A Familiar Vocabulary
A Latter-day Saint will tell you that he believes in God, that Jesus is his Savior, that the Bible is the word of God, and that we are saved by grace. He means every word. He also means something different by nearly every word, and that difference is the reason for this study.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, reports nearly eighteen million members. It asks to be called by its full name and asks that its members not be called Mormons, so we call them Latter-day Saints. Mormonism remains the common English word for the system of belief, and we use it only for that.
Many readers know Latter-day Saints as good neighbors: strong families, clean living, generous help in hard times, and young missionaries serving far from home. The church says its members “unequivocally affirm themselves to be Christians” (Gospel Topics Essays, “Are ‘Mormons’ Christian?”). We do not doubt that they love the Jesus they have been taught. Our question is whether He is the Jesus of Scripture.
We regard Mormonism as a cult in the sense defined in What Is a Cult?: it teaches another God, another Jesus, and another gospel. That is a judgment about a system of doctrine, made from its own books. It is not a judgment of any Latter-day Saint's heart. Labels do not save, and we cannot see what a particular person is trusting. For the full profile, see The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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For Deeper Study
- Reasoning from the Scriptures with the MormonsAmazon Ron Rhodes and Marian BodineA practical guide to the main points of difference, with passages and questions for conversation. Evangelical.
- Mormonism 101: Examining the Religion of the Latter-day SaintsAmazon Bill McKeever and Eric JohnsonA topical survey that quotes Latter-day Saint sources at length. Evangelical.
- Unveiling Grace: The Story of How We Found Our Way Out of the Mormon ChurchAmazon Lynn K. WilderA family's testimony of leaving the church after about thirty years and finding grace in Christ. Evangelical.
- The Four Major CultsAmazon Anthony A. HoekemaIts chapter on Mormonism works from primary sources. Hoekema was Reformed, and we differ on his theology of salvation.
- The Book of MormonThe primary source, along with the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. All are free at churchofjesuschrist.org. Read what your friend actually believes before you answer it.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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What Is a Cult?
A cult, as this section uses the word, is a group that uses Christian words while denying the Gospel or the God it reveals, preaching another Jesus, another spirit, or another gospel.
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