Let me start this post with some clarifying remarks about my last one. The last post was a collection of little factoids that I found that didn’t really fit with other categories. As for deciding whether or not Mormons should be called Christians, the information given is not enough to decide one way or another.

I feel this post about how Mormons and Christians view God will give a solid definitive answer. I was shocked by some of the things I discovered about Mormonism. I have come to realize that Mormons can be very tricky when trying to convert people. They try to pass off Mormonism as just another variant  or denomination of Christianity. The problem is that they change the meanings to virtually every Christian term. An uninformed Christian will believe that Mormons really aren’t that different, but to someone who has studied their religion the differences are clear as day. (Again, my main source is Kingdom of the Cults by Walter Martin)

I. Mormon teachings on God

These quotes will clearly show that Mormonism is a polytheistic religion that worships gods that were once men.

1. “In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it.” Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith 349

2. “God Himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man.” ibid. 345

3. “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s: the son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of spirit.” Doctrine and Covenants 130.22

4. “God’s exist, and we had better strive to be prepared to be one with them.” Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 7.238

5. “As man is, God once was:As God is, man may become.” Prophet Lorenzo Snow (Snow was the fifth president of the Mormon Church (fun fact: he had eleven wives! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_Snow))

6. “And then the Lord said:Let us go down, and they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth.” Abraham 4.1

7. “Christ was the God, the Father of all things… Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son.” Mosiah 7.27, Ether 3.14. This is in contrast to the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity: The Son is fully God, as the Father is fully God; but the Son is not the Father and vice versa. Jesus did claim to be equal with the Father, but He never claimed to BE the Father.

8. “When our Father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is Michael, the archangel, the ancient of Days! about whom holy men have written and spoken – He is our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do.” Brigham Young Journal of Discourses 1.50. I want to be careful in pointing out this Adam-God doctrine, from what I read it appears that the Mormon church has since rejected this particular doctrine. I include it here anyways because it was taught and defended on more than one occasion by Young in various speeches and publications. This Adam-God statement was made on April 9, 1852. Eighteen years later (January 2, 1870) Young would state that “I have never yet preached a sermon and sent it out to the children of men, that they may not call Scripture” (Journal of Discourses 13.95).

II. Biblical Teachings on God

1. “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Deuteronomy 6.4

2. “Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.” Isaiah 43.10-11

3. “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no other god.” Isa. 44.6

4. “Is there a god besides me?” Isa. 44.8

5. “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God.” Isa. 45.5

6. “And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me… For I am God, and there is no other.” Isa. 45.21-22.

7. “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4.24. I include this verse to counter the Mormon belief that the Father has a physical body. The Bible teaches that God is a spirit being without a physical body.

III. Conclusion

The God(s) of Mormonism is NOT the God of the Bible. The differences are just too numerous to even begin to consider them the same. Because the Gods of these two religions are different, it must be concluded that Mormons are not Christian.