“We’re Christians, too!”
Your Latter-day Saint neighbors claim to be Christians. The two clean-cut young people who knocked on your door insist that they’re following the Gospel. If you’re like me, a born-again believer, this consistent and strong claim causes some confusion. Their doctrine does not line up with Scripture, yet they claim to be Christian. So, what’s going on?
History of the claim
As early as 1897, the LDS Church published a pamphlet entitled “My Reasons for Joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” In it, the author consistently refers to the church as “Christian” alongside other denominations and groups.
And on their homepage, the LDS Church’s top FAQ says “Yes! As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the World.” They have been historically consistent in this plea, and yet they deny foundational Christian doctrine like the Trinity and the deity of Christ.
A religion of action, not theology
So how do they get to “Christian”? I finally got clarity on this question in the fall of 2024. I was traveling for work, and my roommate was a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Over the course of that week, we spent hours in conversation. Two days before we went our separate ways, something smacked me across the face. My friend’s fundamental thought process didn’t rest on what he believed, but what he did. As we spoke, his “theological” questions for me didn’t consist of ontological truth about the nature and character of God or doctrinal concepts of justification by faith vs. justification by works. He was instead consumed with questions in the “what is lawful” category.
He didn’t want to explore the meaning and significance of the elements of the Lord’s Table. He wasn’t concerned with the personhood of the Holy Spirit. He spent his time meditating on whether the LDS prohibition on coffee and tea included all caffeine or if it was just hot beverages or if it was just dark-colored drinks.
With this new understanding, I attended a few Sacrament meetings (their Sunday church services). Every testimony shared in those meetings ran in that familiar vein. They believed that the church was true because of something that they did. I read some articles in Ensign, looked back at the books in my library, and even skimmed some of their Family Home Evening resource books. There was very little “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord,” and there was a whole lot of “Go and do likewise.”
Now, please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. Do not walk away from this thinking that your neighbors are unintelligent in any way. There’s a reason that some of the most successful businesses in the world are run by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
My point is simply this: their starting point for their faith is in what they do instead of what they believe. When they call themselves Christian, it’s not because they believe historic Christian doctrine. It’s because when they look at themselves, they see Christians.
Surface similarities with Christianity
Allow me to give a few examples. The primary reason they call themselves Christian is because they love Jesus, the Christ. They talk about him all day long, they have pictures of him up in their homes, and they sing songs about him. They believe that 2,000 years ago, a man was born in Bethlehem who lived about 30 years before he was crucified and then rose again.
And they’re willing to write books, make movies, set up nativity scenes and more to prove that they love him. A born-again believer does everything I just listed above, too. “See,” they think, “I’m Christian!”
They also take the name of the Lord seriously. They refuse to cuss, use God’s name casually or as a curse, and they do what they can to hallow the name of Jesus. Christians do the same, so wouldn’t that be “Christian”?
Christians often speak of “New Testament Christianity” and about how important it is to be aligned with the early church. So do Latter-day Saints! They have apostles, baptism, the laying on of hands, and all sorts of things that you can read about in the New Testament. So, why wouldn’t that be “Christian”?
Conclusion
You see, your LDS neighbors think that they are Christians because of what they do, not what they believe. As you share the Gospel with them, your challenge will be to get them thinking about their beliefs and to get them into the Bible.
God’s Word is living, active, and sharper than any two-edged sword. If you ask them questions that cause them to go into Scripture, the Holy Spirit can use it to change their hearts. There’s a place for apologetics, but what you say will likely be water off a duck’s back until their hearts and minds switch from do to believe.