Christians have labeled Mormonism as a classical cult since its founder Joseph Smith created it in the 1830′s. Why? The primary reason is that Mormonism insists that it is Christian when it clearly is something very different. Mormonism is a religion, but it is not in any sense a Christian religion.

Mormons – The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints

Discover that unlike Christianity, Mormonism teaches that there is not one but many Gods, that Jesus was married, that Jesus and Satan are brothers, and that to be saved you must belong to the Mormon Church. Find out that heaven for Mormon women is to be eternally pregnant populating her husband’s planet, and that the Mormon God is an exalted man from a planet near the star-base Kolob. Read some of the statements from Mormon apostles attacking the Christian church and how Mormon founder Joseph Smith called Christian beliefs an abomination.

Realize that Mormonism uses the same terms as Christianity, but that those terms mean something very different to what those terms mean in historical orthodox Christianity. Examine the table below that compares Christian teaching to Mormon teaching, and you’ll soon understand why Christians have always rejected Mormonism’s claim to be Christian. Be sure to examine the table’s comprehensive footnotes too, with referenced quotes from Mormon teaching.

Terms & Areas	Christianity	Mormonism
Type	Monotheist – there is only one God¹.	Polytheist – there are many Gods².
God	God is the creator of the universe and of humans. He is all good, all powerful, all knowing. He is omnipresent. He is eternal, the “uncaused cause” with no beginning or end. He is spirit only.	The Mormon God is an exalted man³ called “Elohim” who lives on a planet near the star-base Kolob⁴. Elohim has a physical body⁵ and is limited in power, he cannot create matter. He is not omnipresent being limited to one place at a time⁶. He is not eternal like the Christian God since Elohim had a beginning⁷. The Mormon God is married, to the “Heavenly Mother”⁸.
Jesus	Jesus is God incarnate and divine. He has two natures: a human nature and His nature as God. He was born of a virgin. He performed miracles. He shares all of God’s attributes with the addition of a human body. Jesus was not created and is eternal. He did not marry. He died on the cross and was resurrected with the same physical body three days later, conquering death. Christians worship and have a personal relationship with Jesus.	Jesus and Satan are brothers⁹. Jesus was conceived via Elohim coming to earth and having physical sexual relations with Mary¹⁰. Jesus was married¹¹, and was likely a polygamist¹² and fathered children¹³. Jesus is a created being¹⁴. You cannot worship or have a personal relationship with Jesus.¹⁵ Jesus appeared to people in America after his resurrection.
Church Organizations	Going to church is not a means to salvation, but rather a way to grow in Jesus and join with other Christians. Christians can go to any other church as long as that church teaches the fundamental’s of Christianity.	Salvation is found nowhere else but through the Mormon Church organization¹⁶. The creeds of all other churches are an abomination¹⁷. People who go to these other churches “highly offend” God who considers their pastors and ministers the “most corrupt of all people”¹⁸. Christians are all damned¹⁹.
Salvation	Jesus provided salvation by his death on the cross. Salvation is accepted by believing. It is a free gift – no works are required.	All will be raised from the dead, but individual salvation and forgiveness from sins is by works²⁰. To reach the “Celestial Kingdom of God” and to have a chance of gaining godhood, a Mormon must keep the whole law²¹. These Mormon laws and commandments include: giving the Mormon church ten percent of your income²²; accepting the Mormon gospel; Mormon baptism²³; being married in a Mormon temple²⁴; the constant wearing of Mormon sacred underwear known as a “temple garment”²⁵; staying “worthy” by perfectly obeying Mormon laws²⁶ which include avoiding liquor, tobacco and hot drinks²⁷; the Mormon must obey the church authorities²⁸.
Heaven for Men	A joyful place in the presence of God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. There will be perfect peace, love, and rest for eternity. Good works will be rewarded. Our bodies will be perfect. There will be no marriage in heaven. There will be plenty to do. We will know our creator, and in that relationship experience true happiness.	Being exalted to godhood²⁹. Ruling their own planet³⁰. Populating their planet with children via their wives³¹.
Heaven for Women	Exactly the same as heaven for men.	Being eternally pregnant populating her husband’s planet (along with her husband’s other wives)³². But only if her husband decides to call her into the Celestial Kingdom³³.
Gospel	The story of Jesus’ death on the cross, his burial, and resurrection, and the resulting forgiveness of sins for all who believe in Him.	The Mormon Church’s laws and ordinances.
Scriptures	The Bible.	The Book of Mormon. Doctrine and Covenants. Pearl of Great Price. The Bible (only the parts that do not contradict Mormon doctrine, any contradicting parts were mistranslated³⁴).
Origins	Christianity is founded by Jesus who was born around 4 BC. Jesus was the messiah prophesied in the Jewish Scriptures and was God incarnate. After Jesus’ resurrection his apostles spread the good news of free salvation to the known world, and guided by the Holy Spirit they authored the New Testament books of the Bible.	Mormonism was founded by Joseph Smith born 1805 AD. In 1830 AD Smith said he found golden plates which contained in “reformed Egyptian” the history of people and Christianity in the Americas dating between 2500 BC and 400 AD. He translated these plates by using a seer stone in his hat, he would put his face into the hat and see the translated text written within the stone – this text became The Book of Mormon. After destroying a newspaper that threatened to expose his teachings on polygamy and multiple Gods, Smith was arrested and jailed. A mob stormed the jail and Smith died defending himself in a gun battle.
Archeology	The Bible’s descriptions of places and peoples have been verified in many instances by archeology. Cities like Jerusalem, Jericho, and Nineveh are known. Peoples like the Hebrews, Philistines, and Egyptians really existed. The Hittites were thought to be a mythical people in the Bible until archeologists uncovered their artifacts in the second half of the nineteenth century. Jesus is mentioned many times outside of the Bible including by Josephus, Tacitus, and Pliny The Younger. Many examples of coinage mentioned in the Bible have been found, including the ancient shekel. Museums around the world are full of items from these times.	Mormons believe that The Book of Mormon is an historical record, however The Book of Mormon describes places and peoples in the Americas for which no archeological evidence exists. The civilizations of Nephites, Lamanites, Jaredites and Mulekites have never been found. The Smithsonian Institute and the National Geographic Society have issued statements saying that no evidence has been found supporting the history reported in the Book of Mormon³⁵. There is no evidence that the Old World animals reported in the Book of Mormon existed in the New World before Columbus, including: horses, cattle, sheep, goats, swine, and elephants. Also not found are evidence for pre-Columbian chariots, silk, wheat and barley, cement, steel, metal swords, scimitars, and glass windows – all of which appear in the Book of Mormon. No examples of the coinages³⁶ mentioned in the Book of Mormon, like the senum, ezrom, and shiblums, have ever been found.

