The Most Important Differences Between Mormonism and Christianity

By Taylor Thornton

One of the most important tasks of the Christian apologist is that of defining terms…

Introduction: Why Definitions Matter

One of the most important tasks of the Christian apologist is that of defining terms. This is true of anyone who chooses to engage in the marketplace of ideas as discussions and/or debates can, and often do, devolve into the involved parties simply speaking past each other because they have not taken the time to actually understand what is being argued. They have not defined their terms. And while the definition of terms is necessary in any exchange of ideas, it is of particular importance when one is engaging in a discussion about conflicting religious views, and doubly so when those views are derivative of Christianity in some way, as in the case of Mormonism.

As we shall see, the reason for this is simply that while you may find that the Mormon missionary at your door uses much of the same terminology that you hear in your weekly Bible study (e.g., God, Christ, grace, salvation, resurrection, etc.), such terms, when utilized within the context of Mormon theology, have been filled with content that is utterly alien to historic Christianity and to Scripture itself. Thus, there is a danger that an uninformed believer may come away from a discussion with a Mormon with the impression that the LDS Church is in basic agreement with the historic, orthodox faith on fundamental doctrines, when, in reality, nothing could be further from the truth.

In the following paragraphs, I will seek to provide a brief overview of Mormon theology in order to contrast it with biblical orthodoxy. While space prohibits me from providing an exhaustive analysis of such a vast subject, it is my hope that what follows will suffice to clarify some of the crucial differences between the two systems.

Are Mormons Christians?

In short, no, Mormons are not Christians. Of course, I would expect Mormon readers to disagree with this statement, and I have found in my own personal conversations that many Mormons are insistent upon identifying themselves as Christians despite their church’s repudiation of many core Christian doctrines. I will explore some of these doctrines in brief below, but for now it is worth noting that Mormonism was founded on the claim that the entire Christian church had apostatized after the time of the apostles to such an extent that by 1820, the year Joseph Smith, Mormonism’s founding prophet, received his “First Vision,” there was no longer a true church on earth, and the church was therefore in need of restoration.

As the story goes, Smith inquired of God as to which “sect” of Christianity was correct in its doctrine, to which he received the following reply:

“…the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight: that those professors were all corrupt.”1

Smith would go on to report that he was then forbidden to join any of the existing sects of the Christian church and was tasked with “The Restoration” of the “true church.”2

Thus, it is clear that when Mormons claim to be Christians, they do not intend to identify themselves with the historic understanding of that term, but rather, they mean to say that they are the “true Christians” whose doctrines serve as a corrective to the apostate beliefs that had characterized the Christian faith for the previous two millennia. More importantly, Mormons do not intend to identify themselves as Christians by biblical standards either, for despite the inclusion of the King James Bible amongst the LDS Church’s ”Standard Works” (i.e., LDS scripture), the latter revelation received by Joseph Smith serves as the interpretive framework through which the Bible is understood and applied.

Another of these Standard Works, The Pearl of Great Price, sums up the official Mormon position on biblical authority. The Eighth Article of Faith declares:

“We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the Word of God.”3

In referring to the Bible, Joseph Smith would go on to state:

“Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors.”4

LDS Apostle Orson Pratt would later claim that the Bible has been

“mutilated, changed and corrupted in such a shameful manner that no two manuscripts agree.”5

Pratt’s conclusion regarding biblical authority couldn’t be clearer:

“…so far as the uninspired translators and the people are concerned, NO PART of the Bible can, with certainty, be known to them to be the word of God.”6

Thus, Mormons beg the question as to whether their peculiar doctrines qualify as “Christian” simply by defining Mormonism as the true, Christian faith. This is achieved first by declaring that what has historically been defined as Christianity to be apostate, and second, by rejecting the Bible’s authority to define the faith by dismissing those passages that refute their positions as being the product of corruption, mistranslation, and/or misinterpretation. In any case, whatever Mormonism is, it is not the faith prescribed in the New Testament Scriptures, nor would it have been recognized as Christianity by anyone prior to the fanciful revelations of Joseph Smith in the early 19th century.

