Mormonism is Not Christianity

Question from a Site Viewer
I have been seeing Mormon Missionaries and was set to be baptized but something stopped me. I had this feeling that I couldn’t ignore and I didn’t go through with the baptism. I can’t describe the feeling but it was really strong. And I began to do my own resarch about the Mormon church and was shocked about the things Joseph Smith did. He’s just a con artist. The reason I got involved with the church is because I fell in love with a Mormon and really wanted to be with him. I have now discovered that the Church is not what it appears to be and some really weird things go on that don’t sit well with me. I kind of feel almost sick when I go to the church. It’s almost a brainwashing thing where little kids go and talk about Joseph Smith and how great he was. Little kids think Joseph Smith was great? At eight years old? Seriously? When I was eight I was playing on the beach.

Anyway, I guess what I want to know is this: what is the true church and how can I find one? And is there any way I will get my ex-boyfriend to leave the Mormon church and attend a true church that has the true teachings of Jesus Christ? How can I convince him that Mormonism is not Christianity? I still love him and it hurts to see him believe so strongly in something that is false. Maybe it’s a lost cause. Should I just leave him to it? I’m torn between him and his religion. I want to be with him but without the Mormonism. And I want to find the true Church.

Tim’s Answer
Thank you for writing. Mormonism is not Christianity, at least not Christianity as taught by Jesus and His disciples. Mormonism claims that the church strayed from the truth over the centuries and Joseph Smith restored the true church. But that claim is simply wrong. Jesus and His disciples lived in the first century A.D. We have writings from the first and second centuries A.D. What the church believed then is what the church believes now. The church has not strayed from the faith. I like to challenge Mormons to go back and read Clement of Rome, who wrote during the time of the Apostle John; or Ignatius of Antioch, who wrote around 105 A.D. and knew the apostles personally; or Matthias (a word meaning disciple or follower), an anonymous work written around 100 A.D.; or Polycarp, who was a friend of John the Apostle of Jesus; or Ireneus, who was a disciple of Polycarp. And there are other sources of early church teaching as well. And, of course, one can always and should always go to the Bible itself to see if what is being taught is consistent with what God has given to us. Those who seek to follow the Bible will find that what they believe is the same as what the believers in the first and second centuries believed. Accordingly, I am glad that you have done some searching to discern the truth of these matters. We should not be gullible to fall for everything that comes along.

Ultimately, what anyone says, including myself, should be checked. It is not that we should all be skeptical of everything, but it is good to listen carefully and then check carefully.

You ask what the true church is. It would be nice to be able to tell you that the true church is the church around the corner, or the church downtown, etc. The truth is that the true church consists of those who trust Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the Bible and seek to follow Him. Those who believed in Jesus gathered together to form the church (Acts 2:47). A true local church is one that teaches what the Bible teaches and seeks to draw its members into a closer and vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ. Sometimes it might be a large church. Sometimes it may be a small church. It may have different names, but always its leadership seeks to guide church members into God; to read the Bible, memorize it, pray, and serve God; and to develop deep and personal relationship with the living Jesus. As Jesus taught, we need to come to Him (Matthew 11:28-30) and abide (or stay) in Him (John 15:1-8).

Unfortunately, I do not know where you are and so I do not know what would be a good church near you that you could attend. I can tell you some churches not to attend, as they do not follow ancient and historic Christian teaching. Of course, you have already identified Mormonism. I’ll say it again–Mormonism is not Christianity. Besides Mormonism, I would encourage you to stay away from Jehovah Witnesses or the Kingdom Hall as it is sometimes called, as they have a deviant view of Jesus (they deny that Jesus is God) and have several other positions that are at odds with what the Bible teaches, what Jesus’ disciples taught, and what Christians have always believed and practiced. I would likewise avoid Unitarians as they also deny many of the historic Christian teachings.

I personally attend a local community church that is not associated with any denomination or association of churches. I like it because it teaches straight from the Bible and encourages us all to study the Bible and seek to live out our lives in love for God and love for humanity. But I am not against denominations, as long as they teach the Bible as the Word of God. There is a position that exists in many of the older established churches that is known as theological liberalism, where the Bible ceases to be the authority and Christianity becomes more of a morality religion than a personal faith relationship with the one true God. I would not want to send you to a church that would not hold to the truth of Scripture as Jesus taught.

I trust this will help you. I also encourage you to get a Bible, if you do not have one, and begin reading it. I know there are many English versions of the Bible. Most of them are very good. I might suggest a New International Version. The Bible is composed of 66 different books. About two-thirds of the way through the Bible there are the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). I would encourage you to begin reading them. You might want to read them more quickly at first and more slowly later. You also may want to read the book of Ephesians, one of the Apostle Paul’s writings. It is a little book but has much to say about Jesus and how Christians are to live in Him.

