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Perspective profile · Outside historic Trinitarian Christianity

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, reports nearly eighteen million members worldwide. Its members describe themselves as Christians and as disciples of Jesus Christ, and the church asks to be called by its full name rather than by the nicknames Mormon or LDS Church. Latter-day Saints believe that after the apostles died the church fell into apostasy, and that God restored the fullness of the Gospel, the priesthood, and the church through the Prophet Joseph Smith. They are known for strong families, missionary service, temple worship, and high moral standards. Because the church teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three separate beings, that the Father has a glorified physical body, and that faithful humans may be exalted to become like God, Theologica regards its doctrine of God as outside the faith Scripture teaches, while recognizing the sincere devotion to Jesus of many Latter-day Saints.

How Theologica classifies this tradition

This movement departs from historic Trinitarian Christianity on who God is and who Jesus Christ is. We describe it from its own sources, with respect for its members, while stating our disagreement plainly.

Historical origins

Where It Came From

Joseph Smith (1805 to 1844) reported that as a young man in upstate New York he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ in a vision, now called the First Vision and traditionally dated to 1820. He reported later visits from an angel named Moroni, who directed him to gold plates that he translated and published as the Book of Mormon in 1830. The church was organized on April 6, 1830 (the founding of the church). The Saints moved to Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois amid hostility, and Smith was killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, in 1844. Brigham Young led most of the Saints to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. The church publicly taught plural marriage from 1852 until the 1890 Manifesto ended new plural marriages, and in 1978 it extended the priesthood to all worthy male members regardless of race. Several smaller churches, such as the Community of Christ, also trace their origins to Joseph Smith; this profile describes the Salt Lake City church.

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Primary sources

In Their Own Words

This profile describes the tradition from its own official documents and standard teaching:

  • Official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  • The Book of Mormon
  • The Doctrine and Covenants
  • The Pearl of Great Price (including the Articles of Faith)
  • Gospel Topics essays, including “First Vision Accounts,” “Becoming Like God,” and “Race and the Priesthood”
  • The Family: A Proclamation to the World (1995)
  • Preach My Gospel (missionary guide)
Sharing the Gospel

Sharing the Gospel with a Latter-day Saint

Latter-day Saints, often called Mormons, use many of the same words Christians use, such as grace, salvation, Savior, and God, but with different meanings. Many are kind, family-centered, and devoted, and the missionaries who knock on your door are often young people far from home. Treat them with warmth and respect.

Define terms as you talk: ask, “What do you mean by that?” Many Latter-day Saints feel the weight of worthiness and of enduring to the end, and some quietly wonder whether they have done enough. That weariness is often the open door. The good news is that eternal life is a gift, and that Christ's finished work is enough.

Where to begin

  • Jesus Christ is the Son of God, born of a virgin, who suffered for sins and rose bodily from the dead.
  • The Bible is the word of God, and many Latter-day Saints read the King James Version.
  • Faith, repentance, and following Christ matter.
  • Marriage, family, and moral living matter.

Questions to ask

  1. Do you know that you have eternal life? Are you worthy enough today?

    Many will say they are trying, but not there yet. A frequently quoted Book of Mormon passage (2 Nephi 25:23) says we are saved by grace after all we can do. Ask whether they have done all they can. Then show 1 John 5:13.

  2. Has God always been God?

    Joseph Smith taught that God was once a man. Scripture says God is from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 90:2), that no God was formed before Him (Isaiah 43:10), and that He knows of no other God (Isaiah 44:8).

  3. How should we test a prophet or a new revelation?

    Latter-day Saints are encouraged to pray about the Book of Mormon and trust the feeling they receive. Scripture tells us to try the spirits (1 John 4:1) and to test every message by the Gospel already given (Galatians 1:8), because the heart can deceive us (Jeremiah 17:9).

  4. Is Jesus enough, or Jesus plus your obedience, ordinances, and temple covenants?

    This gets to the heart of the matter. Read Romans 4:5: God justifies the one who worketh not, but believes.

Where Scripture challenges their thinking

God has always been God.

God is not a man (Numbers 23:19). He is spirit (John 4:24), eternal (Psalm 90:2), and unchanging (Malachi 3:6). Believers will be made like Christ (1 John 3:2), but they will never become gods. The Lord alone is God (Isaiah 45:5).

Test every message by Scripture, not by a feeling.

Even an angel from heaven may not preach another gospel (Galatians 1:8). There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is death (Proverbs 14:12). The Bereans searched the Scriptures daily to see whether what they heard was true (Acts 17:11).

Eternal life is a gift, not a reward for worthiness.

The gift of God is eternal life (Romans 6:23), by grace through faith, not of works (Ephesians 2:8–9). God saves us not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy (Titus 3:5).

Christ's work and priesthood are complete.

Christ bore our sins in His own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24), and by one offering He perfected forever those who are sanctified (Hebrews 10:14). His priesthood is unchangeable, and He saves to the uttermost all who come to God by Him (Hebrews 7:24–25).

Christ's church was never lost.

Jesus promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church (Matthew 16:18), and the faith was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3). No restoration was needed, because Christ's churches never ceased (Ephesians 3:21).

What to avoid

  • Do not assume you mean the same thing by the same words. Ask what they mean by grace, salvation, and God.
  • Do not lead with polygamy or scandals from church history. Keep to who God is, who Christ is, and how a person is saved.
  • Do not belittle their sincerity or their prayers. Point them to Scripture as the test.
  • Do not argue with young missionaries in a way that shames them. Many are far from home and doing what they were taught. Be a friend.

Pointing them to Christ

For someone tired of trying to be worthy, the Gospel is rest.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”MATTHEW 11:28 · KJV

Christ paid for sin completely, and He gives eternal life as a free gift to all who trust Him. Invite your friend to stop trusting their own worthiness, their ordinances, or their church, and to trust Christ alone, today.

“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”ROMANS 4:5 · KJV