Are Mormons Christians?
Many people wonder if the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are really Christians. The name of the Church would imply an affirmative answer; however, many still disbelieve the claim that Mormons are Christians.
Those familiar with the teachings of the Church know that all of our teachings and beliefs center on the Savior, Jesus Christ. "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." (2 Nephi 25:26)
We believe that our Heavenly Father created us all as spirit children. We lived with him before we were born in this world and enjoyed friendships and opportunities to gain knowledge. We also demonstrated our obedience. In this pre-mortal life, we were all one family and we looked forward to our opportunity to live in mortality.
Before coming to earth, we were presented with two very different plans. Lucifer, one of Heavenly Father's children, stepped forward to explain his plan and how he would coerce all of Heavenly Father's children to return, giving none of us the opportunity to choose for ourselves. He claimed he could force obedience and all he wanted in return was the Father's glory. On the other hand, Jesus, our Father's first born, presented a very different plan. Jesus offered a plan that gave each person an opportunity to choose whom he or she would follow on earth. We would come to earth clothed in mortality. As mortal beings, we would learn and grow as we made choices and had experiences only mortality could provide. While sojourning upon the earth, we would forget our pre-mortal existence and learn to develop our faith in God. The plan allowed us to choose between good and evil and to choose whether or not we would be obedient to the commandments. If we chose good, or obedience to God's laws, we would receive blessings and eternal happiness as our reward. Choosing evil, or disobedience, would leave us with eternal punishment. The plan also provided mercy for all of us as we made mistakes and wanted to change our lives and become obedient. Jesus Christ would be the One who would come to earth to offer His own life as a sacrifice to satisfy the demands of justice and extend mercy to all of us. . He suggested that those who freely chose to follow the Father would inherit exaltation and those who chose not to, would inherit another reward. Jesus then said that he did not want the glory, because that glory belonged to the Father. (See Alma 12:30-37)
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