The Mormon Church - Is It Christian

In 1992 Stephen Robinson - chairman of the Department of Ancient Scripture at the [Mormon] church’s Brigham Young University - wrote a book entitled, Are Mormons Christians? Among a host of recent efforts by Mormons to gain respectability and acceptance for their church as Christian, this book is one of the most important and sophisticated. Robinson seeks to prove that ‘arguments used to exclude Latter-day Saints [Mormons] from the "Christian" world are flawed.’ After all, he says, Mormons believe in Christ, use His name in their official church title, and believe in the Bible.

In chapter one of Robinson’s book, he offers a generic definition of Christianity that is so inclusive that it appears Mormons indeed are Christians. Robinson’s primary definition of a Christian is derived from Webster’s Third New International Dictionary:

One who believes of professes or is assumed to believe in Jesus Christ and the truth as taught by him; an adherent of Christianity; one who has accepted the Christian religious and moral principles of life; one who has faith in and has pledged allegiance to God thought of as revealed in Christ; one whose life is conformed to the doctrines of Christ.

But are Mormons Christians in the sense that the Bible defines Christians? Theologian Gordon Lewis is right when he says that Robinson’s approach to legitimising Mormonism "can only succeed if a Christian does not need to believe in one personal, transcendent God, one incarnate Christ, the completed atonement, and one gospel of grace through faith alone [Mormons do not believe in these things]."

Lewis notes that "historians may classify every group that calls itself Christian as Christian. Jesus Christ, however, did not do this. Jesus taught that ‘the way’ was narrow and that we should not assume that all who call Jesus ‘Lord’ are really Christians (Matthew 5:20; 7:13-23)."

The Rituals of the Mormon Temple

Lying at the very heart of Mormonism is the Temple and the ‘sacred ordinances’ performed therein. This Temple however, unlike the local Mormon Chapels, is closed to outsiders. It is closed to most Mormons, too, because it is here that the bizarre and secret rituals of the religion are enacted, and only members who are ‘in good standing’ can get Temple ‘recommends’. The Mormon Temple is imbued with mystery and ceremony. It is where Mormons are married, their dead are ‘endowed’ and their children are ‘sealed’ to them for ‘time and eternity’. Yet qualifying to go to the Temple is so rigorous - and perhaps frightening - that only 25 per cent of all Mormons make it, and a tiny 6 per cent attend the Temple regularly.

Temple ceremonies bear a marked resemblance to Masonic rites. Both Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were masons, and Smith may easily have copied many of his ideas for rituals in his new religion from those he was learning as a mason (Smith became a Master Mason in 1842, and within two months was teaching his followers ‘endowment’ ceremonies which contain many similarities to Masonic rituals. Smith may also have plagiarised his story about finding gold plates in the hillside from a Masonic legend about ancient plates being found in a hillside vault. At the time Smith was receiving visits from ‘angels’ and discovering his gold plates, his brother Hyrum was already deeply enmeshed in freemasonry.)

In the Temple men and women are first segregated and then washed all over and anointed with olive oil by Temple workers, whilst wearing only a ‘shield’ or thin white tabard. After anointing, Mormons are issued with temple ‘garments’, a one-piece affair which reaches to the knees and is the shape of a wide-necked tee-shirt at the top. Sacred markings are stitched over the right and left breast, the navel and the knee. Mormons are told that this garment, which they must wear at all times, will protect them from the power of the ‘Destroyer’, or the devil, while they are on earth. The markings, which include a compass and a square, have many parallels in both masonry and occult practices. Devoted Mormons are so strict about always wearing the garments that they do not remove one for washing before putting on another, thus never being entirely without it. There is a common legend that Joseph Smith removed his the morning that he was shot - and that if he had not, he would have been protected from bullets. Both men and women have to wear their Temple garments under their ordinary underclothes. After being given Temple garments, the Mormon is then dressed in Temple robes and given a new name, which he must never tell to anyone. It is believed that Jesus will call him by this name on the morning of the resurrection. But a husband is told his wife’s name: it is his job to call her from the grave after Jesus has called him.

