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 | LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie: "Mormonism is Christianity; Christianity is Mormonism; they are one and the same, they are not to be distinguished from each other in the minutest detail...Mormons are true Christians." From "Mormon Doctrine," Page 513. 6 |
| LDS President Gordon B, Hinckley, referring to Mormon doctrine: "The work is unique and wonderful. It is fundamentally different from every other body of religious doctrine of which I know." 2007 LDS semiannual conference. 7 |
Overview:
Faith groups in the LDS Restorationist Movement trace their history back to the Church of Christ organized by Joseph Smith in 1830. They believe that: | In the 2nd Century CE, the Christian movement died out early , when religious leaders abandoned many of the original teachings of Jesus Christ, Paul and the other apostles. |
| It was restored by Joseph Smith on 1830-APR-06 CE, when he founded the Church of Christ. |
Smith's original denomination has fragmented into many faith groups, mainly because of:
| Leadership conflicts during the 1840s, triggered by the assassination of Joseph Smith, and |
| Additional conflicts during the 1890s over the
suspension of polygyny, which had formed a central part of Joseph Smith's teachings. 1 |
| Many are from Evangelical Christians who deny that the Mormons are Christians. |
| Others are from Mormons who claim that their denomination is the only true Mormon faith group, and thus the only group who legitimately can refer to themselves as Mormon. |
Are the Mormon denominations Christians?
The answer is a solid yes and no. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) certainly regards itself as Christian. The Church leadership and membership believe that they represent the true Christian church. They teach that the Christian movement lost its way in the second century CE and was restored by Joseph Smith in 1830. | ||||||||||
| Many dozens of other Restorationist denominations also regard themselves as the true descendents of the original Mormon church, the Church of Christ. They regard the LDS and other Mormon denominations as schismatic groups who have departed from the true faith. | ||||||||||
| The LDS regard members of conservative, mainline and liberal Christian denominations to be Christians, even though their faith groups teach many beliefs not shared by the LDS. | ||||||||||
| A few liberal and mainline Christians consider the Mormon movement and its many dozens of denominations to be a legitimate part of Christianity, in spite of their many unique beliefs. | ||||||||||
| Many conservative Christians consider most denominations in the Restorationist movement to be non-Christian. That is because the latter's beliefs in the nature of God, the Trinity, salvation, Heaven, Hell, the early Christian movement, etc. deviate so greatly from traditional conservative Protestant theology. | ||||||||||
| A 2008-JAN survey by Barna Research -- the largest and most respected
religious polling group in the U.S. -- was triggered by the candidacy of
Mitt Romney, a Mormon, for president in 2008. The data showed that:
| ||||||||||
| The Roman Catholic Church considers those Christian denominations other than themselves and Eastern Orthodoxy to be not "churches in the proper sense." However, their members are "incorporated in Christ and thus are in a certain communion, albeit imperfect, with the [Roman Catholic] Church." 2 More details. | ||||||||||
| Bill Broadway of the Washington Post wrote: |
There is no consensus on the definition of the term "Christian." Some Americans define "Christian" broadly to include about 75% of adults in the country; others define the term so narrowly that they consider fewer than 1% of American adults to be Christians. So, a consensus on whether the LDS and the other Restorationist denominations are Christian appears to be impossible."The rejection of Mormonism extends well beyond Southern Baptists and other evangelicals to include the most liberal Christian denominations. In a key sign of that rejection, a theological line in the sand, most traditional churches require baptism of all Mormon converts to their faith—the same way Mormons require converts from other churches to be rebaptized." 5
Results from a small survey of Christian clergy:
In the year 2000, Scott Gordon and Dennis Egget of The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) -- a LDS positive group -- sent a survey to 430 Christian clergy who led non-Mormon congregations. They received only 95 responses, which is what one would expect from a survey of this type. They found that only 6% of Christian clergy classified the LDS church as Christian.When asked: "In what category would you place The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)?:"
| 75% said "non-Christian" |
| 14% said "some members are Christian; others are not" |
| 6% said "Christian" |
| 3% said that the church is non-Christians but that some Mormons are Christians |
| 1% didn't know. |
| 55% said "well meaning but misguided." |
| 23% said "non-Christian cultists" |
| 12% said "A major threat to all Christian denominations" |
| 8% said "Well meaning but misguided non-Christian cultists" |
| 2% said "Good Christians" |
| 1% said "Well meaning but misguided non-Christian cultists and a threat to all Christian denominations." 3 |
This web site's position on whether the LDS church is Christian:
We define as "Christian" any individual or group who sincerely, devoutly, and seriously considers themselves to be Christian. This includes the three main divisions in the primitive Christian movement of the first century CE: Jewish Christianity, Pauline Christianity, and Gnostic Christianity. It includes today's faith groups as widely divergent in belief as Anglicans, Christian Scientists, Eastern Orthodox, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Roman Catholics, Southern Baptists, Unificationists, denominations within the Lutheran, Methodist and Presbyterian movements, etc. Needless to say, we get many angry Emails every week from sincere Christians who are unhappy with our degree of inclusiveness.When comparing Christian faith groups, a case can be made that the gaps in belief between the LDS Church and the Southern Baptist Convention is just as broad as the gaps between the latter and the primitive Jewish Christian movement in the 4th decade of the first century CE.
