Is The LDS Church Becoming Evangelical? All About Jesus?

[@paulaedens1983]

Mormons may use His Name more often, but the fact remains that the Mormon Jesus is subordinate to our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Who’s Spirit was NOT created by heavenly parents. Their Jesus never existed. My Jesus is eternal.

[@markkrispin6944]

The Corporation of Rusty Nelson of the Latter-Day Frauds

[@Mendozam4]

I've been a Mormon for quite some time now (the main Utah based denomination), and as far as I have read in both LDS scripture,and teaching, Jesus Christ is the Eternal God without begining or end. I can't say that I have peered into the mind of every LDS person to confirm that this is how they personally perceive Christ. However, LDS scripture doesn't really allow for the option of a Jesus who didn't exist at some point.

[@LadyMaria]

​@@Mendozam4You do not believe in the Holy Trinity but instead that Christ is a lesser god than the Father, the Holy Spirit a lesser god than Christ. Three gods united in purpose in a "Godhead" (we use that term however for us it means three Persons "of ONE Essence"). The LDS idea is anathematized as Arianism, polytheism.

[@Mendozam4]

@@LadyMaria correct, I do not believe in creedal trinitarianism and I have not found it taught in the Bible the way it is expressed in some of the creeds. However, the Book of Mormon and D&C are pretty explicit that Jesus Christ is the Eternal God without begining or end. Same as the Father and the Holy Spirit. And together they are not 3 but One Eternal God. Jesus was lesser that the Father between him emptying himself to be born a mortal servant, and his ascension to the right hand of the Father, but that is no longer the case. As far as Arian polytheism, I have to roll my eyes. According to polling, the number of Christians in America that confirm that “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.” has been hovering around 70% for the last decade. So, if that was what I believed, (and I don't as previously stated,) I would be in good company with the majority of Christians in my country. I get that bad theology is bad theology, but if a Jehovah's witnesses told me that he was pretty sure Jesus was the One True God, my reaction would be to expound on that with more good doctrine from the scriptures. I wouldn't tell them that they actually believe Jesus is just A god, and that they are JWing wrong. Anyway, God bless, and Godspeed on helping lost souls find Jesus.

[@maryhope4196]

It has always been their culture to change a doctrine when under pressure or criticism, like they used to preach polygamy and the black color indicating those that participated in Satan's rebellion in heaven and were cursed. However if they are changing for the better and God is in it, praise the Lord.

[@jimmymendez9995]

Great job David

[@francescogorbechov4192]

I think eventually the LDS church will turn into something akin to the Community of Christ (RLDS)

[@PapaKryptoss]

No pastor Jeff will become a 12 apostle

[@candlewatt]

This is exactly where I think the LDS are going. Toward RLDS. I'm sure it won't be far down the road where LDS have women in the priesthood and even gays being sealed in the temples. I won't even recognize it in 5 years.

[@debanda4504]

No temple is needed Jesus Christ requires a relationship with childlike faith.

[@jesusmatters4222]

I get what you are saying but Paul was very clear on preaching "another gospel" and "another Jesus" - contrary to what feels comfortable for us to accept or reject, I think doctrine matters. I can praise God that the LDS are coming closer to the truth but they still believe in 3 gods of this planet, and billions of other gods, that they can become a god and teach a works based faith. Compassion can be given, but withholding truth is not "loving thy neighbor".

[@gatecrashercanadamb]

how do we reconcile these verses then: Phil. 1:15-18 15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

[@Scott48-m7e]

Mormons believe Jesus is the one God in Isaiah 44:6,8 KJV

[@LadyMaria]

​@@Scott48-m7eNo they do not. They believe that He is a lesser God than the Father.

[@CatS55587]

I hate to say this, but I haven't had many good experiences with the Mormons I've met. The ones I've met have always acted like they were better than me and others, (and they only hung out with each other). It wasn't out right, but every time I had different opinions on certain topics or did something different than what they would do, they always seemed to act as though they were perfect. I honestly can't handle being around people that act like that. I dealt with them in my school and up until just recently at my work. No offense to anyone. This was just my experience.

[@LadyMaria]

You're not alone. I have been treated the same way.

