To get to the bottom of the matter I conducted a highly scientific poll in which I texted 25 random Mormon friends of mine asking them “Are you Christian?” Of those, 17 responded (the other 8 were probably busy watching the Red Sox wail on the Yankees). Here’s what they replied:

• Yes
• Yes i am christian.
• Yes sir
• I don’t know what answer you want… Yes, i am…I believe in christ and try my best to follow him
• Yes!
• yep
• Yes, clearly
• Yes
• heretofore yes
• Ain’t no thang. Good luck to your hide. I’ll let you know of our next potential gatherin’ (note: I suspect that this one might not be in response to my question…)
• Yes!
• just simple yes or not? yes. if you want more detailed let me know.
• You bet.
• Yes. (an emoticon!)
• I am and know that he leads this church.
• Of course
• Yes

And the last friend of mine responded by actually calling me up and flabbergastedly (probably not a word) asking me why I’d ever even ask him that — of course he’s Christian! So, there you have it, at 17 votes to none the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a Christian religion. That is, according to Mormons anyway. They say this because Christ is the central figure of Mormon theology.  “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). In the words of Joseph Smith, “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.” Susan Easton Black, a church scholar (and coincidentally my neighbor) calculated that Christ or His ministry is mentioned on the average every 1.7 verses in the Book of Mormon. Mormon teaching is preeminently Christ-centered.

It seems the major part of the dear Mother Earth’s population agree that we are Christians. To a Muslim, Mormons are Christians; to a Buddhist, Mormons are Christian. I’m guessing that even a Pastafarian would probably call Mormons Christians. The problem is that some members of other religions chilling out under the holy umbrella of Christianity don’t like sharing the dry space. They claim that since some of our beliefs differ from that of “traditional” Christians, we shouldn’t be allowed use of the term. And they have a point — truly we are different in many ways (and proudly so, I say).  Our view of Christ differs from a Lutheran’s point of view of Christ just as a Baptist’s view of Him differs from a Catholic’s, but it should not be these doctrinal differences that define Christianity (read more about our view of Christ here).

The question at heart here is this: who has the right to determine the definition of the word “Christian”? Let’s look at the term’s history. According to Acts 11:26, the disciples of Christ were first called “Christians” at Antioch. The term meant someone who was a follower of the man Jesus. And the term went from there, eventually being applied to the Catholic and Orthodox churches and the many denominations that later started springing up. But today, no one really owns the legal rights to such terms. Certainly Evangelical Christians (who seem to take most issue with this claim) don’t own these rights. The term should be defined in the same way as any other term: by how it has been used by the common person over the course of many years. If any one group did own the rights, it would be the Catholics—the Christians who have been around the longest.

But I say we leave the definition up to the most reliable definitional source we humans have: www.merriam-webster.com which provides the following:

Main Entry: Chris·tian

Function: noun

Etymology: Latin christianus, adjective & noun, from Greek christianos, from Christos

1: one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ

2: the hero in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress

So as long as you’re asking me if I’m a Christian in the first definition’s sense, then yes, I’m unquestionably a Christian.  And that rounds out the 4 ways in which Mormons are Christians:  1) By self definition, 2) By majority vote of the earth’s population, 3) By original definition of the word “Christian”, and 4) By current dictionary definition of the same.

I know Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world, that He lived and performed miracles and died for us. I know He rose again on that blessed third day. I know He loves me and that through His atoning sacrifice I can overcome sin and be saved.  I’m grateful to Christian friends and neighbors of the Mormon and non-Mormon type who spread the good news of His gospel.

Here is our dilemma:  Who will believe us?  How do we share it?

Most of us are hesitant.  We have spent time building good, strong relationships with our neighbors and coworkers, and there is the fear that if we broach the topic of religion, if we invite our friends to a church meeting or to a missionary lesson that our friendships will dry up.

Since Mormonism is such an integral part of our lives we’re worried that a rejected invitation equals a rejected friendship.

