Mormonism and Christianity

Mormonism and Christianity have a complex theological, historical, and sociological relationship. Mormons express the doctrines of Mormonism using standard biblical terminology, and have similar views about the nature of Jesus' atonement, bodily resurrection, and Second Coming as traditional Christianity. Nevertheless, most Mormons do not accept the Trinitarian views of orthodox Nicene Christianity, derived from the eponymous Nicene and Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creeds of 325 and 381. Though Mormons consider the Bible as scripture, they do not believe in biblical inerrancy. They have also adopted additional scriptures, including the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Mormons practice baptism and celebrate the Eucharist, but they also participate in religious rituals not practiced by traditional Christianity. Focusing on differences, some Christians consider Mormonism "non-Christian", and Mormons, focusing on similarities, are offended at being so characterized. Mormons do not accept non-Mormon baptism nor do non-Mormon Christians usually accept Mormon baptism. Mormons regularly proselytize individuals actually or nominally within the Christian tradition, and some Christians, especially evangelicals, proselytize Mormons. A prominent scholarly view is that Mormonism is a form of Christianity, but is distinct enough from traditional Christianity so as to form a new religious tradition, much as Christianity is more than just a sect of Judaism. The Mormonism that originated with Joseph Smith in the 1820s shared strong similarities with some elements of nineteenth-century Protestant Christianity. Mormons believe that God, through Smith and his successors, restored various doctrines and practices that were lost from the original Christianity taught by Jesus. For example, Smith, as a result of his "First Vision", primarily rejected the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity and instead taught that God the Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct "personages"—Jesus Christ and the Father having glorified immortalized bodies and the Holy Ghost a spirit body. While the largest Mormon denomination The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), acknowledges its differences with mainstream Christianity, is also focuses on its commonalities such as its focus on faith in Christ, following the teachings of Jesus Christ, the miracle of the atonement, and many other doctrines. Doctrinal comparison: With roots within radical Protestantism of the 1820s and 1830s, Mormonism soon diverged dramatically from traditional Christianity. Early Joseph Smith era: Mormonism arose in the 1820s during a period of radical reform and experimentation within American Protestantism, and Mormonism is integrally connected to that religious environment. As a form of Christian primitivism, the new faith was one among several contemporary religious movements that claimed to restore Christianity to its condition at the time of the Twelve Apostles. The Book of Mormon: The Book of Mormon (1830), which reflects the earliest Mormon doctrine, was intended, in part, to settle ongoing doctrinal disputes among contemporary Christian denominations and to create a single shared theology. Joseph Smith believed in the importance of the Bible and shared the Protestant tradition that the Bible (excluding the Apocrypha) was revealed by God to humanity without error and contained the "fulness of the gospel." Nevertheless, Smith believed the Bible of his era had degenerated from its original form. Smith blamed the Catholic Church for the loss of biblical books and for introducing corruptions and obfuscations in the biblical text. Smith said that the Book of Mormon revealed "plain and precious things that had been taken away" from the Bible. Smith also completed an unpublished revision of the Bible in 1833, which he said corrected many of these errors, and added inspired commentary. Smith endowed the Book of Mormon with a status equal to that of the Bible. Nature of God: Views on the Nature of God in early Mormonism has been a matter of debate. Thomas G. Alexander argues that early Mormon theology was "essentially trinitarian," A statement in the Lectures on Faith is used to defend this belief: There are two personages who constitute the great, matchless, governing, and supreme power over all things, by whom all things were created and made, that are created and made..They are the Father and the Son-the Father being a personage of spirit, glory, and power possessing all perfection and fullness, the Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, a personage of tabernacle. Robert L. Millet suggests that Smith simply had not had God's physical nature revealed to him when he gave the lecture: It is possible that Joseph Smith simply did not understand the corporeal or physical nature of God at the time the Lectures on Faith were delivered. His knowledge of things-like that of all men and women-was often incremental, and his development in understanding was therefore a "line upon line" development. As a result of the First Vision, the boy prophet knew that the heavens were no longer sealed; that satan was