I'm sorry to say that she couldn't be anymore wrong.
I am Mormon and I AM A CHRISTIAN!
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
1Chris·tian
noun \ˈkris-chən, ˈkrish-\
: a person who believes in the teachings of Jesus Christ
Yes, we call ourselves Mormon because we believe in the Book of Mormon as another testament of Christ. But, that phrase actually came from the beginning of the Church by people who weren't members as a way to describe them, and the name just stuck.
But, the real title of our church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
We believe in Christ. The same Christ that others believe in (which for some odd reason, they don't think we do). We believe that He is the Only Begotten Son, our Redeemer and Savior. He came to Earth to die for our sins and be resurrected so that through His eternal atonement, we can, too.
Here is a short article that shows how and why we are Christian.
And this quote from one of our prophets (now deceased), Gordon B. Hinckley.
And, here are some versus from the Book of Mormon that show we have surrendered our souls to Christ and have taken His name upon his to share His word.
3 Nephi 27:5
Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day;
Mosiah 25:23
And now there were seven churches in the land of Zarahemla. And it came to pass that whosoever were desirous to take upon them the name of Christ, or of God, they did join the churches of God;
And now there were seven churches in the land of Zarahemla. And it came to pass that whosoever were desirous to take upon them the name of Christ, or of God, they did join the churches of God;
2 Nephi 33:12
And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day.
Moroni 6:3
And none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end.
D&C 18:21
Take upon you the name of Christ, and speak the truth in soberness.
D&C 46:31
And again, I say unto you, all things must be done in the name of Christ, whatsoever you do in the Spirit;
Alma 5:38
Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd.
Alma 46:15
And those who did belong to the church were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come.
Mosiah 3:17
And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.
I will leave you with the words of a song we learn when we are in the Children's Program at our Church (Primary):
I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know who I am, I know God's plan. I'll follow Him in faith. I believe in the Savior Jesus Christ, I'll honor His name. I'll do what is right, I'll follow His light. His truth I will proclaim!
However, I realize many of you are of different religions and may not understand the theology, doctrine, and dogma of the LDS (Mormon) Church. So, since my goal for next month is to be a better Mormon, I will open up comments for questions and I'll answer them all in a post next week!
But please, no Bible bashing. We have enough of that on the Internet.
This is very interesting/informative! I'm sure you have had lots of discussions with Christians who are not Mormon about this. I'd love to have a discussion about this if you are willing. I want to check my facts before the discussion, so is this information correct?: http://www.religionfacts.com/mormonism/comparison.htm
ReplyDeleteBlessings :)
That actually is pretty on the ball factually...it doesn't necessarily explain the doctrine or theology behind it, but ya, it's pretty much correct and good basic factual description.
ReplyDeleteThanks for giving us a snapshot of what you believe. I know very little about Mormonism and am very curious. None of the scriptures cited are found in the regular Bible. Why is that? What is the major difference between Mormons and Christians?
ReplyDeleteLove this post! I hope others can come to understand our faith a bit more and to realize that we are in fact, Christian!! Thanks for sharing girl :)
ReplyDeleteYou are write, Kimberly. I wanted to very specifically use one of the biggest things that set us apart--The Book of Mormon, which we believe is another set of scriptures, to prove that we are Christian. And, the major differences is a good question I will put on my post of Q&A for next week.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement, Ashley!
ReplyDelete<3
ReplyDeleteGreat post :) :) :) :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post Tayler, I admire your courage and strength.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
ReplyDeleteYou, too, Whitney!
ReplyDeleteokay! what is your email address?
ReplyDeleteAHH! Thanks so much for being willing to answer questions! I had many Mormon students when I taught in Nevada, and I've wondered a bunch of stuff. Disclaimer: I have no idea what is offensive or "too personal" to ask because I am not Mormon, so please feel free to ignore any of my questions. With that said, here they are: 1. I was told that Mormons believe that salvation is based partly in Christ, but also partly in works that you do to earn it. Is this true? If so, what are the works you have to do? 2. I have been told that God is seen as three gods (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit) rather than one triune God. Why is this? I feel like this doesn't match what the Bible says, but Mormons have the Bible too so I'm confused. 3. There are some sacred clothes that Mormons wear at all times...what's up with that? I'm very confused about what that symbolizes/what it is for.
ReplyDeleteOkay, thanks for being open to the questions! I'm excited to read your post next week!
themorrelltale@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThese are all good questions and I'll be sure to answer them in the post next week! Thanks for your interest! (And you can always tell who a Mormon student is, can't you? I didn't grow up in Utah, but now I teach in Utah, and I can definitely see the influences of my Church in class...it's really interesting to see what is "acceptable" and "not acceptable" to do in class and what the students comment on and allude to--I teach English and I actually get a lot of allusions to Book of Mormon stories when students compare characters!)
ReplyDeleteThank you
ReplyDeleteAwesome post Tayler! I'm excited to see the Q&A!
ReplyDelete