe that God provides better answers through contemporary revelation to His church via His prophets. Not one such conflicting doctrine has yet been disproved to my satisfaction. For myself, if being unorthodox means being closer to Christ, then I will embrace the description.
You saying I am not a Christian is like me saying you have three feet. As much as I may repeat myself, it just doesn’t make it true, no matter how many reliable sources I have telling me that it is so.
Best regards.
[This statement really surprises me. To me, you are saying that you are taking upon yourself the power of Christ to say who follows Him, and who doesn’t.
I firmly believe that He retains the privilege of making this judgment to Himself. I can only hope I qualify; but you do not get a vote in the matter. Please, do not try to abrogate such authority.]
That is quite an inherently flawed argument and the reason we believe Mormons will spin anything. If Hitler said he was a Christian, by your logic we would have no right to cull him from the Church. God decides who gets into heaven, but we have free will to decide what is right and wrong. Myself, and many others, believe Mormons are false prophets, we would be wrong not to speak up.
Here is a counter example. You probably don’t know this but I believe 100% in the BOM and Joseph Smith. I also believe in the Satanic Bible and blood sacrifices. I want to marry your sister - tell me why you object to another Mormon marrying your sister - but remember, don’t be judgmental.
Okay, let me put it this way and see if it makes sense to you:
Let’s say that I tell you I am a Mormon, but I don’t believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and I don’t believe that the BOM is the word of God, and I don’t believe in celestial marriage. Am I a Mormon? How do you know?
Now let’s say that there are 3 million people who believe they are Mormons, just like I do, but they don’t believe in Joseph Smith, the BOM, or celestial marriage. And let’s say we all meet together regularly, but we don’t call it a ward, we call it a wigwam. And we go door-to-door telling people we are Mormons and asking them to become Mormons too.
How would the LDS feel about these people? Would they be recognized as true Mormons? How would you feel about these people calling themselves Mormons? Would you not seek to differentiate yourself and true Mormons from them? Would you not feel a bit insulted that they are misrepresenting your religion’s name and your religion’s beliefs?
Yes only God will be the final judge as to who gets into heaven and who doesn’t, who are true believers and who aren’t. But the Bible warns us to be wary of false teachers and false prophets. That must mean there are false teachers and false prophets out there wanting to deceive us. We are to use discernment and use the Bible to help us know what is true and what is not true.
So we as Christians certainly do have a right to discern and to proclaim what teachings are in line with Christianity and what teachings are non-Christian.
If for example someone says they believe in, worship, and follow Jesus Christ, but they believe he came to Earth in a space ship, and believe that salvation is earned through good singing, are they a Christian? No. Saying that they believe in, worship, and follow Jesus does not in and of itself make someone a Christian. A Christian acknowledges and accepts all of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, as defined by Christians.
I hope that makes sense. Everything I say, I say with respect and compassion, and also with conviction. I really do feel sorry that so many people in this world are deceived by false or errant teaching.