more than myth or metaphor; and that the Father and Son were separate and distinct personages. Millet also argues that a statement by Truman Coe in 1836 reinforces the idea that early Mormon doctrine differed from the orthodox Protestantism of the day: They (The Mormons) believe that the true God is a material being, composed of body and parts; and that when the Creator formed Adam in his own image, he made him about the size and shape of God himself. Kurt Widmer stated that "early Mormons were reacting against a heavily intellectualized and theologized Trinitarian concept of God" and the nature of God was not at first of central importance to Smith. Other points of doctrine: Early Mormon soteriology, although not following a preexisting tradition, was generally Arminian in tendency. Early Mormonism agreed with Methodists and the Disciples of Christ in rejecting Calvinistic doctrines of election in favor of Christian perfection and free will. Also, while the Book of Mormon affirmed the doctrine of original sin, it agreed with other Arminian denominations that children, though inherently depraved, are incapable of sin. Like other Christian primitivists, Smith located the authority of Christianity in correct interpretation of the Bible—although he also maintained (as did the Shakers) that interpretation of the Bible should be guided by new and continuing revelation. Initially, the authority of Smith's faith was based on correct doctrine and his own claim of prophethood. Then during the early 1830s, Smith added to this authority apostolic succession, represented by apostles and prophets who Smith said had ordained him. Late–Joseph Smith era: From the mid-1830s to his death in 1844, Smith continued to introduce ideas and practices which differed significantly from traditional Protestantism. First, Smith pressed Christian perfection beyond Protestant orthodoxy. He followed non-Protestant Christians in rejecting the doctrine of justification by faith alone and moved toward universalism by introducing a hierarchy of three glorious heavens, in which even the wicked had a place. In the late 1830s, Smith introduced baptism for the dead by proxy as a means to allow unredeemed souls to accept salvation in the afterlife, and he also taught that the ordinance of marriage was required to reach the highest level of salvation. Seeking to relate Mormonism with Calvinistic ideas of assured salvation, Smith introduced a second anointing ritual, after which a participant was guaranteed virtually unconditional salvation. In his later years Smith also differed from traditional Protestantism in his views on the nature of God and humanity. Eventually Smith reduced the difference between God and man to one of degree. Both God and man are coeternal and uncreated. He taught that humans could progress to an exalted state in which they became coequal with a God who was material, plural, and himself a glorified man existing within time. Smith taught that both God the Father and Jesus were distinct beings with physical bodies, and that the Holy Spirit was a personage of Spirit. Because God had once been a man who had risen to a high position in heaven, humans too could progress to godhood. Such a teaching implied a vast hierarchy of gods who would rule kingdoms of inferior intelligences, and so forth in an eternal hierarchy. Unlike the god of traditional Christianity, the god envisioned by Smith did not create the eternal spirits of humanity—he only organized them and provided them with a plan to follow in his footsteps. God was God not because he was an ex nihilo creator, but because he had the greatest intelligence. Pioneer Mormonism: After Smith's death, his successor Brigham Young and others built upon Smith's late teachings and introduced more significant doctrinal innovations. The resulting religious tradition defined the Mormonism of the Mormon pioneer era in the 19th century. An important part of this pioneer Mormonism is the Adam–God doctrine, which became the most prominent (but not exclusive) theology of 19th-century Mormonism. Young taught that God the Father was Adam, a mortal man resurrected and exalted to godhood. Proponents of this doctrine believed that Father Adam, as the subordinate member of a three-god council, created the earth. Adam was both the common ancestor and the father of all spirits born on the earth. After ascending again to his heavenly throne, Adam returned to physically father Jesus by Mary. Many of the distinctive elements of 19th-century Mormonism, including polygamy and the Adam–God doctrine, were renounced around the turn of the 20th century by the LDS Church. However, these elements have been retained within the small branch of Mormonism known as Mormon fundamentalism. Modern LDS Church orthodoxy: Near the turn of the 20th century there was a significant transformation of LDS theology as partially revealed in its renunciation of polygamy. In addition, prominent Mormons such as B. H. Roberts, John A. Widstoe, and James E. Talmage formulated the outlines of a new Mormon orthodoxy, synthesizing competing doctrinal elements from the era of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young that continues to be accepted by most modern Mormons.