After years of being labeled a cult, there is a growing number of evangelicals that consider The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) as a legitimate expression of true Christianity. But is that true, and what are the implications if it is not?

A few years ago, I wrote an article warning of the dangerous mingling of traditional evangelical Christianity and Mormonism – specifically as seen in the Christian entertainment industry. Much has happened since that post, and I felt it would be prudent to address the root question of LDS doctrine more directly in this follow-up article. As Paul reminds us in Philippians 1:7 – our faith stands or falls on THE Gospel, not a gospel. There is but one Gospel, and if we get it wrong, we are in eternal trouble!

Let’s be Good Bereans!

“10 The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.”

Acts 17:10-12, NASB 1995

In considering where to place LDS beliefs along the continuum of orthodoxy, heterodoxy or heresy, it’s important both to rightly understand their beliefs and fairly compare them to the teachings of the Bible. It’s tempting, when examining belief systems other than our own, to create strawmen that are loose, quick and uncharitable caricatures of the actual beliefs. The problem is, such an approach, lacking nuance and deep understanding, is seldom winsome and is often more likely to harm then to help. Such an approach can often come across as arrogant and unloving – as though all we care about is winning an argument and putting our opponent in their place. If, on the other hand, we take time to really understand what they believe and why, not only can we speak with more authority on their beliefs, but it can also be an expression of humility and grace that can go a long way in establishing your credibility and trustworthiness.

Imagine you were a Jew in the first century, living in the bustling mountain city of Berea. One sabbath, you visit the synagogue, discovering that you have visitors. And not just any visitors, these men claim to have a revelation from the Lord that, at first blush, seems to turn everything you know about God on its head. And yet there’s something genuine and compelling about this message. What’s a faithful Jew to do?

We don’t have to guess. The passage above makes it clear. These Berean Jews took what Paul and Silas taught and tested them daily to see if what these strangers were claiming was actually true. The used the Scriptures (at that point likely the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament) to see if what was being taught was faithful, and they came to the conclusion that it was. This is the pattern we should emulate when we are presented with any novel truth claim – we don’t compare it to our own fallible beliefs, but go directly to the source, God’s Word, to test if it is a faithful expression of what God has revealed.

To that end, I do think it’s beneficial to understand why the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints stand in stark contrast to true, Biblical Christianity. Sadly – there’s no way to sugar coat it – this organization is a cult that teaches many damnable heresies that undermine the very root of the Gospel. But let me be clear, this isn’t about picking a fight about doctrinal distinctives or merely making a point about how bad the LDS faith is. We’re talking about real people here. And a lot of them!

Truth for Their Sake

“21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

Matthew 7:21-23, NASB 1995

Over 17,000,000 people (and growing) are LDS – 17,000,000 souls desperately lost and in need of the Savior – 17,000,000 people convinced that they know God, but who are blind to “the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4) – 17,000,000 individuals who, despite all their kindness, good works and family values, will hear from Christ, “I never knew you, depart from me” (Matthew 7:23) – 17,000,000 people who will spend an eternity in conscious torment under the white-hot wrath of God. This isn’t some game. Real people – mothers, fathers, sons and daughters’ eternity is on the line.

And if we get this wrong we are leaving these people, made in the image of God, in their sin. It is profoundly unloving to give a member of the LDS false hope. Here’s a recent, very public example: Dallas Jenkin (evangelical creator of The Chosen) recently claimed to be “the honored evangelical mascot of the LDS Church” Here’s the full interview (note even in the full interview, it’s clear Dallas’ comments are edited). To be fair, Dallas does say (at about 38:34) that Evangelicals focus in on God’s grace to save, but he couches that within the context of a spectrum of beliefs on the role of grace and works among LDS, Catholics and Evangelicals – saying that all approaches have their strengths and weaknesses. But what goes unsaid is perhaps even more damning. What he does not say is that the LDS are worshipping a false Jesus who has no hope of saving them. The only thing he does go on to say (at about 48:03) is that the LDS view of Christ has “such a reverence and there’s such a genuine respect for Christ” but that this can be too formal. That’s it.

