What do Mormons really believe?
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What Do Mormons Believe: The Primary Differences Between Mormonism & Christianity\n\n\nWhat Do Mormons Believe: Divine Authority\nThe Mormon church uses two sources as its primary authorities: the Book of Mormon and the Bible. The Doctrine and Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price are also viewed as divinely authoritative. The Christian church uses the Holy Bible alone as its authority from God. Joseph Smith is not recognized as a prophet. \n\nWhat Do Mormons Believe: The Nature of God\nThe Mormon church sees God as the Supreme Being of the universe. However, He gradually acquired that position over a long period of time by living a perfect and righteous life. God the Father has a body (flesh and bones). The Christian church proclaims God as eternally and infinitely supreme. He is the same today as always. He is a spirit Being. \n\nWhat Do Mormons Believe: The Nature of Man\nThe Mormon church teaches that humans exist as spirit beings before their birth. At physical birth, bodies are given to these spirits. They are also given an opportunity for free-will choice. The physical world represents a period of probation. The status of a person in the afterlife is determined by the way that person lived their life on Earth. If the person lived by a satisfactory standard, (including the fulfillment of Mormon temple obligations) that person has the potential to become a god in the after-life. They can also produce "spirit children" to populate a world of his own (like God did with the earth). The Christian church holds that humans do not exist as spirits prior to being born into the world. Humans cannot attain godhood or populate other worlds with "spirit children." \n\nWhat Do Mormons Believe: The Nature of Jesus Christ\nThe Mormon church views Jesus and Satan as spirit brothers and sons of God. God put forth His plan of salvation for the world, and Satan proposed his own plan. Jesus accepted the Father's plan and offered to implement it as the Savior. The Father chose Jesus, and the spirit of Jesus was given a body through the virgin Mary. He was crucified on a Roman cross, and rose from the dead three days later to establish His deity. The character and life of Jesus is attainable by anyone who performs at such a righteous level. The Christian church teaches that Jesus Christ has existed eternally as the Son of God, the second "person" of the Trinity. Jesus took on human flesh about 2000 years ago and was born into the world through the virgin Mary. He was crucified on a Roman cross for our sins, and rose from the dead three days later to establish His deity. \n\nWhat Do Mormons Believe: How do we Achieve Salvation\nThe Mormon church holds that Jesus Christ overcame physical death and guaranteed physical resurrection to all mankind. However, spiritual death can only be avoided through personal obedience of God's commandments. Forgiveness of sins requires faith, repentance and baptism by an approved Mormon priest. The practice of baptism for the dead is an extension of this belief, in which Mormons are baptized in proxy for those who have died without proper baptism. The Christian church teaches that we are unable to live a life righteous enough to meet God's perfectly holy standard. Therefore, we establish a relationship with God by faith in the work of Christ on the cross, not by our own works. Baptism and good deeds are acts of obedience to God, but not the means for gaining eternal salvation. \n\nWhat Do Mormons Believe: Life After Death\nThe Mormon church maintains that although there is temporary punishment for those that are most wicked, Jesus Christ will establish a new kingdom that will consist of three levels: the celestial kingdom, the terrestrial kingdom, and the telestial kingdom. The Christian church holds that there are only two possible fates after death, heaven or hell. These locations are final, both physically and spiritually. \n\nLearn More Now! by clicking the Answers bu
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I will do my best to answer your questions.  Yes, we consider ourselves Christians.  We accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer.  No, we do not teach that only Mormons go to heaven.  We believe that people will be judged by the knowledge they have.  Thus, if someone grows up without having the word of God, they are only judged by what they were taught in life.\n\nWhen you say "to be saved" do you mean "go to heaven"?  The answer to that question is that, no, we do not think that people have to believe in the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith to go to heaven.  We are taught that good people will go to heaven.  However, in our religion we are also taught that there are different degrees of heaven.  The better you do on earth, the higher up you go.  The highest degree of heaven is what we call the "Celestial Kingdom".  To get there, we believe that we must accept the gospel of Jesus Christ (and that includes believing in the Book of Mormon and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God).\n\nThose who are not Mormon can still go to heaven.  And we believe that after this life, people who have died without the chance to hear the gospel will get the chance to hear it in the next life.  And that in the next life, they will have the choice to accept it or reject it.
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Because the Mormon perception of what Jesus did, his role in the salvation of man, and his relationship with God the father is different.\n\nAs a Mormon, you believe that Jesus came to the Americas after he had died on the cross. You believe that God had many sons, one of which was Jesus. You believe that God the father and Jesus were not part of the same Godhead.
