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Guide Home > Comparative Religion > Are LDS Christian?

Additional Topics

The following are additional topic areas related to Are LDS Christian?. If there is a bracket number after the topic, that number indicates how many actual articles there are related to that subject. If the link for the topic is not live, it simply means the topic is a 'planned area' for future growth.

FAIR Resources

These links are either to Web pages hosted on the FAIR Website, or to FAIR Papers. FAIR Papers are short articles about specific topics or questions, written by members of FAIR. These articles can be downloaded and read in PDF format and are intended to be distributed by e-mail or print for the general use of our patrons. (To read FAIR Papers you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader. It can be downloaded free from the Adobe Web site.) Click on a title below to visit a FAIR Web page or to read the latest version of a FAIR Paper.

"Godhead and the Trinity," FAIR Wiki (City Unknown: FAIR) This FAIR Wiki article addresses the differences between LDS and other Christians regarding the nature of the Godhead, and the claim (by some anti-Mormons) that Mormons can not be Christians because they reject the Nicean creed.

"Latter-day Saints aren't Christians," FAIR Wiki (City Unknown: FAIR) This FAIR Wiki rebuts the charge (made by numerous anti-Mormons) that the LDS Church is not a true Christian denomination.

Michael W. Hickenbotham, "Are Latter-day Saints Christian?," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR, 20 November 2001) Many people try to draw a distinction between Christians and the LDS. Read the evidence in this FAIR Paper and you decide if the LDS are Christian or not.

Cooper Johnson, "Mormons--Can They Be Considered Christian?," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR, August 2002) An examination of claims made by the Christian Research Institute (CRI) concerning the Christianity of the LDS.

Kim Siever, "Is Mormonism a Cult?," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR, 26 October 2001) Have you heard Mormons accused of belonging to a cult? Read this FAIR Paper to find out if such characterizations are accurate.

Encyclopedia of Mormonism

The resources listed below are articles available in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism. These links are to information not located on the FAIR Web site.

Jan Shipps, ""Is Mormonism Christian?": Reflections on a Complicated Question," BYU Studies 33:3 Since I, a staunch member of the First United Methodist Church in Bloomington, Indiana, have been studying the Latter-day Saints for more than thirty years, it is perhaps not surprising that I am frequently asked whether Mormons are Christians and whether Mormonism is Christian. Put to me by journalists, academics, denominational bureaucrats, participants in adult forums in various local Protestant and Catholic churches, active Latter-day Saints, bona fide anti-Mormons, my students, and a variety of other interested persons, the query comes in both forms. But whatever the form, a forthright yes or no answer seems to be expected. Because many people think the two questions are one and the same, inquirers are often startled when I respond by asking if they wish to know whether Mormons are Christians or whether Mormonism is Christian. Moreover, since their question, whatever its form, seems so straightforward to so many, inquirers are also surprised�and sometimes impatient�when I attempt to determine the framework within which the question is being asked. Yet before I can formulate a response, I must know both the substance of the question and its context.

Lawrence A. Young, "Cult," Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 345-346

Lawrence A. Young, "Sect," Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 1291-1292

Ensign Articles

These articles cited below provide information on the topic of this page. The Ensign is one of the official publications of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When you click on one of the article links below, you are whisked to the article found in the archives of the Church's Web site.

Edwin Brown Firmage, "Jesus the Christ," Ensign, November 1971, 22. Are Latter-day Saints Christians?

Robert E. Wells, "We Are Christians Because... ," Ensign, January 1984, 17.

Jack Weyland, "When nonmembers say we're not Christians, what is the best way to respond?," Ensign, January 1985, 43.

Other Resources

The resources listed below are related items available on the Web that should be of interest. These links are to information not located on the FAIR Web site.

Orson Scott Card, Hey, Who Are You Calling a Cult?. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is often referred to as a cult by anti-Mormon authors and speakers. Card looks at how this "ad hominem epithet" is used to attack and belittle The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Card points out that all small, new religions show similar characteristics of charismatic leadership and individual devotion to its cause, and both the New Testament church and the early Latter-day church display many characteristics that critics use to define a cult. But Card also points out that The Church of Jesus Christ fails many of the tests that are often used to define a cult: exploitation, automaton behavior, and isolation. As he says, "On all these points, I daresay that the Mormon church is less cult-like than many of the religions that delight in calling us one."