According to Dallas Jenkins, what the LDS faith is getting wrong is like wearing a tux to an informal beach wedding – maybe a little off, but it’s no big deal in the grand scheme of things. Certainly not something that requires undoing your entire belief system. At the time of writing this article, this interview video had over 261,000 views and 4.3 thousand likes – likely mostly from LDS members who probably heard Dallas’ words as confirmation of their faith. That’s a quarter of a million people who could have instead heard the true Gospel of grace alone – who could have been lovingly confronted with their error. But that’s not what happened. We can do better. With brokenhearted boldness, might we warn and woo these people, that they might fall at the feet of the only one who can truly save them – the true Jesus Christ of the Bible.

A Different Gospel?

“6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”

Galatians 1:6-9, NASB 1995

So, what’s so off about LDS doctrine? Below is a substantive though not exhaustive list of LDS error. But before going on, it is important to note that LDS often use the same words we do as Evangelicals, but the words carry with them very different meanings. For example, an LDS person may affirm we are saved by grace – some of them might even say we are saved by grace alone (though they are fond of quoting “we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” out of the Book of Mormon – 2 Nephi 25:23). But their understanding of salvation and of grace are alien to orthodox Christianity. To an LDS member, salvation is nearly universal – a gift of God’s grace – by which all but the relatively few “sons of perdition” are eventually resurrected into one of three glorious kingdoms – even if they never repent of their sin. In-between death and resurrection, however, LDS claim most people will go to “Spirit Prison”, where they are taught the gospel and are given the opportunity to repent and be resurrected. But in order to be in the presence of God for all eternity, you must earn that privilege, not on the basis of Christ’s righteousness alone, but through a litany of good works and LDS ordinances performed in this life. And even there, you still have to continue to be good enough to eventually earn the privilege of becoming a god yourself (which they call exaltation), inheriting the same creative potential of God and being able to make your own galaxies and populate them with your own spirit children. That’s a lot, but it illustrates why it’s important to drill down to understand what an LDS person actually means by a specific word like grace, heaven, hell, salvation, exaltation, justification, righteous, wicked, etc.

