Are Mormons Christians?

Within the last two hundred years there have been many religious sects that have arisen claiming to be of the Christian faith but are not. The Mormon Church began in 1830 through a young man named Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith claimed to be a latter day prophet whom God called to restore His Church. According to what Joseph Smith taught the true Church of God had completely apostatized and the true gospel of Jesus Christ was not being taught by anyone. From the time of Joseph Smith until now the Mormon Church has taught many unbiblical doctrines, such as: “God once being a man who became a God, Jesus and Lucifer are spirit brothers, that men can become Gods, and that the blood of Jesus Christ does not atone for all sins.” Today there are 12 million Mormons worldwide.

Reasons Mormons give for why they believe they are Christians:

Mormons believe they are Christians because they believe in Jesus.
Mormons believe they are Christians because the name of their Church is “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.”
Mormons believe they are Christians because they believe Jesus is their Savior.
Mormons believe they are Christians because they believe in God.

Why Mormons are not Christians

Claiming to believe in Jesus does not make anyone a Christian. Jesus said:

“21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man,which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:21-27 KJV)

The context of Matthew 7:13-27 is that there are many who will go down the wrong road in life and the end result is destruction. However, those who go the narrow road will find life. Jesus warns about false prophets who appear to be Christians but in fact are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Jesus warned about bad fruit which is not built upon the foundation of the tree. (Jesus) Jesus warned about many people claiming to be of the Lord and doing many things in His name, but Jesus rejected them because He did not know them. This truth shows that just because a person believes in Jesus does not mean they are truly Christian.

Having a certain name for a Church does not make anyone a Christian. There are many religious sects which have Biblical names but they are not Christians. The Jehovah’s Witnesses, The Way International, and Oneness Pentecostals have Biblical names but they have a different Jesus and a different Gospel. They are, by Biblical definition, non-Christians. What makes a Church or fellowship Christian is not what name they go by, but what they believe concerning the nature of Jesus Christ and the gospel message.

Many religious sects claim to believe in Jesus as their Savior, but many truly do not believe in the atoning work of the cross and Jesus’ shed blood. Mormons do not know Jesus as the true Savior because they have been taught that the blood of Jesus Christ does not atone for all sins. Mormon apostle Bruce McConkie states:

“But under certain circumstances there are some serious sins for which the cleansing of Christ does not operate, and the law of God is that men must then have their own blood shed to atone for their sins. Murder, for instance, is one of these sins; hence we find the Lord commanding capital punishment.”… “President Joseph Fielding Smith has written: “Man may commit certain grievous sins — according to his light and knowledge — that will place him beyond the reach of the atoning blood of Christ. If then he would be saved, he must make sacrifice of his Own life to atone — so far as in his power lies — for that sin,for the blood of Christ alone under certain circumstances will not avail. . . . Joseph Smith taught that there were certain sins so grievous that man may commit, that they will place the transgressors beyond the power of the atonement of Christ. If these offenses are committed, then the blood of Christ will not cleanse them from their sins even though they repent. Therefore their only hope is to have their own blood shed to atone, as far as possible, in their behalf”‘ [Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, pp. 133-138]” (Mormon Doctrine, Bruce McConkie, pages 92-93)

This quote is from an apostle of the Mormon Church stating that the blood of Jesus does not atone for all sins, even if they repent. Bruce McConkie also stated that this was taught by Joseph Smith and President Joseph Fielding Smith which gives this special validation to what the Mormon Church teaches. The Bible teaches:

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin….If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us (our) sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:7&9 KJV)

The Bible teaches that all sins are covered and atoned for through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that if we confess our sins and seek forgiveness we will be cleansed from all unrighteousness.

Many people say they believe in God but that does not make them Christians. The Bible warns about those who claim to know God but have been deceived. The Mormon Church teaches that God was once a man who became a God, but this is unbiblical and heretical. Joseph Smith said:

“I will go back to the beginning before the world was, to show what kind of a being God is. What sort of a being was God in the beginning? Open your ears and hear, all ye ends of the earth, for I am going to prove it to you by the Bible, and to tell you the designs of God in relation to the human race, and why He interferes with the affairs of man. God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His power, was to make himself visible. Say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form, like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with Him, as one man talks and communes with another. In order to understand the subject of the dead, for consolation of those who mourn for the loss of their friends, it is necessary we should understand the character and being of God and how He came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, page 345)

According to Joseph Smith God has not always been God, but was a man first who became a God. The Scriptures clearly state that God has always been God. (Deut. 4:39, Psalms 93:2, Isaiah 40:28, Romans 16:26) To teach that God was at one time not God is clearly a false doctrine.

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” (Psalms 90:2 KJV)

This information Biblically shows that Mormons are not Christians. Mormons have been deceived with a different Jesus, different Gospel, and a different God. Joseph Smith was not a true prophet of God because what he taught was not in line with what the Word of God clearly teaches. We have this information not to bash anyone but to challenge people to examine their beliefs. Please contact us if you have any comments or questions concerning this information.

“4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or [if] ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with [him]…13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if hisservants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.” (2 Corinthians 11:4 & 13-15 KJV)

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Cor. 13:5 KJV)