Mormons don't believe we're punished for Adam's transgression

To the editor,

An open letter to those who may not understand the Christianity of Mormonism:

The Laconia Daily Sun recently published an letter attempting to explain how and why Mormons are not Christians. Although the writer seemed very thoughtful, and his arguments were reasonable, he’s wrong on every count. The writer fails to ever define the term “Christian” (wisely keeping shut the door which would open possibilities that at one time his own religion didn’t pass the test) but rather focuses on misunderstood doctrines (baggage that all churches drag along) and out-of-the-mainstream beliefs (I think the primitive Christian converts would qualify for that one too).

Let’s take a look at some of these, specifically:

The writer rightly notes that “Christianity teaches that Jesus is the ONLY born offspring of Jehovah God…” I’m not sure what the conflict is here, because Mormonism teaches this as well (Jesus Christ is the ONLY begotten son of the Father). Where confusion might occur is in the Mormon belief that in a pre-earth life, we were all spiritually born of Heavenly Parents (Hebrews 12:9, Acts 17:28-29). We are spiritual sons and daughters of God. Though Jesus (and Lucifer) were brothers to us, they held unique positions with God. Jesus’ plan of salvation was accepted and Lucifer’s plan was rejected.

The writer also addresses the Mormon belief that man can become like God. And it’s true, this is a Mormon belief (although you’ll never hear a Sunday School lesson on how to become a God). This doctrine is found in the Bible (Psalms 82:6, John 10:34-35, Genesis 3:22, John 17:20-23, Ephesians 3:19, 2 Peter 1:3-4, Romans 8:14-18, Revelation 3:21, Phillipians 3:21, 1 John 3:2, Matthew 5:48, 1 Peter 3:7) and it wasn’t at all controversial to the early church fathers. Let me be clear, Mormonism does not teach that man can become God (there is only one God) or that he can replace our Savior, Jesus Christ. Like any father-son relationship, our Father in Heaven wants us to be like him.

The writer got it half right when talking about the Fall of Adam. Mormons do believe that Adam introduced sin into the world, but they do not believe that we are punished for Adams transgression (“original sin”). It’s simply not right for a pure and innocent baby to be born into the world as sinful, because of an ancient transgression on Adam’s part.

The Christianity of Mormons is not dependent upon the councils and creeds of the historical church (after the 2nd century). Mormons are New Testament Christians. I invite you to examine their beliefs and determine if this is true.

Matt Warren

Salt Lake City, Utah