What are some of the differences between Christianity and Mormonism?

@evandad Several people asked for it, here it is. I am very interested to read the answers.

Mormonism is a Christian denomination. Personally, I find South Park’s episode “All About The Mormon’s” to be awesome, but I’m kinda partial to things being presented to me in song format.

@papayalily I was reading a few months ago an article written by an ex-Mormon. He said definitely not Christian and went on to explain why. I will try to find that article again.

There is no real difference between Christian & Mormon – they are both myths that were created by humans in order to control other humans (with the emphasis on controlling women).

@RANGIEBABY That’s not really correct…

The Mormons are Christians, and believe in the same Bible everyone else does.

In addition to the ancient Hebrew scripture, they believe they have communications from God that do not appear in the Bible, but have been written down in the Book of Mormon.

They also have a book with current communications from God to the Mormon people through their prophet called the Doctrine and Covenants.

Why Mormons Are Not Christian.

First: Mormons do not follow or believe in the historic Jesus Christ of the Bible, but rather in a difference Jesus. This is why most Biblical Christians emphatically insist that Mormons are not Christians. Let me explain.

The god of the Mormons is not the God of the Bible. To the Mormons, Jesus is the firstborn son of an exalted “man” who became the god of this world. The man-god of Mormonism was made the god of this world because of his good works on another planet somewhere out in the universe. He “earned” godhood, and was thus appointed by a counsel of gods in the heavens to his high position as the god of planet Earth. The Mormon god of this world was a man, like all men, who became a god. This is what the celestial marriage and the temple vows are all about. LDS men, by doing their temple work, are striving for exaltation by which they, too, shall one day become gods. Their wives will be the mother goddesses of “their” world and with their husband will produce the population of their world. This is the Mormon doctrine of “eternal progression.”

http://cnview.com/on_line_resources/are_mormons_christian.htm

They believe lies just like every other religion.

go google the ‘tenants of mormonism’. i’m sure you can find plenty of information that way.

I know this will be removed because it’s off topic, but what’s with the few rude remarks (evandad and lindaowl). I get it, Fluther is not a god loving site. Hell, I don’t believe in god. But that doesn’t give me or anyone else the right to belittle those that do.

sigh

@jonsblond Agreed.

@jonsblond AGREED!!!

I don’t know where this Cooper Abrams gets his stuff, but it certainly is not from the actual tenents and beliefs of the Mormon Church. He has made statements that are simply not valid in the Mormon church.

I suggest that a Mormon hater is not exactly the best authority of what the Mormon church believes.

Book of Mormon
A.The book of Mormon is more correct than the Bible, (History of the Church, 4:461).
God
A.God used to be a man on another planet, (Mormon Doctrine, p. 321; Joseph Smith, Times and Seasons, vol. 5, p. 613–614; Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 345; Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 7, p. 333).
B.“The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s…” (D&C 130:22).
C.God is in the form of a man, (Joseph Smith, Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 3).
D.“God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!!! . . . We have imagined that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea and take away the veil, so that you may see,” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345).
E.God the Father had a Father, (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 476; Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses, vol. 5, p. 19; Milton Hunter, First Council of the Seventy, Gospel through the Ages, p. 104–105).
F.God resides near a star called Kolob, (Pearl of Great Price, p. 34–35; Mormon Doctrine, p. 428).
G.God had sexual relations with Mary to make the body of Jesus, (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 4, 1857, p. 218; vol. 8, p. 115). – This one is disputed among many Mormons and not always ‘officially’ taught and believed. Nevertheless, Young, the 2nd prophet of the Mormon church taught it.
H.“Therefore we know that both the Father and the Son are in form and stature perfect men; each of them possesses a tangible body . . . of flesh and bones.” (Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p. 38). http://www.carm.org/teachings-of-mormonism

the number of wives

Mormons are Christians. They just added a “latter day saint, Joseph Smith” and a new angel or two [Moroni for one] Their bible is the Christian bible, with Mormon reinterpretations written as red “glosses” in the margins. Their proscriptions resemble many born-again Baptists etc, but they also respect and pursue higher education, and they have unresolved issues concerning polygamy. They hold a great deal of wealth and power, perhaps rivaling that of the Vatican, and they keep one of the best genealogy databases in the world, including genealogy of the Jewish people. Because of their religious strictures and their emphasis on education, Mormons are above average applicants for the US military and clandestine services. Mormons who [temporarily or permanently] abandon the strictures of their faith [no alcohol is one] are called “Jack-Mormons” and are banned from the fold until they mend their ways.

