Are Mormons Christians?

[Greg West]

Anti-Mormons always accuse Mormons of two things: first, that Mormons aren't Christian, or that we believe in a "different Jesus" than other Christians. The second is that we follow false prophets. They couldn't be more untruthful on either count.

Since the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830, there have been 16 men, prophets of God, who have presided over the Church that bears the name of Jesus Christ himself. Here are their words, thoughts, and feelings about Jesus Christ. As you read, I invite you to be sensitive to the feelings in your heart. Are Mormons Christian? Are our prophets witnesses of Jesus Christ? See for yourself.

President Joseph Smith

“And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us—

“That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness;

“That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him.”

President Brigham Young

“I testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world; I have obeyed his sayings, and realized his promise, and the knowledge I have of him, the wisdom of this world cannot give, neither can it take away. …

“Our Lord Jesus Christ—the Savior, who has redeemed the world and all things pertaining to it, is the Only Begotten of the Father pertaining to the flesh. … He has tasted death for every man, and has paid the debt contracted by our first parents.”

President John Taylor

“Anointed, indeed, with the oil of gladness above His fellows, He struggled with and overcame the powers of men and devils, of earth and hell combined; and aided by this superior power of the Godhead, He vanquished death, hell and the grave, and arose triumphant as the Son of God, the very eternal Father, the Messiah, the Prince of peace, the Redeemer, the Savior of the world; having finished and completed the work pertaining to the atonement, which His Father had given Him to do as the Son of God and the Son of man.”

President Wilford Woodruff

“The object of Christ’s mission to the earth was to offer himself as a sacrifice to redeem mankind from eternal death. … He acted strictly in obedience to his Father’s will in all things from the beginning, and drank of the bitter cup given him. Herein is brought to light, glory, honour, immortality, and eternal life, with that charity which is greater than faith or hope, for the Lamb of God has hereby performed that for man which [man] could not accomplish for himself. …

“There is no being that has power to save the souls of men and give them eternal life, except the Lord Jesus Christ, under the command of His Father.”

President Lorenzo Snow

“That Being who dwelt in Heaven, who reigned there before the world was, who created the earth, and who, in the meridian of time, came down to perfect and save that which He had created, has appeared to men in this age.

“We testify to the whole world that we know, by divine revelation, even through the manifestations of the Holy Ghost, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and that he revealed himself to Joseph Smith as personally as he did to his apostles anciently, after he arose from the tomb, and that he made known unto him [the] heavenly truths by which alone mankind can be saved.”

President Joseph F. Smith

“The Holy Spirit of God has spoken to me—not through the ear, not through the eye, but to my spirit, to my living and eternal part,—and has revealed unto me that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. I testify to you that I know that my Redeemer lives. Furthermore, I know that I shall see Him on this earth, and that I shall see Him as He is. … The Lord has revealed this to me. He has filled my whole spirit with this testimony, until there is no room for doubt.”

President Heber J. Grant

“To members of the Church throughout the world, and to peace-lovers everywhere, we say, behold in this Man of Galilee not merely a great Teacher, not merely a peerless Leader, but the Prince of Peace, the Author of Salvation, here and now, literally and truly the Savior of the World!

“… Jesus is the Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind, who came to the earth with a divinely appointed mission to die for the redemption of mankind. Jesus Christ is literally the Son of God, the Only Begotten in the flesh. He is our Redeemer, and we worship him.”

President George Albert Smith

“The Savior died that we might live. He overcame death and the grave and holds out to all who obey His teachings the hope of a glorious resurrection.”

“I have found many in the world who have not known that we believe in the divine mission of our Lord, and I have been led to say upon more than one occasion that there are no people in the world who so well understand the divine mission of Jesus Christ, who so thoroughly believe him to have been the Son of God, who are so sanguine [confident] that at the present time he is enthroned in glory at the right hand of his Father, as the Latter-day Saints.”

President David O. McKay

“‘How can we know the way?’ asked Thomas, as he sat with his fellow apostles and their Lord at the table after the supper on the memorable night of betrayal; and Christ’s divine answer was: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. …’ (John 14:5–6.) And so he is! He is the source of our comfort, the inspiration of our life, the author of our salvation. If we want to know our relationship to God, we go to Jesus Christ. If we would know the truth of the immortality of the soul, we have it exemplified in the Savior’s resurrection. …

“… He is the one Perfect Being who ever walked the earth; the sublimest example of nobility; Godlike in nature; perfect in his love; our Redeemer; our Savior; the immaculate Son of our Eternal Father; the Light, the Life, the Way.”

President Joseph Fielding Smith

“Salvation is in Christ. It comes because of the infinite and eternal atonement which he wrought by the shedding of his blood. He is the Son of God, and he came into the world to ransom men from the temporal and spiritual death that came because of what we call the fall.

