MORMONISM IS NOT A DENOMINATION. IT’S A DIFFERENT RELIGION.

MORMONISM IS NOT A DENOMINATION. IT’S A DIFFERENT RELIGION. I’m tired of hearing Mormonism described like it’s just another branch of Christianity. It isn’t. Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and Pentecostals can argue about secondary doctrine all day long and still worship the same eternal God, confess the same biblical Jesus and preach salvation through Christ. Mormonism changes the fundamentals. Joseph Smith claimed Christianity had fallen into apostasy and needed to be restored through him. From that came another book of scripture, another priesthood, another set of ordinances and an entirely different doctrine of God. The LDS Church teaches that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are three separate beings. Historic Christianity confesses one God eternally existing as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Scripture couldn’t be clearer. “Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” Isaiah 43:10 KJV “I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” Isaiah 44:6 KJV Joseph Smith taught that God was once a man like us. Lorenzo Snow later summed the doctrine up by teaching that as God is, man may become. The LDS Church still teaches exaltation, the belief that human beings can progress toward godliness. That isn’t the God of Isaiah. Then there’s Scripture. Mormonism accepts the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price as authoritative scripture. Their own Article of Faith says they believe the Bible is the word of God “as far as it is translated correctly.” That little qualification gives the system an escape hatch whenever the Bible contradicts later Mormon revelation. Christianity doesn’t need Joseph Smith to restore the Gospel. We already have it. Paul even warned us what to do when somebody shows up preaching another version. “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:8 KJV Read that again. Even an angel. Joseph Smith’s entire story depends upon new heavenly revelation overturning what Christianity had already received. Paul warned about exactly that. Mormonism uses Christian words. Jesus. God. Gospel. Salvation. Scripture. The problem is that using the same vocabulary doesn’t mean you’re teaching the same doctrine. Paul warned about “another Jesus” and “another gospel” in 2 Corinthians 11:4. That’s the issue. I’m not saying Mormons are bad people. I’ve met plenty who are kind, decent and sincere. Sincerity doesn’t determine truth. Mormonism is not Christianity with a few strange additions attached to it. Once you change who God is, change the nature of the Gospel, add new authoritative scripture and put a nineteenth century prophet between people and the faith once delivered to the saints, you’ve crossed far beyond a denominational disagreement. I’ll say it plainly. Mormonism is not a Christian denomination. It is a theological cult built around a false gospel and a false view of God. And if you love Mormons, tell them the truth. They don’t need Joseph Smith. They need Jesus Christ. The Jesus revealed in Scripture. #MoreJoyMinistries