Mormons are a sect of Christianity. I think @papayalily‘s reverence to the South Park episode nails it on the head. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth it.

Mormon cult status

I am not defending or explaining Christianity. I am simply pointing out the differences between Christian theology and Mormon theology resulting in Mormonism being labeled a cult.

If one knows little about Christianity, it is very easy to be misled by Mormon assertions. One reason is that Mormons take the terms used in Christianity and redefine them. I am only going to reference a couple, any one of which is sufficient for cult status, but I have read entirely through the link above and could note a difference on almost every paragraph in it.

Go to the link and scroll up to “Sources of Authority”. You will see there are four, the Bible, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. Even if they gave them equal weight, that alone would be enough to label them a cult. Christianity accepts only the Bible as the source of authority. Mormons actually assign the greatest authority to the Book of Mormon.

Scroll up/down to “Distinctive Doctrines and Practices”. Nothing in the first two paragraphs is true of Christianity and is in direct contradiction to the Biblical position.

Scroll down to “Comparisons With Mainstream Christianity” re the Virgin Birth.
There is no comment here on Wikipedia, but you can google “mormon virgin birth” and get a site by the Mormons that says they do believe in the virgin birth. The truth lies on any site you google that is not originated by the Mormons, for one here I would suggest you skip the video sermon and go to the second paragraph, quoted here, “One of the fundamental tenets of Christianity is that Christ was born of a virgin. The Bible teaches that though she had not yet had physical intercourse with a man, Mary miraculously conceived and bore a son. Mormons insist that they believe in the “virgin birth”, yet many of them have described it in a way far removed from what Christians have believed for two millennia. While individual Mormons are divided over this issue, to this day the Mormon Church has no unequivocal official position on whether the immortal Heavenly Father had sexual intercourse with his mortal spirit-daughter Mary to conceive Jesus.”

Note, however, I’ll still vote for Mitt Romney if he runs..:)

@plethora But that’s cult in the “not (acknowledged as) an Abrahamic religion” sense, not the “kidnap and brainwash you” sense.

@papayalily Uhhhh….yes. Think that’s the only sense in which we’re using here,,:)

@plethora Whatever denomination a person is, that’s the one they will see as “true” Christianity. But just because certain others don’t acknowledge them as Christian doesn’t mean they aren’t. Often, Baptists don’t recognize Catholicism as Christianity. Catholics beg to differ.

I just wanted to point the difference out, because normally when one says “cult” they mean “brainwashing”.

You might find this and this helpful. One assumes that you are already a Christian, the other does not.
The site is in line with evangelical non-denominational teachings. If you are not, the fixed perspective will likely smell like bias.

@pappayalily
A Christian is a follower of Christ and His teachings, all of which mesh with the rest of the Bible. If a denomination excludes or discounts or edits or otherwise strays from the Bible, then it can be determined to be “not true Christianity.” Mormons, for instance, use (in addition to the Bible, which they see as flawed) have the Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and the Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price. A “true Christian” denomination (or non-denomination, as the case may be) is built exclusively around the Bible.
—It is worth noting here that a person in, say, the LDS, can be a Christian. The ‘church’s’ teachings are not conducive to that end, however.

I don’t know enough about the Baptists to explain why they would question the doctrinal quality of Catholicism, but I do have my own observations.

The Pope: no Biblical basis (especially the “Vicar of Christ” nonsense)
Marianism: no Biblical basis
Praying to the saints: no Biblical basis
Veneration of relics: no Biblical basis
Syncretism: no Biblical basis
Mandatory priestly intercession: no Biblical basis
Purgatory: no Biblical basis
Salvation-by-works: actually contradicts Ephesians 2:8–9 without basis.
The list can likely be expanded; as I said, these are my own observations.

I’m with @papayalily, any one sect can discount all of the others based on whatever random criteria they see fit. I’ve had a Jehovah’s witness tell me that evangelical Christians aren’t real Christians because they financially support their preachers which they believe contradicts the Bible.

The problem is that Christianity is inherently ambiguous, the Bible is self-contradictory in many places. As such, Christian denominations need to add their own interpretations on things.

@Nullo They discount it because it’s a different view than their own. If you view your own beliefs as the only possible right view, then all others must be wrong.

However, Catholicism is not only the oldest denomination of Christianity, but was started by the disciple Peter himself.

And like @gorillapaws said, the Bible is vague, cryptic, and self-contradictory, so it’s easy to see how it would create so much confusion.

@papayalily We are dealing with only one meaning of cult #3 on the list of definitions.

See my earlier post
This thread is off-topic. We are simply asked to name some differences between Christianity and Mormonism. Not to defend either. The differences are there in print from Wikipedia and others. If you have contradictory evidence (not just assertions), please post it.