The Biggest Difference Between Mormonism and Christianity

It would be impossible to offer a thorough analysis of the many deviations from biblical orthodoxy contained within LDS theology in this short article, but it is Mormonism’s blasphemous doctrine of God that I regard as the most egregious departure from biblical teaching, and the most consequential in terms of fostering the many other errors that emerge in LDS theology as a result.

“The LDS assertion that God is an exalted man and humans are His species is the key issue separating biblical Christianity from Mormonism.” — Dr. James White7

Indeed, despite a form of apparent trinitarian monotheism found in The Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants, it is clear that Joseph Smith’s theology developed over time, with his latter statements regarding the nature of God being characterized by a veritable smorgasbord of heresies.

Do Mormons and Christians Believe in the Same God?

While the Bible is crystal clear that there is only one God (Deut. 6:4; Is. 43:10), Joseph Smith declared there to be a “plurality of Gods.”8 Scripture states that God is a Spirit... but Doctrine and Covenants 130:22 flatly states:

“The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s.”

Smith further declared in his King Follett Discourse that God has not always been God, but had once been a man, and, therefore, we too can achieve godhood through obedience to the “principles of eternal life.”9

Smith claimed that matter as well as human “intelligences” exist eternally (D&C 93:20), and therefore God is not the Creator of all things in the biblical, ex nihilo sense. Rather, according to Smith, He organized that which already existed and, apparently through a procreative act with our celestial mother, provided bodies for these coeternal intelligences to inhabit.10 Smith goes so far as to say:

“The intelligence which man possesses is coequal with God himself”
and that
“God never had the power to create the spirit of man at all.”11

I could continue to belabor the point, but even the passive reader will not fail to see that it would be difficult to imagine two conceptions of God that are more antithetical to each other. What’s more, the LDS conception of God precludes them from arriving at proper conclusions regarding the Person and work of Christ, and in turn, the way in which (and for what purpose) an individual is justified before God.

Do Mormons Believe Jesus is God?

While Mormons will not hesitate to admit that Christ is a “god,” they do not mean that He is the eternal, second Person of the Trinity through whom “all things came into being” (John 1:2). They simply mean that He, like the rest of us, is the biological offspring of Elohim (the Father); lower on the ladder of progression than His Father, yet further ascended than the rest of us.12

Because Elohim’s exaltation was a result of His “obedience to the gospel program,” we too are justified, not by grace alone through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8–9), but:

“by grace…after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23).

The result is a wholesale rejection of the biblical gospel.

Conclusion

The above only begins to scratch the surface of the divide between Bible-believing Christians and Mormons. Nevertheless, it is my prayer that the information contained here will foster a zeal amongst Christians to proclaim the gospel of grace to their Mormon friends and neighbors, because, while it may be something of a cliché, the fact remains that the differences between us are of eternal consequence.

This article was written by Taylor Thornton, a member of the Hammer & Anvil Society—a fellowship of Christian men striving to live out the values of brotherhood, boldness, and biblical soundness in an age of opposition to God’s truth.

If you want to get real accountability and help to build your worldview legacy, learn more here. If you join today, you will get eight weeks free to try it out.

Did you learn something from this article? Share it with someone who needs more clarity on what Mormonism actually teaches.

Footnotes

1. Joseph Smith, “Joseph Smith History,” Link

2. Ethan E. Harris, The Gospel According to Joseph Smith (P&R Publishing, 2001), 17–21.

3. “The Articles of Faith,” LDS.org, Link

4. Joseph Smith, The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (Deseret Book, 1976), 327.

5. Orson Pratt, Orson Pratt's Works (Deseret Book, 1945), 195–196.

6. Jerald & Sandra Tanner, Mormonism—Shadow or Reality? (Utah Lighthouse, 1987), 374.

7. James R. White, Is The Mormon My Brother? (Solid Ground, 2008), 9.

8. Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 370.

9. Joseph Smith, “The King Follett Sermon,” Link

10. “The Origin of Man,” Ensign, Feb 2002, Link

11. Joseph Smith, “The King Follett Sermon,” Link

12. “The Father and the Son,” Ensign, Apr 2002, Link