Are Mormons Christian? A Letter to Fellow Evangelical Elders

* I recently was in a conversation with some elders of another church.  The topic of Mormonism came up and someone asked me why I would engage in evangelism toward Mormons since they "are Christians."  I gave my answer in that context and then followed-up with a letter.  The majority of that letter is reproduced below with the appropriate deletions to cover the identity of the church.  I post this here for its scriptural reasoning and its quotations from Joseph Smith.
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... Usually among such evangelicals there is a common theological core which it is recognized the LDS church does not embrace.  You will recall that I briefly mentioned that the LDS teaching regarding God denies monotheism in favor of tri-theism, that LDS teaching denies salvation by grace through faith, and that the LDS church believes in a different Jesus.  These are not minor or secondary issues on which Christians of good will and orthodox belief can and do differ—such as eschatological systems or even the proper recipients of baptism.  Rather, these issues are centrally located in the Christian theological system and cannot be modified in the ways that the LDS church does without ceasing to be Christian.

Why is this important?  The Scriptures give us the requirements for an elder.  One of those requirements is that elders in Christ’s church be those who are “holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.  Titus 1.9  Not only must we as elders hold to the truth personally but we must be able to teach the truth and to refute those who teach against the truth.  Failure to upheld these duties brings pain to the church as false teachers are then able to upset whole families (Titus 1.11).  The apostle Paul provides us an example of his fighting for the truth of the gospel in the book of Galatians.  He begins this epistle with forceful words because the truth of the gospel is at stake.

⁶I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; ⁷which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.  ⁸But 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!  ⁹As 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

The apostle Paul can also challenge the Corinthian church because they are allowing the preaching of “another Jesus.”

For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.  –2 Corinthians 11.4

And who is doing this preaching of “another Jesus” and a “different gospel”—“false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ” (2 Corinthians 11.13).

Just because a group says they are “Christian” or has the word “Christ” in their name (e.g., “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints”) does not make them Christian in reality.  We need to examine the teaching of these groups to discern whether they are teaching a false view of God, Christ, or salvation.  When the Mormon religion is examined in this regard it fails to meet the most basic requirements of Christian theism.

Consider the central biblical and creedal teaching regarding monotheism—the belief in one God.  Orthodox Christianity has always affirmed monotheism even as it has confessed the doctrine of the Trinity.  The founding prophet of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, unequivocally denies the doctrine of the Trinity and the monotheism which is crucial to this doctrine.  Consider the following words from Joseph Smith from what is known as the “King Follett Discourse.”

I will preach on the plurality of Gods.  I have selected this text for that express purpose.  I wish to declare I have always and in all congregations when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods.  It has been preached by the Elders for fifteen years.

I have always declared God to be a distinct personage.  Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods.  If this is in accordance with the New Testament, lo and behold! we have three Gods anyhow, and they are plural; and who can contradict it?  Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith (Deseret, 1976), 370.

Many men say there is one God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are only one God.  I say that is a strange God anyhow—three in one and one in three! … All are to be crammed into one God, according to sectarianism.  Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith (Deseret, 1976), 372.

Not only did Joseph Smith affirm polytheism and deny the Trinity, he also spoke of how God himself was not always God but was a man like us but attained to Godhood.

God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!  That is the great secret.  If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible,—I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with him, as one man talks and communes with another.  Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith (Deseret, 1976), 345.

…it is necessary we should understand the character and being of God and how he came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came to be God.  We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity.  I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see.

These are incomprehensible ideas to some, but they are simple.  It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another, and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did; and I will show it from the Bible.  Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith (Deseret, 1976), 345-346.

Joseph Smith argues that God the Father himself had a Father!

If Abraham reasoned thus—If Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and John discovered that God the Father of Jesus Christ had a Father, you may suppose that He had a Father also.  Where was there ever a son without a father?  And where was there ever a father without first being a son? … Hence if Jesus had a Father, can we not believe that He had a Father also?  I despise the idea of being scared to death at such a doctrine, for the Bible is full of it.  Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith (Deseret, 1976), 373.

These teachings by Joseph Smith are still affirmed today in the official teaching of the LDS church.[1]  These teachings are at radical variance from the Bible’s teaching regarding God.  ...

These are no small matters.  I have only looked at the issue of monotheism and the Trinity but the same massive departure from central truth also is found in the LDS doctrines of Christ and salvation.[2]

I would urge you as elders in the church of God to faithfully hold to the essentials of the faith.  If you as elders and leaders in the church will not affirm and defend the truth then those under your charge will not be properly fed and led.  If you don’t believe that Mormons are in need of the true gospel then your people will erroneously believe the same.  They will not seek to share the real Jesus of the Bible with their Mormon neighbors nor will they pray for the conversion of those caught in the deceptions of LDS teaching.

I know that I have spoken directly and my desire is not to cause offense.  Ultimately the gospel message and the authority of the Word of God are at stake.  If you are willing perhaps we can continue to discuss these matters for our edification and the strengthening of Christ’s church.

