Are Mormons Christians? The LDS church answers ‘Yes’, but are they right?  Consider this situation…one day your friend David decides to claim that he’s a woman.  He argues that he has 99% of the same qualities as a female and therefore should be considered one.  He builds his case on the fact that he’s the same height as the average woman, has long hair and gets his nails manicured.  To further his view, he explains that he doesn’t like football and prefers to spend his time shoe shopping.  These characteristics are generally considered feminine, but do they make David a girl?  Clearly not.  The essence of what makes one male or female is the presence or absence of one Y chromosome.  Surgery and make-up can alter appearance, but they do not change the essential characteristic that makes someone a male of female.

Now take this example and apply it to belief.  What do Christians believe about God?  We believe that He is one God in three persons.  The doctrine of the Trinity is the distinctive that separates Christianity from Judaism and Islam.  Similarly, what do Christians believe about Jesus?  We believe that, as God, He is eternal, uncreated and all powerful.  This historic view of Jesus is what distinguishes Christianity from all of the other religions that  claim some form of belief in or respect for Him.  For example, Muslims respect Jesus as a prophet and miracle worker, but not God.

Do Mormons believe in the Trinity?  The answer is ‘no’.  Do Mormons believe in the eternality of Jesus?  The answer is once again ‘no’.  Instead, they believe He is a created being like you or me.  Are Mormons Christian?  The answer is clear…they have a different God and different Jesus.  They are even clear about their rejection of these doctrines while attempting to hold on to the use of the word Christian in their official explanation of their view.  TheJust like David, in the illustration, shares feminine qualities, but is not a woman, the LDS church shares Christian characteristics (and more specifically Christian words with different meanings), but is not Christian church.  Don’t be fooled into thinking otherwise.

See this article to hear a Mormon explain the issue with Mormonism or read more about Mormon beliefs at Are Mormons Christians? on TGC or the longer CRI articled Are Mormons Christians?.