May the Lord Jesus guide you into a growing and living fellowship of believers.

a pilgrim,

tim

7 thoughts on “Mormonism is Not Christianity”

  1. Shalom! Thanks for writing this article,I just want to add that Only the Holy Spirit,the true spirit of God can tell you about false christian teachings!

    Believe you me,God loves us all and He wants us to know the truth so we might be saved! A couple of weeks ago I felt something wrong in a church I used to fellowship,it’s a small church well it has been that way for many years.. There was no God’s love but the earthly one,if you ve experience d God’s love among His childrens you’d know what I am talking about! People in that church,preached what is the opposite of their daily lives,that what happens when you open a church for your own glory. Now I am bless to be a member in a good christian church and God’s grace and mercy just flows in my life everyday through the words of God!!

    Shalom

  2. I understand your concern for the LDS or Mormon church not being Christian, but I challenge you in that idea. Christianity is where people follow Christ, they preach Christ crucified, risen and reigning supreme. They preach the Love of God and desire to find it in their lives through seeking Him in the scriptures, and in love of God, self and others. They adhere to the two great commandments. The Mormons do not have the same organs as you do, but if you look at the teachings they are very similar. And above and beyond that we are not set to be the judges of anyone but ourselves. If we try and judge others without the Righteous Judge then we only bring condemnation upon ourselves. Christ didn’t even condemn those who didn’t believe what He said. He came not to condemn but to save. If we were to unite in love and faithfulness to God we would see that He is in each of us when we follow Christ, no matter what church we attend. Joseph Smith was not perfect, but neither are you. Be careful not to require it of him unless you want it required of you. Chose what the Lord tells you to choose and allow all others to do the same. Fear should not be the bully pulpit to get anyone to see or not see truth. Truth is about love and hope. We all must come to love each other if we want to have a shot at being with God after this life. If we could only love each other and let the judgment go, allowing God to do that we would all be so much happier and have Christ fellowship with us more.

    1. Greetings Karen.
      After reading your reply, I feel the need to comment, I hope you will see my words as sincere. Christianity is truth, authentic, verity, it is never changing and most of all, it is fact. It is the opposite of falsehood, dishonesty and ignorance. Christianity presents itself as the unequaled reality that all mankind will one day face. No one will be allowed to call upon any other reality because there will be no other. Jesus said “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free”, those who live in falsehood, whether from innocent ignorance or purposeful blindness, are in bondage. Those in the Mormon church know full well the error of their belief and continue to boldly proclaim that which is not true. (cont.)

      1. Your comment about Jesus not condemning those who did not believe Him is true, but never the less, He most definitely pointed out their error and warned them of their doom, if they did not turn to the truth. To label the Mormon church as just another Christian church is very very wrong and does a great deal of damage to those who are caught up in its lies. You also mention the need to “unite in love and faithfulness to God”, this is a noble thought but naïve, no amount of love and faithfulness will bring unity unless it is based on truth. John 4:24 states ” God is spirit, so THOSE who worship Him MUST do so in spirit and TRUTH”. Pontus Pilot mocked Jesus when he said “what is truth?”, let us not also ignore the reality of the truth of God.

    2. The issue is Mormons believe in a different Jesus. They believe that Jesus Christ is their elder brother because of his status as the firstborn of all the spirit children of God the Father. This was actually articulated and recorded in 1871 by Orson Pratt:

      “Now, who is Jesus? He is only our brother, but happens to be the firstborn. What, the firstborn in the flesh? O no, there were millions and millions born in the flesh before he was. Then how is he the firstborn? Because he is the eldest—the first one born of the whole family of spirits and therefore he is our elder brother.”

      Mormons live a clean life because of their belief of progression to be Gods themselves. The things you find as you peel back the Mormon faith. Can you bring people to God to take them away from God?

  3. Within the past year I was approached by 2 Mormons on a sidewalk. I initially (mistakenly) thought they were Jehovah’s Witnesses. I had been recently challenged to LISTEN, and ASK GOOD QUESTIONS, as Jesus often did in Scriptures. So I posed some questions, listened, and interestingly the 2 had very different reactions. Now God alone judges the heart, but from my perspective one genuinely was seeking TRUTH, while the other seemed increasingly perturbed by Truth. Jesus is The Truth.

    1. So I share this to point out that while Truth does not change (and Jesus claimed to not only reveal truth, but to BE Truth), some who find themselves in a godless religion of any sort may be seeking. Jesus says “seek and you WILL find.” Nicodemus was in a religious group that had no room for Christ, and yet Jesus welcomed him, listened and answered his questions. Out of that exchange we have the powerful words of John 3:16 “whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting…

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