Mormonism vs. Christianity - Sharp Distinctions Between the Two Very Different Faiths
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Christianity and Mormonism. Two religions both heavily present in America and throughout the world. Many have argued about the two and tons of questions have evolved. Hopefully this hub will clear up any questions you have.
What Mormons and Christians believe about God
Mormons
The famous Mormon Brigham Young wrote in his Journal of Discourses that there are many Gods. Therefore, Mormons believe there are many Gods. They also believe that God was once a man of human flesh. When of flesh, he studied and learned the teachings of the gospel; then he became God. One other teaching that Mormons take into account is that God can stop being God if scholars and intelligent beings stop believing that he is God.
Christians
There is only one God. This God was never created nor will he ever end. This God created everything (Genesis) and holds everything in the palm of his hands. He created man out of the dust of the ground. God was never human flesh, he will and will always reign in heaven. He sent his son, Jesus Christ, into the word by human flesh to die for the sins of every human being. God can never stop being God. He is God.
What Mormons and Christians believe about salvation
Mormons
Mormons believe that all men are saved from suffering through Jesus Christ's death on the cross. This thereby states that all men are redeemed from their sin and can all achieve the great reward of heaven.
Christians
Christians believe that Jesus Christ, God's son, died on the cross for the world's sins, but there is another very important step. In order to become a Christian, one must accept Jesus Christ as his or her personal Savior. This step is not respected by the Mormons.
What Mormons and Christians believe about Adam and Eve along with the fall of man
Mormons
Mormons believe that indeed, Adam and Eve were the first human creations as well as the first sinners. However, they do not look down upon Adam and Eve's act as a sin. They actually praise Adam and Eve for sinning because it allows humans to be able to strive for salvation.
Christians
Christians believe that Adam and Eve were indeed the first human creations and that they were the first sinners. Christians do believe that the act was actually a sin. Due to this act, the world was hence filled with sin. Evil, deceptions, lies, harm; all of these are sins due to Adam's first sin. In order to become a Christian, Christians believe that one must confess that they are sinners.
What Mormons and Christians believe and Heaven
Mormons
Mormons believe that everyone qualifies for heaven. Those Mormons who believe in the texts of Mormonism and who kept the faith will go to the Terrestrial Heaven. Those Mormons who reign in the temple will go to the Celestial Heaven.
Christians
Christians believe that one can achieve the main salvation of acceptance into heaven by only becoming a Christian. Becoming a Christian involves confessing sins and accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Then when your earthly body passes, you will ascend into Heaven with the Lord and other Christians who have passed on the earth.
So which religion is the right one?
Well since I am a Christian, I cannot determine that question without being baised. Yes, I believe Christianity is the one and only true religion. What about you? Comment!
Thanks for reading,
JohnB0127
My website: www.NorthTexasLuxury.com
Twitter: @JIBurg4
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Both religions are wrong.
I agree advisor!
And Sanctus, you cant just make a claim like that after explaining your reasoning behind it. Tell us why you believe that.
I, like advisor, have never taken the time to understand Mormon beliefs. I feel the same about the wives issue. But, if wives were not a factor, I have to say from your description that Mormons sound less rigid and more accepting of human flaws than Christians. That really surprises me...or maybe it is just the way I interpreted your differences.
I grew up a Christian but over the years I have found that most of the qualities of this world that I least respect seem to be brought on by religious differences and people who are unable to tolerate those variations. I also don't believe that humans necessarily understand the interpretations of the Bible. It was a book written some 300 years later, recalled through mortal recollections and doodles in the dirt. Maybe I am wrong but this seems a little like that game we used to play as a child when you whisper a sentence in someone's ear and by the time it reached the last person it was a completely different meaning. I'm being flip, but I do believe that interpretations and the belief that there is only one way into the house of God has caused wars and some of the hatred in the world.
I was raised Southern Baptist, and after that, I was in the LDS church for three years.
Polygamy was stopped in the church in by the 1890 Manifesto, but the church tolerated some degree of polygamy into the 1930s.
Members of the church do not practice polygamy now, and are excommunicated it they do.
That's not to say some Mormon fundamentalist sects don't still practice it.
But the mainstream church does not.
I am no longer in the church, but I hold no ill-will against them.
Actually, the Ward I was in had some of the nicest, kindest people I had ever met.
Funny thing is, in 3 years there, I saw more charity, respect for family and moral values than I saw in 12 years in a Baptist church.