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What do I think of Mormons?\n\nThey're people, too.
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The book for explaining God's salvation plan is in the Bible. The Book of Mormon will not have this because Mormons are not a\nchristian religion. Although they acknowledge Jesus, they consider Him either a prophet or just one of many different gods, which they believe they themselves will become some day.\nPeople confuse Mormons' good works and family values with being a christian religion. Christians base their salvation on Christ's life sacrificed as the atonement for sins. Because He is God's son and therefore holy, Christ was the perfect sacrifice and part of God's plan from the start to redeem mankind from sin. There is only one God, not many, Within that Godhead are    three persons - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, which is a mystery to many.  Belief or trust in Christ's sacrifice as the atonement to cover our repented sins is the basis for our salvation and eternal life. These are the main tenets of \nthe Christian faith which Mormons do not embrace. Several places in scripture have words from Jesus, Paul and John warning against adding or changing the inspired words of God.The subtitle on a "Book of Mormon" that I received on a tour of the Mormon premises in Salt Lake City reads "Another Testament of Jesus Christ". The one and only reliable source of truth is the Bible.
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your right. MORMONS THINK IT! \n The Holy Bible nor God Himself thinks it. Period.\n\nDead people are just that. Dead people. Jesus Himself said: "Let the dead bury the dead".\n YOU can't touch a dead person's soul.  End of Story.\n  \n   I think one would be wise to concentrate on Respecting \nthe Living as opposed to Disrespecting the dead. \n The Holy Bible will show you ways to do this. I have yet to read anything here on Yahoo about it.\n\nTo: destinepyle: Read Romans 10-9-10 Each one of us will give account of ourselves to God.\n How can a Mormon give account for another person? using a Holy Bible?  not they're own Bingham version?
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I was married to a mormon once, and her daddy was a bishop.  For her sake I tried to validate mormonism, but Joseph Smith was a lying con artist who victimized the weak and ignorant.  This is based on the mormons version of the mormon history.\n\nBeyond that, their doctrine is a perversion of Biblical truth on almost every point of their doctrine.
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My Dad is a Mormon, and it's supposed to be a constant reminder thing, kind of like wearing a wedding ring.  Mormons are very worried about what they do pleasing their God, even though they believe in many gods. Don't try to make sense of Mormonism, it will drive you insane.
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I would like to direct this answer to Mr. Curious. \n\nYou look like a caucasion in your picture and I presume you speak constructively good english. How come you find it hard to understand the question? Maybe, I need to rephrase the question for you and here it goes "Are Mormons brainwashed on their belief or they just don't have the clue? Did you get it now or do I have to elaborate some more? Or are you just trying to be a smart mormon.\n\nI was actually expecting a very logical and mindopening answer from you because I would usually see Mormons decently dressed, looking educated while visiting people's homes and converting Christians to another form of Chritianity. Oh! how such looks can be so deceiving.\n\nI am an oriental and I don't see anything wrong with the question. At least, maybe the best that you can do is presume that he is not an american or british. I believe that if you are in your right mind, you will also consider my opinion either as logical, fundamental, Romanical, mormonical or moronical. Which is which? I guess you are the only one who knows and be a smart moron.\n\nI just wish that we believers of Christ should not be as judgemental because I am Christian myself. Please try to be more objective and stop evading valid questions like that, like some prejudiced, hot headed, duel ready muslims (although not all), and feel justified by calling people to look like morons or if you have nothing better more to say, might as well stop the paranoia and shut the pipe down.\n\nNow, you have lost another soul to convince.
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After reading the responses here it is clear to me that the number one problem is that they do not understand what the LDS church teaches.  I've heard all the criticisms before, and they are all based on faulty understanding of what the Mormons believe, or on reliance of non-LDS documents which do not tell the truth.  There is a truthful answer to every one of your objections, people, which will satisfy an honest and sincere seeker of truth.
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they don't want to open their mind to the possibility, that what they believe is not really true. I don't really have a problem with mormons, i just wish they would stop claiming they are r a christian church. They've gone off on a tangent.
