Christian Answer
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a group that is traditionally known as “Mormonism”. Its members are called “Latter-day Saints” or simply “Mormons”. It was founded in America by Joseph Smith in 1830, who claimed to have seen a vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ, who purportedly told him to restore the true Church, because all others had become corrupt.
All Christians of every denomination and church, including Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, and Eastern Orthodoxy, have never regarded the Latter-day Saints to be Christian because of key differences in each group’s teaching.
Latter-day Saints believe that:
- Joseph Smith restored the fullness of truth.
- There are many gods and goddesses (potentially millions) who rule other planets.
- God the Father was once a man on another planet who became a God by obeying his god’s teachings.
- Jesus is a created being of the Father who ascended to godhood.
- Jesus and Lucifer (Satan) are brothers. Lucifer and God had different plans of salvation; because Lucifer rejected God’s plan, he rebelled and became evil.
- We can become gods and rule other worlds by taking part in temple marriage (a sacred practice in Latter-day Saint teachings) and obeying the teachings of the Church faithfully.
Christians reject all of the above teachings, and instead teach that:
- Jesus Christ protected his Church from losing the fullness of truth (Matthew 16:18).
- There is only one God who created all things and was never himself created (Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 44:6, 8; Revelation 4:11).
- Jesus Christ is not a separate God, but rather one with the Father (John 10:30), the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, a term based on biblical teachings (Matthew 28:19; John 1:1, 14).
- Jesus is not a created being, but the Creator of all things (Colossians 1:16–17). Jesus is Lucifer’s Creator, not brother.
- Lucifer never had humanity’s best intentions in heart. From the very beginning he was a murderer and the father of lies (John 8:44).
- No one can become gods or goddesses (Isaiah 44:6, 8). But all people can have their sins forgiven and receive eternal life in Heaven by trusting in Jesus as their only Lord and Saviour as a free gift of God’s grace (Romans 6:23; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8; Colossians 1:13–14).
Ultimately, the Christian verdict is that the Latter-day Saints are not Christian because of these and many other differences in core teachings. To learn more about these profound differences, please see the main article below which explores this question in greater depth from a Christian perspective.
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