Question
Dear Gramps,
Are Mormons considered to be Christians?
Jessica
Answer
Dear Jessica,
Mormons are members of the very most Christ-centered church in the world! Here are some of the core beliefs of the Mormon religion concerning our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
1. Jesus Christ is a member of the trinity of the Godhead. He is the Son in reference to The Father, and the Son and the Holy Ghost, as is mentioned in the Book of Mormon, in 3 Nephi 11:27,
And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one.
By the way, that oneness is not a oneness of substance, but a oneness of purpose.
2. Jesus Christ, under the direction of the Father, is the creator of all the worlds, as stated by Paul in Ephesians 3:8-9,
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.
3. Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. By the infinite suffering of his great atoning sacrifice and the death he suffered on the cross, he paid to the demands of justice the full price for all the sins of all the children of our Father in Heaven. That great sacrifice resulted in the resurrection of all the children of God, without exception, and without regard to the kind of lives that they may have lived. The resurrection, brought about the sacrifice of the Savior is a free gift from God to all his children. In addition, because He took upon himself the sins of all the world, and paid for them the full price demanded by the law of justice, our Heavenly Father may extend his mercy in forgiving the sins of all who repent and are baptized for the remission of their sins, without violating the principle of justice. Christ is in very deed our Savior.
4. Jesus Christ and God the Father both appeared in person to the boy Joseph Smith in 1820 in answer to the boy’s sincere prayer appealing to God to know which of all the churches was right and which one he should join, according to the instructions given by James, that came with great power into the mind of the boy as he read them,
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord (James 1:5-7)
In answer to that prayer the follow scene took place,
My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)–and which I should join. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”
He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother inquired what the matter was. I replied, “Never mind, all is well–I am well enough off.” I then said to my mother, “I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true.” (Joseph Smith-History 1:18-20)
5. Under the direction of the Savior, His original church that was organized during his earthly ministry was restored to the earth again and is known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (called by many the Mormon Church), to distinguish from The Church of Jesus Christ of the former-day saints who were the members during and after his earthly ministry.
From the above you may see why the sectarian world is doing all it can to put down the Mormon Church; even to the blasphemous declarations that the Mormon Church is not a Christian church, in spite of the historical facts very much to the contrary, of which they cannot be ignorant.
Gramps
