Are you also aware of the semantics of mormonism? Within mormon doctrine the term 'salvation' has two definitions. The first is a universal resurrection of all with a physical body at the end. That definition is foreign to Christianity. The second is more foreign, that is their progression to godhood. Both have significant challenges as well. Check their doctrine on the sufficiency of that sacrifice. You will find that abundant works are required before any benefit from that sacrifice can be applied.
Thank you both for your responses. I trust that our differences are as members of the same family and not overly contentious. But we do have differences.
I would never encourage someone to become Mormon. In its theology I absolutely believe it is ‘another Gospel.’ But I have found that very few Mormons are that familiar with the details of their theology in much the same way that most Christians would be very hard pressed to explain the difference between homoiousion and homoousion. Few Christians can enumerate the details of the presumed conflicts between predestination, foreordination and free will. The average Christian cannot tell you whether they are pre-trib, post-trib, amillenialist, postmillenialist, or nunc-millenialist.
Can the average Christian intelligently discuss the niceties of transubstantiation? How many Christians can adequately explain what Paul meant in Colossians 1:24 when he said, “Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church” and how that squares with the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. How about working out one’s salvation with ‘fear and trembling’ Philippians 2:12? Or how about transubstantiation and consubstantiation, or ‘real presence’ or symbolism? Open or closed communion?
No, the average Christian believes, correctly I think, along with Karl Barth who answered the question of how he would summarize the millions of words he had published in the area of theology by saying, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” In my experience, most of the Mormons I know, subscribe to that.
Yes, I am familiar with the semantics of Mormonism and I may be more conversant with their theology than many Mormons are. Most of my LDS friends accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and unless they are deliberately lying to me it is on the same basis that I do.
We quickly part ways in belief after that as so much of their doctrine immediately plunges in to works righteousness, exaltation, celestial marriage, eternal preexistence of matter, polytheistic interpretations of the Trinity, etc., etc. etc.. I believe they share in the foolishness of the Galatians. There is much of Mormon theology, as you both have pointed out, that is heretical; that elevates the status of their belief system to a cult. I differ in the extreme with those who would fancy themselves Mormon theologians and who uncritically buy into the heresies, fantasies and inconsistencies foisted upon them by Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and their entire line of ‘Prophets.’ So yes I always advise Mormons to seek out an orthodox Christian church, as difficult as that can be in their culture.
But I also part ways with those who want to argue over immersion vs. sprinkling, or, those who want to tell me — as a good friend pointed argued when I invited him to my baptism (by immersion) some 30 odd years ago — that I was going to Hell because the pastor used the wrong words. “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,” instead of “In the Name of Jesus.”
As Paul puts it in Romans 14, “Each... should be fully convinced in their own mind.” You may have answered all of these questions with enough certainty to be able to separate the sheep from the goats, though I would argue that there is only one who will do that because he is the only one who is qualified. Yes we are to exercise discernment and be wise. But we should fight the natural human tendency to vote people off the island. To demand that someone share my doctrinal understanding down to the last ‘iota’ is gnosticism and the last time I checked, that, too, is heresy.
I try not to spend too much time figuring out who should be tossed out of the lifeboat because of their theology. I am convinced that all of us will have much wrong theology to repent of in that moment when we see him face to face. Fortunately, we are not saved by our theology, but by the blood of God’s own son.