I’d like to ask you, our non-Mormon readers, to imagine yourselves in a scenario.  You are talking to a trusted Mormon friend and somehow the LDS Church comes up.  You talk for a few minutes about it pleasantly, but not in much depth.  Then your friend invites you to learn more, maybe saying something like this:

We’re having the missionaries over for dinner on Wednesday.  It’s their job to teach people about the Church, and I’d love for you to learn more.  Will you come over for dinner and a short lesson?

What would you be thinking and feeling?  What would you say?  Be honest.

This forms part of the great multimedia outlets of the church.  Mormon.org has wonderful explanations and stories concerning our beliefs.  There is also a YouTube channel featuring various videos at www.youtube.com/MormonMessages.  Please take the time to read, watch or listen to these various resources.

This past week my family had a unique experience:  On Wednesday we saw my little sister off to be a missionary in Chile, and then on Thursday we met my husband’s little brother at the airport as he returned from his mission in Brazil.  To see the metamorphosis that these young men and women go through was incredible and I thought it might be interesting for some of our readers to know a bit more about these young people they see on bikes and street corners.

• Elders (the young men) and Sisters (the young women) are addressed by their title and their last name.  Mormons don’t all have the same first name.
• Elders are generally between 19-21 years old.  Sisters have to be at least 21.   There are also “couple missionaries” who are married and already retired.  They probably won’t tell you how old they are.
• Elders serve for 2 years and Sisters serve for 18 months.  Couples serve for 18 months as well.
• Nearly all missionaries first go to the Missionary Training Center In Provo, Utah for a few weeks before they embark on their mission.  There are 16 other MTCs throughout the world.  They teach the basics of language and teaching techniques.  Their language programs are so successful that several government organizations have approached the Mormon church to ask them what their secret is.  Unfortunately, the secret is the Spirit and a very real manifestation of the gift of tongues.   The State Department just can’t replicate that.
• Missionaries don’t choose where they want to go.  Otherwise, they would all end up in Venice, probably.  They are called by members of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles who receive their direction from the Spirit.
• Missionaries pay for themselves.  They aren’t church sponsored and they aren’t paid for their service.  They are very literally serving.
• There were 54,494 missionaries serving in 348 missions throughout the world as of April 2009.
• Missionaries always work in a companionship.  There are usually two, sometimes three, missionaries who live together, eat together, work together and teach together.   Nothing weird going on there, it is an extension of having two or more witnesses when they teach and testify.
• Missionaries don’t date.  If you want to talk to them because you are hoping they will ask you out, you are wasting your time.
• The missionaries’ purpose is to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to anyone who is interested.  They talk about the restoration of the Gospel through Joseph Smith, the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how it applies to us directly, why we are here on the earth and what our purpose is eternally,  and how to live a life in harmony with God.  When you meet with the missionaries they will likely present a series of four to six lessons introducing gospel concepts.
• When missionaries go home, they resume their normal lives.  Then they date, go to school, get married, reminisce about their missions, and stop wearing ugly ties.  In fact, if you have Mormon friends, ask them if they went on a mission.  They might have some entertaining stories for you.

So next time you see a set of missionaries walking around, get to know them.  (If they are wearing ugly ties, forgive them.  They are only 19).  They could be from anywhere in the world, and perhaps they were called to that mission just so that they could meet you.

Question: Why Mormons?

Answer: Can you please be a little more specific?

Question: Yes, of course. What makes the Mormon Church any different from any other church; why are you Mormons always trying to share your beliefs with me?

Answer: Great question. Let me answer it for myself: the Church is special to me and I love to share its teachings with others because I know it to be the true Church. I believe that other religions and faiths have teachings that are true and I am forever grateful for the work that they do to make people better but I also believe that they are missing important truths. To use a familiar phrase, I believe that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only church that can honestly claim to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”

With this, I believe that this Church is the only Church with authority from God to perform saving ordinances such as baptism.

Authority given to man by God to act in His name is called the priesthood. Throughout time, God has called special individuals to be prophets. Prophets are given the priesthood authority by God and are instructed to teach the people about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thus men like Noah, Abraham, and Moses had this authority to act in God’s name. But, because we men are silly, these prophets were consistently rejected. When a prophet was rejected, this priesthood authority was lost from the Earth for a time (known as a time of apostasy) until God saw fit to once again call a new prophet to restore what was lost.

