MORMONISM - Does it truly follow Jesus Christ?
The Mormon church describes itself as the Church of Jesus Christ; why then do most other churches say that Mormonism is not Christian?
When Mormon missionaries come to my door, even they sometimes make the point that the Mormon church is different than all other churches that claim to be Christian. I find that I must agree. Even though Mormonism says many of the same things that other churches say, a more detailed discussion usually reveals that the ideas behind many of the words are totally different than orthodox Christianity. Even though Mormons often display admirable traits in personal and family life, the doctrinal positions of the church itself cannot be harmonized with the teaching of the Bible.
Here are some key differences…
God | Jesus Christ | Man | Sources of Authority | Salvation | The Future
About God
Mormonism says: God is the Supreme Being of the universe, but he has not always held that position. He gradually attained godhood by living a perfectly righteous life.
…We must accept the fact that there was a time when Deity was much less powerful than He is today. Then how did He become glorified and exalted and attain His present status of Godhood? In the first place, aeons ago God undoubtedly took advantage of every opportunity to learn the laws of truth and as He became acquainted with each new verity He righteously obeyed it. From day to day He exerted His will vigorously, and as a result became thoroughly acquainted with the forces lying about Him. As He gained more knowledge through persistent effort and continuous industry, as well as through absolute obedience, His understanding of the universal laws continued to become more complete. Thus He grew in experience and continued to grow until He attained the status of Godhood.
In other words, He became God by absolute obedience to all the truth, and thereby became the author of eternal truth. Therefore, the road that the Eternal Father followed to Godhood was one of living at all times a dynamic, industrious, and completely righteous life. There is no other way to exaltation. —Milton R. Hunter, The Gospel Through the Ages (Salt Lake City: Steven & Wallis, 1945), pp. 114-115 (emphasis added)
Mormonism also teaches that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones.
The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also… —Doctrine and Covenants, 130:22
The Bible says: God has existed eternally in perfection, and has never had less of His infinite power and wisdom than He has today. Adam was the first created man of flesh.