“Through his goodness and grace all men will come forth from the grave, to be judged according to the deeds done in the flesh. …

“I know that he lives, that he rules in the heavens above and in the earth beneath, and that his purposes shall prevail. He is our Lord and our God. As he himself said to Joseph Smith: ‘The Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior’ (D&C 76:1).”

President Harold B. Lee

“After a long night of searching and days of spiritual preparation that followed, I came to know as a witness more powerful than sight, until I could testify with a surety that defied all doubt, that I knew with every fiber of my soul that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, that He lived, He died, He was resurrected, and today He presides in the heavens, directing the affairs of this church, which bears His name because it preaches His doctrine. I bear that testimony humbly and leave you my witness.”

President Spencer W. Kimball

“We place [Jesus Christ] on a pedestal as no other group I know of. To us he is not only the Son of God, he is also a God and we are subject to him. …

“No matter how much we say of him, it is still too little.

“He is not only the Carpenter, the Nazarene, the Galilean, but Jesus Christ, the God of this earth, the Son of God, but most importantly, our Savior, our Redeemer. …

“I add my own testimony. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and that he was crucified for the sins of the world.

“He is my friend, my Savior, my Lord, my God.”

President Ezra Taft Benson

“The question is sometimes asked, ‘Are Mormons Christians?’ We declare the divinity of Jesus Christ. We look to Him as the only source of our salvation. We strive to live His teachings, and we look forward to the time that He shall come again on this earth to rule and reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In the words of a Book of Mormon prophet, we say to men today, ‘There [is] no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent’ (Mosiah 3:17).”

President Howard W. Hunter

“I am grateful … for my affiliation with a people who have a firm conviction that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ; and I bear witness to you that the story of the babe born in the manger at Bethlehem is not a myth of the past, but that Jesus, the Son of God was born of Mary into mortality; that he lived among men; that he died upon the cross and was resurrected; that he actually and truly lives today; and that he is a personal being and is the Savior of the world.”

President Gordon B. Hinckley

“I know that I am not the head of this Church. The Lord Jesus Christ is its head. My mission, my chief responsibility, my greatest honor comes in bearing solemn testimony of His living reality. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who condescended to come into this world of misery, struggle, and pain, to touch men’s hearts for good, to teach the way of eternal life, and to give Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. He is ‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and He shall reign forever and ever’ (Handel’s Messiah). … I bear solemn witness that He lives and stands on the right hand of His Father.”

President Thomas S. Monson

“With all my heart and the fervency of my soul, I lift up my voice in testimony as a special witness and declare that God does live. Jesus is His Son, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh. He is our Redeemer; He is our Mediator with the Father. He it was who died on the cross to atone for our sins. He became the firstfruits of the Resurrection. Because He died, all shall live again. ‘Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives: “I know that my Redeemer lives!” ’ May the whole world know it and live by that knowledge, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior, amen.”


If you'd like to read more testimonies of Jesus Christ from the modern prophets, please visit http://jesuschrist.lds.org.

=================================================================
Original posting date: 3/5/2008
Bumped: 1/29/2009

[Deborah]

Gregory,
Thanks for your comments. In regards to your last few lines on your reply about Islam where you said: "When all things are accomplished, we will marvel at how God used inspired men and women to do his work as they acted under his influence. Mormons will be the ones to build the bridge between Islam and Christianity." It reminded me of a FARMS article, Other Voices from the Dust, which I had read while back by Daniel C. Peterson. A great article in which he lays out how BYU has been at the forefront of what has become a prestigious program to digitize ancient manuscripts starting with the Dead Sea Scrolls and he explains how it has mushroomed into many other exciting projects. The whole article is well worth the read but here is what he said about the projects they have been involved with dealing with Islam.

Medieval Words of Wisdom
The Dead Sea Scrolls project and multispectral imaging represent the two areas in which CPART functioned until last year, when I was appointed the first full-time director of the Center. I brought with me a project that had, until then, lacked a real institutional home but that has now found one in FARMS and its Center for the Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts. In my own special field of Islamic studies, I had always felt strongly that more translations were needed of the major classical texts of Islamic civilization. In the absence of such translations, one had either to become a specialist—to devote years of study to mastering difficult languages like Arabic and Persian (or Farsi)—or, essentially, to forgo reading most of the primary sources. Unlike the texts of classical Greece and Rome—such as the multiple versions of Homer, Plato, Virgil, Aristotle, Ovid, and Sophocles that are readily and cheaply available even for casual readers—it is very difficult for all but a specialist to gain access to the works of al-Farabi, al-Ghazali, Avicenna, and their peers. This is especially unfortunate, it seems to me, for a people who have received the divine command to "seek . . . out of the best books words of wisdom" (D&C 88:118). Some of the greatest books ever written—in philosophy, science, medicine, literature, and mathematics—were produced by the eminent world civilization of Islam. But they have remained largely inaccessible to the West.

