Are Mormons Christians?

I read a really great post titled Are Mormons Christians?
There has been a lot of discussion and argument going on in the comments which I have been following.


One reader commented in part, 

"However unfair you may think it to be, you have chosen to be apart of a the LDS church and with that choice you have to carry the bags(history) of that denomination. You have to carry the teachings/rules/requirements/prophecies/gospel of all of your prophets and the LDS church.I am a Christian (Protestant-Baptist). I have to carry 2000 years of baggage with me. I have to apologize for my brothers sins/wrong doings during the crusades/slavery/war/bad presidents/pastors/preachers."

Here is my response.


Interesting way to put it. I’ll take the baggage of the restoration (Isa 29:14, Dan 2:44, Acts 3:21, Rev 14:6) over the baggage of the apostasy (Amos 8:11, 2 Thess 2:3) any day if it means that I can be a member of the church that Christ is leading and directing today. (Eph 2:19-10) The church that has the same structure and authority that His church had while he was on the earth. (Eph 4:11-15) I’ll take that baggage if it means having the Gift of the Holy Ghost conferred upon me as it was by Apostles in times before. (Acts 8:17-20, Heb 5:4) If it means that and so much more, then I’ll gladly take the baggage as you call it. By my study and by my prayers,(James 1:5, John 14:26) I believe that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that church. I understand if you disagree, but please understand if we disagree with those who emphasize the baggage over the main points of doctrine. Understand if we are frustrated with those who characterize our beliefs in a way that causes people to shun us or fear us and makes them unwilling to listen to our side of the discussion. Understand if we are upset when people are kept from hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ as restored by Him and having the opportunity to ask God if it is true. It has blessed our lives, we know it is true and we desire to share it. If you disagree, we believe you are free to worship how, where or what you may and we ask the same respect.

Great, Great Response on RomneyCare

Here is a great article as well. Link

"In Massachusetts, Mitt Romney balanced the budget then reached across the aisle to create a popular health reform program that was specifically designed for the unique needs of his state. Barack Obama, on the other hand, created a huge new entitlement program in an era of record deficits by ramming an unconstitutional, one-size-fits-all mandate through a reluctant congress and over the expressed objections of a majority of the American people."

Is Mormonism a Cult?

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I am often called a Mormon.
I often refer to myself as a Mormon.
Mormonism is a term sometimes used to refer to the collection of beliefs and doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I read an article recently that quoted someone as saying

 "Mormonism is not Christianity, Mormonism is a cult."

That leads me to two questions, What does this person mean when he says Christianity? and What does he mean when he says cult?

In the first place, the claim that Mormonism is not Christianity makes little to no sense. It's like saying Protestantism or Catholicism is not Christianity. In a way it is correct because they are all denominations of Christianity and not the Religion itself. What it appears he means to say is that Mormonism should not be considered a denomination of Christianity. Here is a list of Christian denominations (which includes Mormonism under Restorationism by the way). If  Mormonism does not belong on this list, where in the list of world religions would he suggest we put it? Here is that list. Is it a subset of Buddhism? Hinduism? Or any of the others listed? Obviously not. The only place I would put it other than under Christianity is Judaism. (Let me know if you want me to explain that further)

The continued attempts to characterize Mormonism as Non-Christian seem ridiculous to me. What else can you call a denomination that uses the Holy Bible as a sacred text and teaches that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, but Christian? If he means to say we differ on our understanding and teaching, then I agree. But I would point out that he also disagrees with all the denominations on that list, otherwise they would not be separate denominations. If he wants to talk about who has the correct understanding among all the denominations, I welcome that discussion.
Here is one of my favorite quotes on the subject.

A Catholic Utterance

Many years ago a learned man, a member of the Roman Catholic Church, came to Utah and spoke from the stand of the Salt Lake Tabernacle. I became well acquainted with him, and we conversed freely and frankly. A great scholar, with perhaps a dozen languages at his tongue's end, he seemed to know all about theology, law, literature, science, and philosophy. One day he said to me: "You Mormons are all ignoramuses. You don't even know the strength of your own position. It is so strong that there is only one other tenable in the whole Christian world, and that is the position of the Catholic Church. The issue is between Catholicism and Mormonism. If we are right, you are wrong; if you are right, we are wrong; and that's all there is to it. The Protestants haven't a leg to stand on. For if we are wrong, they are wrong with us, since they were a part of us and went out from us; while if we are right, they are apostates whom we cut off long ago. If we have the apostolic succession from St. Peter, as we claim, there was no need of Joseph Smith and Mormonism; but if we have not that succession, then such a man as Joseph Smith was necessary, and Mormonism's attitude is the only consistent one. It is either the perpetuation of the Gospel from ancient times, or the restoration of the Gospel in latter days." Link

