Posted on 06/01/2007 6:12:31 AM PDT by pby
Edited on 06/01/2007 6:55:53 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Is Mormonism Christian?
A Comparison of Mormonism and Historic Christianity Copyright © 1999 Institute for Religious Research. All rights reserved.
Is Mormonism Christian? This may seem like a puzzling question to many Mormons as well as to some Christians. Mormons will note that they include the Bible among the four books which they recognize as Scripture, and that belief in Jesus Christ is central to their faith, as evidenced by their official name, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Furthermore, many Christians have heard the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing Christian hymns and are favorably impressed with the Mormon commitment to high moral standards and strong families. Doesn’t it follow that Mormonism is Christian?
[snip]
Right, who cares if a president is a wiccan or a muslim or a satanist.
No, it is not.
Are you saying that the LDS and the SBC are the one true church, then...or are you saying that there is the one true church and then the church of the devil and then another church?
I am saying that no single organization is the church of the devil. Anyone who desires worldly things instead of the things of God is part of the devil's church, no matter what other organizations he may belong to. (See 1 Nephi 13:5–9). Unfortunately, that includes some Mormons too.
GOOD GRIEF!!! How is this CHRISTIAN?
****
How would you know unless you were taught by the Power Of the Holy Ghost?
Your finite mind alone could not witness to this is of God!
Any answers to the quotes by Mormon leaders on the church of the devil and your disagreement with them, logophile?
Therefore, according to your reasoning ... one can be a Christian without ... being saved.
Is this what you are arguing?
I think we have a winner on post #39! To which I might add, orthodoxy is always changing depending on who is doing the defining. F'rinstance, John F. Kennedy's view on tax cuts and military spending would be considered highly unorthodox in today's Democrat Party. He would either be a moderate Republican or an outlier like Joe Lieberman in today's Democrat Party.
Presenting it as a "free ride" is inaccurate.
-=-=-
Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:5-8; 1 Samuel 8:4-7,19-22; Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 31:31ff.; Matthew 16:18-19; 21:28-45; 24:22,31; 25:34; Luke 1:68-79; 2:29-32; 19:41-44; 24:44-48; John 1:12-14; 3:16; 5:24; 6:44-45,65; 10:27-29; 15:16; 17:6,12,17-18; Acts 20:32; Romans 5:9-10; 8:28-39; 10:12-15; 11:5-7,26-36; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; 15:24-28; Ephesians 1:4-23; 2:1-10; 3:1-11; Colossians 1:12-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 2 Timothy 1:12; 2:10,19; Hebrews 11:39–12:2; James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:2-5,13; 2:4-10; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:19; 3:2.
I know we all have sinned what I am talking about is sex, drugs and gambling or things that will lead one away from God!
please answer my question in how traditional churches have handled these broken commandments!
Are you under the impression repentants is works?
From Mormon belief statement:
How God teaches men
In order to declare the gospel of Christ, God has called inspired men, called prophets, to teach the world. These men receive a personal witness of the Savior and are given authority to teach his gospel. This authority is called "priesthood." The Bible contains the words of prophets who lived long ago and taught about the Savior. As the prophets teach and testify, the Holy Ghost touches the hearts of people and brings feelings of peace. This is why we feel the spirit (the Holy Ghost) when we study the Bible today. This spiritual confirmation of truth is how God confirms that the message of the prophets is true.
Throughout history God has followed this pattern of revelation to inspired men, who then teach the world, with confirmation of their words through the Holy Ghost. Sadly, people do not always accept the message of the prophets. When the people reject the prophets, this is called "apostasy," coming from a Greek word that signifies rebellion or falling away. When we read the scriptures, we can see a history of God calling a prophet who teaches the people to repent and turn to the Lord. The people eventually turn away from the Lord and reject the prophet, and thus a period of apostasy follows.
Fortunately, God is merciful and patient, and each time that the people reject the Lord, He waits and prepares His people, and, when the time is right, He sends His messengers again to declare His words and restore His gospel.
Repentance is not works but good works are a by-product of true repentance.
What is your exact question?
see John 6:39-44
I have wonderful friends and even some family who are LDS. They are God-fearing, clean-living, family-oriented and moral.
But they are not Trinitarian Christians.
That is irrelevant.
There are people who believe that crackers are really physical flesh, even though they still look and taste like crackers. Should we bar anyone with irrational beliefs from holding public office? If so then we should only be willing to support atheists and agnostics, as nearly all religious belief is irrational.
