Are Mormons Christian?

There has been a controversy from the beginning of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as to whether we are Christian or not. Those who are Catholic, Protestant, or other Christian denominations have argued that since the Mormon Church didn't begin as other Christian sects, as well as the fact that we don't look at Christ in the same way they do, they conclude that we are not truly Christian. Their argument is correct. The Mormon Church is totally different from all Christian denominations in several key ways that are very important to both Christians and Mormons.

God

The Godhead of Christians is very different from that of Mormons. Christians see their God as Jesus Christ. He is the manifestation of God in the flesh. He is one form of God; the other forms of God being a Spirit, the Holy Ghost, and the Father, who is without body parts or passions, whose center is everywhere, and whose circumference is nowhere, who is large enough to fill the Universe, but is so small He can dwell in your heart. God can take on any form because He is all-powerful. He is the same God manifesting in different ways; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost -- one God.

Mormons, on the other hand, see God very differently. The three manifestations of God, or the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are separate persons with individual identities, wills, and beings. "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us." (D&C 130:22) Their unity is found in will and purpose. Jesus Christ is God because He has submitted His will to that of the Father. Also, the Holy Ghost only does the will of the Father. This makes them one. There is only one God. "... of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen." (2 Nephi 31:21)

The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit who has a specific duty to manifest God to us. He is the comforter, He is the purifier, He is the instructor, giving knowledge and information. He ministers to the children of God, teaching them who their Father is, and how they can return to Him. This is done by speaking to the spirit of man, not to the senses of the body. He leads us along "the straight and narrow path" back to God. He is our constant connection with God.

Jesus is the Son of God -- literally. He looks just like His Father. He is the only One who is God's Son. Our Father in Heaven had no other children in the flesh, not Adam, not any. Jesus was born in the flesh of a mortal mother, and God the Father. He lived in submission to the will of His Father at all times. He learned, and grew up a little at a time, just like everyone else, the difference being that He did not transgress at any time the will of our Father in Heaven. By so doing, He showed us the path we need to take to return to our Father, to be like Him. He is the only One to tread that path so there is no other way to reach the Father. He suffered for the sins of all mankind, taking upon Himself the consequences of our misdeeds so we may repent and follow Him on the path. He didn't want to do it, but He submitted His will to that of the Father, making Him God.

God is the Father of our spirits so we are all brothers and sisters who are born on the Earth. Our Heavenly Father has a body like our mortal bodies, but it is perfect, complete, and whole. He has all power because He knows all things. He knows the end from the beginning of every road. He sees all things from the greatest to the smallest. He knows every consequence. All things bow to Him, obey Him, and worship Him. We cannot become one with Him unless we submit our will to His. He is the One we come to in prayer. "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace..." (Hebrews 4:16) We do not pray to the Virgin Mary, or Jesus, or the Holy Ghost, or our ancestors, or anyone else but our Father. Our purpose in life is to come to know Him and submit our will to His as Jesus did. "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3)

Objective

The goals of Christians and Mormons are also totally different. Christians have the goal of being with Christ as His servants, whereas Mormons look to being equal with Christ as gods in Eternity. The goal of Mormons is to become gods, not servants. We are to grow up to become like our Father in Heaven, just as we can become like our Earthly father. These goals are radically different. The Apostle Paul tells us that the early Christian church had this goal. "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ..." (Romans 8:17) This puts us on the same level as Christ, a member of the Godhead.

The purpose of life, therefore, is not to be servants of Christ, but rather to be like Him, becoming one with our Father. "And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father's kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him." (D&C 84:38) God Himself set this goal for us, it is His goal, and His work to help us be like Him. It is how we glorify Him. "For behold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39) "Eternal Life" is the life God, our Father, lives.

Lost knowledge

There is a difference between Christians and Mormons because the knowledge of Heaven was lost when the Apostles were killed. Most Christians today can only understand the lower "mansions" of Heaven because "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14) The knowledge of God was lost, and only those things which could be understood by the natural man remained. Paul spoke of three glories in Heaven, "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars..." (1 Corinthians 15:41) But Christians today are only aware of two: the glory of the stars refers to those who live selfishly, and the glory of the moon refers to those who live honorable lives. Paul speaks of the "third Heaven," but explains that this knowledge is not spoken, or given generally. "I knew a man in Christ... caught up to the third heaven... and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." (2 Corinthians 12:2-4) This is why an understanding of the "glory of the sun" was completely lost, until it was restored by the Prophet, Joseph Smith.

The actual difference, then, between Christians and Mormons is this higher glory. It changes everything. It gives us a higher goal. It tells us why we follow Christ. It gives us freedom and reason -- a purpose in life. God gave us life, and through His Only Begotten Son will give us Eternal Life, if we so desire. But, we cannot be saved in ignorance, we must learn what our goal is and how to reach it. Our goal is God. How to reach it is Jesus Christ. There is no other way. For this reason, "we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." (2 Nephi 25:26) Only through Him can we become like our Father, reaching our highest potential, the reason for our existence.

Because of the restoration of the greater knowledge, Mormons are not like Christians. We have different goals, and a different understanding of God and Christ. Philosophically, we are as far apart as Christians are from Jews. The term "Judeo-Christian" refers to all those who use the same Scriptures and quote the same prophets, but that is mostly only in terminology. There is a fundamental difference in beliefs, objectives, and purpose. It is for this reason that Mormons are not thought to be Christian, which is true: we are not much like Christians of the dark ages, nor like those reformed Christians. However, Mormons are very much like Christians of the Apostolic times, and all the times before Christ when the truth was revealed to Prophets.