Talk:Mormonism and Nicene Christianity/Redundancies

Miscellaneous Arguments

Latter Day Saint Points of View

Reasons that Latter Day Saints consider themselves to be Christian

The Latter Day Saint movement claims that apostolic succession was broken during the Great Apostasy, or falling away from the teachings of Jesus Christ and later restored in the United States. The Saints maintain that God the Father and his son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith, Jr. near Palmyra, New York in 1820. They believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet whose task was to restore the Church of Christ and correct doctrines and practices to the Earth.

Although there are some differences in Mormon beliefs in the traditional Trinity as compared to their belief in what is commonly referred by Latter Day Saints as the Godhead, the doctrinal section of the article on Christianity is a fairly accurate representation of Latter Day Saint beliefs that coincide with mainstream Christianity.

Latter Day Saints believe that these ideas are the core beliefs of Christianity, and thus they profess that they are Christians. (See Nicene creed for a common statement of Christian faith).

Book Summary: Are Mormons Christians?, by Stephen E. Robinson

In his book, Are Mormons Christians?, Stephen E. Robinson, an LDS scholar, addresses the issue of excluding Latter-day Saints as Christians by definition. Some critics deny that Latter-day Saints are Christians by using the term 'Christian' in a (usually implicit) historical, traditional, canonical, doctrinal or sectarian sense that specifically excludes Latter-day Saints. However, using 'Christian' in such a way is merely a way of saying that it is only one particular history, tradition, canon, doctrine or sect that is justified when such justifications are debatable; in some uses such specialized definitions could fairly exclude the primitive church and Jesus Christ himself. Robinson also observes that detractors sometimes exclude the Latter-day Saints by contrasting a biased definition of Christian with a misrepresentation of Mormon doctrines, and also exclude by labeling the Church with ad hominem tags like cult. The exclusion phenomena which Robinson observes may be seen between relatively antagonist sects (or even between sects of other religions) past and present. Robinson's contribution is unique in presenting how the exclusion phenomena is applied to Latter-day Saints in particular (with an acknowledgement that some Latter-day Saints have also excluded other sects in a similar manner) and in presenting Christian history, tradition, canon, doctrine, etc. that supports a definition that is inclusive of Mormonism.

Critical Points of View

Mormonism differs from traditional Christianity in the following ways:

As discussed above, Mormons do not believe in the Christian Trinity; they believe that the Son and the Holy Ghost are separate beings, distinct from God the Father. In addition, they believe that God the Father and Jesus both have physical bodies; . Mormonism teaches that the Holy Ghost does not have a physical body but is a personage of Spirit. The trinitarian conception of salvation is contradicted by these views.

They believe Jesus visited the Americas after his death and ascension to Heaven, evidently adding words and acts unheard of by the Apostles, upon whom alone the Christian Church was founded. This article adds to the alien "feel" of Mormonism, as perceived by others called Christian.

Mormons reject much of the core of what they think are post-apostolic Christian thinking, doctrine, and creeds that they believe were established during what they refer to as the Great Apostasy. The view that Christianity, at some point, was lost to history until it was restored through Joseph Smith in upstate New York, is based on a radically unconventional approach to the historical record. Belief in the meaningfulness of the historical record, upon which Christians are accustomed to rely for correction, holds no value in disputes with Mormons, adding to the sense of alienation from Mormonism.

While affirming many traditional Christian beliefs, Mormons employ very different definitions of terms and phrases, at key points. From a critical point of view, this gives the appearance of deceitful disguise of many profound doctrinal differences, under the superficial form of orthodox language, while in substance contradicting Christian belief.

Most evangelical critics attack the Mormon use of extra-Biblical sources for belief or teachings (sola scriptura). Mormonism insists on the necessity of continuing revelation, for the guidance of the people of God.

Most other Christian churches, the Catholic, Orthodox, and many Protestant, do not recognise Mormons as even heretics, because of the massive belief difference.

Most Christians hold that the tremendous doctrinal differences between Mormonism and mainstream Christianity are significant enough to define Mormon teachings as non-Christian. Mormons believe these differences are due to corruption and apostasy in the early Christian era, specifically abandonment of revelation in favor of counsels of men, including rejection of the Trinity in favor of a Godhead containing three separate individuals. On the other hand, Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox in particular insist that the teachings of the church in those centuries were consistent with what the apostles taught, which the apostles learned from Christ.