Are Latter-day Saints Christians or Something Else?

I was at dinner once on a business trip with a number of wonderful coworkers. During the conversation we began to talk about our beliefs.

One of the guys said he was involved with a Christian youth ministry. It was on 12,000 acres of woodland in Alabama all dedicated to hunting, outdoor survival, and God.

Another coworker said he was Catholic.

The third coworker — who’d shared with us the night before the definition of diplomacy as being able to tell someone to go to hell and have them look forward to the trip — asked me, “So John, does your church believe in Christ. Or, no, it’s that other fellow, right?”

I smiled. I frequently find people are confused. If you’re wondering the same thing, this should help.

Christ is Central

The name of the church is the first clue: It’s The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Our belief, boiled down to its essence, is this:

God is our loving Heavenly Father.
He created a plan so we could become like him and enjoy all he has.
Jesus Christ is the central figure in that plan and made it possible for us to become all God wants us to be.
The way to fulfill God’s purpose for us is to follow Christ.
As we heed that call, we’ll find greater peace, happiness, meaning, and fulfillment in this life and the next.

Watch this little 2-minute video to see what I mean.

How central is Christ?

Joseph Smith wrote a letter back in 1838 answering twenty questions that he said were continually put to him during his trips and preaching. Question twenty was “What are the fundamental principles of your religion?”

His answer was this:

“The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.” (History of the Church, 3:30)

For Latter-day Saints, it’s all about Jesus Christ.

So if Christ is central, what’s the difference between Latter-day Saints and other Christians?

That is a good question.

Differences

There have been a lot of different Christian churches over the centuries. There are currently a lot of variations in Christian belief today.

So when someone asks what are the differences between you and other Christians, we have to say, well, what strain of Christianity are you talking about?

Having said that, there are some beliefs that are commonly held that we can compare our beliefs to.

The Bible

First, many Christians believe the books of the Bible contain the inspired writings of actual prophets and apostles.

Latter-day Saints believe that too.

However, some Christians believe the Bible is free from error.

Latter-day Saints side with Christians who don’t believe the Bible is inerrant.

We believe the Bible was written by holy men and copied by well-meaning individuals. But they were men nevertheless, and so neither the writing nor the transmission through the ages was error free.

Our Destiny After This Life

Some Christians, especially those who follow the reformed tradition of John Calvin, believe God created the vast majority of the earth’s inhabitants to suffer in hell for eternity.

Latter-day Saints believe that while there will be a period of suffering for some after this life, most people will eventually be saved in some form of heaven.

The Trinity

A lot of Christians believe God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three different beings and yet the same being. In this view, how they are both separate beings and yet the same being is an ineffable mystery.

Latter-day Saints believe they are three, distinct beings that are one in purpose. And while we direct our worship to The Father, we do believe there’s more than one divine being.

God and Man

A lot of Christians believe God and humans are different species. In this view, God has as much in common with us as a potter has with clay.

Latter-day Saints believe we are the same species. And although God is so far above us we can’t really comprehend it, it’s still his plan to help us become more like him.

We diverge from this or that strain of Christianity on other things, but the things I mentioned above are probably some of the most notable ones. At the same time, it’s important to remember there are many things upon which we agree.

How Did We Arrive At Our Different Beliefs?

The key source of the differences stem from the fact that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus has called apostles and prophets again in our day to be his spokesmen, just like he did back in the good old days.

And as the Lord did with his spokesmen of old, we believe the Lord uses these spokesmen to do, among other things, the following:

Relay general instructions.
Explain divine truths.
Restore truths that were lost or confused over the years.
Reveal other things that weren’t previously known.

So the source of the differences are revelations we believe these prophets and apostles have received.

What Is a “Prophet” or “Apostle”?

The words “prophet” and “apostle” are sometimes used differently by different people. When we use them, we mean guys like Peter, James, John, Paul, etc.

What made those guys special?

It wasn’t that they had great faith in Jesus. Lots of people had great faith. It was that they were called to bear special witness of Christ and be his official spokesmen.