So, a few years ago, with the strong support of the BYU administration and vital help from several extremely generous donors, we were able to establish the Islamic Translation Series at Brigham Young University. So far, we have published two volumes in the series, with strong English translations and the original Arabic texts on facing pages, and we have many more in the pipeline. In fact, the story with the Islamic Translation Series has been much the same as it has been for CPART in general: successful completion of one project has drawn more attention, which has in turn brought in more projects. Various metaphors come to mind, such as a snowball rolling downhill and becoming an avalanche. More often, though, as I try to direct or at least to keep on top of what is happening, I think in terms of the old image of trying to take a drink from a fire hose. It is far better than a drought, of course, but a bit difficult to manage nonetheless. During a recent trip to Tehran, I was promised two new manuscripts for the series. A professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem is proposing joint ventures. A member of the Martin-Buber Institute at Germany's University of Cologne has submitted two translations to us of Arabic medical works by the illustrious medieval rabbi, philosopher, and physician Moses Maimonides. Impelled by these new texts, we are establishing a subseries devoted to Arabic science.

The series is having international impact. I had imagined that it would, but I confess that I did not realize how soon or how much. Copies of our books have been presented to university leaders throughout Israel/Palestine and Jordan. The Grand Shaykh of al-Azhar University in Egypt, one of the oldest and most prestigious of Islamic educational institutions, has a copy of the first volume, and the ambassador of Egypt recently requested ten more copies for religious leaders in his country. An Austrian professor, a Latter-day Saint, has made formal presentations of the volumes to several leading libraries in that area of Europe, and I know that the First Presidency has offered them as gifts to a visiting Indonesian political leader and to Jehan Sadat, the widow of the late president of Egypt, when she came to Utah. They have also been given to Muslim religious dignitaries from the People's Republic of China and to guests from Islamic areas of Russia.

Three gala dinners have been held now—in Washington, D.C., Beverly Hills, and New York City—to celebrate the series. At each of them, President Bateman and a member of the Council of the Twelve spoke to audiences of Islamic community leaders, academics, and dozens of Muslim consuls and ambassadors. At the event in Washington, D.C., a number of senators and congressmen attended; in New York, the senior staff members of the Secretary-General of the United Nations were present and enthusiastic. More than one said to us, effectively, "No other group treats us with the respect that you show to us." We are now discussing receptions that will be hosted by the embassy of Egypt in Washington, D.C., and by two or more Islamic countries at the United Nations in New York early next year, to mark the publication of additional volumes.

Probably most touching to me, though, was an encounter during my recent trip to Iran. Three female university students, clad from head to toe in coal-black chadors, approached rather tentatively and gave me a handwritten note that thanked me, in earnest if quirky English, for the Islamic Translation Series. If I had had any doubts that the series could serve as a small but real bridge between sometimes estranged cultures, that settled it. There are probably not two more alienated countries right now than the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran, yet this small academic project had managed to rise above differences of religion and politics.

[Greg West]

No problem. We need a good editorial eye. I used to grouch about the schools not emphasizing spelling enough. It seems like my kids were all horrible at spelling because the liberal-minded teachers didn't want to harm their self-esteem. My biggest writing weakness is punctuation. I'm very self-conscious of it so I work at it consistently.

[Brian Sanderson]

I hate it when that happens...and tell mike it's "rebuttal", not "rebuttle"...ooh, I'm gonna pay for this later!

[Greg West]

Yeah, I caught that after the fact, but I couldn't go back and edit the reply. I'd have to delete it and re-post it, which would throw off the time sequence of the thread. It was just a moment of "mental dyslexia" for me. The date for the origins of Islam would be around 600 A.D. The apostasy of Judaism began before (and was the reason for) the Babylonian captivity and came to full fruition at the moment the veil of the temple was rent when Jesus died. The beginnings apostasy of the Christian Church were documented in the New Testament before the end of the first century and was complete by 325 A.D. when the Nicene Council met. The Christian apostasy reached its zenith in probably the 10th or 11th century and is still ongoing today.

[Brian Sanderson]

ummm...I think you want a date of 600 A.D. for the onset of apostasy in Judaism and Christianity... ;)

[Greg West]

Even a broken clock is right twice a day! :) It's not possible to be wrong all the time.

