Sometime ago, I was working on a
comprehensive response to the accusation that Mormons are not Christians. It is
currently 190 pages in length, and is probably about 55-65 percent complete. Though
I still tinker around with it from time-to-time, my interest have generally
moved on, and so I don’t know if the rest will ever be written. Though most of
it deals with responding to anti-Mormon arguments, one portion, about 30 pages
long, elucidates five reasons I think strongly suggest that Mormons are Christians.
Given the recent controversy, brought on
by Rev. Jeffress, I thought now would be a good time to draw on some of that
content. So, I thought I would do a five part series explaining those reasons.
Despite breaking it up into five parts, my arguments have still been
considerably condensed.
The name Jesus Christ appears in the official
title of the Church
This is,
quite naturally, the very first argument most members make when faced with this
accusation. The name of the Church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! How much more obvious could it
get. Of course, merely
stating the name of the Church rarely convinces the persistent critic, who will
insist the “Just because you call yourselves ‘The Church
of Jesus Christ’ doesn’t mean you are the church
of Jesus Christ.” While it is true, just calling oneself the church of Jesus Christ does
not automatically make one His Church,
anymore than me claiming I’m Jimmer Fredette makes it so. But that is not the
point. The implications of using the name of Jesus Christ in the title of our
church should be obvious to our claims of being Christians. Would a non-Christian Church
put the name of Jesus Christ in its official Church title? The answer to that
question should be obvious, which is why the name of our Church is the very
first thing we point to when defending our claim to being a part of
Christianity – because it is plainly obvious that we are Christians by virtue
of the name of our Church. Jan Shipps, a non-Mormon who has
spent over 40 years studying the Church of Jesus Christ, explained that when
she is asked to speak at different church groups on Mormonism, “The task I set
for myself in such situations is not merely connecting Mormonism to
Christianity – after all, I am talking about a church of Jesus Christ.”[1] It seems the implications
of our name are just as obvious to her.
The name of the Church in
the Bible
Calling the Church after Jesus
Christ is in keeping with the New Testament, which says that the Church is His church (see Matt. 16:18) and
identifies Christ as the head of the Church (see Eph. 1:22; 5:23; Col.1:18). Paul
refers to the Church as the “body of Christ” (see 1 Cor.12:27; Eph. 4:12; Rom. 12:5), and calls the people in the church, “members
of Christ” (1 Cor. 6:15). On one occasion, Paul speaks of “the
church by Christ Jesus” (Eph. 3:21), while at another time he speaks of the “church
of the firstborn” (Heb. 12:23), who, of course, is Christ (cf. Rom. 8:29; Col. 1:15; Heb 1:6).
While the
Church is most frequently called “the church of God” in the New Testament, such
a name could very well refer to Jesus Christ, as is obviously the case when
Paul speaks of “the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood”(Acts 20:28). Elsewhere
Paul makes clear that it is Jesus Christ who acts as the “chief cornerstone” to
the “household of God” (Eph. 2:19-20).
When Paul heard that
there had been divisions among the Corinthians because some were calling
themselves after himself and other apostles, Paul responded by making clear
that the Church is not of Paul, nor of Apollos, nor of Cephas (Peter), but
that the Church is of Christ, and should not be called after any
other name (see 1 Cor. 1:10-13; 3:21-23).
Though the individual congregations
of the Church are often called after the city or region they are in (not at all
unlike Mormon wards and branches today), they are still frequently tied back to
being in Christ or of God
(see Gal. 1:22; 1 Thess. 2:14; 1 Cor. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:1). The collective
congregations (churches) of the church are were once called “the
churches of Christ” (Rom. 16:16), while at another time they are identified as “the
churches of the saints” (1 Cor. 14:33). Together, these two references support calling the
church after both Jesus Christ, and the members (the saints), just as we get in
the name of the LDS Church today: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints.
Of course, none of this is to say there
was an “official title” of the Church in biblical times. My point is only to
illustrate that the early Church was clearly understood to be Christ’s church
(or the church of Jesus Christ) and the saints clearly associated the church
with Christ’s name.
Conclusion of
Part 1
The
early Christians clearly called the Church after the name of Jesus Christ, just
as Latter-day Saints do today. Thus, I suggest that Mormons are Christians
because their Church is called after the name of Jesus Christ, which is not
only an obvious sign of Christianity, but is also well within the established
practice of the New Testament.
Other Reasons
Christian Covenants
Other Reasons
Christian Covenants
LDS Scriptures Testify of Christ
LDS Prophets and Apostles Testify of Christ
Jesus Christ as the Only Means of Salvation
LDS Prophets and Apostles Testify of Christ
Jesus Christ as the Only Means of Salvation
[1] Jan Shipps, “Is MormonismChristian? Reflections on a Complicated Question,” BYU Studies 33/3 (1993), pg. 442 (emphasis in the original)
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