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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (view source)
Revision as of 18:25, July 1, 2008
, 18:25, July 1, 2008rv vandalism: the removal of factual material
==Controversy==
==Controversy==
===Relationship to Mainstream Christianity===
====Position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints====
====Position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints====
<blockquote>In the twentieth century, various Church leaders continued to offer possible reasons why a race of people was prohibited from holding the priesthood. One explanation, carried over from the previous century, stated that blacks were descendants of Cain, the first murderer, and therefore were denied the priesthood because of lineage. Another theory held that blacks were less valiant in the premortal existence and therefore had certain spiritual restrictions placed upon them during mortality. Priesthood denial was perceived to be one of these spiritual restrictions. But by mid-century, President David O. McKay stated, "There is not now, and there never has been, a doctrine in this Church that the negroes are under a divine curse. . . .It is a practice, not a doctrine, and the practice will some day be changed".<ref name="Black" /></blockquote>
<blockquote>In the twentieth century, various Church leaders continued to offer possible reasons why a race of people was prohibited from holding the priesthood. One explanation, carried over from the previous century, stated that blacks were descendants of Cain, the first murderer, and therefore were denied the priesthood because of lineage. Another theory held that blacks were less valiant in the premortal existence and therefore had certain spiritual restrictions placed upon them during mortality. Priesthood denial was perceived to be one of these spiritual restrictions. But by mid-century, President David O. McKay stated, "There is not now, and there never has been, a doctrine in this Church that the negroes are under a divine curse. . . .It is a practice, not a doctrine, and the practice will some day be changed".<ref name="Black" /></blockquote>
====Positions of Various Christian Groups ====
There are significant differences between Mormonism and traditional Christianity which have led many Christian denominations to consider Mormonism to be non-Christian. Several Christian churches have released statements in opposition to the church and its doctrines.
The [[United Methodist Church]] has stated that the Mormon faith has "some radically differing doctrine on such matters of belief as the nature and being of [[God]]; the nature, origin, and purpose of [[Jesus Christ]]; and the nature and way of [[salvation]]."<ref>http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news/an200513.html#21</ref> The [[Lutheran Missouri Synod|Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod]] goes further, stating that it, "together with the vast majority of Christian denominations in the United States, does not regard the Mormon church as a Christian church."<ref>http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=2239</ref>
The [[Southern Baptist Convention]] states that the Mormon religion is "not consistent with biblical Christianity."<ref>http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/02/southern_baptist_convention_wa.php</ref> and the website Beliefnet.com details a number of differences between the Mormon faith and traditional Christianity as well.<ref>http://www.beliefnet.com/features/mormonism.html</ref>
Mormon beliefs that are different from traditional Christianity:
* They believe that God and Jesus Christ are separate and distinct yet glorified beings.
* They do not believe in the concept of "[[original sin]]" but instead that all people will be held accountable only for their ''own'' sins and transgressions.
* They believe that God was once a mortal man and that all individuals who have ever lived or who will yet live, including [[Jesus]] and [[Lucifer]], are the spirit children of God the Father.
* They believe that all people have the ultimate potential, through the grace of God, of not only returning to His presence ([[salvation]]) but becoming like Him ([[exaltation]]; see [[Book of Romans|Romans]] 8:16-17).
* They believe that Joseph Smith was visited by God the Father and Jesus Christ when he was 15 years old and was chosen to be the prophet through whom Christ's church was restored to the earth.
* They believe that after His [[resurrection]], Jesus Christ visited and ministered to believers who lived in the western hemisphere, and that the spiritual records of these people were collected and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon into a single work subsequently completed by his son Moroni and ultimately buried in a hill in upstate New York circa 421 A.D.
* They believe that the angel [[Moroni]], in his resurrected state, appeared to Joseph Smith when he was 17 years old and told him of this record which Joseph eventually retrieved, translated through the power of God, and published as ''[[The Book of Mormon]]'', later retitled, ''The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ''.
* They believe that God has continued to call prophets and apostles in the present day just as he did in Biblical times, starting with Joseph Smith, and that these men lead the restored church by revelation from Jesus Christ.
* They believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth" (see Doctrine and Covenants 1:30).
* They believe that there are many Gods.
* They believe that the Trinity is three seperate Gods in one Godhead, instead of one God in three persons.
* They believe that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones.
* They believe that God the Father has a goddess wife.
* They believe that God the Father had relations with Mary to produce Jesus' physical body.
* They believe that the Bible is the Word of God, however they think that it has been corrupted.
* They believe that God resides near a star named Kolob.
* They believe that God used to be a man on another planet and that He became a God.
* They believe that they must have Joseph Smith Jr.'s approval to get into heaven.
* They believe that there are different levels of [[heaven]], including the Celestial Kingdom, the Terrestrial Kingdom, and Telestial Kingdom.
===Views on Same-Gender Attraction===
===Views on Same-Gender Attraction===