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The diferences between Mormons and Christians/Baptists are so many and so great that mainline Christians almost universally consider Mormons to be unsaved cult members and not Christians.\n\nFor one thing, Mormons do not consider Jesus to be God. A Christian believes in the Trinity-God being made up of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.\n\nMormons consider Jesus to be a brother of satan and merely a man. Christians believe that Jesus is also God. Christians believe that one cannot deny the Jesus of the Bible and be saved. \n\nMormons believe that God was once a man and later became God. They believe that God has a number of heavenly wives and that God lives near a star called Kolob. They believe that Jesus was conceived by God coming to earth as a man and having phsyical relations with the virgin Mary. Christians believe that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and that Mary was still a virgin at his birth.\n\nMormons believe everyone has two sets of parents-spiritual parents and earthly parents. They believe they are first born as spirits and then sit around until a couple on earth conceives a baby and then they are assigned a body. Mormons have a lot of children because their church has told them that there are a surplus of spirit babies waiting for earthly bodies, so it is the church members responsibility to provide them. \n\nThe men of the Mormon church in the 1800s were encouraged to take multiple wives so they could create a lot of eartly babies for these spirit babies. Many times women were strong-armed into accepting additional wives into their families because they were told by their husband and the church leaders that they wouldn't get into heaven if they disagreed. \n\nYoung women who might not want to marry an old guy with several wives already were also told that they wouldn't get into heaven if they didn't marry some old geezer they didn't like.\n\nUpon marrying women were given a new spiritual name and so were their husbands. The men would know the woman's name but not vica versa. This was so the man could supposedly call his wife into heaven someday. It was also kind of hung over her head that she had to be obedient or her husband wouldn't call her into heaven.\n\nIt is my understanding that until recently the Mormon church in some of its special ceremonies had participants pretend to cut their throats or tear out their organs if they would leave the church. \n\n\nMormons actually believe that they will each become gods someday and rule heavens. Christians believe that men are men, that men do not become gods. Christians do not have this strange spiritual belief and pride that Mormons do.\n\n Mormons believe in heavenly marriages. Jesus taught that marriages are just while people are on earth. Mormons perform "eternal" marriages in their temples in the belief that in the afterlife when they think they are gods and godesses that they can make lots of spirit babies which in turn will be sent to earth to some human couple who conceives.\n\nMormons believe in baptizing the dead into their church, so frequent baptisms are held in their temple for ancestors of Mormons who they believe may not have been baptized into the Mormon church. They have also taken upon themselves to baptized most dead US presidents as well as a number of Jewish holocaust victims, until a number of those of the Jewish faith complained. \n\nThis is why Mormons are so interested in genealogy. They want to marry and baptize all these dead people.\n\nMormons believe in a three tiered heaven-a telestial, terrestial, and celestial heaven. They believe that only married Mormons can attain their highest level of heaven (celestial), so single Mormons are always encouraged to look attractive and find a mate so they can make the highest level. \n\nChristians believe in one heaven, not a multi-tiered one. Christians don't believe being married has any affect on their status in heaven.\n\nTo get into a Mormon temple to b
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Way too many. Here is a good link to do some research.\n\nhttp://www.carm.org/mormon.htm\n\nMormons not only claim to be Christians, but to be the only true Christians. According to them, the early Christian church went through an apostacy, lost the true teaching of God, and is built on a Bible that, according to them, is translated incorrectly and is missing many books.\n\nInterestingly, while LDS Church president Gordon Hinckley assures the press that "the New Testament is a fundamental scripture for us," (Note 1) he fails to point out the Mormons' bias against the Bible.\n\nArticle 8 of the Mormon Articles of Faith (Note 2) says, "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it has been translated correctly." This approach allows Mormons to ignore key Bible Scriptures which refute Mormon doctrines. Bible verses used to counter Mormon teachings are brushed off in favor of passages from the Book of Mormon and other Mormon scriptures (as well as ongoing revelation that often contradicts previous LDS Church teachings).\n\nIt should be noted that the LDS Church has published its own version of the King James Bible, incorporating footnotes explaining what corrections from Joseph Smith's "inspired version" of the Bible (a version full of errors and plagiarized material) should be taken into account.\n\nHowever, in spite of their efforts at revisionism, Mormons have not been able to support their claims. On the contrary. While Mormon allegations regarding the Bible and the course of Christianity are refuted by history, archeology, and other sciences, the scriptures of the Mormon church are problematic at every turn. Far from showing us so-called 'restored truth,' they are testimonies to the deceptive nature of Mormonism.
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Mormons are Christians\n\nThey believe in Jesus, what else consitutes being a Christian?