1. Gods & Spirit Children – They believe God the Father (they prefer the title Heavenly Father) is married to the goddess, Heavenly Mother, who together create “spirit children” through “the same manner that mortal children are born”. All humanity existed as spirit children in the presence of God before incarnating (contrary to Psalm 139:13f, Isaiah 44:24, etc), though when we are born, we lose all memory of our previous life. (1, 2, 3)
2. A Created Jesus – They believe Jesus was created (contrary to John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:16-17, John 8:58) by God the Father, the first of His spirit children, and that angels (including Satan) and all humans, are Jesus’ “spirit siblings” of “one great family” (1, 2)
3. God was Man, Man can Become a God – They believe there are many Gods (contrary to Deuteronomy 4:35, 39, 1 Timothy 2:5, etc.) that our God was once a man (and was therefore created) and that He still has human form with flesh and bones (contrary to John 4:24), that God and man are of the same nature and species, and that man can one day become a God, too (what they call exaltation). They do not believe in the Trinity (one God in three Persons) but hold a sort of polytheistic view in their understanding of Father, Son, Spirit and Heavenly Mother. (1, 2. 3)
4. Council of Creation – They believe that physical creation came about as a plan of the council of Gods, and was not ex nihilo (out of nothing) but of certain, pre-supplied elements. (1)
5. Corrupted Bible, Better Testaments – They believe the Bible is corrupted, though they do use it. They also hold the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price in highest esteem as God’s holy revelation to man.  They believe in ongoing authoritative revelation from church leaders. (1, 2, 3, 4)
6. No Sin Nature – They diminish sin by denying our sin nature and depravity, and claiming that Adam’s sin was forgiven and effectively canceled out for all people on the cross, which makes our faithful obedience possible if we “apply the atoning blood of Christ.” (1, 2, 3)
7. Grace After all We can Do – Using traditional Christian definitions, we can say LDS believe in salvation (our definition) by works along with grace, teaching that salvation is by grace “after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23) (contrary to Romans 3:28).  However, when they speak of salvation, they speak of the belief that Jesus’ atonement purchases grace in the form of reversal of the curse and eternal life for all humanity, but where one goes for eternity is earned by works – acts of faith, repentance, baptism, and enduring to the end by keeping the commandments of God (which include all the LDS rituals). Note, there is both nuance and some disagreement among LDS on the mingling of grace and works that should be noted. (1, 2, 3, 4)
8. Marriage – Earthly and Heavenly – They believe you must be married in a Mormon Temple to achieve the highest form of eternal life (exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom). However, a celestial marriage can be performed in the Celestial Kingdom as well, making faithful LDS who were single in this life potentially eligible for exaltation. So, there is marriage in eternity (contrary to Matthew 24:38), but it is only for those in the highest tier of the Celestial Kingdom. (1, 2)
9. A Complex Afterlife – The LDS doctrine of the afterlife is more complex than traditional Christian Doctrine. Immediately following death, they believe our souls either go to Spirit Paradise or Spirit Prison. Those who were fully faithful LDS members go to Spirit Paradise to await resurrection. Those who were not LDS or who were not faithful LDS go to Spirit Prison, where they are given an opportunity to repent and be baptized. For those who willfully rejected truth in this life, Spirit Prison is a place of torment designed to lead to repentance. If they persist in their wickedness, they remain in this state of suffering until the Millennium comes to an end, and are then resurrected into the lowest of the three kingdoms to live forever.
   The three eternal kingdoms are the Celestial Kingdom, the Terrestrial Kingdom and the Telestial Kingdom. All are believed to be places of joy and peace. Entrance into these kingdoms is earned by our conduct in this life and/or in Spirit Prison. Admission to the Celestial Kingdom is only granted to LDS who lived a virtuous and faithful life and fulfilled all the requirements of the LDS church. Even here, there are three tiers, the highest of which is for those who achieve “exaltation” and become gods themselves. This is the only Kingdom where God the Father is. The next lower kingdom, The Terrestrial Kingdom, is where people who lived good lives, but only accepted the gospel in Spirit Prison, dwell, as do LDS members who “were not valient” in their testimony for Christ in this life. Here, Jesus dwells, but not the Father. The lowest kingdom, the Telestial Kingdom, is reserved for those who lived wicked lives and did not repent in Spirit Prison. Here, only the Spirit is present.
   Hell is reserved solely for the devil, demons, and those who are “sons of perdition” which they classify as those who are apostate – having received the full truth and forsaken it. (1, 2, 3, 4)  
10. Past Polygamy – Though officially condemned by the LDS in 1998, Fundamentalist Mormons still practice and promote polygamy.  The religion’s founder, Joseph Smith, had as many as 50 wives, the youngest of whom were 14 (Helen Mar Kimball and Nancy Maria Winchester). This should not be surprising in light of passages like 2 Peter 2:1-3 which clearly links false teaching to sexual sin).   The practice was officially discouraged in 1890 with the issuance of the Mormon Manifesto, paving the way for Utah’s statehood in 1896 and quelling the imminent threat of government intervention to dismantle the cult.  (1, 2, 3, 4)
11. The Temple & Freemasonry – The Temple Endowments of the LDS are strongly influenced by Freemasonry Rights. Both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were freemasons. In 1842, a few weeks after Joseph Smith became a Master Mason, he introduced the Temple Endowment, borrowing heavily, sometimes word-for-word, from the freemason rights. What makes this especially troubling is that Freemasonry is a religion in clear opposition to Christianity. Claiming to be “the essence of all religions”, freemasonry is universalist, works-based, has significant pagan and occult overtones, and purposely omits the name of Christ in their practices. To embrace freemasonry is to reject Christianity, and yet Joseph Smith incorporated Freemason mystical practices into the most holy of LDS traditions. (1, 2)

As the above distinctives make clear, LDS faith is incompatible with true Christianity. For a more detailed study on how the LDS differ from traditional Christianity, here’s a helpful resource comparing the two: Differences Between Mormonism and Christianity. At the heart of LDS faith, their gospel plus works message is an affront to the sufficiency of Christ and, as with so many cults (and more clearly than most), their doctrine elevates man and diminishes God. And that means these folks are in desperate need of the true Gospel.

A Word to LDS Followers

“28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

Romans 8:28-30, NASB 1995

And finally, if you happen to be a member of the LDS community yourself and have stumbled upon this article, I encourage you to pick up your Bible and read through two books in particular – John and Romans. Though digging into any book of the Bible is profitable, these two books provide a glorious vision of the working of the Father, Son and Spirit – and the amazing grace of God to save us utterly and fully. The glorious truth of the Bible is that Christ has paid it all – purchasing both our forgiveness and holiness – and has secured for each and every one of His saints an eternity in the presence of God – not so that we can become God, but so that, freed from sin, we can bask in the Glory of His grace for all eternity – perfectly satisfied in Him.

May the Lord be pleased to use His saints to rescue many from the clutches of false teaching, wherever they be found!