When I was a kid in the 1960s, the Mormon mantra was to cheerfully announce, "No! We're not Christians! Were MORmons!" The church preferred we set ourselves apart as "other than." Now they try to mingle with the other Christians, even with the African-American Methodist Episcopal church (I have visions of Oaks holding out his fist and asking, "S'up, bro?"). But do the other churches even welcome co-mingling with Mormons? Or do they pick up a slight scent of B.O. whenever the Mormons show up? Anyone have insight?

Most christian sects don't want to "mingle" with any sect other than their own.

Sometimes they grudgingly "accept" ones that are fairly close to theirs in beliefs, but it seems pretty forced.

So, I'm guessing...no.

And then there's this kind of stuff:

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-faqs-are-mormons-christian

"this kind of stuff" sound pejorative. That article struck me as a reasonable, fairly complete, succinct, and plain-language summary of why Biblical Christians do not fellowship with LDS. There's nothing rude or demeaning in stating, "We believe you are wrong: here's why."

I'm reminded of a situation a couple of decades ago when a minister, who was advising a presidential candidate, was called to task for writing an "anti-Catholic" article. It was similar to what you linked to, H2K. So as to not compromise the candidate, he resigned from the campaign, but said (paraphrase),"I have investigated Catholicism, and do not think it's correct. If I did, I would be a Catholic. I'm not. I'm a(name of denomination)."

Maybe I'm thick-skinned, too stuck in my ways, or suffering from incipient cogerism, but I have no trouble with people telling me I'm wrong--as YOU, of all people, know, IfICouldHietoKolob!

};-)

caffiend Wrote:
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> "this kind of stuff" sound pejorative.

It wasn't meant to be in any way.
Might want to work on your assumptions, old friend.

I simply meant it's the "kind of stuff" that is the usual fare among christians with regard to mormons -- they generally don't consider them christians. I actually found that article far gentler than the inter-sect ranting I too often hear, the ones calling mormons nasty names, etc. Somehow I thought if you read the article, you'd get that.

Maybe I was wrong. I'll work on *that* ok? :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2017 06:16PM by ificouldhietokolob.

I can only speak definitively for myself, and speculatively for others.

I'm happy to mingle with anybody. I have friends scattered around the various social, political, and religious spectrums ("spectra"?). Some we have simple friendship relationships; others, we may try to influence or convert each other to our own points of view.

I do not regard LDS as Christian. While in Christian Science, I was practiced as using duplicitous language, gauging my words so that Christians would accept me as "just another Christian, with a somewhat different theology" while maintaining myself (in my own thinking) as the true, authentic Christian in the conversation; the other guy being a believer in "old," corrupted doctrine. Depending upon the person and the circumstances, I will press the issue with a Mormon.

Generally, I think the more Biblical the theology, the less likely a Christian group will extend the recognition of fellowship. I caution against generalizing.

I don't think so. The Book of Mormon and D&C are big deals to Christians because they are taught the Bible is inerrant, the final word and nothing is to be added to it.

That alone makes it hard to find union with Mormons. I think it's offensive to Christians to hear the Bible has errors and should only be believed to the degree it's 'translated correctly'.

If LDS authority are now extending themselves, it's only because funds (i.e. membership) are low. They will not ditch their sacred texts or any of their ways to have true fellowship with Christians. It's always a means to an end.

And Mormons HATE to be unpopular!

I've been hangin with the Episcopalians a lot lately and when it comes to Mormonism they seem about as unconcerned as can possibly be. They go on about LDS they know and how nice they are and if thats what works for them, then good for them.

It drives me crazy sometimes because I want to tell them just how fcked up it all is.

Many Christian churches come together, in shared causes. Our Methodist, Lutheran, and a non-denominational church sponsored a Boy Scout troop together. My sons got their Eagle Scout award, had many once-in-a-lifetime adventures, and made good friends. These churches volunteer together for various community projects, such as cleaning up the canyon and the parks, having a garage sale, and feeding the homeless.

No--Christian churches do not want to include the Mormons. IMO, they are justified, because the Mormons want to take over.

The community doesn't want to work with Mormons, either. We had a great school, and a great PTA, but once the Mormons got a foothold, it just wasn't fun or productive anymore. The pushy Mormons wanted their own agenda, such as having a French program, so three bossy French-speaking RM women could show off their French skills. The Mormons ended our famous music and art programs, because of "lack of funding." After two years--and 2 Mormon PTA presidents--we came back and drove the egotistical creeps out. We held fund-raisers, and reinstated the music and arts programs. One Mormon ex-PTA president inserted herself into her grandchildren's school, and at that school, and made it into a French magnet school. Even math classes are taught in French. My cousin's child, who goes to that school, is failing in Math, and parents are trying to transfer their kids out of there. (Some parents speak Spanish, and some are Japanese and Chinese--learning those languages would make more sense.)