Of course this is just what I have seen.
I can't speak for everyone.
Thanks for your opinion Annie.
And thank you too Sabre. Mormons center a lot around family so I can bet that is why you saw so many moral values in the Mormon church. Not that Baptists don't center around family, we do actually. Just not as much as Mormons.
johnbo127, I'm appalled at some of your misconceptions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aka Mormons. First, Mormons are Christians. Notice in the above name of the church, The Church of Jesus Christ...? Second, a reader said the church tolerated polygamy until 1930 which is totally inaccurate. It did not. Yes, there were some cults or small offshoots from the Church, but they in no way are connected to the Mormon Church. If a member is found practicing polygamy today they are excommunicated. Mormons believe that there is one God. He is Elohim, God the Eternal Father. He has one begotten son, Jesus Christ, also called Jehovah. Many Gods? Paul preached that we are all Gods. Mormons believe that if a person lives to become perfect in the eternities it is possible to have eternal increase, that is an extension of his earthly family because families are forever. Mormon family members are sealed together for time and for eternity, meaning the great pedigree chart we are producing when we complete our family history will extend clear back to Adam and Even, our first earthly parents. We are all brothers and sisters, and as such we are interconnected as a family would be, regardless of race, ethnicity, color or anything else. If this person does become perfect (which would take eons of time) perhaps that person could become like God and Jesus Christ and become a God, peopling his own world. But that is not the main thrust of the gospel. The main thrust is that Jesus died at the cross for all of us, to atone for our sins and make it possible for us to be forgiven, after repentance, of sin. He is the great intercessor, the Savior of mankind. We partake of the holy sacrament each Sunday so that we will remember the covenant we made in baptism to always remember Him and keep His commandments. It is the most sacred of all Mormon rituals, yet it is so simple in execution - a young deacon boy passing the bread and the water which are symbols of his broken body and spilt blood. If any religion is Christian, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are Christian. We preach of Christ, we believe in Christ, we are forgiven of sin by Christ, who will be our judge following the final resurrection of the just. I don't like it when non members of this church abrogate authority or take it upon themselves to become the expert about something they know very little about. I wrote a Hub last night about the fact that God created the world with the help of his son Jesus Christ. We who call ourselves Christian should spend our efforts explaining to the non-believers about the power and authority of God and how he did create the universe and all things therein. If any readers want to be taught Mormon doctrine, they should buy a book authored by a Mormon apostle or prophet. My Hub lists some of them. I have no malice or bad feelings about anyone on this Hub, but I wanted to set the record straight. There are some other misconceptions fostered by this Hub, but space won't allow me to correct them all.
"God Exists - He Has A Plan For Us. He has A Large Family" is the title of the Hub I refer to. If anyone wants missionaries who can explain what the Church is about, please email me. Don White dusanotes@Yahoo.com
But Don, you are missing the big point. Mormons are not Christians due to their method of salvation. Mormons say that Jesus Christ died on the cross for everyone. While that is exactly true, it doesnt end there! Mormons stop right at that point and teach that everyone can get into heaven because of Jesus' death. The truth is this: Yes, Jesus Christ did die on the cross, but we as human beings must choose to accept him and Lord and Savior. Salvation does not end at the cross. Salvation extends to a personal commitment to Jesus Christ and a life lived for him.
Thanks for your comment, you must be of the Mormon faith.
John,
There are several Christian religions which teach that salvation is by grace alone, however the LDS faith is not one of them.
The LDS understand not only the importance of confessing the name of Jesus Christ, but also the relationship of grace, faith, repentance, and baptism in regards to salvation.
But they do not believe that you must ACCEPT HIM AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR. They believe that Christ died on the cross, therefore Im saved. But as I have said in other comments above, the salvation process does not end there at all.
Okaaaay, all of you Mormons that say your are Christian, chime in here and tell us your Jesus is the same Lord Jesus Christ as ours, that babe born of the virgin Mary in the town of Bethlehem is...., GOD!
Thank YOU!
"And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE ETERNAL GOD, manifesting himself unto all nations"- Book of Mormon; title page.
That is simply ink on paper. Sure it may say that Jesus is the Christ and that he is the eternal God, but does the book preach it? Are Mormons Christians? No. They have not accepted the faith, they have merely recognized it.
The Mormons believe in a prophet named Joseph Smith. They honor him more than anybody else. Their belief is that Jesus Christ is just a mere prophet and once a human being like us.