This cycle of “have a prophet, kill the prophet, don’t have a prophet, eventually have a new prophet” continued up until Christ was sent to the earth. While here, Christ acted as the prophet and organized His Church, which organization included the calling of twelve Apostles. But (silly humans) even Christ was rejected and killed. When Christ was killed Peter, having the proper authority, assumed the role as head of the Church. And yet the persecution didn’t stop. Christian heads were rolling left and right and the Apostles were killed off until, yet again, a new era of apostasy began. Authority was yet again lost from the earth because of the wickedness of men.

The Roman Catholic Church believes that that authority was never lost. The Protestant reformers (a la Martin Luther, John Calvin, William Tyndale, etc), pointing to the widespread corruption in the church of their times, heartily disagreed and broke off in attempts to organize churches that were more like the original Church that Christ had established. But most of these reformers realized that they didn’t have authority from God—they didn’t claim themselves to be prophets called by God. Roger Williams, co-founder of Rhode Island and the Baptist church in America, recognized this lack of authority in his church and soon left saying,

“There is no regularly constituted church of Christ on earth, nor any person qualified to administer any church ordinances; nor can there be until new apostles are sent by the Great Head of the Church for whose coming I am seeking. (Picturesque America, p. 502.)

So mankind needed to wait until God saw fit to call a new prophet. The wait lasted until 1820. In spring of that year God and Jesus Christ personally appeared to Joseph Smith to call him as a new prophet – a prophet to restore what had been lost, a prophet specifically given the priesthood authority necessary to once again establish Christ’s Church here on the earth.

And thus it is that Christ’s Church was restored (not reformed) and is now on the earth again with a prophet, with apostles, and with the priesthood authority necessary to perform baptisms. The Heavens are still open, God talks to His children in our day.

These things I know to be true.

That’s why Mormons.

Thanks for listening.

(Oh, and I dare you to watch this. Or this.)

2) I’m a Mormon.

Yes it’s a truth: as I ponder why it is that in general I, Curtis, am such a happy person, I realize that it is directly linked to my religion. “How!?” you may be questioning exclamatorily right now. Well, dearest you, let me tell you. And, as you might’ve guessed by now, I like doing things in list form, so here goes (to mix things up a bit I’ll make this list out of letters).

A) I have purpose in my life. I know why I’m here, where I came from, and what comes after death. Knowing that there’s a reason I’m here on this giant sphere hurtling through the immensity of space gives me a sense of peace and joy.

B) I have a loving family. Mormon doctrine teaches that the family is “ordained of God” and “central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World”) I love my fam and find tremendous happiness in knowing that I can be with them for all eternity.

C) “Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy.” (2 Nephi 2:25) This verse from the Book of Mormon let’s me know that it is God’s plan for me to be happy. The Supreme Being’s object and desire is for me and each of us to be happy! We are meant to be happy in this life and the next, how could it be any other way?

D) And one of the best Biblical verses ever penned (quilled?): “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) I know Christ lives and that He loves each of us. No matter how dark the path may seem or how difficult the way, there is a Light to guide us safely through. Now there’s a reason to rejoice.

“No! You believe you can become Gods,” they retort.

They view this as heretical; we don’t see the problem. I think it boils down to our conception of who God is.

Many outside our faith see Him as a faceless, nebulous essence, which has no personality, passions, body parts, etc. He has all power and can therefore be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He is often represented as an unknowable, and unpredictable force and he created all of us for the purpose of having worshipers.

Let me assure you, Mormons do not hope to become this sort of “God.”

We view Him as a parent. He is a nice person. He has a distinct face and a real, corporeal body. Although He is omniscient and omnipotent, we know that he uses this power primarily for the advancement of his sons and daughters. His work and His glory, he tells us, is “to bring about the immortality and eternal life of man.” Moses 1:39

He loves us because we are His children. We are not just ‘things’ he created so that we would constantly worship Him. As children and heirs (instead of creations) we have the capacity, inherent within us, to become like Him. Each of us does — not just Mormons.

