Mere Christianity

There's been a lot of raucous over the past few days surrounding the very doctrinal core of my religious beliefs.

I think I'd just like to make a respectful comment or two about it all--mostly so that there is no question as to why, as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I unequivocally believe that I am a Christian.

First of all, I must state some assumptions:

I assume, for the purposes of this post, that those who claim that I and my fellow church members are not Christian do so for a number of reasons, which include the following:

1.  Our doctrinal views of the physical nature of Christ differ.
2.  Our doctrinal views of accepted scripture differ.
3.  Our doctrinal views of faith, works and salvation differ.

(For those of my friends who are unfamiliar with the LDS Church, but curious as to what we believe in this regard, a detailed discussion of the LDS views are explained on an official Church website for queries just like yours:  www.mormon.org.)

I maintain that not everyone who so vehemently opposes my religion truly understands the logic with which they reason--for with some objective study, they may find that sheer historical fact will likewise turn those arguments against their own religious doctrines.


However, and most importantly, the crux of "Mormonism," is not absurdly different than the crux of all Christianity.  It is this:

God loves us.  His Son, Jesus Christ, suffered and died for us to redeem us from sin and despair.  It is by faith on Him that salvation comes.  True faith includes living a good life, consistent with the teachings of Jesus Christ and the commandments of God.  And by living in this manner, we experience happiness, despite all the trials and troubles that we all will, at some point, face in this life.

In tandem with the Bible, the Book of Mormon aims to satiate the desire of humankind for an understanding of who we are, what the purpose of our existence is, and how to achieve happiness.  A key to this understanding is to knowing and believing in Jesus Christ.  The Bible and the Book of Mormon teach us of this Jesus Christ--the only author and finisher of true Christianity:

And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 33:10).


The beauty of our life here on earth--and especially in a country that highly values religious freedoms--is that we are agents unto ourselves in the choices that we make and what we choose to believe.  When it really, truly comes down to it, no one can force us to believe any religious tenet.  Our wills are undoubtedly our own.  We may face threat by others because of our beliefs.  But, at no point, can anyone usurp the beliefs of a soul, unaided by the bearer of that soul.

And so, I cannot, of myself, convince anyone of my religious beliefs.  I can profess my own conviction of them, and I can make them known to others for their own evaluation.  Likewise, those who so disrespectfully deride the "Mormon" faith, will never, of themselves, unconvince Mormons of their religious beliefs.  Of course these individuals are free to disagree, it's just most unfortunate that they choose to do so in such an unloving way.

To those who are honest seekers of truth, the crux of our efforts in professing and defending our Christian beliefs is as a former president of the Church once said,

“Let me say that we appreciate the truth in all churches and the good which they do. We say to the people, in effect, you bring with you all the good that you have, and then let us see if we can add to it. That is the spirit of this work. That is the essence of our missionary service.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, church meeting, Nairobi, Kenya, 17 Feb. 1998).

As a Christian, I stand in solidarity with those who believe on Christ.

I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth (Romans 1:16).