For the Gospel,

Richard J. Klaus

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     [1] For demonstration of this fact see the recent article by Robert Bowman “Are Mormons Approaching Orthodoxy? A Response to Richard Mouw.”  Online: http://mit.irr.org/are-mormons-approaching-orthodoxy-response-richard-mouw.

     [2] For a short but helpful introduction to these matters please see the article “Is Mormonism Christian?”  Online: http://mit.irr.org/mormonism-christian.  

Elders in the Church: Qualifications

* A Bible study on elders in the church.  The previous study was Elders in the Church: Who They Are and What They Do.

The Church: Elders—Qualifications

1.     List of qualifications from Paul: 1 Timothy 3.1-7; Titus 1.5-9[1]

1 Timothy 3	Titus
Above reproach	Above reproach
The husband of one wife	The husband of one wife
Sober-minded
Self-controlled	Self-controlled
Respectable
Hospitable	Hospitable
Able to teach	Hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught—give instruction in sound doctrine and also rebuke those who contradict it
Not a drunkard	Not a drunkard
Not violent	Not violent
Gentle
Not quarrelsome
Not a lover of money	Not greedy for gain
Manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive	His children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination
Not a recent convert
Well thought of by outsiders
	Not arrogant
	Not quick-tempered
	A lover of good
	Upright
	Holy
	Disciplined

·      “When reading the qualifications for an elder or overseer, one is immediately struck by the relative simplicity of the qualifications.  In fact, the qualifications for an elder are the basic characteristics that are expected of all Christians.  The only exceptions are that an elder must not be a recent convert and must be able to teach.  The focus of the qualifications is on who a person is more than what a person does.”[2]

2.     Situational Qualifications—relate to one’s situation in life; not really moral or spiritual qualifications but, rather, reveal one’s desire and ability to serve.

a.     Desire to serve (1 Timothy 3.1)

                                               i.     Those chosen should want to serve

                                              ii.     Good to select people already serving in the body

b.     Able to teach (1 Timothy 3.2; Titus 1.9)

                                               i.     Must know the Scriptures and doctrine well enough to exhort and refute those who contradict

1.     Elders must know their Bible and theology!

2.     Elders should be tested in these areas

·      If deacons are to be tested (1 Timothy 3.10) then how much more should elders be tested!

                                              ii.     All elders should be involved in some kind of teaching

                                            iii.     Not all need to preach or teach in front of the whole church

1.     Small group discipleship

2.     One-on-one counseling

c.      Not a recent convert (1 Timothy 3.6)

                                               i.     Danger: become prideful and “fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.”

                                              ii.     Time is needed to allow the convert’s faith to season and be seen by the rest of the body

                                            iii.     Not set time given—application may be contextually related

1.     1 Timothy—Ephesus: more established congregation

2.     Titus—Crete: newer congregation and yet Titus is still to install elders

d.     Husband of one wife (1 Timothy 3.2; Titus 1.6)

*Note: There are at least four ways to understand this qualification

                                               i.     An elder must be married—probably not correct

1.     Focus of phrase is on faithfulness to wife

a.     Greek is literally: “one-woman man” (mias gunaikos andra)

2.     Paul teaches that singleness has advantages over being married (1 Corinthians 7.32-35)

3.     Paul could have more specifically written that an elder must be a man with a wife

4.     This understanding would eliminate Paul, Timothy, and the Lord Jesus from being eligible to serve as elders

                                              ii.     An elder must not be polygamist—probably not correct

1.     Paul uses similar phrase for widows who are eligible for financial support in 1 Timothy 5.9 (“one-man woman”)

a.     This phrase is unlikely to refer to polyandry since this was strongly rejected by both Jews and Romans

b.     Parallel construction, thus, rules out polygamy

2.     “If polygamy was rare, if it existed at all among Christians, it does not seem likely that it would be singled out in all three lists (1 Tim. 3:2; 3:12; Titus 1:6) and put at the head of both lists dealing with elders.  Consequently, it is unlikely that the phrase ‘husband of one wife’ was intended to address polygamy.”[3]

                                            iii.     An elder must have only one wife his entire life—probably not correct

1.     The other moral and spiritual standards are the same as for any Christian in the church but this understanding would make it different since believers are allowed to marry again after the death of a spouse (1 Corinthians 7.8-9, 39)

2.     Wrong to treat divorce and remarriage as unpardonable sins.  “If a former murderer is able to be forgiven and later serve as a spiritual leader (like the apostle Paul who was guilty of murder [Acts 9:1; 22:4; 26:10]), then it would seem rather arbitrary that a person who remarries cannot serve in such a capacity.”[4]

3.     Parallel with widows

a.     1 Timothy 5.14: young widows should remarry

b.     1 Timothy 5.9: widows to be officially enrolled for financial assistance must be the “wife of one husband.”

c.      If the younger widows followed Paul’s counsel then they could not be eligible for assistance later if this phrase is understood as having only one husband in one’s life.

d.     If the phrase is understood as being faithful to one’s husband while alive this would allow for more than one husband but still allow for assistance when older.

