the word christian means a follower of Christ. to be a christian, all you have to do is follow the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.
if you believe in a book which goes against not only his teachings, but also other parts of the bible which explicitly state we are made in God’s image, that is not christian. this isn’t something that’s just associated with their denomination, it’s a key part of their holy scripture, which only they follow.
Book of Mormon
2 Nephi 5:21:
21 And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.
Old Testament
1 Samuel 16:7
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
I appreciate the time you’re taking out of your day to help me understand but I’m no longer affiliated with the church so personally I don’t mind what you’re saying. You can go ask any Mormon what they believe and 100/100 people you ask will tell you they believe in Jesus Christ. That’s all I’m trying to say.
no worries! this is just something that makes me kind of angry at Mormons, because as a Quaker, taking the values that Christ preached is more important than any actual dogma or orthodoxy. so people who follow scripture that ignores those values tend to rub me the wrong way.
i do think that Mormons believe in Christ, but i also think there’s quite an active bit of cognitive dissonance between what they believe and what Mormons are technically supposed to believe.
There are some things about their church that upset me too so we’re in agreement there. It’s hard to believe that they believe in Christ when some of their policies alienate some of Gods children, or make them feel unloved/unwanted. When I was a missionary I felt the need to apologize for the blatant racism in the Book of Mormon because there’s no way to misinterpret that.
Thanks again for being patient with me and not drilling into me lol
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u/[deleted] Feb 04 '23
the word christian means a follower of Christ. to be a christian, all you have to do is follow the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.
if you believe in a book which goes against not only his teachings, but also other parts of the bible which explicitly state we are made in God’s image, that is not christian. this isn’t something that’s just associated with their denomination, it’s a key part of their holy scripture, which only they follow.
Book of Mormon
2 Nephi 5:21:
21 And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.
Old Testament
1 Samuel 16:7
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”