[@saenzperspectives]

“Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly-and indeed you do bear with me. For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted-you may well put up with it!.. …For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” ‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬-‭4‬, ‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭

[@on_the_journey_101]

Dave I can totally relate to what your saying about not talking about Jesus in the Mormon community it’s not really much at all I’m an Orthadox Christian now but I can barely remember Jesus ever being talked about in the Mormon community I grew up in it and maybe in all those years they did perhaps a half a dozen times

[@Shirley-r4h9p]

The LDS leaders have had to talk more about the Savior Jesus Christ because they are losing so many Faithful members who are asking questions and doing research and B watching podcasts that lead them to the True History of the Mormon Church !!! As a ex Mormon I’m so Thankful that I found Mormon Stories and other podcasts that Helped me to find the Truth and the Savior Jesus Christ by putting down the Book of Mormon and Studying the Holy Bible “ New Testament “ 🙏🏻💜

[@selinaogorman8380]

This is a good thing a step in the right direction so yes I hope they become more Christian I have some good experiences when I was lds i enjoyed that there about family good morals and values I respect the Lds for some of these things I pray to God yes this to happen.🙏🏻

[@paulaedens1983]

You cannot just be 'more' Christian. You're either a Christian or you're not, and Mormons definitely are not Christians.

[@paulaedens1983]

When was the last time you heard any of the Frist Prez or the Q12 offer a prayer to the LORD??? I don't remember even one time!

[@scotttyler7618]

I think (hopefully I am wrong but only God knows the heart) that the LDS is trying to get more memberships in their church because of the declining they are having throughout the years because I go to Calvary Chapel St George and have seen LDS numerous times for months coming to Calvary Chapel. The main focused is Christ center but are they going to live up to the other ideas that are not biblical like: believing in heavenly mother, that you can become a god or believing in baptism of the dead.

[@lukeandrachelbarendse6326]

100% over the past 10 years I've had numerous LDS missionaries come over and more recently they really want to focus just on Jesus and how similar we are and don't want to talk about our differences.

[@carbinewolf]

The main thing changing is the external packaging; it's all the same core: JS, the temples signs and symbols, the 3 kingdoms, outerdarkness, and the 'eternal family'. They still hold up that God was once a man. And don't forget 'heavenly mother'

[@Shirley-r4h9p]

You hit the nail on the head 10000 %

[@HumerousMama]

They will have to abandon temple work, polytheism, and adopt the trinity and Jesus is God etc. they will never be accepted into the evangelical world until they renounce some of these heretical teachings that Jesus is created . Jesus the brother of Satan. You can do work for the dead. Etc. I agree it’s a good thing they talk about Jesus more.

[@Scott48-m7e]

There are three distinct separate Gods who are one God

[@LadyMaria]

​​​@@Scott48-m7eThat's not the Holy Trinity. That is not one God either. That's polytheism.

[@buellerferris]

I visited my aunt's ward out of curiosity after 10 years, it really didn't feel like an LDS church at all. I will never return permanently but it felt like a completely different church.

[@candlewatt]

No. LDS still think it's the ordinances that will ultimately save them. Not exactly the Grace of God. Still at it from a works perspective. While LDS may feign the Grace, it's still all about works.

[@ReluctantPost]

Their professed historicity has been falling apart around them as more and more comes out publicly and the lies they had missionaries telling people for decades (minimizing Joseph Smith's polygamy, for example) are admitted to. There are fundamental beliefs about "Jesus" involved, however, as well as a zillion other matters, that don't really make a transition to an orthodox, biblical Jesus possible while retaining their organization. "Jesus" will no longer be Satan's brother and the firstborn of some unknown heavenly Mother? "Jesus" will no longer have progressed into being deity, God will no longer live on the planet Kolob, and Mormons will no longer become a deity themselves, maybe with their own planets? Besides, why would they want to jump from one heresy to another, from a belief system that is 150 years old to one that is only about the same age up to only 500 years old (mostly American Second Great Awakening, though) with neither being known before then? The nearest thing to Protestant-Evangelical doctrine nearly 2,000 years ago is found in a different "special" dude, Marcion, a bit like Joseph Smith, but P-E's would never want to embrace the rest of what Marcion believed. Maybe Mormons should look at becoming a headquarters for Comicon / Sci-Fi or something. They used to sell _Twilight_ in church bookstores and the current Vallow-Daybell court case in Idaho features zombies along with Mormon-based ideas of prophecy.

[@pollydunn3191]

I've been wanting to send President Nelson a suggestion. I think they should open up all the temples across the world to everyone. They should be worship centers. They could play spiritual music, contemporary Christian or rotate the worship music and let people just come in and meditate and worship. That is what this world needs right now and if he really is a prophet he should KNOW that. Just look at the effect the Chosen has had and it has an evangelical writer producer with a Mormon partner and a Catholic Jesus. He is doing more with this series bringing people together than I've ever seen anyone do in my 71 years on this earth.

