Are All Religions the Same?

In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ (23) Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’"

Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon apostle, in Mormon Doctrine said, “Mormonism is Christianity; Christianity is Mormonism….Mormons are true Christians.” If Mormonism is the same as Christianity, then why do the nicely dressed guys on the bikes who knock on my door always try to convert me to Mormonism after I tell them I am a pastor of a Christian church?

During the campaigns many people, such as Sean Hannity, have echoed the doctrine of McConkie stating that Mormons are Christians. There is no doubt that Mormons perform many good works and their good works resemble those of Christianity’s. This can deceive people to think that the two religions are the same.

Mormons use good works and the name of Jesus and the Bible to lead people to their religion. Then, they teach them another doctrine based upon the Book of Mormon that contradicts the fundamental teachings of the Bible. I am not being mean or judgmental about the Mormon faith. They have the right and freedom to believe what they want. I just wish they would clearly and honestly communicate their differences. My motive is not to disparage the Mormon faith; instead, it is an attempt to simply educate you on the dissimilarities of the Mormon and Christian faith.

Mormons may use the same terminology as Christians, but when you look at what Mormons really believe, the differences become apparent. In virtually every area of belief, the Mormon Church is unorthodox, which means it doesn’t follow traditional Christian beliefs. The discrepancies, according to World Religions and Cults 101 by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz, are listed below.

The Nature of God

Mormons believe God the Father is an exalted man from another planet, He came from another species of gods, who existed before him in an infinite series of gods who were also men, God is ever evolving, God has a physical body, God the Father had physical relations with the Mother God, resulting in millions of spirit babies, and matter is eternal, but God in not.

Christians believe God is God, not an exalted man, there is only one God, God is a spirit, God is eternal, God does not change, and there has never been a time when God was not completely God.

The Person of Jesus

Mormons believe he was a created being and the brother of Lucifer (Satan), He was born as a result of Mary having physical relations with God, Jesus had to earn his own salvation, just like the rest of the created beings, Jesus is a “greater” being than other spirit children on the earth, but he has the same nature, Jesus was a polygamist, the atonement of Jesus took place in the Garden of Gethsemane and was for Adam’s sin only, our salvation begins with the atonement but is made complete by good works.

Christians believe Jesus is fully God and one with God the Father, Jesus was born of virgin through the Holy Spirit, Jesus did not need to be saved because He is God, there is no evidence that Jesus ever married once, let alone several times, the atonement of Jesus took place on the cross, and it was effective for all humankind, and there is no other way to be saved except by faith in Jesus Christ.

The Authority of Scripture

The Book of Mormon

• Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon from the writings of ancient prophets engraved on gold plates he found buried near his home.
• The translation involved a “seer stone,” which Smith claimed gave him the power of God.
• The Book of Mormon contains thousands of words—including entire chapters—from the King James Version of the Bible.
• There is no decisive archaeological evidence for any of the ancient civilizations described by the Book of Mormon.
• Despite Mormon claims, the Book of Mormon is not prophesied in the Bible.

The Bible

• God used the Holy Spirit to inspire (literally, “breathe into”) 40 different human writers (called prophets) over a period of 1600 years.
• Several different individual church councils discovered which writings were Scripture by recognizing the writings that spoke with the authority of God.
• The Bible has been carefully transmitted and translated from the original manuscripts and languages to the current day.
• Archaeologists have uncovered more copies of ancient Bible manuscripts than any other document of antiquity.
• There is abundant corroborating evidence to confirm the claims of the Bible. Not every person, place, date, or fact in the Bible has been verified by outside sources, but many have, and not one has been shown to be false.

God was so wise to not let anyone be declared righteous in his sight by their good works (Isaiah 64:6). He knew that one of the easiest ways to deceive and confuse people was through a system of good deeds. Unfortunately, religion often becomes a system of good works and rituals made up by people to deify themselves. For example, Mormons believe that they are gods who will one day populate their own planet. Jesus taught that eternal life was to know God and His Son Jesus Christ, not the practicing of our religious traditions (John 17:3).

Christianity or Mormonism—big difference!