Baptist Seminary Head Highlights Mormons' Self-Contradictory Church Claims

pplntx »

Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:13 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

Lets be real "The Bottom Line" is this The Church of Jesus Christ of Later day Saints (the fourth largest American church) is bad for business... if that business is running the Southern Babtist Denomination and if you are attempting to keep your membership from jumping ship. Baptist make up the largest group of converts coming into the LDS church. In other words Southern Babtist make good Mormons and they are joining the LDS church in greater numbers than any other American denomination. The loss of money and power concerns Southern Baptist more than the bogus up issue of lost soles.
I am one of those Southern Baptist who left the SBC and joined the LDS church. I guess the real question is am I covered both ways??

Baptist Seminary Head Highlights Mormons' Self-Contradictory Church Claims

pplntx »

Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:00 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 1

he founder of the Church, Joseph Smith, said:

"While one portion of the human race is judging and condemning the other without mercy, the Great Parent of the Universe looks upon the whole of the human family with a fatherly care and paternal regard; he views them as his offspring, and without any of those contracted feelings that influence the children of men."

Evangelical Theologian: Bottom Line is Mormons are not Christians

pplntx »

Sun Jul 29, 2007 7:58 pm Agree: 1   Disagree: 2

The founder of the Church, Joseph Smith, said:

"While one portion of the human race is judging and condemning the other without mercy, the Great Parent of the Universe looks upon the whole of the human family with a fatherly care and paternal regard; he views them as his offspring, and without any of those contracted feelings that influence the children of men."

Evangelical Theologian: Bottom Line is Mormons are not Christians

pplntx »

Sun Jul 29, 2007 7:54 pm Agree: 2   Disagree: 3

The Restored Church

Mormons claim to be Christian, but in a very special sense.

They believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the church that restores Christianity to the form it had in the time of the Apostles.

They further believe that the divine authority to direct the Christian church has been restored into their church.
The Time of Christ

In the last three years of his life, Mormons believe, Christ established his church and commissioned twelve apostles. He gave them the authority to act in his name and run the church.

Soon after Christ's death, the apostles themselves were killed, and the direct earthly line of authority from God ended.
Church without Authority

Because authority had been lost, Christianity began to drift away from the original church set up by Christ.

Men with good intentions but without authority began to lead the church, and to alter the original beliefs and practices of Christ's church.

As time went on theologians added new beliefs and doctrines onto Christianity, and took others away.

The Christian Church split into Eastern and Western branches, and later into Catholic and Protestant.

The Reformation instigated by Calvin and Luther was an attempt to return Christianity to the teachings of Christ, but it too was a deviation from the original church, and it lacked divine authority.
Restoration

In 1820, God the Father and Jesus Christ came to Joseph Smith in a vision and instructed him to restore Christ's Church.

Over the next few years Joseph Smith received several divine revelations, including the text of the Book of Mormon. Later he was given divine authority.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has faithfully followed the revelations that provide the teaching needed to restore Christ's Church, and the divine authority given to Joseph Smith has been passed down through the priesthood of the Church.
Today

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is organised in the same way as it was in ancient times. It continues the tradition of continuing revelation with modern-day prophets and scripture. It sends missionaries in pairs to proclaim the gospel. And it continues to have a lay ministry (not a professional priesthood), and the same priesthood offices.

Evangelical Theologian: Bottom Line is Mormons are not Christians

pplntx »

Sun Jul 29, 2007 7:51 pm Agree: 1   Disagree: 5

Are Mormons Christians?

"Are we Christians? Of course we are! No one can honestly deny that."

"We may be somewhat different from the traditional pattern of Christianity. But no one believes more literally in the redemption wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ."

"No one believes more fundamentally that He was the Son of God, that He died for the sins of mankind, that He rose from the grave, and that He is the living resurrected Son of the living Father." President Gordon B. Hinckley

In recent years the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has moved to emphasise that is distinctively Christian.

In 2001 the church decided that in writings it should be called first by its full name - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - and then in later references called the Church of Jesus Christ.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is certainly Christian to the extent that Christ is at the centre of its beliefs. Individual Mormons try to live their lives following the teaching and example of Christ.
The Mormon View

Mormons believe that conventional Christian churches have lost the authority of God. They believe that conventional Christian beliefs are a mixture of the truth and of errors that have been added over the centuries.

Mormons believe that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose on the third day. They believe that there would be no salvation without his atonement. They believe Christ will return to earth to reign and rule.
The Conventional Christian View

Traditional Christian belief is contained in the creed as interpreted by the various denominations over the centuries.

The teaching of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints differs from the creed in so many places that many traditional Christians say that Mormons are not Christians.
Attitudes of Other Christians

In recent years both the Vatican and the policy-making body of the United Methodist Church have decided that Mormons must be rebaptised when converting to Catholicism or Methodism.

This shows that the Roman Catholic Church regards Mormonism as varying in its essential beliefs from traditional Christianity. It does allow members of most Protestant and Orthodox churches to convert to Catholicism without being rebaptised.

However Mormons require that everyone be baptised when they join their Church, no matter what background they come from.

One difference in the two concepts of baptism is that the Roman Catholic church states that baptism remits original sin as well as personal sin, and that as Mormons do not accept the idea of original sin their idea of baptism is different. Mormons believe people are baptised for the remission of their own sins.