In “Is Mormonism Christian? Part 1“, I described the four fundamental marks of the Christian faith. In ““, I compared Mormon doctrine with these four defining features of Christianity and found it did not meet the test on any of the marks. My analysis is not unique by any means. Most major denominations and theologians classify Mormonism as a theological cult, because although it calls itself Christian, it does not follow Christian teaching. In this final article of the series, I want to address the question of how Christians should respond to Mormons.
The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV) But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. The Bible teaches that every person has been created by God in the image of God and deserves to be treated with gentleness and respect. As Christians teach others about what the Bible says, we must not be judgemental or prideful. However, when others raise the question about Mormonism or Mormons claim to be Christian, Christians have an obligation to give a truthful answer.
I have come to the conclusion that the Mormon religion is not Christian. If you would like to do further research on the topic, I have found the following books helpful.
Fast Facts on Mormonism – John Ankerberg and John Weldon
Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Mormons – Ron Rhodes and Marian Bodine
Handbook of Today’s Religions – Josh McDowell and Don Stewart
The New Mormon Challenge – Editor Francis Beckwith et al.
However, what about individual Mormons? Does the fact that the doctrine of Mormonism is not Christian, mean that all Mormons are not Christians? The answer is that individual Mormons may indeed be misguided Christians and the reasons are two-fold. First of all, one of the Mormon Scriptures is the Bible. Anyone reading the Bible may come to the knowledge of the truth. Secondly, it is well known that a high percentage of Mormon converts come from Bible-believing churches. Pollster George Barna finds that the percentage of born-again adults, those who believe “they have made a personal commitment to Christ that is important in their life today and also say that when they die they know they will go to Heaven solely because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior,” range from a high of 81% in the Assemblies of God to a low of 25% in the Catholic church. The Mormon church suprisingly has 34% of born-again adults according to Barna.
How should you respond to a Mormon that you know personally? As with any other person, you should seek to determine whether they are truly a Christian, not assuming to know their personal relationship with God based on what church they go to. If they are truly Christians, endeavor to discuss with them the problems with Mormon doctrine compared to biblical teaching. If they are not Christians, seek to get them to read and discuss the Bible and contrast it to Mormonism. Reference books on Mormonism, such as those mentioned above will be important to address the issues. Above all, do not take a claim to be a Christian from anyone, including a Mormon, at face value.
In response to the question, “Are Mormons Christians?”, an article on the official Mormon site gave the following answer.
Why would anyone say such a thing? Isn’t the name of our church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Do we not worship Christ? Is not the Book of Mormon another testament of Jesus Christ? How could anyone seriously doubt that Latter-day Saints are Christians?
None of the reasons given in this response has anything to do with the basic marks of Christianity given in the Bible. 2 Corinthians 4:4 (NIV) The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. May we pray that God opens the eyes of Mormons to truly see the gospel of Jesus Christ.