So, are we being blindly obedient? We could just as easily bring up blind disobedience. The term “blind” here indicates that a decision is made with little or no knowledge on the subject, especially in the context of doing something just because we were told to do it. We Mormons don’t believe in this. We are taught to heed the words of the prophets, but to do this with our eyes wide open. Not all obedience is blind.

We know the reasons that a prophet’s words have greater weight than some Joe off the street. They communicate with God and become His voice on the earth. This whole idea is the crux of the Old Testament and the reason we read it. We listen to and follow the prophet because he knows about the plagues of locusts; because we want to be on the safe side of the Red Sea; because they know what we can do to be truly, honestly happy.

Nearly every member of the Church can tell you a story of how obeying the prophet’s direction to pay tithing, or attend the temple, or to fast and pray for a specific purpose has resulted in real, tangible blessings. These Mormons have had personal experiences to urge them into further obedience — it is not blind.

Should a false or misleading message ever be preached from the prophet’s pulpit there are safeguards against it. Every member is encouraged to seek personal answers from God himself to confirm or deny in their own hearts the truth of a prophet’s words. These Mormons are obedient, but they know why.

Since the Garden of Eden the Lord has given us instructions on what we ought to spend our time doing in life. His pattern is to choose a mortal man, call him a prophet, and dispense the information through him. He needs two things: access to truth and authority (priesthood) to preach it. It’s simple and efficient. At least, it is when the people listen to him.

Invariably, the backlash against the prophet leads to a revolt against him and against God. When the prophet is killed, the dispensing of gospel truth is thwarted and the people are left in the dark. We Mormons call this “apostasy.” Fortunately, the Lord has always followed apostasy with a new prophet and a new dispensation, beginning with Adam, then Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Elijah, etc.

Case in point: John the Baptist was called as a prophet to prepare the way for Jesus’ ministry. He and Jesus taught the gospel truth, restored the priesthood power, and organized the Church of Jesus Christ. Jesus called Peter and the other apostles to lead the flock after His departure.

Up to this point you probably feel comfortable. Here comes the primary theological difference between Mormons and most other Christians:

John the Baptist was beheaded, Christ was crucified, and the apostles were rejected and murdered. They who held the authority of the Lord were eliminated and the world became apostate again. This time it lasted for over a millennium, allowing a smattering of false teachings from non-prophet church leaders to creep in.

Reformers such as Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, Roger Williams, and others saw problems in the religions of their days; they did their best to correct them, but lacked the capacity (and the authority) to fully revert to Christ’s original church. They could not authoritatively speak for God, since he had not spoken to them or given them permission, and many of these reformers recognized that fact.

This dark apostasy came to its end when a young man of 14 years prayed in seclusion in a grove of trees in 1820. Joseph Smith was looking for the true church. Not a nice church, or a charismatic church, or a ceremonial church, but the church that God himself directed. As he searched the Bible he read,

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5

He felt that if anyone lacked wisdom he did, for what to do he did not know. And unless he could gain more wisdom he would never know. In a grove of trees near his country farmhouse, he knelt and prayed. In his words:

“I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me…

“When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

“My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right…—and which I should join.” Joseph Smith-History 1:16-18

Joseph received an answer from the lips of the Savior himself: That his Church was in apostasy. There were no prophets on the earth and there hadn’t been for over a thousand years.

However, even in these demoralizing words was a message of hope: the apostasy was now broken, and Joseph was receiving direct communication from God. Over the course of Joseph’s life, he was visited by the Lord, and also by other angelic messengers, many more times. He was chosen to be a prophet and through these visitations the priesthood authority was restored. The church was reorganized upon the foundation of apostles and prophets.

Now, we carry this amazing message of hope to all nations of the earth. We are honest in our desire for others to know that the Lord’s work is restored. His successor, Thomas Monson, is the living prophet today. We know it, and we want you to know it too.

How? It’s simple. Pray.

God knows whether this is all true, and I daresay he has an opinion on the matter. Ask him yourself. I have, and so have millions of now-Mormons. You may not receive as glorious a visitation as Joseph did, but he will answer you. Often it comes as a feeling from the Holy Ghost, or an idea you hadn’t thought of. Maybe in a word from a neighbor. Ask and ye shall receive. If you won’t ask, you don’t receive.