Mormon Church, or the Church of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), considers itself a Christian church. However, comparing the church’s doctrinal positions with biblical Christianity will find several differences.
Who is a Christian?
A person following Christianity as their religion is known as a Christian.
Christians believe Jesus Christ is the son of God who lived as a human on Earth about 2000 years ago. However, Jesus is divine, and he is one person of a three-person God- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They believe in the miraculous birth of Jesus Birth and that he lived for around 30 years and traveled three years to the Middle East to teach God’s words and heal sick people.
Christianity teaches that Jesus was betrayed, tried and convicted on false charges, executed on the crucifix, rose from the dead, and reappeared in front of hundreds of people. Later, he went to heaven to stay alongside God. Christians believe in the eternal judgment where people who put their trust and faith in Jesus will only stay with him for eternity.
Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ and his teachings is known as Christians. However, that’s not all. A Christian must follow the redemptive works of Jesus Christ from his death on the cross to his resurrection. Being a Christian means to behave in a way that resembles Christ .i.e being gracious, merciful, forgiving, caring, welcoming, and praying.
Who is a Mormon?
Both Mormons and Christians believe in Jesus Christ. Mormons belong to a religious group formed by Joseph Smith in the 1820s, known for restoring the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The Latter Day Saint Movement proclaims itself as the restorer of Christianity to its original authority, power, and structure. Mormonism and mainstream Christianity follow the same history and manner of life. However, due to their conflicting doctrines and claims of authority, traditional Christians do not abide by the principles and teaching of Mormons.
Different between Mormon and Christian
| Factors | Mormon | Christian |
| Year Formed | 28-33 CE | 1830 |
| Doctrine | Mormons views about god keeps changing over time. Early Mormonism considered Adam as the God and the father of Jesus’s spirit. Mormons follows the doctrine known as eternal progression. They believe god was born as a man and was capable to die as a human. They teaches can anyone can become gods, but since humans are imperfect, they need Jesus as their savior. They believes the god, angels, humans and devils are all part of the same substance. | Christians follows the doctrine called theology proper that believes in one god- the creator of heaven and earth. Christians believe god is one and exists in three person: the father, the son and the holy spirit. |
| Birth of Jesus Christ | Believe in virgin birth by God. | Believe Jesus as the only begotten son of the Heavenly father born in mortal form. Believe Mother Mary as a virgin before and after the birth of Jesus. |
| Views of Mother Mary | Believed in perpetual virginity. | Discredits the theory of perpetual virginity. They believes Jesus’s brothers were her and joseph’s biological children. |
| Deity | Does not consider Jesus’s pre-mortal form as God. | Christians believe Jesus as a second member of the trinity at its entirety. The consider Christ existence as eternal and worship him as a true god. |
| View on the trinity | Believe God is three in one: the father, the son and the holy spirit. | Believe the father, the son and the holy spirit as separate entity. |
| Salvation beliefs | Mormons has a complex views on salvation. In a universal level, Mormon literature states that all people receives salvation through Jesus Christ. A person can receive salvation and move towards eternal progression through abiding gospels and asking for faith, repentance, finding the Holy Spirit, baptism, and completing mortal probation by living a righteous life. | Christians believe salvation as a free gift from God. A person can be justified by their faith alone. Bible says every person are sinful and unable to save themselves. They can be bought back to the right through God’s grace. |
| The Holy Spirit | Mormons believe the holy spirit (refereed as holy ghost) become God through the eternal progression. They affirms holy ghost having a personality and denied the possibility of the holy ghost as omnipresent. They also deny the omnipresence of the father and the son. | Christians believe the holy spirit as the third person of the trinity. Holy spirit has a personality and he is eternal and omnipresence. |
| Atonement | Mormons believe Jesus’s crucifixion bought death and destruction to cities like Onihum, Mocum, etc. Mormons does believe atonement as a basis of salvation. | Christians believe atonement as a gift of Jesus Chris who stood for the sins of man and absorbed the penalty for their sins. God was satisfied with the work of Jesus on the cross and allowed reconciliation with man through atonement. |
| Life After Death | People who attain eternal progression and eventually become a god. People who suffer eternal damnation are forfeiting form an eternal life and the opportunity to become gods. Instead, they gets a kingdom of glory (The Telestial Kingdom) without the presence of God and Christ. |
Conclusion
Despite all dissimilarities, one can say that both Mormons and Christians are very kind and moral people who believe in Jesus Christ and accept his teachings. True Christians believe in the finished work of Christ that includes mediation, creation, and new creation where everyone receives grace and salvation. However, Mormons believe salvation in a mix of works and grace, with a heavy emphasis on work.