If you have read the comparison table above then you will see how Mormonism is completely different from Christianity, even though they use many of the same terms.

But, you might think, isn’t it unfair to say that? Can’t Mormonism be Christian if it wants to be? Think of it this way, imagine you really like soccer. The game of soccer is an important part of your life and you care deeply about it – you play soccer, you watch soccer, soccer is your thing. Then one day your friend Bob invites you to a soccer game…

You join your friend Bob and hundreds of others to watch the game. You feel excited as the players run out on the field. There’s a ref and a soccer ball and two goalkeepers wearing protective gloves. They toss a coin to see who will kick off. It certainly looks like soccer. Then the ref blows his whistle and one of the players picks up the ball and runs with it.
“What?!” you say, “This isn’t soccer! That’s not how you kick off, and he’s running with the ball.”
“Of course it’s soccer,” Bob says, “It uses the same terms, so it must be. That was the kick off.”
Then the other team tackles the player with the ball and the ref blows his whistle.
“They’re getting a penalty kick for being tackled with their eyes closed,” Bob says.
You watch in disbelief as the player taking the kick is given a golf club and gets ready to hit the ball towards the goal. But before he can, a player from the other team leaps over the ball and pulls the kicker’s left shoe off. That player then runs with the shoe and throws it into his own goal. The ref blows his whistle and the player who took the shoe looks elated jumping around being hugged by his teammates.
“That was an amazing goal,” Bob says.
“That wasn’t a goal! You can’t score a goal in soccer by throwing a shoe into the net.”
“You can in this version of soccer,” Bob says.
“This isn’t a version of soccer. It’s something completely different. If this is soccer, then you could call anything soccer.”