We had a nice neighborhood book club, or about 50 women, for 15 years, until a new stake president and his wife demanded that the club read only Mormon-authored books. The non-Mormons, and some of the Mormons split off and created a new book club of their own. I went with the Mormon book club. The SP's wife berated me for joining the book club, and I told her it was none of her business what I read.

Most of my Christian friends regard Mormonism as non-Christian. No Christian is ever delighted to have a child marry a Mormon, so they encourage their kids to avoid Mormon dating and fellowshipping situations. This has been my experience.

Breeze Wrote:
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> Most of my Christian friends regard Mormonism as
> non-Christian. No Christian is ever delighted to
> have a child marry a Mormon, so they encourage
> their kids to avoid Mormon dating and
> fellowshipping situations. This has been my
> experience.

Agreed. Couple of Romney kids live near us ($$$$ is their gated community, not ours) and people keep their distance. The Mormons stay with their own kind as well.

I think Mormons are tolerated. It probably depends on the denomination, but I think mostly Mormons are regarded as weird and their doctrine weirder. Mormons are loosely Christian. Christian with crazy sauce.

I'm wondering if real information about TSCC, in the Internet age, is reaching mainstream Christianity the way it's reaching us.

In my experience, mainstream (non-fundamental, non-evangelical) christianity has an ecumenical tendency. If you are baptized in a methodist church, for example, no episcopalian is likely to worry about baptizing you again.

Do-good-to-others mainstream christians tend to see a broad swath of christianity as the "Body of Christ" and find fellowship with many groups, rather than see them as apostates or as less-than.

That said, few extreme groups (such as mormons) are willing to be ecumenical at all anyways with anyone else. Certainly mormons eschew ecumenical councils or religious cooperative initiatives and will not recognize other church authorities in any official way.

The exception is when they need other groups to validate one or another of their extreme positions or to legitimize a policy or political position. Then suddenly they are all pal-sey.

I think it depends on the church. Years ago there was a movement in the Baptist church for more unity with other churches, especially those that were Trinitarian or believed in the Triune Lord in their slant of belief.

Some of that has cooled off in recent years as some churches have gotten more liberal, and others remained fairly conservative.

However, the SBC for the Baptist church covers a very wide range of churches and ideas, from very conservative, to very liberal. Each church is it's own entity, only combined together in a convention for the unity of belief.

I imagine just as wide a range of those in how they view doing and associating with other churches.

That said, I think the LDS church probably would be lower on their list of churches that they would seek unity or association with. They would probably see LDS churches on the same level as Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists, thus be more likely to seek association with something that is more akin to what they feel is Christian (as those religions, along with New Age and other beliefs do not really believe in the Triune Lord that is a pretty core belief of Baptists and many other protestants).

I think in theory the more moderate to liberal mainstream Christians would have no problem befriending or working with Mormons in an ecumenical project. The problem is in basic philosophy. Mainstream Christians will invite others to their churches generally without an agenda. They will invite you to a church supper, or a dance, or a fair, or to join a Scout troop. They are largely unconcerned with recruiting you to join their church. They just want you to enjoy a shared activity. It is true hospitality. If you develop a liking for their church, then great, but it is not the focus of their invitations.

IMO Mormons tend to be clannish. They will be friendly to you, but you feel like they have a second, secret life that you are not privy to. If they invite you to church, it is with the agenda of converting you. If you know a fair amount about their church, but haven't converted, then they may distance themselves from you. In a religious sense, they don't tend to play nicely with other Christians due to the intensely missionary nature of the LDS church. They always have an agenda.

Years ago at the Festival of Lessons and Carols at SLC's St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral many different religious and community leaders came together for a joint Christmas celebration. The Morg was represented by James Faust.

He made it a point to let everyone know that he was a Mormon and would not say the acclamations like, "Thanks be to God!" at the end of scriptural readings, nor nod at the cross when he approached the pulpit. This, to me, represented the true feelings of the Mormon leadership--we like to play the Sage on the Stage, but can't even join together with others without making a denominational statement.

I've only ever heard negative comments about Mormons from mainstream Christians (people I've worked with, people I've met). Last year I met a mainstream Christian that called Mormons heretics.

Most mainstream Christians don't even know a Mormon. In most parts of the country, Mormons are barely even on their radar... That is until one of them runs on the Republican ticket.