I thought the same for 20 years until a friend, who is Mormon, said something that was so far out of the ordinary I finally looked into LDS.
There is zero point in arguing we are the same, as I found out.
They don’t believe we are. In fact, their missionaries are well trained in the 3 doctrines they run into while on mission.
That is the Catholic, Protestant and Lutheran doctrines. LDS has a completely different doctrine, divorced from all others and distinctly different.
When you run into a well read and educated Mormon they can explain the difference in doctrine and why theirs is the only one.
They don’t believe you are a Christian. But rather, they are Christian and you worship in an apostate religion and as Joseph Smith and every single prophet of LDS has proclaimed Christians are “Apostates and Whores of Babylon”.
Doesn’t make them bad or me a good person. Just people who have a difference in doctrine. One who believes the Holy Bible is complete, accurate and sufficient, while the other believes the Bible to contain errors, a missing book and worships from to additional books which are considered holy in their faith.
Personally, I am not offended in their view, particularly since I have been reading diligently and learning about LDS for the last two years.
I can provided specifics if required but we can start with “The Pearl of Great Price”.
A friend was telling me the story of the Pearl of Great Price and I became confused, as the version he was telling me I had never heard.
I explained I had never heard that and the story of the Pearl of Great Price is familiar to most Christians as part of the three great parables, with the PoP explaining why works could never get you into heaven or make you more than what God sees us as.
This friend went ballistic and said there was no such thing and the story was unique to LDS scripture alone.
I tried to diffuse the situation saying “It may very well be in LDS scripture but any Christian would be familiar with Mathew 13”. With that I started to tell the three parables.
Guy went through the roof, at that point, and I said “Look may be I don’t understand this correctly. It’s not as if I am a theologian”.
Got him to agree we should change the subject and later I went to Mathew again and there it was plain as day; The Three Parables which are closed out by the “New Testament” version of the the Pearl of Great Price.
I couldn’t believe after all these of years of not even opening a Bible I had recalled, much less retained, the passage.
I have concluded LDS needs to co-opt, plagiarize and denigrate all of Christianity, otherwise why would there be a need for “The Restoration”.
Still, it’s even funnier being a Master Mason, seeing the same ceremonies, rites and rituals you find in Masonry as part of their worthiness program.
None of it’s an accident and they now want to claim they are Christian? After railing all of Christianity for 150 years?
Why?
So they can mainstream their religion while still calling us apostates and whores of Babylon?
No way, man.
You could well replace LDS with any "false" religion because they all have these traits. Some are more subtle than others and it's not until one, if they have not had scripturally sound teaching, is immersed neck deep that they might recognize that.
The 'Holy Spirit' guides each of the Christians. It's that little 'stirring' in the heart that says "this doesn't seem right" or "this doesn't sound right" that believers must be receptive to and responsive to. Then seeking out the absolute Truth which can only be found the The Holy Scriptures and not in a man's book.
We are to 'try' the spirits and we are not to indulge in or participate in false teachings by man.
In other words; if it ain't in the Bible, it ain't happening.
(Really enjoy your postings Vendome)
I too am a Master Mason and resent the theft of our rituals by the fraud, J. Smith. Free Masonry is not a religion, as you well know but Smith's theft and incorporation of the rituals into his made up religion, misleads some to think that Free masonry is a religion too.