It’s important to recognize that their special witness was not merely that they believed, but that they knew Jesus was the Messiah because they had seen and heard him after his resurrection and received a special witness from the Holy Ghost of what he was.

Examples From The New Testament

Peter himself said it best when he wrote this in his letter.

“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16).

You can see this same special characteristic when the apostles in New Testament times had to choose someone to replace Judas. When looking and which believers to choose from, Peter said the following.

“So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection” (Acts 1:21-22).

We can see this same requirement when the Lord called Paul to be an apostle. After Christ’s resurrection, Christ appeared to Paul and gave him the following instructions.

“Rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee” (Acts 26:13).

So these guys didn’t simply believe. They knew. They were eyewitnesses to the fact that Jesus wasn’t just some preacher—he was the son of God and was resurrected.

Modern-Day Apostles

Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus has called those types of apostles again today. We also frequently refer to them as prophets.

These apostles receive absolute certain knowledge that Jesus is the Christ and bear witness of that. They receive that certain knowledge in a variety of ways.

Here’s one such statement in which they bear wittness.

We believe the first apostle called in these latter days was a fellow by the name of Joseph Smith. We don’t worship him. He was just an apostle. Like Matthew or John of old. But we do believe the Lord called him to be an apostle to bear witness of the living Christ.

Here is one of his testimonies.

“And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.” (Doctrine & Covenants 76:22-24)

Modern-Day Scripture

Like the spokesmen of old, these modern-day spokesmen have also brought forth other scriptures in addition to those in the Bible.

One of those books of scripture was a translation of an ancient record called The Book of Mormon. It’s called that because Mormon is the name of the guy who put it together. And Mormon was another apostle—one called by Jesus in ancient America.

And guess what the purpose of The Book of Mormon is?

It’s to testify of Jesus Christ, explain what he’s done for us, and how we can follow him.

Putting it Together

So members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.

However, while having much in common with other Christians, we do differ on this or that belief. Some differences revolve around the following:

The inerrancy of the Bible.
The nature of the godhead.
Who humans really are.
Our destiny after this life.
That God has called prophets and apostles in our day.

So when someone asks you what the difference is between Latter-day Saints and some other Christians, you now have a well-informed answer.

Feel free to dazzle your family and friends with your knowledge.

Wait, Isn’t Following a Modern Prophet a Bit Crazy?

Are these guys weird? Do they have to have beards?

Here are the current three leading apostles from left to right and what their vocations were before being called.

Dallin H. Oaks: Utah supreme court justice and university president.
Russell M. Nelson (the prophet): distinguished heart surgeon.
Henry B. Eyring: Stanford business professor.

If you want, you can read the bios of the other leaders of the Church and see they come from all walks of life. They’re regular folks.

But isn’t following these guys a bit dangerous? Aren’t you putting your brain on hold?

Almost Every Religion Follows Prophets

Look, we’ve all heard of Jim Jones. So people doing the Moses thing can indeed scary.

But Latter-day Saints aren’t doing anything other religious folks aren’t. Almost every religion out there follows prophets.

It’s just that we believe that there are more prophets than some other Christians do.

Furthermore, we aren’t asked to simply follow these guys just because.

Asking the Lord

We believe it’s important for everyone to satisfy themselves that these folks are actually bonafide representatives of the Lord.

Our missionaries don’t ask folks to believe.

They ask them to consider the message and evidence and then go to the Lord and ask him for a confirmation that it’s true. If the message is true, we believe the Lord will confirm that to them by the power of the Holy Ghost.

No Holy Robots

And even then, while we believe God communicates by His own voice, angels, visions, etc., we don’t believe that prophets or their writings are infallible.

That means we don’t believe God won’t ever let prophets make mistakes, or that they know everything all at once, or that their writings (like the books in The Bible), can’t be lost, corrupted, or changed. We don’t believe that’s ever been the case.

It’s a different view of revelation, more of a line upon line approach, that sees God working with real humans, not taking control of them and turning them into holy robots. This view of revelation is not without issues, but it is how we believe God operates.

For me and other Latter-day Saints, the idea of God calling and communicating to spokesmen again today is exciting.