Comparison of Doctrine

I'm going to present the (essential) doctrines of the current Christian church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and do a little comparison.

Anyway, I guess I'll start with my main point. I don't believe Mormons are Christians. Either that, or Christians aren't Christians. Considering the history of Mormonism, I would think that they would believe the latter to be true. Doctrine & Covenants 1:30 states

those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth

Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and every prophet and apostle before 1890 (the Woodruff Manifesto) was acting against the heresy of Christendom...but this is no longer the case. (Side note: Evans Bill in 1901 subtly attempts to hold onto polygamy)

With the statehood being granted in 1896, Utah (and LDS) gradually becomes a common entity in the United States. Coming from a time of persecution (and return fire) in which no one outside the church was accepted (Bill Hickman, the "Destroying Angel"), through a transition into a time where the Latter-day Saint believes he or she is the same (?) as a protestant or Catholic.

Firstly, the Mormon does not recognize the same deity as a Christian. They are polytheist, embracing the idea of becoming gods one day through eternal marriage. "As god once was, man is. As God is, man may become". The Christian, be he Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, etc. is a monotheist. While they have differing ideas of heaven, they have no doctrine supporting a future rule as a god.

Also, the Jesus (and Father) of Mormonism is different from that represented in the Christian church. He is seen as the literal offspring of God and Mary, begotten through sexual intercourse (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 4, p. 218, 1857; vol. 8, p. 115). They may not teach this anymore, but the 2nd LDS prophet-president Young stated it. Jesus is a part of the trinity, and has existed for eternity in most theologian minds.

Finally, the LDS church requires steps to reach salvation, or different levels of heaven. It used to be required that the man be married to many women and have many children in preparation for the celestial kingdom where he will be breeding for his kingdom. But one must go through temple ordination and tithe at least 10 percent to reach this kingdom. There are other requirements, but in the Christian theologian's mind, one accepts Jesus and is welcomed into heaven. The problem I see here is the huge difference between Mormon Jesus and Jesus Christ.

To sum up, Mormonism "adds works to salvation. It denies that Jesus is the uncreated creator. It alters the biblical teaching of the atonement. It contradicts the Christian teaching of monotheism. It undermines the authority and reliability of the Bible" (CARM).