Mormonism & Christianity

MSNBC host Martin Bashir recently interviewed Dr.Robert Jeffress, senior pastor at the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas.  Pastor Jeffress is the same individual that called Mormonism a cult back in October.  The text and video of the article is posted at MSNBC.  Pastor Jeffress recently endorsed Mitt Romney for president. 

Bashir began the interview by stating, "In a somewhat surprising move, one senior Baptist minister said that given the options, he would now prefer a commander in chief who is a Mormon as opposed to a Christian."  He continued, "Pastor Robert Jeffress told the Associated Press today that Christians should support Mitt Romney in spite of his Mormon faith."  Bashir also stated, "Mitt Romney is a good moral person, but he is not a Christian.  Mormonism is not Christianity.  It has always been considered a cult by the mainstream of Christianity."  In attempting to explain Mormonism Bashir said, "Mormonism denies the deity of Christ and rejects the Trinity."

Those of us in the LDS community clearly understand that there are some theological differences between our doctrine and that of most of Christianity.  However, one would expect a media personality to be more objective in his representation of an organization.  Bashir blantly misrepresents LDS theology, almost pandering to his guest. 

As noted above, Bashir states that neither Romney or Mormonism is Christian.  Interestingly, he never once refers to the Church by its full name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Never once does Bashir state that Mormons claim to be Christian or follow Jesus Christ.  Even worse, Bashir states that "Mormonism denies the deity of Jesus Christ and rejects the Trinity."  No wonder people are turning away from the mainstream media.

What do we believe?

• "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost" (Article of Faith 1).  We do believe in the Trinity. However, unlike mainstream Christianity we do believe that each member of the Godhead is a separate and distinct individual as indicated in the New Testament.
• We believe that Christ is God, that he is the creator of this earth and the Jehovah of the Old Testament.  We believe that it was his divinity that made his atoning sacrifice possible.
• "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 25:26).
• Joseph Smith stated, "The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it" (History of the Church, 3:30)

Thus, based on these few statements, what would any logical person conclude?  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a Christian church, though it may differ in doctrine from other Christian bodies.  Martin Bashir totally missed it, not unusual from a host on a network that is known for distortion.

In the interview, Bashir questions Jeffress about endorsing Romney (the "non-Christian") as his candidate, versus Obama (the "Christian").  Jeffress states more than once that Romney shares his values.  What Jeffress failed to say, and couldn't say given his position, is that Mormons and Baptists have a lot in common, both theologically and morally, far more than the sitting president.