And somehow this is different from what the Protestant Reformers did?.
I see it as very different. The Reformers who had studied the Bible for themselves saw that the Catholic Church was keeping the scriptures from the common people for its own power and control. They saw that the Catholic Church was in error in the following points:
1. Going beyond biblical scripture for doctrine.
2. Teaching that salvation/justification required more than faith in Jesus Christ alone.
3. Claiming the priesthood was for only certain ones rather than each believer n Jesus Christ.
What the Reformers did was to restore the Bible to the common people in their common language.
Joseph Smith also condemned the Catholic Church calling it the "great and abominable church". It should be noted that by the lifetime of Joseph Smith the Reformation started by Martin Luther was widely recognized. Yet, in contrast to the Reformers, Smith claimed that many "plain and precious truths" had been taken from the Bible and he was the one to restore them. But it seems that Joseph Smith and the church he created are guilty of the same errors which the Reformers found the Catholic Church guilty of;
1. The Mormon Church imposes authority beyond the Bible - the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price ( all produced by Joseph Smith) and the teachings of LDS leadership authorities.
2. The Mormon Church has added many other requirements beyond faith in Jesus Christ.
3. The Mormon Church teaches the priesthood is only for worthy LDS males (by Church requirements ).
Joseph Smith may have believed that none of the Christian Churches that existed in 1820 were completely true, but he never tried to deny that their members were Christians.
He actually said, "“The Saints can testify whether I am willing to lay down my life for my brethren. If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for a ‘Mormon,’ I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any other denomination; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics, or of any other denomination who may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves."
Clearly he had a more charitable attitude towards non-LDS Christians than they had towards us
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I think any Christian who believes in freedom of religion would be just as charitable and quick to defend the rights of Mormons to have the freedom to practice their religion.
Joseph Smith claimed that all Christian churches were wrong and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was the only true church, if this is not denying that members of those other churches were not Christians then I don't know what is. Contending for the biblical
faith which was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3) is not uncharitable at all, it is a biblical necessity grounded in truth and love.