After this comes a ritual drama, in which Temple workers play the parts of Elohim, Jesus and Lucifer, and re-enact the Mormon version of the creation of man. In the Salt Lake Temple, no expense spared, Elohim comes down from ‘heaven’ in a lift. Lucifer wears black, and has an apron covered in Masonic symbols - another piece of symbolism with roots in occult ritual. The playlet is long and many candidates find it boring despite the theatrical devices, such as clasping hands through a torn veil with a Temple worker who represents God, and embracing through the veil and being given a ‘secret’ invocation to health and strength.

The women present have to swear obedience to their husbands as long as their husbands obey Elohim, and men swear to defend the Mormon Church with their lives. They are taught a succession of secret grips - ways of shaking hands – and gestures symbolising penalties they will have to pay (such as throat cutting or disembowelling) if they ever betray the secrets of the Temple. The handshakes are all very similar to those used by masons. The Mormons do not mind admitting that their ceremonies owe a debt to freemasonry; in the early years of the Church all members were masons.

Having been accepted into the Temple, a Mormon can then be married there and, after the Temple marriage, is on his way to becoming a god in his own right, who can live polygamously on his own planet. He also performs ceremonies for the dead: Mormons believe that their ancestors, who died without the blessing of the Church, can be received into it after their death by proxy. Their descendants - or Temple volunteers - take their place in baptism ceremonies, wearing the name of the person they represent pinned to them. Many dedicated Mormons find the Temple aspects of their worship as bizarre as outsiders do, but stay deeply wedded to the Church for other reasons. The Mormon Church is a great social club, and because its teachings stress the sanctity of family life and the importance of clean living (no smoking, no alcohol or stimulants like tea, coffee or Coca Cola, no sex outside marriage) the benefits of membership can be great. (- text from: Jean Ritchie, The Secret World of Cults)

While Mormons regard themselves as Christians and many of their members display an affability and moral character derived from the morality of the Bible, the teachings and practices of the Mormon Church are far removed from the Gospel that was received and handed on by the true Saints of Jesus Christ ~ 1Corinthians 15:3-5

How To Share Your Faith In Love with Mormons

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by 1997 reached a total membership of 10,070,524 with 56,531 missionaries in the field. That same year, there were 317,798 converts world-wide. (Church News, April 18, 1998, page 11). However, many people seem to become members of the Mormon church, believing that they have joined a Christian church. The presentation of their beliefs by missionaries is deceptive. They present general statements about God and Jesus Christ that sound "Christian", without telling what they really believe.

When clean-cut, amicable missionary elders come to your door, will you be confident about sharing your faith with them? Will you simply present an evangelistic formula? Mormon missionary elders, however, are likely to see your orthodox presentation of Christian beliefs (no matter how theologically and Biblically equipped you are) as on a kindergarten level compared to what their "advanced" gospel can offer.

The Mormon Mindset

There are two areas of Mormon arguments:

  1. Their understanding of the "trinity" is that the godhead is composed of three separate and distinct gods. The Father and Son each has a body of flesh and bones (Doctrine & Covenants 130:22).
  2. The LDS church is the only true authorised church on earth. They think they are the only ones with the power of the priesthood and authority to act in God’s name. The Mormon church has four sacred scriptures (the Bible, The Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price), a living prophet, the twelve apostles, and restored priesthood, etc. Most Mormons do love the Jesus of their understanding and have a strong conviction of having a personal relationship with him. They believe that God is speaking to their church through a living prophet, their president. Their security (false security) is grounded on Joseph Smith’s personal revelation in 1830. Both the Aaronic priesthood through the ministration of John the Baptist and the Melchizedek priesthood through the ministration of Peter, James and John, were conferred on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdrey. A Friendly missionary will sometimes challenge you at the very beginning of your encounter with him, "Where do you Christians get your authority?"

DO NOT . . .

