Friday, January 02, 2009

Is Mormonism Christian?

Its unfortunate that I wasn't at my current age in the 70's and 80's when Mormonism was supposedly more "honest" about their teachings. The reason I say this is because Mormonism today is trying more and more to fit in with Christianity by making themselves appear more orthodox. I can say this from experience, because this past year I spent some time with Mormon missionaries. I didn't spend as much time in dialogue as I did listening to what they had to say.

I find it interesting that they spent a lot of time speaking about all the good things of Christianity. At one point, I remember them saying some very positive things about the reformation. It is as if they were trying to make themselves appear as just another Christian denomination; though they still claimed to be the "one true and restored church." But still, they claimed that they believe "basically the same things that Christians believe." I can assure you that the early Mormons, especially Joseph Smith, did not believe this. And its a shame that Mormon missionaries probably aren't as familiar with their historical theology as they should. The reason being, like some people I know, they will become a Mormon without knowing about all the odd things that Mormonism has taught.

In light of this, I think it is very important that we at least understand the basics of Mormonism so that we not be deceived into thinking that they are just another denomination. And I think the following video illustrates this well:

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What??? God lives on a planet named Kaybo??? And people actually believe this??!??!?! I never really knew anything much about mormons, except that they have tons of wives and believe that Jesus came to America and talked to some John Smith guy (which is also crazy). But wow...this really blew my mind. I can't believe that people believe this stuff! It sounds to me more like a sci-fi movie that quote-on-quote "Christianity" (which it certainly isn't!) Thanks for posting such an informative video. Your video has me prompted to research more about mormonism and their fairytale teachings. And I thought scientology was weird...

Mike Felker said...

Yeah, Mormons believe in some pretty interesting stuff! If you have the chance to speak with Mormons on this, just make sure you have your facts straight. Many, especially Missionaries, aren't as familiar with these teachings. So if you point it out, make sure you are doing so from their literature, not from a secondary resource. One book I recommend is by Mormon Apostle Bruce McConkie called, "Mormon Doctrine." This is a standard work of Mormon theology and contains many "eye opening" statements that would be valuable in sharing with Mormons and how these things contradict the Bible.