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Please read. \n\nI am a convert to the Church, having joined my senior year of high school. It has now been 16 years of blessing after blessing from the Lord for that decision. During all of those 16 years, I have read and re-read the Book of Mormon countless times as well as the other standard works and tried to live by their teachings. My testimony of the Book of Mormon is that it is God's word and work and it is true. You still get that burning in your bosom because despite what any critic says because the Church is true!\n\nAs far as the anti-mormon claims on this site, I agree that we should study and investigate OUR FAITH, not someone's mis-interpretation of our faith. Studying anti-mormon literature is hardly worth the effort and its sole purpose is to create doubt and lead people away from Christ. Many such sites simply isolate, twist doctrines or blatantly lie about the church. A great site for explanations to many such claims can be found at: http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/\n\nYou must remember, however, that the witness from the Holy Ghost is infinitely more valuable then any proof that man can provide. \n\nHaving said all of that, I will address some of the criticisms of the website to help you see that they are not as substantial as they appear. Nor could the Bible stand up to many of the same standards that they use to measure the Book of Mormon and the church.\n\nThere were no figs in America yet the Book of Mormon mentions figs (3 Ne 14:16). This is actually a great piece of evidence in favor of the historicity of the book of Mormon.  Since the Nephites came from Jerusalem, where they have figs, it would make perfect sense that they talk about them. The website does not mention Jacob 5 which talks about olives. The Nephites did not have olives, nor could Joseph Smith have had the knowledge he did to discuss, in accurate verifiable detail, how to care for and graft olive trees. Why mention only the things that they think will cause doubt?\n\nSince the site mentions breatplates, I will touch upon this briefly. I showed a film to my Spanish class today on the ancient Mayan civilizations. One of the first things that they discussed was how the Maya people, until recently, were seen as a peaceful people (one of archaeology’s errors). Evidence has been found of massive warfare. Cities with bunkers of dirt have been located and described as far back as Cortez himself (all of which support the Book of Mormon). The host of the video then shows a Maya carving of a warrior and points out, none other than, his breastplate. Much of the information on your anti-mormon site has long since been repudiated by current archaeologists.  \n\nThe witnesses are another good example. This website claims that the Book of Mormon is false because they apostatized from the church and may or may not have had other problems (I do not see isolated quotes, taken out of context from an anti-Mormon site as reliable). \n\nIs the Bible then also false because some of its prophets and leaders were unfaithful? The prophet Balaam disobeyed God and compromised the ancient Israelites and was killed.  Aaron allowed the Israelites to build a golden calf and worship it. Paul persecuted the Christians. Jonah failed to preach to the people of Nineveh. Peter denied Christ three times. Thomas didn't believe Christ could resurrect, even when Christ was standing right in front of him. Judas betrayed the Savior. All of these offenses seem much more serious than those of the Three Witnesses, yet we unquestioningly accept the bible. Christ was perfect, no one else. This is no reason to discredit the Book of Mormon. \n\nThis site claims that the lack of archaeological evidence as a reason to discredit the Book of Mormon. This only shows their lack of knowledge about archaeology in the ancient Americas. It is in an embryonic state when compared with the amount of time that similar research has been conducted in biblical lands. Only a very small pe
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i asked the same question a few weeks ago, and the link below leads the the answer i chose as the best.\n\nif the answer that the guy left is typical mormon doctrine and beleif, then yes, the mormons are members of a very false religion.\n\nanyway, merry christmas, and i hope this helps.  :-)
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I agree with flexin4uk.  To ask a Latter Day Saint if their church is the true church is like asking the pope if he's Catholic.  I'm sure many Christians of many different faiths would say their church is the only true church.\n\nYes, I do believe the LDS church is the true church.  I have also spent many hours studying the Bible and Book of Mormon.  I have done much praying to know the truth.  It is one thing to ask a question but you can't really know for sure unless you seek for the truth and sincerely ask God if something is true.  God is the ultimate expert in these matters.  Ask God.  He will help you find what you are looking for.\n\nIn The Book of Mormon, Moroni asks the readers to pray about the Book of Mormon and to ask God if it is true.\n\nMoroni 10:4&5\n   "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will  manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.\n   And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."\n\nMy definition of a true Christian religion is one that teaches that Christ died for the sins of the world and a religion that teaches the things He taught- such as: "love thy neighbor as thyself" (oops, I didn't mean to write "worlds" the first time so I edited).  My definition of a true Christian is someone who does their best to follow Christ. If someone claims to be Christian but they always say nasty things about people, I tend to see them as someone who follows Satan.  Those people aren't trying to be more Christ-like.  Christ taught us to love one another, not to argue and be mean.\n\nI think other churches have important truths to teach people.  Each church is good in it's own way and the world needs each of them.  I think people find God in their own way and I'm not about to tell anyone that they're bad just because they have different beliefs than I do.  Where ever you decide to worship is up to you.\n\nP.S.  I haven't really tried answering the second part of your questions.  It didn't make much sense to me.  I do, however, believe that God has not abandoned us as human beings.  I hope you can realize that God really does care about each of us, no matter the religion.