In the same way if Mormonism is Christian, then you could call anything Christian.

Mormonism is a religion, but it is not a Christian religion.

1“Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.” – The Bible, Isaiah 43:10

2“I wish to declare I have always and in all congregations when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods” – Mormon Founder Joseph Smith, History of the Church, vol. 6, page 474.

3Joseph Smith said, “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!” – Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, page 345. Also Mormon Apostle John Widtsoe said “The Gospel Through the Ages” said, “God and man are of the same race, differing only in their degrees of advancement” – Widtsoe, The Gospel Through the Ages, page 107.

4In Mormon founder Joseph Smith’s 1835AD book the “Book of Abraham”, Kolob is mentioned to Abraham as the heavenly body nearest to the throne or residence of God. Whether Kolob is a star-base or planet or star is a point of dispute amongst Mormon scholars. As an interesting aside, Kolob was the inspiration for the planet “Kobol” in the Battlestar Galactica science fiction series – Glen A. Larson the creator of the series was a Mormon.

5Joseph Smith taught, “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s” – Doctrine and Covenants 130:22. Joseph Smith said, “I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form…” – Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, page 345. “The Nature of God…we know that our bodies are like His body. His eternal spirit is housed in a tangible body of flesh and bones…” – Gospel Principles, chapter 1.

6“Some would have us believe that God is present everywhere. It is not so” – Mormon President and Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 6:345.

7Joseph Smith’s said, “We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see” – Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, page 345.

8“Our Heavenly Father and mother live in an exalter state because they achieved a celestial marriage.” – Achieving a Celestial Marriage, page 1. “For as we have a Father in heaven, so also we have a Mother there, a glorified, exalted, ennobled Mother.” – Achieving a Celestial Marriage, page 129.

9In Mormon doctrine both Jesus and Satan are created beings, the spirit children of their father Elohim. This makes them brothers. Mormons do not deny this, “It no more demeans Jesus to be Satan’s spirit brother than it does for any of us to be related to evil people who have lived on the earth.” – https://mormonchurch.com/587/do-mormons-believe-jesus-and-satan-are-brothers. While they try to explain it away, this idea is highly offensive to Christians who follow Jesus.

10“The birth of the Savior was as natural as are the births of our children; it was the result of natural action. He partook of flesh and blood- was begotten of his Father, as we are of our fathers.” – Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 8, page 115. “Christ was begotten of God. He was not born without the aid of man and that man was God!” – Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1, page 18.

11“It will be borne in mind that once on a time, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and on a careful reading of that transaction, it will be discovered that no less a person than Jesus Christ was married on that occasion.” – Journal of Discourses, vol. 4, page 259.

12“We have now clearly shown that God the Father had a plurality of wives, one or more being in eternity, by whom He begat our spirits, as well as the spirit of Jesus His First Born, and another being upon the earth by whom He begat the tabernacle of Jesus, as His Only Begotten in this world. We have also proved most clearly that the Son followed the example of his Father, and became the great Bridegroom to whom kings? daughters and many honorable Wives were to be married.” – Mormon Apostle Orson Pratt, The Seer, page 172. Currently Jesus being a polygamist is not official doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons), since the church was forced to renounce polygamy in 1890, however the Mormon founders and early Mormon prophets certainly taught it, and the Mormon people believed it – see https://www.emnr.org/papers/jesusmarry.htm#_ftnref23 for further study.

13“We say it was Jesus Christ who was married, to be brought into the relation whereby he could see his seed, before he was crucified.” – Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, page 82.

14Mormonism teaches that Jesus is the offspring of Elohim and one of Elohim’s heavenly wives, hence he was created. “The first spirit born to our heavenly parents was Jesus Christ.” – Gospel Principles, page 11.

