Who would have guessed the “national questions of the week” would be “Is Mormonism a cult?” and “Are Mormons Christians?” Many struggle to answer clearly because they have friends and family who are Mormons. Perhaps you admire their family values and the good things they do. We live in a culture that treasures “tolerance” above all. The Mormon “church” goes to great lengths to highlight areas of similarity with orthodox Christian churches. Their teaching typically uses the same terms and phrases as orthodox Christian theology. What’s the truth?

Let me highlight a few areas that are vastly different. Our source of authority is the divinely revealed Bible, both Old and New Testaments. Mormon teaching considers other writings, such as The Book of Mormon, The Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrines and Covenants, as well as the writings of Mormon prophets and the decrees of church officials as divinely inspired to the same degree as the Scriptures.

Orthodox Christians know God as Triune (one God in three Persons, not three gods): Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All are God, all at the same time, and all the time. God is spirit, personal and involved with people. He created all that exists out of nothing. He is eternal, changeless, holy, loving, and perfect. Mormons believe God the Father was once a man, but became God. He has a physical body, as does his wife (Heavenly Mother). They believe Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three separate gods. Men who are worthy will one day become gods themselves.

Christians believe in Jesus as He is revealed in the Scriptures. As God the Son, He has always existed and was never created. He is fully God and fully man, coequal with the Father and the Spirit. In becoming man, He was begotten through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus is the only way to the Father, salvation, and eternal life. He lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death and rose from the dead, spiritually and physically immortal. After appearing to many, He physically ascended to heaven, where today He intercedes for us. He is coming again visibly and physically to consummate God’s kingdom and to judge the living and the dead. What do Mormons believe about Jesus? Among other distortions, Jesus has not always existed, but was created. They teach that he was married. His death on the cross does not provide full atonement for all sin, but does provide everyone with resurrection. As a result, they believe all are “resurrected by grace,” but salvation (defined as being exalted to godhood) is by works—faithfulness to church leaders, Mormon baptism, and other secret temple rituals. There is no eternal life without Mormon membership. To the contrary, Christians believe that salvation is by God’s grace, not by our works. Salvation is a gift from God that must be received through a faith response to God—believing that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead, assuring us of forgiveness and resurrection. He lives and He saves completely!

So what? Eternal destiny hangs in the balance. Ridiculing Mormon teaching and rejecting Mormon friends won’t get them any closer to the Jesus we know as He is revealed in God’s word. Loving them and living the Spirit-filled life will set the stage for sharing the Good News of grace and faith. The most unloving action we could take is to ignore people who live in darkness in order to avoid offending them. Truth must trump tolerance—but truth must be lived and shared. His name is Jesus!