Mormon's are Christians

We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

The Third Article of Faith does 3 things. The first thing it does is point out that members of the LDS faith believe Jesus Christ is the Savior. One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon shows this.

And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins. 2 Nephi 25:26

The second thing is it states that all mankind may be saved. The atonement is not for just a few people, it is for all mankind. It does however say may be saved meaning it is up to us to decide whether or not we want to accept the gift of the atonement.

It is also contingent upon the third thing this article of Faith points out. It is not enough that we just believe in Christ and the Atonement, we have to obedient to laws and ordinances of the Gospel. Here are some scriptures I feel support this.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Matt 7:21

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. James 2:26 (James 2:14-26 explains it deeper)

There are many who feel Mormons are not Christian. According to the Mirriam-Webster online dictionary a Christian is someone who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Dictionary.com has this to say:

–adjective

1.

of, pertaining to, or derived from Jesus Christ or His teachings: a Christian faith.

2.

of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ: Spain is a Christian country.

3.

of or pertaining to Christians: many Christian deaths in the Crusades.

4.

exhibiting a spirit proper to a follower of Jesus Christ; Christlike: She displayed true Christian charity.

5.

decent; respectable: They gave him a good Christian burial.

6.

human; not brutal; humane: Such behavior isn't Christian.

–noun

7.

a person who believes in Jesus Christ; adherent of Christianity.

8.

a person who exemplifies in his or her life the teachings of Christ: He died like a true Christian.

I believe in Jesus Christ. He is my Savior and it is through him that I can return to live with him and Heavenly Father again. I try everyday to live my life in accordance to his will. I am grateful for the gifts and blessings he gives me.

Past posts that may be of interest.
What I Believe
The Godhead
Innocent at Birth

Innocent at Birth

We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.

Simply put the second Article of Faith  means we are responsible for our own selves. I am not held responsible for Adam's transgression and neither are you. We are not born as sinners. You cannot sin if you do not know or understand what sin is and babies deffinately do not understand or know what sin is. Here are a few other scriptures which state we are not responsible for the sins of others.

Deut. 24:16, "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin."

Ezek. 18: 20, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him."

The Godhead

We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

As stated in the 1st Article of  Faith, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints do believe in God. We also believe in Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost. What sets us apart from most of the "main stream" religions is we believe they are three different entities. They are not one person in 3 different forms. There is God the Father, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.

To me this makes sense and here is why. In the New Testament, Jesus makes reference to his father multiple times. There are times when God the father speaks to introduce his son. The first one that comes to mind is when Jesus was baptized. The other neat thing about Christ's baptism is the Holy Ghost was present too. 

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3:16-17

And again later when Jesus went up the mountain with Peter, James, and John:  Matthew 17:5 "While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him ." There are many times recorded in the scriptures where Christ talks to his father or about his father. If Christ and God are the same person then why does Christ pray to his father?

Modern revelation (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22) has taught us that God and Jesus Christ have a body of flesh and bone just like us and that the Holy Ghost is a spirit. In Genesis chapter 1 it says in verse 26  "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness". Well, I don't know about you but I have a body of flesh and bones and if I'm made after the same image of God then he must have a body of flesh and bones too.

Many people believe that we worship Joseph Smith and not God or Christ. Let me correct this notion. Joseph Smith was the first Prophet in the latter-days. We honor and respect him but we do not pray to him or worship him. We worship God and Christ. We pray to God in the name of Christ.

As always, feel free to leave a comment if you have any thoughts or questions on the matter.

What I Believe

My neighbor was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints last month. This is my church. It is the church I have gone to since birth. This is the first time I have experienced one of my friends who wasn't already a member get baptized. What a glorious day it was for both her and me.  It was not an easy decision for her. She did not take the decision lightly. My neighbor was born and raised in China. There they are taught from birth that there is no God or Christ. When she moved to the states as an adult it took her 5 years of living here to become a Christian. Afer her son was born she realized she needed more.

Over several months the sister missionaries, The Doctor, and I worked to teach my neighbor the Gospel. I could see how certain Gospel principles rang true with in her. I could see how her spirit was lifted as she learned the Plan of Happiness. What really impressed her was the Church's views on family.

After studying and praying she knew the Church was true and she wanted to be baptized. She invited many of her co-workers to her baptism. Most of them declined because they thought she was crazy. They even told her they couldn't step foot into a Mormon building. I think they thought they would be cursed for doing so. The thought occured to me that there fear came from a lack of knowledge. A lack of knowing the truth of what we believe because many other religions preach falsities about what we believe. So it is with this in mind that I have decided to do a post about what I believe, what members of my Church believe. There are 13 basic principles, or Articles of Faith that we believe.

1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.           
2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. 
9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. 
10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. 
11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. 
12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. 
13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Those are the basic principles of my faith. Over the next several weeks I will post on each individual Article of Faith and give further details about each one. Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask. Asking questions is how we gain knowledge. I will try and answer to the best of my ability or refer you to someone who could better answer your question.