15“Some (“holier-than- thou” students) begin to pray directly to Christ because of some special friendship they feel has been developed. In this conception a current and unwise book, which advocates gaining a special relationship with Jesus, contains this sentence – quote: “Because the Saviour is our mediator, our prayers go through Christ to the Father, and the Father answers our prayers through his son. ” Unquote. This is plain sectarian nonsense. Our prayers are addressed to the Father, and to him only. They do not go through Christ…You have never heard the First Presidency or the Twelve…advocate this excessive zeal that calls for gaining a so called special and personal relationship with Christ…never, never at any time have they taught or endorsed the inordinate and intemperate zeal that encourages endless, sometimes day-long prayers, in order to gain a personal relationship with the Saviour…I wonder if it is not part of Lucifer’s system to make people feel they are special friends of Jesus when in fact they are not following the normal and usual pattern of worship found in the true Church.”, also “We worship the Father and him only and no one else. We do not worship the Son and we do not worship the Holy Ghost. I know perfectly well about what the scriptures say about worshipping Christ and Jehovah, but they are speaking in an entirely different sense – the sense of standing in awe and being reverentially grateful to Him who has redeemed us. Worship in the true and saving sense is reserved for God first, the Creator.” – Late LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie at Brigham Young University on 2nd March 1982. See https://www.spotlightministries.org.uk/mormrel.htm for more study.

16“…if it had not been for Joseph Smith and the restoration, there would be no salvation. There is no salvation outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” – Mormon Apostle Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2nd edition, page 603.

17“My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right – and which I should join. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong, and the personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in His sight: that those professors were all corrupt…” Joseph Smith, History of the Church, vol. 1, pages 5-6..

18“All other churches are entirely destitute of all authority from God: and any person who receives Baptism, or the Lord’s Supper from their hands will highly offend God, for he looks upon them as the most corrupt of all people.” – Mormon Apostle Orson Pratt, The Seer, page 255.

19“Believers in the doctrines of modern Christendom will reap damnation to their souls” – Mormon Apostle Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, page 177.

20“We believe that through the aAtonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.” – The Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, article 3.

21“To enter the celestial and obtain exaltation it is necessary that the whole law be kept…Do you desire to enter the celestial Kingdom and receive eternal life? Then be willing to keep all of the commandments.” – Joseph Smith, The Way to Perfection, page 206. “If we obey this law, preserve it inviolate, live according to it, we shall be prepared to enjoy the blessings of a celestial kingdom” – Discourses of Brigham Young, page 404.

22“And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my People. And after that, those who have thus been tithed, shall pay one tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them for ever, for my Holy Priesthood, saith the Lord.” – Doctrine and Covenants 119:3-4.

23“Baptism is the formally appointed means and ordinance which the Lord has provided so that man can signify this personal acceptance of all of the terms and conditions of the eternal gospel covenant. Thus in baptism … man covenants to abide by all of the laws and requirements of the whole gospel.” – Mormon Doctrine, page 70.

24“We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children” – The Family:A Proclamation to the World, 1995. “No man can be saved and exalter in the kingdom of God without the woman, and no woman can reach the perfection and exaltation in the kingdom of God alone.” – Life and Teachings of Jesus & His Apostles, page 291.

25“Church members who have been clothed with the garment in the temple have made a covenant to wear it throughout their lives. This has been interpreted to mean that it is worn as underclothing both day and night. This sacred covenant is between the member and the Lord. Members should seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit to answer for themselves any personal questions about the wearing of the garment. … The promise of protection and blessings is conditioned upon worthiness and faithfulness in keeping the covenant. …The fundamental principle ought to be to wear the garment and not to find occasions to remove it. Thus, members should not remove either all or part of the garment to work in the yard or to lounge around the home in swimwear or immodest clothing. Nor should they remove it to participate in recreational activities that can reasonably be done with the garment worn properly beneath regular clothing. When the garment must be removed, such as for swimming, it should be restored as soon as possible. …The principles of modesty and keeping the body appropriately covered are implicit in the covenant and should govern the nature of all clothing worn. Endowed members of the Church wear the garment as a reminder of the sacred covenants they have made with the Lord and also as a protection against temptation and evil. How it is worn is an outward expression of an inward commitment to follow the Savior.” – First Presidency Letter, 10 October, 1988.

