“Mormons believe in Jesus Christ of Nazareth as the Son of God, “
Mormons believe Jesus Christ is a son of God, same as Satan, and everybody else for that matter. Capitalizing “Son” is highly deceptive.
“that he was born of a virgin, “
Not after!
Brigham Young, second prophet and president of the LDS church said,
“The birth of the Saviour was as natural as are the births of our children; it was the result of natural action. He partook of flesh and blood—was begotten of his Father, as we were of our fathers,” (Journal of Discourses, v. 8, p. 115).
Brigham Young also said, “Now, remember from this time forth, and for ever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost,” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 1, p. 51).
Brigham Young said, “When the time came that His first-born, the Saviour, should come into the world and take a tabernacle, the Father came Himself and favoured that spirit with a tabernacle instead of letting any other man do it. The Saviour was begotten by the Father of His spirit, by the same Being who is the Father of our spirits,” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 4, 1857, p. 218).
Joseph Fielding Smith, stated
“The birth of the Savior was a natural occurrence unattended with any degree of mysticism, and the Father God was the literal parent of Jesus in the flesh as well as in the spirit,” (Religious Truths Defined, p. 44, as cited in the book, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality, by Gerald and Sandra Tanner, Utah Lighthouse Ministry, P.O. Box 1884, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110, bookstore at 1358 South West Temple, 1982, p. 260).
Joseph Fielding Smith said, “They tell us the Book of Mormon states that Jesus was begotten of the Holy Ghost. I challenge that statement. The Book of Mormon teaches no such thing! Neither does the Bible.” (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, p. 19).
Bruce McConkie, who was a member of the First Council of the Seventy stated,
“Christ was begotten by an Immortal Father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers,” (Mormon Doctrine, 1966, p. 547).
“And Christ was born into the world as the literal Son of this Holy Being; he was born in the same personal, real, and literal sense that any mortal son is born to a mortal father. There is nothing figurative about his paternity; he was begotten, conceived and born in the normal and natural course of events,...Christ is the Son of Man, meaning that his Father (the Eternal God!) is a Holy Man.” (Mormon Doctrine, by Bruce McConkie, p. 742).
Heber C. Kimball who was a member of the first presidency said,
“In relation to the way in which I look upon the works of God and his creatures, I will say that I was naturally begotten; so was my father, and also my saviour Jesus Christ. According to the Scriptures, he is the first begotten of his father in the flesh, and there was nothing unnatural about it.” (Journal of Discourses, v. 8, p. 211).
“The man Joseph, the husband of Mary, did not, that we know of, have more than one wife, but Mary the wife of Joseph had another husband,” (Deseret News, October 10, 1866, as cited in the book, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality, by Gerald and Sandra Tanner, Utah Lighthouse Ministry, P.O. Box 1854, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110, bookstore at 1350 South West Temple, 1982, p. 261).
“lived a perfect life, performed miracles, suffered for our sins”
Lived a perfect Mormon life, suffered for our sins in the garden and not on the cross, and provided a salvation from the fall of Adam which is given to all regardless of faith or lack of faith, but otherwise to avoid damnation (which is defined as anything less than becoming a god) one must be baptized by “one with authority,” follow the Mormon commandments, learn secret handshakes, tithe 10 percent of your income, wear magic underwear, sustain the LDS prophets, and get your Temple Recommend in the first place so you can do all of that.
“That makes us Christians,”
Then so are the Baha’i, who believe their guy was the second coming of Jesus Christ.
“We use the Bible and in fact a recent study shows the average Mormon is more knowledgeable about the Bible than the average Evangelical.”
Probably a Mormon study, since I’ve never met a Mormon who ever quoted the Bible when it came to the existence of only one God. In fact, most Mormons who even bother to mention the scripture tell me all the Apostles got it wrong, especially the Apostle Paul for some odd reason.
