Curious? (Latter Day Saints, crucified, Gospel, Mormons)

[redwhiteblue]

I tried to read the, "what do Mormons believe", thread and it was filled with so much animosity that I thought I would just ask one question and hope people can be civilized.
I am curious to know what are the main differences between Mormons and other Christian religions? and if you can please answer in plain english I am not familiar with the bible so if you start throwing quotes at me I'm going to get really confused. LOL
I am not asking who dislikes Mormons or who doesn't agree with them, but instead just a simple answer on the main differences.I am not looking for opinions but facts from those who really know what their teachings are.

Thank you.

[jufrbo]

Christians believe there is one God.
Mormons believe you too can achieve Godhood.

Christians believe you go to heaven through salvation.
Mormons believe your good deeds get you there.

[SergeantL]

Originally Posted by JustinFromBoise

Christians believe there is one God.
Mormons believe you too can achieve Godhood.

This is not accepted doctrine and is not contained in LDS Canon. Yes, references to the path of Godhood have been stated by LDS leaders, but none of these statements are official doctrine.

Originally Posted by JustinFromBoise

Christians believe you go to heaven through salvation.
Mormons believe your good deeds get you there.

This to, is incorrect. Christians believe they gain salvation through the Grace of Christ only. Latter Day Saints believe they obtain salvation by proving their worthiness through obedience to God’s laws, good works, and finally the Grace of Christ.

There are four primary differences between the LDS Church and most Protestant or Catholic faiths:

The LDS Church believes the original Church as established by Jesus was eventually corrupted and its pure form lost after the deaths of the Apostles. This is called the Great Apostasy. It does not mean people were corrupt, it only means over time they lost the complete truth through the process of erroneous interpretations.

The corruption led to a loss of Priesthood authority, in other words, the authority to administer the ordinances of the original Church. One such ordinance would be baptism.

The original Church and Priesthood authority was reestablished in the 19th century through the first Prophet, Joseph Smith.

The LDS Church believes that Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct personages. Jesus is now a resurrected being with a physical body. God the Father is a being with a physical body, but the Holy Ghost is still a spirit, who will eventually gain a physical body.

That’s it in a nutshell.

[jufrbo]

Originally Posted by SergeantL

The LDS Church believes the original Church as established by Jesus was eventually corrupted and its pure form lost after the deaths of the Apostles.
The corruption led to a loss of Priesthood authority, in other words, the authority to administer the ordinances of the original Church. One such ordinance would be baptism.

Well they got the corruption of the priesthood right. So, now I have a question about Godhood. I've heard the term God children, and becoming a savior of another planet. Is this a real teaching or someone trying to skew the LDS faith?

[SergeantL]

Originally Posted by JustinFromBoise

Well they got the corruption of the priesthood right. So, now I have a question about Godhood. I've heard the term God children, and becoming a savior of another planet. Is this a real teaching or someone trying to skew the LDS faith?

Let me be honest and state I am speculating in my response to a certain degree, because I am not sure what you heard, but let me try.

First, we believe we are all spirit children of God the Father, and we were together in a pre-mortal existence, including Jesus and the Holy Ghost. We came to this world to gain physical bodies and to be tested. Jesus was selected by God the Father to be the Savior for the rest of us.

Next, Joseph Smith did state in essence we would eventually become like our Father in Heaven, but he never stated precisely what this meant. There are Bible scriptures which talk about the righteous becoming heirs to the Kingdom of God, but it is not clear what that means either, so no one knows what the specific roles of anyone in Heaven will be. I will state that many in the Church have->speculated<- that we will create worlds and test our own children in the same manner as we are now being tested, if we progress sufficiently, but I want to make it clear; all of this is speculation. I will also state I believe this is our ultimate purpose. In short, our Father in Heaven wants us to follow in His footsteps.

As far as your question regarding the savior of another planet is concerned, I think it is in reference to our belief that the Atonement of Jesus not only applies to those on this world but to all of God the Father’s children on other planets. We believe this earth is not the only planet populated with God’s children. We believe God has caused the creation of numberless planets and placed His children on them. We do, however, believe the battle between good and evil is centered on this world.

I hope I have answered your questions.

[twin.spin]

The Christian God and the Mormon plan of salvation are inherently incompatible from a Christians view:

Both have a Plan of Salvation - but they are very different

1)God's plan of salvation is that those who look on the Christ that was lifted up on the cross and believe have eternal life, by faith alone.

2)Latter Day Saints believe they obtain salvation by proving their worthiness through obedience to God’s laws, good works, and finally the Grace of Christ.

3) The Bible teaches that the Father, Son (Jesus), Holy Spirit are one God, but 3 persons - God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), God the Holy Spirit. The closest word to "trinity" is Diety, coming from 2 greek words

èåüò ; (theos) - a deity, especially (with Greek word 3588) the supreme Divinity;

èåüôçò (theoteôs) (divinity (abstractly):—godhead)

Colossians 2:9 “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily
form,”

4) No other revelation was needed for salvation;
Jesus said "they have [present tense] Moses & the Prophets [Law & Gospel] if they don't listen to them, [moses & prophets] they would not believe even if someone rises from the dead!" (Which Lazarus was and Jesus Himself did)

Paul says " If we or even an angel from heaven preaches something other that what we have already preached [past tense], let him be eternally condemned!

What did Paul preach?
"We preach Christ crucified,"
"However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. [King] David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: "
Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.

5)The purpose of the law is
A. to show us our need for a Saviour -
B. curb our sinfulness
C. that we can not be perfect as the law demands

Not to obtain salvation by proving their worthiness through obedience to God’s laws

I hope you can see the Biblical plan. It is all we need.