@YARNLADY Can you provide links documenting your assertions?

In fact, the Bible is not self-contradictory. The stuff on Infidels.org is a result of laziness coupled with a fault-finding mentality.
Like that order-of-creation bit at the top of the page? Ladies and gentlemen, it’s called a recap.

I was raised a mormon and left it a few years ago. I cannot agree more with others who said to watch the South Park episode. I know it may sound silly, but I found it amazingly accurate.

One big difference that I don’t think was brought up is temples. Mormons believe you have to go through their temples and perform their rituals to be saved. If a member is married in the temple only other members who have been through the temple rituals can attend the wedding ceremony. I wasn’t allowed to attend my sister or brother’s weddings.

I think most of the other points have been touched on pretty well by others.

@plethora I was raised in a Mormon household, my entire family on my Dad’s side are/were Mormons, including two Uncles who were Elders and one Apostle. My Grandfather was a High Priest. If you have any further questions about their formal writings, I suggest you speak with a high ranking member of the clergy, at least a Bishop or an Elder.

Do not expect to find accurate information from other churches or individuals who are non-members or lapsed members with a grudge.

As with every organization I have had experience with, many things change over time. When I was a child, no one drank coffee, and women who wore make up were not common, dancing was not allowed, and girls were expected to wear long slacks, no shorts. All this has changed.

@zannajune We have a temple near my house, a really beautiful building, to look at it. Are they conference-center boring inside?

I love the Mormons and their teachings, while some being unusual, are very interesting.
They baptize their dead ancestors in the temple into the faith. The family may not attend the wedding of their loved one that is held in a temple so there are usually two weddings. When the bride to be comes into the room to be married, she finds her groom wearing a very tall baker’s hat and an apron. I am not making this up. I have read many posts by ex mormon women who say they have had to stifle a laugh when they witnessed this.
They teach that God was born on the planet Kolob. Their founder, Joseph Smith taught this. I believe JS may have been a true prophet but he , in my opinion, made a lot of false proclamations.
The Book of Mormon mentions “steel” which we believe did not exist at the time of it’s composition. And elephants. The founder of the faith, Smith, was a well-known digger for buried treasure and was referred to as the local “money digger.” He claimed to have dug up, at the directions of an angel, gold plates in the form of a book, that showed what he called, “reformed Egyptian” characters. He claimed to have translated these characters into the Book of Mormon over a year or so with the help of a scribe, Oliver Cowdery. Oliver sat at the table with Smith with a cloth separating them that was hung over a rope so OC could not see the plates. it has never been proven from whence the Book of Mormon came. If you read it you will be quite puzzled as to how a young man with little education could have written the book himself. Of course, the plates were allegedly given back to the angel and do not exist. Over six men, all friends of Smith’s and some brothers , swore that they had “lifted the plates and saw them not with natural eyes but with spiritual eyes. ” At the end of one chapter the “writer” bids the reader, “Adieu.” Smith was a fantastic orator in my opinion. Even though he preached against tobacco and alcohol, he was a frequent drinker. The missionaries admitted this to me. He ran for President of the United States and set up a bank that failed. He had an affair with his first wife’s housekeeper, a very young girl.
I believe he got her pg. and his wife Emma was furious but stayed with him. I could go on but this is up for correction. I apologize if I’ve made errors.

@YARNLADY The question asked for differences between Mormonism and Christianity. I was simply listing a few of the most obvious. I am aware that Mormoms insist they are Christians, but the record tells a different story, per my post above.

@Nullo They’re actually quite pretty inside. Extremely white with very large, extravagant chandeliers inside. When I was about 12 or 13 I had the chance to go to the temple in SLC to do baptisms for the dead. It was very beautiful inside and quite unique since it is one of the oldest temples.

@plethora But what you are calling ‘records’ do not reflect what the actual tenents and teachings of the Mormon church are, rather what the detractors say about it.

@plethora Then they must have changed them, because I also researched the subject thoroughly and found the same thing. Maybe the have pushed some things in the background to attract Christians.

@YARNLADY Ok, you’re closer to it than I am. It has been a good many years since I had extensive discussions with Mormon missionaries and I am quite sure that they had serious discrepancies in Mormon teachings vs Christian teachings on basic theology at that time. Just curious, are you basing this on what you learned in your family (no offense) or on your own examination and comparison of Mormon concepts and Christian concepts?

I think @NormanL and I are on the same page.

@plethora (None taken) After I left the Mormon church, I looked at several other churches, and found them all equally lacking.