Monday, December 1, 2008

Are Mormons Christians?

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. For those of you not familiar with the name, you may have heard the term "Mormons." This term comes from The Book of Mormon, one of our canonized books of scripture.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, one of our church leaders, has said "there [are] two principal reasons The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is accused, erroneously, of not being Christian". He notes that the two reasons are:
  1. "Our view of the Godhead" - as three separate, physical beings
  2. "Our assertion that God continues to speak His word and reveal His truth, revelations which mandate an open canon of scripture".
He has given a detailed explanation about both of these topics in the following talks:
  1. "The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent"
  2. "My Words...Never Cease"
To quote from the Book of Mormon, "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." (2 Ne. 25: 26)

We believe in Jesus Christ. He is our Lord, our Savior and Redeemer. During this Christmas season, may our hearts be turned toward Him. Let us be more loving and kind and giving as He has taught us.

If you are interested in learning more about Jesus Christ and his role as the Savior of the world, please see http://jesuschrist.lds.org.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I think it's sad when people need to appropriate labels as "just this" or "just that." When I've asked my friends why they say I'm not Christian, the reasons always seem to be at the level of symantics. Why can't I just say I am Christian? Christ is the center of my religion. I think it's all about defending territories and feeling a little bit defensive because our missionary program is so widespread and well-organized. People are worried that we're taking their converts.

At least, that's what I have concluded after thinking a lot about it. I might be wrong.

Anyway, I'm a proud Christian, and a member of the LDS church.