Are Mormons Christians?

Wow! That’s a thought-provoking question! The truth is that I, along with many Christian scholars, do not believe that Mormons are Christians and here’s why:

First, Mormons do not follow or believe that Jesus is God. We believe that Jesus is both man and God (John 1:1, 14) and that He is God’s only son (John 3:16). The Mormons believe that Jesus was created by the father (a separate being) and is a spirit brother to Lucifer (the devil).

Next, we believe there is only one God. He exists as three distinct personalities; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit but He is still ONE God. The Mormons believe there are many gods and that humans, by doing good works, can eventually become a god.

Finally, and most importantly, the Mormons believe you have to earn your salvation through good works or good deeds and by meeting church requirements. We believe that it is by grace that we’ve been saved, through faith. We don’t have to do anything to earn God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:22-24). It is a gift given to us by God.

So, based on those three reasons, we believe that Mormons are not Christians.

Why did God bring the plagues to Egypt when He said He loves us?

Wow! That’s an awesome question!

There are actually two reasons. First, the Egyptians were enslaving the Israelites (the Jewish people), who were God’s “chosen people.” God had promised the Israelites their own land through the covenant He made with Abraham. God sent Moses to tell the Egyptian leader, known as Pharaoh, to let the Israelites go free. But, Pharaoh refused so God sent the plagues to show Pharaoh how powerful He is.

Second, the Egyptian hearts were hardened and they refused to believe in the One True God. They chose to believe in a number of different gods. Our God wanted to show them who He is and how powerful He is so the ten plagues that God sent were all specific attacks on ten different Egyptian gods.

It wasn’t that God didn’t love the Egyptian people. He wanted to show them who He was and He did it in a very dramatic way. We know that Pharaoh finally let the Israelites go but, don’t forget, Pharaoh’s heart became hardened again and he went after the Israelites after he let them go.

But, once again, God showed His awesome power and he parted the Red Sea for the Israelites and they were able to escape. The Egyptians, who tried to follow after the Israelites, were all destroyed when God closed the sea in on them.

What is the difference between your eternal life soul and your regular soul?

Wow! That’s an awesome question! For those of us that call ourselves Christians, or Christ Followers, we believe we only have one soul. That soul, or our spiritual being, is also eternal.

BUT, here’s the kicker, it is by our choice that we choose whether to spend that eternity either with God or separated from God. God does not choose for us. He reveals Himself to us and has revealed Himself to us throughout history in three distinct forms: God, the Father; God, the Son (Jesus); and God, the Holy Spirit. It is important to understand He is One God but in three persons.

It is our acceptance, through faith, of Christ’s saving grace that determines whether or not we spend life with God (Heaven) or apart from God (Hell).

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you’ve been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God – not by works so that no man can boast.” What that means is that there is nothing you can do or need to do to earn eternal life with God. Everything has already been done by Jesus, who took the sins of the world – past, present and future – on himself and died on the cross for us. He later rose again, three days later, overcoming death.

It is through that sacrifice and ultimate victory that our souls will have eternal life with God, in Heaven. Isn’t that amazing? I am so thankful for a God that loves me so much that He would sacrifice His One and Only Son so that I could have eternal life in Heaven!!!

Why did Eve listen to Satan and eat the forbidden fruit?

Wow! That’s an awesome question! There are actually two reasons and they kind of relate to each other. First, Eve was deceived by the serpent. That wily old snake came to Eve and confused her. He twisted God’s words (which, by the way, he does all the time with you and me) and made her question God.

Remember what he said to her? He first said, “Did God really say ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” So, he first got her to question God. Then he said, “You will not surely die!” Again, making her question what God said!

Then, Satan added, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Now here’s where it gets interesting. Satan first got Eve to question God, then he appealed to her pride. He told her she could be “like God.”

Did you know that pride is one of the sins God absolutely detests? In Proverbs 6:16-19, it lists seven things that are detestable to God and pride is listed first. That is because pride was the first sin ever committed, even before the creation of man. In fact, it was Lucifer (Satan) that committed the sin of pride when he wasn’t satisfied just being an angel and wanted to be “like God.” (Sound familiar?). His sin of pride also took a third of the angels with him.

So, Satan both deceived Eve and appealed to her pride, which caused her and Adam to eat the forbidden fruit. The result: sin entered mankind.

Now, if that were the end of the story, our lives would be hopeless! The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). But, God, in His infinite mercy and by unending grace gave us His One and Only Son, in the person of Jesus Christ, and it is through our acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior that we are spared death and assured eternal life in Heaven. The key is that you have to accept that gift of grace. The beautiful part is, you don’t have to do anything to earn it! It’s His gift to you! Have you made that commitment yet? If you have, are you living out your faith every day?

Why aren't the women and children mentioned in the feeding of the 5000 miracle?

In the Bible it says that children are important. In the story of Jesus feeding the 5000, it says there were 5000 men, not including the number of women and children. Why is that?

That is an awesome question and you’re probably not going to like my answer! The fact is the Holy Bible was written in a time when the society was patriarchal, which means a society where men were considered more important. BTW, this was common in our world and still exists in many places today. Most references referring to men and women or even groups of people are referred to in the masculine form. You’ll see the pronoun “he” used a lot and the pronoun “she” used infrequently unless it relates to a specific woman.

We have to remember that the Bible was written during a time when men were considered more important and women were seen as not as significant. The same applies to children.

The truth of the matter is that Jesus probably fed closer to 10,000 people that day but only the 5000 men were acknowledged in number. Now, that’s not to say that that Matthew, a Jewish tax collector, didn’t, at least, acknowledge the women and the children. In Matthew 14:21, it reads, “The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.”

If Adam and Eve ate the fruit in the garden, why did they cover their bodies and not their mouths?

Another great question! So, prior to them taking a bite from fruit that was from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden and they were naked. But, because sin hadn’t entered into the world, they had no reservations about being naked because there was nothing unnatural or wrong with it. Think about it, no other creature or animal was clothed, there were no other people and there was no evil associated with it.

I am often reminded of very little children who are about 2-years old who insist on taking off their diapers and running around naked! They do it out of innocence and aren’t embarrassed at all and don’t care because they are oblivious to their nakedness. They just don’t see the difference between their face, their knees or the part of their body that we parents insist they cover. Adam and Eve were similar in that type of thinking.

BUT, once they ate the fruit, the Bible says “their eyes were opened and they realized they were naked.” Sin had entered into mankind and the evil associated with nakedness, primarily lust, made them embarrassed and so they covered the parts of their bodies that affected lustful thoughts.

The covering of their bodies wasn’t meant as punishment, it was a way to hide their sin. Of course, these days, I sometimes wish we could cover some people’s mouths with fig leaves because of all the unwholesome and sinful speech coming out of it!!!

I heard a preacher say that when Jesus comes back, dead Christian's bodies would have life again. But this isn't true.

Great question you raise! That preacher was not confused or mixed up. He was actually quoting 1 Thessalonians 4:16-16, which reads, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

When Jesus returns, all who died prior to Jesus’ Second Coming, who have accepted Him as their Lord and Savior, their physical bodies will be resurrected. Remember, we have a spiritual body (our souls) and a physical body. When we die, our spiritual bodies instantly go to Heaven but our physical bodies are still here. Anytime the Bible speaks of a resurrection, it is a physical event involving a physical body. So, those who area dead in Christ will receive resurrected bodies.

Don’t ask me how this works because it is one of the mysteries God chose not to reveal. However, we can be assured that those who died before Christ’s return will be first to ascend then those who are alive will go up to meet them. All of the believers will receive resurrected, “glorified” bodies.