I’m not the best person to argue against Mormon Theology, but I have examined a lot of it, and I know your characterizations about their beliefs are false.
“They believe that not only is Jesus eternal, that we are all eternal....That means He was created by God.”
That defies logic. If something was created, then it can’t be eternal. The Biblical Jesus was God forever and is the Creator of all things. That means Jesus created Lucifer and isn’t his brother. The Mormon Jesus used to be a man on a different planet and earned his divinity.
Mormons believe in polytheism. Christians believe in Monotheism - Jesus is the one and only God.
“So Mormons believe what some of the early Christians believed.” No, anyone who denies the trinity is not a Christian, but is a heretic. Mormons believe what other heretics have believed.
Mormon prophets taught that Jesus was married and had multiple wives. Since Mormons believe their prophets speak for God’s relevation, then that is the equivalent of their scripture.
The Mormon Jesus is not worshipped as Almighty God, like the Biblical Jesus. Mormons consider Jesus a lesser god to heavenly father. They may love him, but they don’t reserve their worship for him.
“Jesus of the Mormons offers salvation to all by virtue of His grace to all who seek it. Mormons believe that being saved is the same as traditional Christians believe being saved is.”
Laughable explanation....Grace by its definition can’t be earned. Christians believe that sinners are unworthy of God’s mercy, but because of God’s great love and grace, the penalty of sin was paid for at the cross by Jesus. Mormons believe that all spiritually minded people go to some level of paradise, so really, Jesus doesn’t save them from anything.
Mormons don’t rely on Christ’s commandments for their belief in higher levels of Heaven. Instead, they must obey Joseph Smith and their bishop. The Bishop decides if they are temple worthy. The passages from the Bible you paraphrase are completely out of context and don’t deal with salvation.
The temple rituals aren’t found in Mormon scriptures, but are copied from Masonic sources.
The Bible doesn’t allow someone else to earn your salvation for you. Despite your belief that it’s unselfish for someone to try to perform ceremonies on your behalf, it’s completely ineffectual and creepy.
“What I do question is, what difference do their different beliefs make as long as they worship Christ?”
It makes all the difference in the world!! First, their different beliefs mean they don’t worship the same Christ. If someone were to worship a banana and call it Jesus Christ, it wouldn’t be the same thing.
You point out nominal differences like the skin color of Jesus when he dwelt in the flesh, as if that is bulk of the differences. Jesus of the Bible is the One and God of all. He’s isn’t some lesser diety that used to be a man. That is a monumental difference.
Take off your blinders and realize that meanings behind terms mean something. Just because Mormons use the same terms doesn’t mean they believe things remotely close to Christianity.
I always like to use the analogy of Jim Caviezel. Like the Mormon Jesus, he dressed the part, spoke the same words (in the original language, no less), and was referred to as Jesus Christ within a specific context, but it makes all the difference in the world whether one worships and depends upon him for their salvation or the genuine article.
We weren’t warned about false Christs, false prophets, and false teachers for no reason.
place marker: While head is spinning from those who admit they don’t know mormonISM then spend pages explaining what lds do or do not teach and/or practice.