So to the question, Is Mormonism as Cult? From what I get when I look up the word cult, it appears he is suggesting that Mormonism is authoritarian and exploitative in regard to its members and also practices dangerous rituals and/or mind control. I would like to know what practices of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lead him to use a word with those kinds of connotations. If you look at the original meaning of cult, it just refers to religious practices. If he means to say that our religious practices are different, then again I agree with him. But I point out again, that his religious practices differ from all the Christian denominations.

If you have any thoughts or comments on this subject, I would love to hear them.

Time for the Summer Office Golf Tournament

Come join in the laughs!

Family Discussion

We've been watching short videos of the Book of Mormon online for family scripture study. They are similar to the little film strips some of you may know from your youth. Last night we watched about Alma and Amulek and my son was very distraught over the fact that children were thrown into the fire. At first it made me wonder if those kind of details should be left out when telling little kids the scripture stories, but it lead to a very good talk about Jesus and the Resurrection. It is a reality that we will all die, but Jesus made it so we will live again. Poor little guy, it would just break your heart if you saw it. He was saying, "I don't want to die, am I going to die right now?" We reasurred him and my wife shared a special experience when she felt the Savior near her and he started to cry. He felt ashamed at crying, but I showed him the tears in my own eyes and told him it's okay to cry. I reminded him that Sunday he had asked why one of his primary teachers was so sad when she bore her testimony and that his mom had explained that sometimes we cry when we are happy. He sure makes me worry about the second coming sometimes. He keeps saying, "I want Jesus to come down right now." and I think, does he know something I don't know? Yikes!

Social Growth Begins at Home

Do children really need other children to become socially excellent?

One of the great modern myths is that children need other children to become "socialized." The exact opposite is true. The notion that little children learn how to be civilized from being with each other has little to recommend it. What can a three-year-old teach another three-year-old? Answer: How to behave like a three-year-old.
When we place tiny children together, the result is chaos. If one child is a biter, then other children get bitten and learn that biting may be useful in self-defense. Generally, this is not the kind of social idea that mothers want their children to have.
Sometimes mothers are convinced to put their child with other children in what are called "play groups" or "kindergarten" because mother wants her child to learn to share. Mother believes that this cannot be learned at home from her. Sharing is an admirable and worthwhile objective. But two and three-year-olds are not ready to share anything. Instead, they defend their belongings against any and all comers. The "play group" only stays civilized if each mother stands right next to her child and protects that child from all the other children in the group. "Sharing" occurs only when mother pries the beloved toy truck out of her child's grasp and hands it to another child, who then gets a death grip on the truck until his mother says that he has "shared" the truck for long enough and it is pried out of his grasp to be returned to its little, very anxious owner.
If the above scene takes place without a mother with each child, then the result is much worse. Without mother at his side, the child will simply fight to keep his toy or be overpowered by a bigger, more aggressive child. He either learns to fight or to flee.
Is this socialization?

Civilized behavior begins at home.

When little children are herded together like so many little lambs with only a few shepherds to protect them, we are foolish to expect "socialization" to be the result.
Little children do not need other little children to become socialized - they need mother and father. Civilized behavior is learned at home from mother and father. Children learn right from wrong from mother and father and grandmother and grandfather, or they do not learn it at all. The longer a small child spends with his mother each day, the more civilized he will be. The less time he spends with mother each day, the less civilized he will be.
All mothers know that.

Take This Challenge
Arrange for your child to spend more time with you every day and less time with other little children. Be consistent, fair, and honest in all your interactions with your child. In a few months you will have a more mature, kind, and helpful child, but, even better, you will be spending precious time with a wonderful companion who will love and support you for the rest of your life.

Confession

Okay, so I have to admit something. We think our son is one of the cutest, most handsome kids ever. Yep, we are "those" parents. Here's the confession part. We even looked into modeling.

Now here's some more confession, dad (me) is cheeeeap! Do you realize how much head shots cost? So, I guess he will live out his life a regular kid instead of on the cover of a magazine.