Evangelical Christians believe in the traditional, or historically, orthodox view of God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost combined in the same being. This definition had its foundation in a few carefully selected New Testament verses and its authentication in the Nicene Council, as has already been addressed.
There are strong feelings among anti-Mormons about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regarding the church’s eighth article of faith: “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.” Those who hold the Bible to be the only source of divine authority and doctrine cannot accept the Book of Mormon or any other sacred writing–for obvious reasons.
For the most part, anti-Mormons are willing to concede that at least a partial apostasy disrupted ancient Christianity. Since there are adequate references to it in the New Testament, an outright denial of an apostasy would be an extremely difficult position to maintain.
Latter-day Saints believe in God, the Eternal Father, and affirm that we are his literal spiritual offspring. We believe that he lives and that he is involved in the lives of his children. We believe that our Heavenly Father has a divine plan for his children through the principles and ordinances of the gospel of his Son, Jesus Christ.
Joseph Smith was only a little over fourteen years of age when he received what is now called the First Vision. He knew the reality of what he saw even if he didn’t comprehend the full import of the divine spectacle or the enormity of his sacred calling. However, according to his own account, he was troubled by feelings of inadequacy.
Anti-Mormon groups hold in common the fairly consistent position that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that they are saved by works and deny the Christian doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith.
Among the teachings of Mormonism is plainly found the profound, divine concept that man can become as God–eternal beings possessing all the attributes of deity. This topic is energetically denounced by enemies of the church as pagan and satanic.
This is the first in the series of attempts to answer some interesting questions by a non-Mormon newly interested in the religion. With some excitement it will be good to engage in a discussion that goes beyond the typical side issues of no modern practical importance; like Kolob, Garden of Eden in Missouri, and polygamy.
This is the first in the series of attempts to answer some interesting questions by a non-Mormon newly interested in the religion. With some excitement it will be good to engage in a discussion that goes beyond the typical side issues of no modern practical importance; like Kolob, Garden of Eden in Missouri, and polygamy.