[@MusicBlik]

@@raidthefridge7837 There's an important reason we (Latter-day Saints) keep the exact content of some of the temple ceremonies secret/sacred. It's because we believe that people are judged according to their level of knowledge. For example, if there are two people who commit the same sins, but one attends church regularly and professes a belief in Christ while the other has never committed to follow Jesus and has only a cursory knowledge of Christianity, the Christian (as long as they remain unrepentant) will be held more accountable for their sins at Judgment Day than the unbeliever, because they should have known better. It's similar with the Temple - we believe anyone who has heard temple-specific teachings and rejected them will receive harsher judgment before God for having done so, which is why we generally don't discuss temple ceremonies in mixed company, and some things we don't discuss outside of the temple at all. Even within the Church, we introduce them when individuals are ready to receive them - we believe strongly in the principle of "milk before meat" as taught by Paul in 1 Corinthians 3. I'm sorry your introduction to these things alarmed you to a certain extent, but I hope you've learned since then that nothing the Church teaches will cause your parents to bring you harm. Family is everything. Righteous family relations bring us closer to Jesus Christ. And we believe we have been promised that if we are faithful we will retain our families in Heaven. Have you read "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" that our church leaders put out in 1995? It is all about parents protecting children, spouses supporting each other, and safeguarding the family unit as an institution; as well as the eternal reasons and ramifications of doing so.

[@scotttyler7618]

@@MusicBlik Your mostly right but there is a problem. You left of repentance through Christ Jesus and fully trusting in Him alone which gets you into Heaven. Religion only gets so far, and its works based. I believe we can have good morals, have families, but without repentance through Christ Jesus we are nothing. Why even have secrets in the temple ceremonies? Jesus never had any secrets.

[@MusicBlik]

@@scotttyler7618 I agree with you! Mostly. Repentance through Christ Jesus and trusting in Him alone is absolutely required to enter Heaven. But so is keeping God's commandments. (Matthew 7:21-22 contains both ideas - only those who do God's will can enter Heaven, AND only those who come to know the Lord.) As for secrets, Jesus never withheld knowledge once His followers were ready to receive it, so in that sense He had no secrets. But He ABSOLUTELY refrained from sharing things His disciples weren't ready for---we can see that with the Apostles as late as the Last Supper(!), when He had so much more to share with them, but knew that they weren't yet able to bear it. (John 16:12) If that restraint was not secrecy, then the sacred things of the Temple aren't secret either. We eagerly invite in any who are prepared to receive them.

[@DaveBartosiewicz]

God's will is to believe in His Son. In the Bible.

[@Scott48-m7e]

@@DaveBartosiewicz Mormons believe Jesus is the one God in Isaiah 44:6,8 KJV the Father is unseen but made known by God the Son

[@aleksandarmarinkovic6986]

Distorted teaching about Jesus is as dangerous as not mentioning him at all.

[@maryoesterborg9397]

I was told by a Mormon that Jesus was the brother of satan and that is heresy.

[@RedneckAdonis]

Satan found a way to remove the true gospel of Jesus. It worked because weak minded people fell for it.

[@nadinehansen9241]

I recently told my husband that Nelson is rebranding the church under his watch. Early on he deep-sixed the "Mormon" nickname and insisted that the church be referred to as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the first reference in any given article, and subsequent references be shortened to The Church of Jesus Christ." Then he started to have people give talks that are more Jesus-centered. I am told that the new version of the temple endowment has a lot more pictures of and references to Jesus. Decades ago, when Ezra Taft Benson became the church president, he put enormous emphasis on reading the Book of Mormon. I thought at the time that he was making a huge mistake, because it was becoming increasingly evident that the BoM was a 19th Century work that the church would eventually have to distance itself from. Now that is finally happening. My hope (even though I have left the LDS church) is that they will have the good sense to not become Christian fundamentalists. If they want to be Evangelicals that, IMO, is a viable path for the future, but if they become the right wing of Evangelicals, that just seems like a dead-end path in a world where Christianity needs to adapt itself to a world of scientific understanding. Anyway, I agree with your premise here, Dave.

[@VAATAUSILI4139]

Dave's extreme hatred for, THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS is, showing by his restless Spirit/Soul.

[@LadyMaria]

Dave is only telling the truth.

[@MGBetts1]

Please understand that "Evangelical" is about doctrines, particularly the "born-again" experience and non-sacramental Baptism ("just a memorial.") You know very well that these things are antagonistic to Orthodox Christianity, to say the least. Having said that, I have never accused the Mormon church of being totally graceless and void of ALL truth. I agree that it's good that they are more interested in the person of Jesus, who knows there that will lead them as individuals? Seek and ye shall find!

[@LadyMaria]

It is graceless though as there is only one Church and that is not it.

[@MGBetts1]

@@LadyMaria It is not for us to impose limits on God's Mercy and Grace.

