I have friends who will ask – Are Mormons, Christians? They think ANYONE who believes in Christ is a Christian.
Latter-Day Saints say they believe in Christ because it is his name is in the title of their church – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
If Mormons are Christians, then does that make Christians Mormons?
No, not exactly.
If you believe in Christ, then I have, to ask you – which Christ?
Let’s read 2 Corinthians 11:3-4, where Paul warns about this very thing.
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth ANOTHER JESUS whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”
We are warned about deceivers who would come preaching “another Jesus”.
Latter-Day Saints believe in a Jesus who came to earth 2000 years ago, lived a perfect life, suffered and died for us and then was resurrected.
But we need to keep in mind what it says in James 2:19 “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” So even demons believe!
Jesus said it himself in Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name…? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me…”
You see,many people who think they know the Lord and serve who they thought was Jesus Christ, don’t have the correct understanding of who God really is.
Latter-daySaints will argue that they believe in the same Jesus Christ as Christians do.
Their own church leaders have recognized there is a difference.
LDS Seventy, Bernard P. Brockbank, said “It is true that Christians worship a different Jesus Christ than is worshipped by the Mormons or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” The Living Christ (Bernard P. Brockbank, 1977 Annual General Conference, Ensign
And, in the June 20, 1998 “LDS Church News” we read: “In the bearing testimony of Jesus Christ, President Hinckley spoke of those outside the church who say Latter-day Saints do not believe in the traditional Christ. ‘No, I don’t,the traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of who I speak. For the Christ of who I speak has been revealed in this dispensation of the fulness of times.’”
A few years later,President Hinckley again stated: “As a Church we have critics, many of them. They say we do not believe in the traditional Christ of Christianity. There is some substance to what they say…” (Ensign, May 2002, p.90)
So, you see! Even the LDS leaders admit that the Mormon Jesus is a different Jesus than the Jesus of traditional Christianity.
But Latter-day Saints believe that Mormonism has more to add to the knowledge of who Jesus is.
There are many differences that we could discuss concerning the Jesus Mormons worship,and the Jesus Christians worship.
Jesus said in John 8:24 “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”
All I can say is – If the ONLY way to the Father is through His Son as taught in John 14:6, then anyone not believing in the biblical Jesus is in serious trouble.
