What is difference between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and mainstream Christianity?

Answer 1

Both churches are Christian denominations. Both have a priesthood organization, and a hierarchal structure headed by an individual leader. Both practice baptism as a required ordinance, administer the Lord's supper (communion in Catholicism; sacrament in Mormonism), confer the gift of the holy ghost, and consider the Bible to be the word of God.

They differ most imporantly in that Mormons believe there was an apostasy during which the keys of priesthood authority were lost. Mormons believe that the authority to perform ordinances in the name of God was lost with the death of the last of the apostles, and was not restored until the 19th century.

As a consequence, Mormons believe that God's authorization lies with restored church; Catholics believe it lies with the ancient church.

The doctrinal differences between the two denominations reflect that difference.

Answer 2

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Mormon Church, is very considerably different from maninstream Christianity, so much so that many Christians insist that it is not a Christian faith at all.

The Church is regarded by scholars as a "two-tiered" religion. Newly converted members are introduced to those parts of the faith with which they would be familiar and only later do they become exposed to the truly unique beliefs and customs of Mormonism.

Mormonism teaches the Christian Bible, but Joseph Smith claimed that an important new scripture, the Book of Mormon, was delivered to him by the resurrected Moroni in 1827. The Book of Mormon, written between the time of the Babylonian Exile and the early years of Christianity and translated into King James style English, tells of a group of Jews who sailed to the Americas and continued to worship God in the New World, all told from a surprisingly nineteenth century perspective.

The Mormon Articles of Faith open with the belief in God, the Eternal Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. But God the Father is not the Hebrew God. The Son is Jehovah, God of Israel. In his King Follett Sermon of 1844, Joseph Smith revealed that God is an evolving being who had organised pre-existing matter and helped pre-existing intelligences on their path to becoming gods. God the Eternal Father is an exalted man and was once as we are now. An unanswered question is how God could have evolved from man. All this is very different from mainstream Christianity.

Answer 3

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is often given the nickname of the "Mormon" church. Yes, they are the same. The Church has adopted the nickname "Mormon" in many public outreach settings including the website Mormon.org and the Mormon Helping Hands service initiatives.

The term "Mormon" is sometimes also used to describe other smaller offshoot groups who also believe in Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, such as the Community of Christ, the Apostolic United Brethren, or the Fundamentalist LDS. The mainstream church rejects the use of this term for any other group, but it's use persists among both scholars and the general public. Also, to be technical, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ("Latter Day" vs. "Latter-day") is not the same. The "Latter Day" church is also called the Strangite Church - a smaller group of perhaps 2,000 members who believes that a man named James Strang was Joseph Smith's rightful successor. The "Latter-day" church is the mainstream Mormon Church with over 15 million members who believes Brigham Young was Joseph Smith's rightful successor.

Answer 4

The Church of Christ was actually the name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from 1830 until 1838. At this time Church members realized that there were several churches with the name "Church of Christ", and both to avoid confusion and comply with a revelation from God (now found in Doctrine and Covenants 115), they changed the name to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Now, there are several Christian churches who use the name "Church of Christ" or something similar. Some branched out of the restorationism movement, as did the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and some did not. These "Church of Christ" groups differ from each other and from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Some are independent individual churches, and some are groups of churches or denominations.

To compare some of the larger "Church of Christ" groups to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, click the "Related Links" below.

Answer 5

Yes they mean the same. The Morman Church and the LS Church are the same Church, Trust me. I know Im a Mormon and I get asked this question all the time. Yes, I agree too.