Question about the Mormon view of Christianity

Hi, HailMary. Of course Mormons consider Catholics and Protestants to be Christians. We consider anyone who believes in Jesus Christ and worships Him as our Savior to be a Christian. (Thanks for the question, and welcome to the forum. )

 

might I add the scriptural reference for what Katz said?

(Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 29:7 - 14)
7 Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?
8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.
9 And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.
10 Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written.
11 For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the cbooks which shall be written I will djudge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.
12 For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it.
13 And it shall come to pass that the aJews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the blost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews.
14 And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the blands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in cone. And I will show unto them that fight against my word and against my dpeople, who are of the ehouse of Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted with Abraham that I would remember his seed forever.

A lot of the Mormon Messages consist of the same thing: interviewing random people of diverse backgrounds on the street about some topic.
see for example:
YouTube - MormonMessages's Channel


and this one:
YouTube - MormonMessages's Channel


and this one:
YouTube - MormonMessages's Channel


etc. etc. etc.





The beauty in it – these random people from different backgrounds all understand the same basic principles – we all understand and cherish the same principles because the light of Christ is given to all of us - God speaks to and loves all of us - not just other Christians - all of us.

 

I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to talk to Catholics.

Before I answer that question, I would like to know the answer to this question:

What is the difference between a follower of Christ and a "true" follower of Christ?

 

I don't think any of us are true followers... I think you'd have to be perfect to be that.

 

It's just hard for me to imagine what a false follower of Christ would be. Either you're a follower of christ (at least by intention) or you're not.

You might say someone pretends to be a follower of Christ and is thus a false follower... But isn't that still not following Christ? I think there's a fallacy called "true Scotsman" which applies here, but if I said so I wouldn't know what I was talking about.

Anyway, I just think we should be liberal with who we call followers of Christ rather than excluding some and including others. If someone says they believe in Jesus, who am I to find fault with it? How can I know the intent of their heart?

 

You'd make one lousy Baptist or Lutheran, tomato.

 

That would depend on which group of 'lutherans'...it makes a big difference...just ask our friend 'twinspin' on the cd forums

 

I know. I've been trying to join the Lutherans and Baptists but they keep rejecting me because I'm not a "True" follower of Christ. JUST LET ME IN!

 

That's quite a generalization. Not all Baptists and Lutherans are the same. I know Baptists who are accepting of other religions, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church is quite progressive and in communion with several non-Lutheran denominations, including the Episcopal Church.

Now I have a question: since Mormons acknowledge that Christians exist in Protestantism and Catholicism, is it still believed that the Protestant and Catholic churches are false and that the LDS is "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth," (Doctrine and Covenants 1:30)? Are the Christians in these communities nevertheless in misguided religions? Or are the other churches just as valid as Mormonism?

 

With respect to "true" and "false," it's a matter of degree. We definitely don't believe that all of the doctrines espoused by Catholicism and Protestantism are "false," but we do believe that some of them are. Since no two of the thousands of different denominations of Christianity today are teaching exactly the same doctrines, it is statistically impossible that any more than one of them is teaching 100% true doctrines and is, therefore "the only true Church." From an LDS perspective, though, it's really not just about doctrine. It's about authority. It's about which Church is the Church Jesus Christ himself established, and which one holds the authority He gave to Peter and the other Apostles. The basic premise upon which our Church was founded is that Jesus Christ established His Church as part of His ministry, that after He and His Apostles died, men changed it, and that it has been re-established today.

 

So the interpretation of Doctrine and Covenants 1:30 is that the LDS is the only 100% true church and also has the authority of Christ behind it as a restoration of Christianity?

 

I'd say that's a reasonably accurate way of saying it. Anyway, regardless of what your personal opinion of Mormonism is, I'd like to thank you for what appears to me to be a genuinely honest attempt on your part to understand the Church's position. It's not so much our intent to insist that we're right and everybody else is wrong as it is to say, take all of the truths you already have and let us see if we can add anything else.

 

No problem. : )

 

The way the missionaries explained it to me is that every Christian church (and even every non-Christian religion) has elements of truth. But the LDS Church is the only church that teaches the fulness of the Gospel correctly. When we die and go to the spirit world we will all be Mormon because we will know that is God's true church. Those Christians who weren't baptized when they were alive on the Earth will receive baptism by proxy through a living member of the LDS Church.

 

I don't know if that's what the missionaries actually told you or if you misunderstood them, but I believe your understanding on this to be incorrect.

 

They did say that people might still rebel against the Gospel in the spirit world. And people might still want to be other religions. From what I understood, though, that there will be missionaries in the spirit world teaching the spirits why they need to have faith in Jesus and accept the proxy baptism given to them if they didn't get baptized in this life. It will be obvious that the Mormon church is the true church. But people might still be want to be other religions because they want to go terrestrial kingdom and they like their other religion better.

 

I think that's where I disagree with you. While I believe that we may be able to see and understand things more clearly once we are in the Spirit World and are unencumbered by all of the "cultural and social baggage" we've had to deal with during mortality, my understanding is that we will still be required to rely on faith in making our choices and that what may be "obvious" to one person may not be "obvious" at all to someone else. Then too, it won't just be a matter of "becoming a Mormon." I have no doubt but that there will be millions of individuals in the Spirit World who lived their entire lives as Mormons who simply lack the commitment to make it any further than the Terrestrial Kingdom. I don't see the Spirit World as being a place where there's "us" (i.e. Mormons) and "them" (i.e. non-Mormons); I see it as a place where a full knowledge of the truth is available to all and where all who have a genuine desire to find it will be able to do so. Unfortunately, there will be many for whom it really just doesn't matter. To me, the idea that some will say, "Yeah, I guess Mormonism's true, but I like being a Lutheran better, and I'd just as soon settle for a lesser reward than I might be able to have," as being an oversimplification of how it's going to be. I guess we'll all find out sooner or later, though, won't we?

 

As in this life, there will be things that are more obvious in the spirit world and things you still have to have faith in. We will have to keep having faith until we reach the end of the plan of salvation.