Right now Romney has some very rational ideas about how to run this country. By and large Mormons are some of the most patriotic people you will ever find. Indeed, if you weighed the patriotism of Mormons against any other denomination or sect, Mormons most likely are the most patriotic religious people in the country.
I suspect that Romney actually loves this country more than Bush. Bush seems ready to sell it to the Mexicans at a bargain price. At least Romney is willing to challenge that idiocy.
To answer your question, I would say that mere disagreement with the prophet on a particular issue is not the same as apostasy.
You have to keep in mind that we do not believe our leaders to be infallible. Nor do we take every word from the President of the Church to be revelation from God. As Joseph Smith once said, a prophet is a prophet only when he is acting as such.
Even when we disagree with them, we are expected to support and pray for our leaders and to recognize their authority to act in the Church. To do otherwise would be apostasy.
For example, I know latter-day saints who are committed Democrats and quite far to the Left of the political spectrum (at least for Mormons). They disagreed strongly with Ezra Taft Benson's conservative political views. Nevertheless, when he became President of the Church, they supported him wholeheartedly. They were able to separate the office from the man.
Ahhh but When I attended a Nazerine church I never heard them say ‘we are the only Christians everyone else is wrong. But Joseph smith did say that and in doing so excluded himself from having a broader community.
The Church of Latter Day saints refers to its self as the Mormon Church. Funny you didn't know that
(Visit Mormon.org to learn more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the Mormon Church)
http://www.lds.org
Click on about the Church page
Thanks for your kind words. I pray that we will always live up to them.
And you are correct: We are not Trinitarian Christians.
Kidd, its a narrow path, ‘closer’ than episcopalian does not count for anything.
Going out to http://www.mormon.org/, on the “God has a plan for your life” page, it says that:
Before you began your life on Earth, you lived with your Heavenly Father as one of His spirit children. Although it was a joyful existence, God knew that you could not continue to progress unless you left Him for a time.
He allowed you to come to Earth, where you would gain a physical body and would have experiences that would help you to learn and grow, fulfilling the purpose of the plan of salvation: to help you become more like your Heavenly Father.
According to the plan, you could not continue to progress continually without the opportunity to enter mortality and receive a physical body. Here on earth you would have experiences that would help you learn and grow, and you would be proven to see if [you would] do all things whatsoever the Lord would command ( Abraham 3:25). The purpose of the plan is to help you become more like your Heavenly Father. The fact that you are living on Earth means that you accepted Heavenly Father’s plan and came here wanting to do all you could to receive all He has to offer.
Knowing that we would commit sin in mortality, your loving Heavenly Father provided a Savior, Jesus Christ, who by His sacrifice would make it possible for all people who would comply with His gospel teachings to be forgiven through repentance and return to live with Him. Having a divine nature as a child of God, you can with the assistance and power of Christ, progress to become one day even as He is.
Understanding this eternal perspective can help you find happiness in your life, even amid trials and challenges. As a child of a loving Heavenly Father, you can view your struggles as stepping-stones bringing you closer to Him. As you ask for help and strength in earnest prayer, you can have the assurance that you are not alone. God loves you and will help you as you turn to Him.
God has blessed us with gifts to help us navigate our lives. One of the most precious gifts He has given everyone is the ability and power to make choices. Your Heavenly Father respects your freedom to choose and will never force you to choose what is right, nor will He stop you from being able to make poor choices. He will however, invite and endeavor to entice you ‘to do good continually’( Moroni 7:13).
He knows that whatever your choice, you are also choosing a consequence. Consequences may appear immediately or may come much later. But choosing good eventually leads to happiness, and wrong choices eventually lead to unhappiness. Heavenly Father allows you to make choices and experience their consequences so you may learn the difference between good and evil. In learning to choose good, you are creating a pattern that will help you become more like your Heavenly Father.
On the Creation page:
Under the direction of the Father, Jesus Christ created the earth as a place for you to live and gain experience. To progress and become like God, you had to obtain a body and be tested during a time of probation on the earth.
...
The Major difference is the Father and the Son have glorified, resurrected, immortal bodies.
On the Resurrection and Judgement page:
One of the great gifts of God to all who come to Earth is the Resurrection, which is made possible by the
Atonement of Jesus Christ. On the third day after His Crucifixion, Jesus Christ became the first person to be
resurrected. His spirit was reunited with His glorified, perfected body and He could no longer die.
Moro. 7: 48
48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, apray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true bfollowers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.
I’d say that this differs from what I understand Christian beliefs to be.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.