Stephen R. Gibson, "Are Latter-day Saints Really Christians?," One-Minute Answers to Anti-Mormon Questions (Bountiful, Utah: Horizon Publishers) Why do Latter-day Saints continue to claim they are Christians when they are not?

Stephen R. Gibson, "Are the Temple Rituals Anti-Christian?," One-Minute Answers to Anti-Mormon Questions (Bountiful, Utah: Horizon Publishers) Isn't it anti-Christian to have rituals like Latter-day Saints do in their temples?

Stephen R. Gibson, "Do the Saints Have a "Different Jesus"?," One-Minute Answers to Anti-Mormon Questions (Bountiful, Utah: Horizon Publishers) How can Latter-day Saints expect to be called Christians when they believe in a "different Jesus" than taught in the Bible?

Stephen R. Gibson, "Why is Christ Only "A" Son of God?," One-Minute Answers to Anti-Mormon Questions (Bountiful, Utah: Horizon Publishers) How can Latter-day Saints be Christians when the Book of Mormon states that Christ is just "a" son of God, not "the" son of God (Alma 36:17)?

Jeff Lindsay, "Are Latter-day Saints Christian? Of course!," LDS FAQ This article explores and refutes a number of reasons people have claimed the LDS are not Christian.

Jeff Lindsay, "Do Latter-day Saints Belong to a Cult?," LDS FAQ This article explores a number of reasons people have claimed the LDS are a cult. It looks at the belief in the Trinity, prophets, polygamy, new scriptures and diefication among other things.

Truman G. Madsen, "Are Christians Mormon?," BYU Studies (1974) For a hundred and fifty years the question has been repeatedly asked worldwide, �Are Mormons Christian?� We have struggled through the semantic tangles to answer that with an unqualified �yes.� In his heart every Mormon knows that this question is much like asking, �Is Hamlet Shakespearian?� It might be said, �After all, Hamlet is a manifestation of Shakespeare. In fact, Hamlet is Shakespeare.� Precisely. And so, the Mormon knows that Mormonism is the most vital twentieth century manifestation of Christ. Unlike Hamlet, it is alive. If it is less than that it is nothing. Here the plan is to reverse the question and ask, �Are Christians Mormon?� This is not mere word play. In our time there are renowned and influential spokesmen and writers in all the major wings of Christendom�and they are not on the periphery but at the center�who are defending and teaching what, a century ago, Joseph Smith almost alone taught.

Stephen E. Robinson, The Canonical or Biblical Exclusion. How can LDS be considered Christian if they accept more scritpure than the Bible?

Stephen E. Robinson, The Doctrinal Exclusion: Trinity and the Nature of God. Can LDS be rejected from Christianity for not accepting the "trinity"?

Gerald Smith, Are Mormons Christians? Pres Jimmy Carter Responds..

Gerald Smith, Critique of Issues Brought Up On Some Anti-LDS sites.

W. John Walsh, Are LDS Beliefs Fully Explained in the Bible?.

W. John Walsh, FARMS and Joseph B. Wirthlin; Are Mormons Christians?. This compilation eight articles by varying authors examines the oft-repeated claim that the LDS Church is not Christian.

W. John Walsh, Robert L. Millett and Joseph Fielding McConkie; Do Latter-day Saints Believe That They Are the Only Christians?. A compliation of articles by six authors all dealing with the concerns of other Christians that LDS believe Mormonism is the only true Christian church.

W. John Walsh, Stephen R. Gibson and Michael H. Hickenbotham; Do Mormons Teach "Another" (Different) Gospel?. Many critics claim that Mormons teach a "different" Gospel than taught by the Bible and should therefore be rejected. This compilation of articles by five authors addresses this assertion.

W. John Walsh, Mormon Identification With Christianity. Some critics claim that Mormons have only recently claimed that they are Christian. Walsh refutes this accusation.