If the Restorationist denominations are Christian, are they also Protestant?
Again, the answer is a solid yes and no.Assuming for the moment that the LDS Restorationist denominations are part of the Christian religion:
| Some Christians divide the tens of thousands of denominations which consider themselves to be Christian into three main groups: Roman Catholics, Protestants and Eastern Orthodox. within this classification, the Mormon movement would be considered part of Protestantism. |
| Some make four divisions: Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant and Roman Catholic. Again, Mormons would be considered Protestant. |
| Others define Protestantism as consisting of those faith group who trace their history back to the Protestant Reformation and Luther's 95 theses. Some include the Restorationist denominations as a fourth or fifth group. Within this classification, the Mormon churches would be considered part of the Restorationist group and not Protestant. |
| And of course, many people consider the Restorationist movement to be non-Christian. In that case, the question is moot. |
Which denomination(s) can legitimately be called "Mormon?"
Generally speaking, the LDS and most of the other LDS Restorationist denominations consider their own faith group to be the true successors to Joseph Smith's original founding of the Church of Christ in 1830. Most regards the other Restorationist groups as schismatic denominations. So, for example, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) considers the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) to be a heretical schismatic group. And the feeling is mutual.The LDS objects strenuously to terms commonly used by the media such as "fundamentalist Mormons" or "Mormon sect" or "polygamous Mormons" to refer to other Restorationist groups who trace their history back to Joseph Smith's original church. Many of these groups actively promote polygyny among their members. The LDS at least temporarily suspended the practice of polygyny in the late 19th century.Kim Farah, spokesperson of the LDS church, wrote in a news release:"There is no such thing as a 'polygamous' Mormon. Mormon is a common name for a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." 4Unfortunately, there is no consensus on this point. Some LDS Restorationist denominations use the terms "Mormon," "Original Mormons" or "Fundamentalist Mormons" to refer to themselves.
Which is the "true" Mormon denomination?:
This is an unanswerable question. All of the many dozens of Restorationist denominations consider themselves as having originated in Joseph Smith's original faith group -- The Church of Jesus Christ. Most regard themselves as the only "true" Restorationist denomination and the only "true" Christian church.
Additional information:
| Theological criticisms from other Christian denominations faced by the LDS |
Footnotes and references used:
- We receive a lot of Emails saying that our use of "polygyny" is a
typo and that the correct word is "polygamy." This is not a spelling
error. "Polygyny" means a marriage between one man and multiple
wives, which is what the essay discusses.
Polygamy can mean:
 | polygyny: a marriage among one man and multiple women; |
| polyandry: a marriage among one woman and multiple men; or |
| group marriage: a marriage among multiple men and multiple women |
Only polygyny is currently promoted by certain fundamentalist LDS Restorationist denominations. Only polygyny was promoted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until it was at least temporarily suspended in the late 19th century.
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Home > Christianity > Christian faith groups > LDS Restorationist > here |
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Copyright © 2005 to 2008 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Originally posted: 2005-APR-07
Latest update: 2008-FEB-04
Author: B.A. Robinson
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