[Greg West]

Islam occupies a very interesting position in the scheme of things. In 600 B.C., both Judaism and Christianity were in a state of apostasy: the Jews because they rejected their Messiah, and the Christians for rejecting the apostles who held the keys of the kingdom. By the seventh century, neither of these religions taught that current revelation occurred and they had fixed a canon of scripture that could not be altered even if future revelation were to occur.

From the point of view of Islam, the Jews were under condemnation for rejecting and killing Isa (Jesus) and the Christians were considered to have become polytheists. It may well be that Muhammed WAS indeed inspired by the Spirit of God to do a preparatory work for God. Surely we can credit Islam with saving much of the ancient knowledge of Greece, the sciences, mathematics, etc. when Christian popes were murdering each other and the world was entering the Dark Ages.

Islam claimed to be the religion of the Biblical patriarchs, which preceded the time of the Law of Moses. Indeed Paul, in Hebrews, reiterates that Abraham and Melchizedek were before the Law, that they held a superior position. Paul indicates that Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses and restored the ancient patriarchal order.

Having served a mission in France, working in many Muslim communities, I found Muslims to be incredibly hospitable. I never had a Muslim slam the door in my face. They were always kind and hospitable to us (unlike the French Catholics and Protestants). They seemed to find merit in Mormonism because we eschew alcohol. The Quran teaches them to show tolerance to any people to whom God has given a holy book and encourages them to believe the words of "all the holy apostles."

In teaching Muslims, I found that astonishing outpourings of the Spirit of God occurred. For example, when we taught Christians about the restoration, the Spirit of God acted upon them in a very subtle way. For Muslims, I suppose because of the potential opposition they face from family and friends upon their conversion, the Spirit of God was poured out on them in great measure. Inspired dreams, angelic visitations, etc. were not uncommon. It was amazing to us.

When the Gospel eventually goes forth among the nations that are now predominantly Muslim, the people will recognize that Joseph Smith was what they call an "imam" a holy messenger and an apostle of God. I appreciate the role Islam played in preserving civilization when the apostate Christians and Judaism were unwilling or unable to rise to the occasion.

The modern corruption of Islam is similar to the corruption of Christianity by the end of the first millennium. The similarities between them are profound. The Bible teaches that the ancient Church, when it fell into apostasy would "commit fornication" with the "kings of the earth." They allied themselves for the sake of power with secular governments. This is what Islam after the failed attempt at a caliphate (the Ottoman Empire) collapsed in ruin. I note that the Gentile nations of Great Britain, France, and the United States played the biggest part in this effort. Today's geopolitical mess is largely of our own making and has nothing to do with Islam or the Quran.

When all things are accomplished, we will marvel at how God used inspired men and women to do his work as they acted under his influence. Mormons will be the ones to build the bridge between Islam and Christianity.

[Greg West]

This is a "canned" argument that is often used, usually by Evangelical Christians. There was an article I read the other day where an Evangelical columnist gave a list of tenets and beliefs that was meant to define Evangelical Christianity by exclusion. Basically, he gave a laundry list of what didn't qualify as Evangelical and then proceeded to say that Evangelicals were "true Christians."

The problem with his list is that it would exclude Methodists, Anglicans, Episcopals, Lutherans, and Catholics as being "true Christians." His attempt to narrowly define Christianity excluded the bulk of Christianity.

Given the wide spectrum of beliefs, rituals, practices, and observances of Christian denominations, any attempt to exclude Mormons generally excludes others which might normally considered "mainstream" churches.

Mormons accept that other churches exercise faith in Jesus Christ. We bring to the table light, knowledge, and truth that has been granted by modern revelation. Those who receive and embrace that light, knowledge, and truth will receive greater blessings and enjoy an increase in the power of their faith. They will feel closer to God as they repent, accept baptism by authority, receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands and by enduring to the end in faith.

If you will carefully read the words of Jesus to Joseph Smith, you'll find that the Lord said that the "creeds" were an abomination, not the churches, not the people. God loves his children. The creeds (such as the Nicene Creed, Apostles' Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the Westminster Confession of Faith) teach man-made precepts that restrict those who believe in them from coming closer to God. That's why the creeds are condemned by the Lord.

The Lord loves his children. He is merciful and forgiving. He will bless every person according to the heed they give to his teachings and the obedience they give to his commandments.

Interestingly, the teachings of most sectarian Christian denominations define heaven in terms that Mormons identify as the Terrestrial Kingdom. That is not condemnation of any kind. Those who inherit this one of many mansions in Father's house are righteous people who were blinded by the "craftiness of men." The craftiness of men is made manifest in false creeds and philosophies.

Mormonism is the path to the Celestial Kingdom. We encourage others to find that path, evaluate it through sincere prayer and study, and then to enter upon it. Why should sectarian churches complain because we teach that God has given more light and knowledge than they currently have?