Differences Between Mormons And Christians – My family and I live in a town in Arizona with a large Mormon population. We have many Mormon friends and neighbors that we love. They are kind people and have strong faith.
Of course, this raises many questions about the differences between the beliefs of Mormons and Christians like us.
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A few years ago, a friend of mine named Ken invited my wife and I to visit a new Mormon temple that had been built near our home.
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We took the opportunity to see the ornate building as non-congregants are only allowed to enter the temple during the final stages of construction. I had read about Mormonism in books, but I was excited to learn more about the beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS).
During the tour, Ken was kind enough to answer all of my questions, and I approached him afterward to ask if I could interview him about his beliefs about Jesus.
We met in the back of Chick-fil-A for our kids to play while we talked. I ordered a coke. He bought a Sprite—because Mormons don’t drink caffeine.
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I thanked Ken for taking the time to meet with me and he was more than happy to share his thoughts with me (considering that he is not an official representative of the views of the LDS Church).
Ken was raised in the church and can trace his family’s holy heritage back to his grandfather. After high school, like many Mormons, he served a two-year mission. He currently serves in his church leading the Sunday School and youth group.
Ken replied, “He is the Son of God, the Savior of all men, and the only way of salvation.”
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To my surprise, my answer was the same as his. No Christian would dispute his statement. We can all agree on that. Maybe his faith is different from mine.
“God.” Ken said, “He came to earth and lived as a man, flesh and blood in a human body. He went through all that we go through and suffered as we do. But he was perfect. He is a holy member of God – the three persons of Father, Son and Spirit.”
So we had the same vocabulary, but I had to dig deeper to make sure we meant the same thing. I insisted: “Then you say that the triune God of Father, Son and Spirit is one person?”
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“No,” he said, surprised. “They are three separate people, but they are united in their goals.”
To clarify this, I asked, “So their purpose is the same, but they are separate from one person?” He nodded, “Yes.”
Over the course of an hour long conversation, Ken proceeded to explain to me how he believes the Old Testament calls Elohim the Father, but when the Old Testament says Jehovah, it means Jesus.
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He believes that Jesus existed before the creation of the world with God in heaven. But he also believes that all humans exist as spiritual children before they are born on earth. So Jesus is like us because we all lived in heaven clothed in flesh and blood before coming to earth (even though Jesus was born of a virgin).
Ken affirms Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus died and rose again in three days. But when asked what Jesus did between his death and his resurrection, Ken had an interesting answer.
He believed that Jesus had gone to the spirit world. The righteous who die go to heaven and others go to prison. That is why Jesus sent others to do missionary work in the prison of the soul to give them the opportunity to repent. After his ascension, Jesus continues to work to save those in spirit prison. That’s why Ken said he’s doing what the Mormon church calls “temple work.” These are rituals like marriage and baptism for the dead.
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It is believed that through these rituals the family is sealed for eternity. Therefore, they are baptized in the name of family members who do not believe in this life and may be in the prison of the soul.
When I asked how Jesus was different from other people, Ken said that Jesus was the only perfect person alive. If our purpose is to come to earth and take on flesh to work on how we can be like God, then Jesus already achieved godliness before becoming flesh. But Jesus is not like us. As Ken said, “We can be like Jesus and the Father because we are made in God’s image.” We can be gods.
I tried to understand this idea of being a god, so I asked if we would be like Jesus and the Father. “In theory,” he said, “yes.” But he believes that God and Jesus are forever moving forward. Even if we keep growing, they have big heads that we will never be able to reach. So, in theory, we can be like them now, but then they will be bigger. He didn’t know exactly how it all worked, but he always believed that there was some kind of hierarchy that was greater than us, Father, Son, and Spirit.
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Ken also believes that Jesus still speaks and gives more revelations today. He cited the example of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon faith, who did not know which church was the true church. So he followed the counsel in James 1:5 to pray for wisdom. Joseph prayed that both the Father and Jesus had visited him. They told him that every church has an incomplete truth and they revealed the whole truth to Joseph so that he could be a prophet to restore the church. Therefore, Jesus spoke to Joseph Smith, and Jesus continues this method of face-to-face revelation with the prophets of the Latter-day Saint church today.
I am very grateful to Ken for being willing to talk to me about his beliefs. He knew more about his theology than the average Christian in our church. But there are some inconsistencies in the theology of the Latter-day Saints with the Bible they also claim to believe.
The more we talked, the more it became clear that there was a big difference in what we believed about Jesus. Although there is not enough time in this article to go over all the differences, the biggest difference in our theology is around the divinity of Jesus.
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Ken believes that Jesus is one of three gods with one purpose. But I say that the triune God is one and that Jesus is part of the Trinity – one God in three persons.
When Jesus said, “I and the Father are one,” Jesus was not referring to his purpose, but to his character. (John 10:30). John also said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1). Jesus (the Word) was not only with God, but also with God as a special saint. Jesus also said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” (John 14:9). Furthermore, we read in Hebrews that Jesus is “the brightness of God’s glory and the symbol of His character.” (Hebrews 1:3).
Although Mormons believe in many gods, the Bible also clearly teaches that there is only one God. Deuteronomy 4:35 says, “It has been shown to you that you may know that the Lord is God; There is no one but him. God said: “There is no god but Me.” (Deuteronomy 32:39). David asked: “Who is God but Jehovah?” (Psalm 18:31). In Isaiah, God declares, “There was no god created before me, and there will not be any after me. I am Jehovah and there is no savior but Me.” (Isaiah 43:10-11).
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Furthermore, I see a problem with Ken’s evidence for polytheism by pointing out that Elohim refers to God the Father and Jehovah to Christ the Son in the Old Testament. . These are two different names for God, but that does not mean that there are two separate gods.
Based on the Scriptures, it would be more accurate to know them as interchangeable names of the same God. For example, Genesis 27:20 uses both names: “The Lord [Jehovah] your God [Elohim] has given me success.” Deuteronomy 6:4 also says, “Hear, O Israel, our God Jehovah [Jehovah] [Elohim], Jehovah [Jehovah] is one.”
We even have reason to believe that Jesus is both Jehovah and Elohim. Isaiah used these two names in his prophecy about the coming of Jesus: “Prepare a way for the Lord [the Lord] in the wilderness; Make a way for our God [Elohim] in the wilderness.’ (40:3).
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Jehovah and Elohim are two names of the same God. More interestingly, Jehovah and Elohim are often translated as “Lord” and “God,” and when Thomas saw Jesus after the resurrection, he exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).
According to this and many other proofs, Jesus, God the Father and the Holy Spirit are one
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