I am not a believer of the Mormon's principles. However, I only admire the discipline and sacrifices of some of the members. They walk long miles and live a simple life just to witness to others about their beliefs. But there were also members who have been in the news who created a calendar with half-naked bodies of men. It was reported that that member was expelled from their church.
I believe that nobody can judge who are christians and who are not.
Have a good day!
But Jesus is not a prophet, he is a Savior! Joseph Smith was no more important than you and me!
Absolutely you can judge who Christians are.
You too
We're still waiting..., it's so easy, just say,
JESUS IS GOD, JESUS IS GOD, JESUS IS GOD.
Yup.
Jesus is God.
And by the same logic of the Trinity - through Christ's Atonement - YOU can be GOD too.
Face it guys - if you can turn three beings into "One God" you can do the exact same thing with more than three beings.
No way. There is no absolute way for a human being to obtain the same power as to God or even be called God.
And the Trinity represents the nature of the three. God, Father, and the Holy Spirit all have the same divine nature making them into the one trinity. They are not all one person. One person = one person, 3 persons = 3 persons.
'They believe that Christ died on the cross, therefore Im saved. But as I have said in other comments above, the salvation process does not end there at all.' your quote.
We are saved BECAUSE Christ died for us. Are you saying that the salvation process does not end there? Why then did Jesus say 'IT IS FINISHED'? Are you saying salvation is a two-parts process and Christ completed Level 1 and we have to complete Level 2? And if we don't? Christ died for nothing?
So the power is ultimately in OUR hands and God/Jesus is just waiting in Heaven chewing their nails with bated breath? HOPING we'd accept Him?
Oh, how you exalt mankind and discredit our Almighty God!
Mormons believe the salvation process ends there when really, humans must take it a step farther to personally accept him as Savior. Yes, Jesus Christ died on the cross for everyone. So that means everyone gets to heaven? Nope. You must believe in God and accept Jesus as your Savior.
Thanks for your comment
Regardless of the way you put it, am I right in saying:
1) Christ's sacrifice was INCOMPLETE?
2) For those who do not accept Christ, Christ died for nothing (much like someone setting up a stall to sell his wares to everyone and if noone buys anything, he would have wasted his whole day setting up his stall for nothing)?
3) The step we have to take is more important than the one Christ took so that if we fail to act, Christ's step would be rendered useless?
4) The power of salvation is in our hands?
Can you also confirm what Christ meant by 'it is finished'? Does it mean he has done EVERYTHING needed for salvation or only His own part?
Your conclusion is that Christ SUFFERED and DIED so we MIGHT get saved?
Its simple:
1. Christ died to save everyone from their sins.
2. He rose again on the 3rd day to live at the right hand seat of God.
3. Christ died for us. In order to obtain the salvation Jesus Christ has offered us, we MUST accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. If we do, we are Christians and must try to live a life glorifying God. If we do not, we are not Christians.
The subject is very simple. I am misunderstanding your problems. Could you specify please? Thanks
And when Christ said 'it is finished' on the cross, that meant that his earthly body and life were fading away. Now, he lives surrounded by glory in heaven.
I thought my questions were pretty clear and straightforward. Was I right in saying everything I said then in my previous comment? Simple.
John, you really believe and think that Jesus meant that 'his earthly body and life were fading away' when He said 'it is finished'?! Really?
I don't believe this is recorded in the bible (JESUS CHRIST'S LAST WORDS!)to tell us the obvious (he was obviously dying).
So the Lord's will can only be done when WE, carnal sinners 'make things happen' by accepting Christ? We control God's will?
Sure sounds like that.
I hope I didn't offend you or anything. I get really passionate when it comes to God and how humans always tend to put themselves on pedestals.
Yes. "It is finished" meant that he was dying on the cross. What do you think it means?
God gives us free will to choose him or not.
You don't offend me. I like chatting
Hi,
Didn't mean to reply so late! Anyway, to me, it doesn't make sense for Jesus' last words to be something so trivial - to announce to everyone the obvious: that he's dying.
I believe Jesus meant to say that He has done everything needed for us to gain salvation. There is nothing left to be done - it is finished (truly finished).
We don't and can't save ourselves. The Lord saves us.
I cannot believe that God would leave such an important decision to us (our salvation is probably the MOST important issue anyone of us would ever face) when our carnal minds cannot even begin to fathom the greatness of God.
If you don't have ALL answers, how are you to make the MOST important decision?