                                            iv.     An elder must be faithful to his wife—probably correct view

1.     Manifest faithfulness to his wife; prohibits polygamy, promiscuity, and homosexuality.

2.     “The emphasis of the qualifications given in 1 Timothy and Titus stress the present situation of a man’s moral and spiritual character.  The real issue is not so much where he has come from but who he is now by God’s grace.”[5]

3.     Divorce should give us caution for a number of reasons; wisdom needed to assess differing situations.

“The situation of a divorced man must be treated seriously, however.  If he was the ‘innocent’ party in the divorce and was not unfaithful, some time is still needed for him to prove himself in his new marriage.  The same is true if he was divorced before he became a Christian (whether he was unfaithful in the relationship or not).  But if a professing believer was unfaithful to his wife and was later divorced, then extreme caution must be exercised.  The sin of unfaithfulness and divorce, like all sins, can be forgiven, and the person can become renewed.  Thus, after a period of many years in his new marriage, it may be possible, though perhaps not advisable, for a divorced man to become an elder.”[6]

e.     Manage his own household well (1 Timothy 3.4-5; Titus 1.6)

                                               i.     Avoid an undue literalism: he doesn’t need multiple children living at home!

                                              ii.     Does he manage his household well—this should be evident; not perfection but evident faithfulness

                                            iii.     Does this mean all the children must be believers?  Probably not.

1.     Word in Titus 1.6 can be translated “faithful”; referring to behavior not necessarily the status of child

2.     Comparison with 1 Timothy 3.4 favors this interpretation: “keeping his children under control”

3.     Crete was a newer church than Ephesus.  Would Paul place a more stringent requirement on a newer church?  Doesn’t seem likely.

4.     Fathers are not in ultimate control of their children’s salvation.

3.     Moral Qualifications: Positive and Negative

a.     Above reproach (1 Timothy 3.2; Titus 1.6)

                                               i.     Not perfection

                                              ii.     Godliness

                                            iii.     Free from blemishes of character or conduct

b.     Sober-minded (1 Timothy 3.2)

                                               i.     Mental sobriety

                                              ii.     Can think clearly and spiritually about important matters

c.      Self-controlled (1 Timothy 3.2; Titus 1.8)

                                               i.     Disciplined exercise of good judgment

                                              ii.     Having discretion

d.     Respectable (1 Timothy 3.2)—a life worth following

e.     Hospitable (1 Timothy 3.2; Titus 1.8)

                                               i.     Open to others; relational

                                              ii.     Opens their home to minister to others

f.      Gentle (1 Timothy 3.3)

                                               i.     Not overbearing or harsh

                                              ii.     Patient when wronged

g.     A lover of good (Titus 1.8)—willingly helping others and seeking their good

h.     Upright (Titus 1.8)

                                               i.     Righteous

                                              ii.     Abide by God’s righteous standards in his Word

i.       Holy (Titus 1.8)

                                               i.     Devout and dedicated to God and his Word

                                              ii.     Lives and thinks this way even in the midst of an unholy time

j.       Disciplined (Titus 1.8)

                                               i.     Similar to self-controlled

                                              ii.     Engaged in spiritual disciplines in order to fight against sin

                                            iii.     Not lazy in the pursuit of God, his word, or his righteousness

k.     Not a drunkard (1 Timothy 3.3; Titus 1.7)

                                               i.     Shows a lack of self-control

                                              ii.     Not a call for total abstention

1.     Timothy told to drink a little wine for his stomach: 1 Timothy 5.2

2.     Churches should not require leadership to abstain from alcohol; adds requirements to God’s word

l.       Not violent (1 Timothy 3.3; Titus 1.7)

                                               i.     Avoid over-eagerness to fight

                                              ii.     Watch for verbal abuse

m.   Not quarrelsome (1 Timothy 3.3)

                                               i.     Quarrelsome people divide congregations; not peacemakers (Matthew 5.9)

                                              ii.     2 Timothy 2.24-25; Titus 3.2

n.     Not a lover of money (1 Timothy 3.3; Titus 1.7)

                                               i.     1 Timothy 6.9-10

                                              ii.     Can’t be a lover of money and a lover of God (Matthew 6.24)

                                            iii.     One of the big three problem areas where leaders fall into sin:

1.     Money

2.     Sex

3.     Power

o.     Not arrogant (Titus 1.7)

                                               i.     Arrogance is noticeable—not just a hidden sin in the heart

                                              ii.     Elders must be able to work together on a team

p.     Not quick-tempered (Titus 1.7)

                                               i.     Need to be patient

                                              ii.     Able to control one’s temper; they will be sinned against

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     [1] Chart from Benjamin L. Merkle, 40 Questions About Elders and Deacons (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel, 2008), 110.  Italicized words are the qualifications that only appear in one of the lists.

     [2] Merkle, 40 Questions About Elders and Deacons, 109—bold-face added.

     [3] Merkle, 40 Questions About Elders and Deacons, 125.

     [4] Merkle, 40 Questions About Elders and Deacons, 126.

     [5] Merkle, 40 Questions About Elders and Deacons, 128.

     [6] Merkle, 40 Questions About Elders and Deacons, 128.