  1. Do not be side-tracked. Focus on their attributes of God the Father and his Son as taught in the Bible and compare these to what the Mormon church teaches. Affirm that you are a Christian and share what Jesus has done for you and that you are one of his adopted children (Romans 8:14). At the appropriate time ask, "What more can you ask for me?" Do not say, for example, "I’m an Anglican." You could say, "I’m a member of the body of Christ." Otherwise, Mormons will side-track you about man-made denominations and point to the division of the churches.
  2. Do not talk about polygamy, as their ready-made answer to polygamy is in their missionaries’ manual.
  3. Do not criticise Joseph Smith and the church leaders, but challenge their teachings.
  4. Do not say, "Mormons believe . . ." but say, "the Mormon Church teaches . . ." Mormons have been deceived by their church and the blame is to be placed firmly but lovingly on their church, not on the missionary.
  5. Never pray about the Book of Mormon.
  6. If you are a new Christian, please stay away from discussions with a Mormon missionary.

DO . . .

  1. Familiarise yourself with the major teachings of the Mormon church as some Mormons will not want to talk about them. Also familiarise yourself with difficult verses in context, such as 1Cor. 15:29, Amos 3:7, and Ezek. 36:16-17. Please look up these verses when a Mormon asks you to read them, even if you are very familiar with them.
  2. Find out how the missionary became involved in the Mormon church and how long they have been in Australia. He might tell you spiritual needs he had prior to joining his church. You might find a missionary elder is going back to Utah the following week. In this case, you should give him a tract about Mormonism as a souvenir, hoping that he might read it during his flight back to the USA.
  3. Keep asking challenging questions like, "What is the basis of your claims?" "What reasons do you have for trusting these claims?" Is there any evidence to support Joseph Smith’s claims that he was God’s true prophet?" Do not accept their statements on face value. Mormons have been known to be mistaken about what they say or hold back information they think you are not ready for.
  4. Mormon terminology and Christian terminology are often the same but their meaning is different. Exchange definitions and use their terminology. They use "God the Father", "Jesus Christ", "the Holy Ghost", "Salvation by grace", "the gospel", etc., as Christians do, but mean something quite different! Instead of using the word "hell", use "outer darkness". Use "spend eternity with" rather than "get to heaven".
  5. Explore their theology and help them to find their limitations. You may touch their points of vulnerability. You can say, "Are you saying that I am part of the apostate church? Please show me how I can be exalted. How can I live with the Heavenly Father?" These questions will lead to the idea of "salvation" in Mormonism. Do remember that the ultimate goal in Mormonism is the attaining of godhood. The immediate goal of Mormonism is perfection.

From Matthew 5:48 you can share "Law and Gospel". Here is a mock dialogue:

To touch them where they are vulnerable about perfection you can show them the impossibility of becoming perfect by doing good things (Rom. 3:26). Then, tell the Mormon friend, "I have been declared perfect". Read Hebrews 10:10-18 where Jesus has accomplished perfection on our behalf.

Priesthood

In Mormon theology, the priesthood is of great importance. Only those men who hold the priesthood in the Mormon church have the authority to administer "the ordinances of the gospel". Yet, God’s Word tells us that the faulty Aaronic priesthood was replaced by the eternal High Priest, Jesus, who lives forever (Heb. 7:22-25). We do not need a priesthood, we are a royal priesthood because we serve God (1Pet. 2:5, Rev. 5:9). In addition, the Bible says that both men and women can hold this royal priesthood.

On the view of the apostasy of the church, show them Matt. 16:16-19, where Jesus himself promised to build his church. It’s not built by people.

Mormons persistently ask you to pray about the Book of Mormon. You can tell them, "Why do I have to pray about anything God has already revealed?" Then read Acts 17:10-12 where the Bereans searched the scriptures to determine whether or not what Paul preached was scriptural, and therefore true. Ask a Mormon, "If a Muslim asked you to pray about the truthfulness of the Quran, would you pray?"

Conclusion

Evangelising Mormons is hard work. Each witness is different and you learn from experience, not knowing the seeds you have planted. Keep on praying. John Farkas, a former Mormon, says, "It may be that your job is to plant the seed or water someone else’s seed (1Cor. 3:6, John 4:35-36). Just as some wildflower seeds with ‘hard’ shells need years of environmental ‘softening’ before they will germinate, many Mormons don’t show any ‘softening’ for years. Don’t be discouraged by the lack of immediate results." - It took John Farkas over eight years to become a Christian.


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