My two cents. :)
You make a very good point; it is clear that you are believing what Mormons believe: that we do not have to do anything to gain salvation. And by saying that The Lord saves us, you must mean predestination, am I right? The Lord predestined who will enter the kingdom of heaven and who will not?
Anyway, you believe what you want to believe even though I disagree.
When Jesus said "It is finished", I believe he was saying that yes he was dying but also that his worldly life was ending and he would go to reign in heaven with his father. He did not mean that salvation is complete; salvation is only complete once one has accepted the true name of Jesus.
Johnb0127 this is a good hub. When I lived in the San Fran area I visited the Morman Temple and started asking Questions to the workers about the Word of God and it was crazi because I MEAN NO ONE could give me any background on the Word.
My thing is that if Mormon's are CHRISTIANS "HOW can they place another HIGHER value on a book ( book of Morman) than the HOLY BIBLE or the written word of God.
So, as my friends and I contuine to talk with the workers there I could feel the confusion from their part. I'm not trying to put them down (MORMANS) but I FEEL AS THOUGH PPl or humans just try to 80 to 90% of the truth and not go all the way. Its ALL or nothing .
Even the JEWS will tell you that the OLD TEST is the word of the Lord. How can we forget that.
Great Hub. God bless.
Mormons ant polygamists, FLDS(which is a failing break off cult literally isolated from society with less then 2000 members and its so called prophet in prison because of rape. Mormons or LDS stayed with Brigham young to Utah and no, no polygamists there very mush illegal) as stated in parenthesis they are a break off group not looked at as Mormons by the mainstream Mormons which is the only group that has succeeded with over 13 million members and growing. Next issue Mormons very much believe you better accept Christ as your savior their official name is church of JESUS CHRIST of latter day saints and not only do they accept him as there savior they believe in the phrase Jesus said "If yea love me keep my commandments" so we very much so believe in Jesus accept him as there savior live hard to just like him and no I am not a polygamists i am from Utah and i have 1 mom. u want to go see these polygamists go to Arizona Utah border. To clarify the multiple god thing we believe in many gods but worship or follow or however you put it only 3 of them Heavenly Father(like what you view as god) Jesus Christ(son of god redeemer of man) and holy ghost(manifester of truth).
We believe that we are children of heavenly father and we once lived in a premortal existence where there was a fight about how we should be tested on earth. Satan wanted us to go to earth and be forced perfect to save all men so he could be looked upon with all of our glory given to him, Jesus wanted us to learn for our selves and choose if we want to follow god we believe he offered to sacrifice himself in order to allow us to be saved and he said something along the lines of send me to earth and the glory shall be thine while Satan said the glory will be mine. Satan then rebelled against god and ended up taking 1/3 of heaven with him as he was caste out of gods present and sent to earth. So the other 2/3 went to earth to follow jesus plan the 1/3 are trying to tempt us to follow them so Satan can say you failed father. And basically this test is to see if we are worthy to be bestowed all the gifts of god. Lastly the heaven part we believe in 3 degrees of heaven (highest to lowest) Celestial Terrestrial and Telestial. Celestial is reserved for all that did all of god's commandments (which is more then what you are thinking) Terrestrial is for people who believe in Jesus but don't want to accept the fullness of the gospel and telestial is a training thing for people who would basically go to hell in a non Mormon/Christian faith. The closet thing to hell we have is outer darkness a place where apostates go. And when God says you are damned that means stopped and hell is a place without god so eternal damnation is where god stops you. Hope that clarifies some things. Because i know this message will be spammed with hate i want to finished by saying, I would rather be in a religion where god loves me and i can be with my family forever and as long as i endurith to the end i will be in complete paradise and i will know all things rather then going through life with a vengeful god and all i have to look forward to in my death is either being gods servant forever or burning in the pits of hell. I don't know how i am not saved i accept Jesus as my savior and live his commandments but there u go.
Mormonism is as outdated as Islam is when it comes to their world views of women. They use them, enslave them and sell their daughters into sexual slavery. What's Christ-like about that?
Not to mention the fact they worship golden idols. Gabriel and his horn, atop their most prestigious temples??? Please. "Sharp distinction" is an understatement.
Very well written hub.
advisor4qb 2 years ago
Um, I never took the time to even examine the Mormon religion once I saw that the men were allowed to have more than one wife. Any religion that degrades women like that is completely unacceptable to me.
Interesting reading here.
And, yes, I am a Christian (and proud of it!)!