[@francescogorbechov4192]

When you were Mormon did you really believe you were going to become a God after you died?

[@DaveBartosiewicz]

That was one of their beliefs that I just couldn't agree with at all.

[@nadinehansen9241]

@@DaveBartosiewicz Well, it looks like we aren't going to be getting our own planets. That's an idea that is clearly on the outs these days.

[@alexinthemiddle4170]

Not sure. Not everyone will get to that level. It's pretty intense!

[@paulaedens1983]

Yes

[@timnewman1172]

The LDS can say the name "Jesus" until the cows come home, but until they confess he is equal to the Father and Holy Spirit, and recognize the Trinitarian God, they will NEVER be Christians! Even the "Community of Christ" believes the Holy Trinity, which makes them an actual Christian sect!

[@LadyMaria]

Although the Filioque unbalances the Holy Trinity.

[@wyattwall415]

Free Mason Faith?

[@scottbrandon6244]

I don't what LDS church you think you attended, but the church has always talked about Jesus Christ. The whole focus of the LDS church is on Jesus. It's been that way for decades. Even the adult Sunday School classes under new curriculum since 2019 are around Come, Follow Me. This year's New Testament lessons are on Christ as are the other three years. As for quantifying GC talks over the years it depends on what year. They are now focusing more on the youth and retention programs than ever before. Joseph Smith was a focus of talks, but there may be more focus on Jesus Christ. Other trends in talks include avoiding contention, not stigmatizing early return missionaries, not stigmatizing the mentally ill, and more focus on temples.

[@VAATAUSILI4139]

Yes, we CHRISTIANS, talk about JESUS CHRIST, because we Member's, of HIS CHURCH, THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS.

[@VAATAUSILI4139]

@@raidthefridge7837 All your accusations, endless excuses, lies, deceit, its very obvious. It's very obvious, you're extremely lacking knowledge of the Scriptures, Bible, Book Of Mormon, D&C, and the Pearl Of Great Price. I'm a CHRISTIAN, because I'm a Member of, THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS, not any other Name's. So, do your homework; If you're not a Member of, THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS, then you're not a CHRISTIAN, you're a PROTESTANT.

[@VAATAUSILI4139]

@@raidthefridge7837 You're extremely lacking knowledge of the mysteries of, eternal life; the Scriptures, the Bible, Book Of Mormon, D&C, and the Pearl of Great Price. As I've said, I'm a CHRISTIAN, do you know why? because I'm a Member of, HIS CHURCH, THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS, not any other Name's. So, do your homework, and all your accusations is very obvious.

[@ReluctantPost]

@@VAATAUSILI4139 The "prophet" claimed to be the king of the world in 1844 and had himself crowned (but also still needed to run for President for some reason). The church has spent vast sums and great efforts to run from its history, but it's not working very well anymore with the advent of the Internet and broadly published information that is available to everyone who cares to read. All the excuses for polygamy, which the church fought to maintain all the way to the US Supreme Court (not giving it up voluntarily), which they had to in order to support JS' liaisons with everyone from a 14-year-old to other men's wives (polyandry, even more immoral and illegal), and the headlines made recently with the church's limited admissions regarding it, are just the beginning. Kolob is crumbling.

[@VAATAUSILI4139]

Dave's extreme rebelliousness, accusations, endless excuses, lies, his deceitful Spirit, against THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS is, obvious.

[@ReluctantPost]

@@VAATAUSILI4139 Speech by Governor Brigham Young in Joint Session of the Legislature Giving Counsel on a Bill in Relation to African Slavery Salt Lake City, Friday, 23 January 1852 "I have this section in my hand, headed 'An Act in Relation to African Slavery.' I have read it over and made a few alterations. I will remark with regard to slavery, inasmuch as we believe in the Bible, inasmuch as we believe in the ordinances of God, in the Priesthood and order and decrees of God, we must believe in slavery. This colored race have been subjected to severe curses, which they have in their families and their classes and in their various capacities brought upon themselves. And until the curse is removed by Him who placed it upon them, they must suffer under its consequences; I am not authorized to remove it. I am a firm believer in slavery." Yet serious Christians like the traditional Mennonites had persuaded the Quakers in Pennsylvania to begin opposing slavery almost 200 years earlier (1688) because it was never going to fit Jesus' "Golden Rule" of doing to others as you would have them do to you. Of course Protestants were big believers in slavery as well, just like Catholics. That's what happens when you follow theology instead of Jesus and the most ancient apostolic Church. (Nemo the Mormon here on YT has been doing a very good job of laying out the multitude of internal contradictions and ugly behaviors under the Nazis, etc., that have gone on in the LDS church.)