26“Laws provide the way for the Saints to grow, progress, and obtain happiness … Although God’s laws are exact and immovable, they are revealed and given to mankind for one specific purpose-to bring to pass their ultimate joy … The Doctrine and Covenants teaches that all blessings are predicated upon laws and that if one desires a particular blessing, one must abide by the law that guarantees that blessing. … God has said that no one can come unto him except by his laws.” – Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, pages 392-394.

27“Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation – That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him. And, behold, this should be wine, yea, pure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make. And, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies. And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill. And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.” – Doctrine and Covenants 89:4-9.

28“Behold, I, the Lord, command; and he that will not obey shall be cut off in mine own due time, after I have commanded and the commandment is broken.” – Doctrine and Covenants 56:3.

29“Here then is eternal life – to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you…” – Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, page 346.

30“Our Father Adam helped to make this earth, it was created expressly for him, and after it was made he and his companions came here. He brought one of his wives with him, and she was called Eve…” – Mormon Prophet Brigham Young, Deseret News, June 18, 1873, page 308.

31“Each succeeding generation of gods follow the example of the preceding ones: each generation have their wives who raise up from the fruit of their loins immortal spirits: when their families become numerous, they organize new worlds for them… …they place their families upon the same…” – Mormon Apostle Orson Pratt, The Seer, 1853, pages 134-135.

32From a letter to a Mormon lady, “-if thou wilt only abide by and walk in a celestial law, fulfill the designs of thy Creator and hold out to the end that when mortality is laid in the tomb, you may go down to your grave in peace, arise in glory, and receive your everlasting reward in the resurrection of the just, along with thy head and husband. Thou wilt be permitted to pass by the Gods and angels who guard the gates, and onward, upward to thy exaltation in a celestial world among the Gods. To be a priestess queen upon thy Heavenly Father’s throne, and a glory to thy husband and offspring, to bear the souls of men, to people other worlds while eternity goes and eternity comes; and if you will receive it, lady, this is eternal life. Hence, thine origin, the object of thy ultimate destiny. If faithful, lady, the cup is within thy reach; drink then the heavenly draught and live.” – John Taylor, third president of the Mormon Church.

33“In the divine economy, as in nature, the man ‘is the head of the woman,’ and it is written that ‘he is the savior of the body.’ But ‘the man is not without the woman’ any more than the woman is without the man, in the Lord. Adam was first formed, then Eve. In the resurrection, they stand side by side and hold dominion together. Every man who overcomes all things and is thereby entitled to inherit all things, receives power to bring up his wife to join him in the possession and enjoyment thereof.” – ‘Mormon’ Doctrine Plain and Simple, or Leaves from the Tree of Life, by Apostle Charles W. Penrose, 1897. “Do the women, when they pray, remember their husbands?… Do you uphold your husband before God as your lord? ‘What!–my husband to be my lord?’ I ask, Can you get into the celestial kingdom without him? Have any of you been there? You will remember that you never got into the celestial kingdom [during the temple ceremony] without the aid of your husband. If you did, it was because your husband was away, and some one had to act proxy for him. No woman will get into the celestial kingdom, except her husband receives her, if she is worthy to have a husband; and if not, somebody will receive her as a servant.” – as Mormon Apostle Erastus Snow preached Sunday, Oct. 4, 1857. Journal of Discourses, vol. 5, page 291.

34“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.” – The Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, article 8.

35“Archaeologists and other scholars have long probed the hemisphere’s past and the society does not know of anything found so far that has substantiated the Book of Mormon.” – The National Geographic Society, in a 1998 letter to the Institute for Religious Research. “The Smithsonian Institution has never used the Book of Mormon in any way as a scientific guide. Smithsonian archeologists see no direct connection between the archeology of the New World and the subject matter of the book.” – Smithsonian Institute Statement Regarding the Book of Mormon.

36Joseph Smith used the word “piece” as in “a piece of eight” instead of the word “coin” in the Book of Mormon. “How Valuable Were the Nephite Pieces of Money?” and “the relative value of silver and gold coins under the system set up by Mosiah” – Book of Mormon Student Manual – Religion, pages 121-122, and page 229.