It has been so long since I have posted to this blog, or any blog. As the song goes, "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." But the events of this week have put me in mind of the fact that death also happens when you're busy making other plans, and in the face of deaths and the threat of future deaths, I need to rearrange things in my life to address the current situation.
And what is that current situation? First of all, last Sunday morning, September 28, 2025, a gunman with a deep-seated hatred for the Latter-day Saints burst into an LDS Fast and Testimony meeting in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, and shot ten Latter-day Saints, killing two. The gunman also set fire to the building, and two more Latter-day Saints died from the fire. In the photo above, if I look like I haven't slept well for the last four nights, you would be quite correct.
In the United States, anti-Mormon violence has a long history, and has been quite apparent in the present day. But to make this already-awful situation even worse, now it appears that some 'Christian pastors' have been telling their followers on social media that this shooting is "just the beginning," and are now encouraging further anti-Mormon violence.
The gunman told someone, within the week before the shooting, that the LDS are "the Antichrist," and the 'pastors' describe the LDS as a non-Christian cult. In the interests of averting further violence, I feel it necessary to state clearly some foundational truths:
The Latter-day Saints (nicknamed "Mormons") are Christians.
LDS faith is a Christian faith.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a Christian church.
We Latter-day Saints believe that:
- Jesus is the Christ, the anointed Messiah.
- Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer.
- Jesus is the only Son of God begotten in the flesh.
- Jesus is a member of the Godhead (composed of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit).
Given that we believe and do these things, we are Christians. Period. Full stop.
No, we don't worship Joseph Smith, Mormon, Satan, or Sauron of the Lidless Eye. (I know this will be a disappointment to some of my readers.)
Yes, we have many distinctive beliefs that differ from those of other Christians, especially concerning the origin and potential destiny of humankind. Yes, we believe that we are the spirit children of our Heavenly Father and our Heavenly Mother. Yes, we conduct ceremonies in our temples, largely related to those distinctive beliefs.
Our beliefs differ from what those pastors call "creedal Christianity." And we are glad of that: we do not recognize the various Church councils, such as that of Nicea, where men hammered out doctrinal statements. (We do follow the ancient Jerusalem Council, described in the New Testament as an occasion for revelation from God.) We consider ourselves a Restoration of the ancient Christian church.
So the LDS are Christians. Distinctive Christians, but Christians nonetheless.
I am not interested in engaging in religious arguments, so please don't try to start one here. Those interested in learning more about the Latter-day Saints are welcome to look up two pages on the Church's website: "What Latter-day Saints Believe" and "What Latter-day Saints Do."
I realize that this is just the beginning of a journey in considering the Christianity of Latter-day Saints. I shall try to be consistently weekly in my blogging. I do invite you along for the journey.
(Copyright 2025 Mark E. Koltko-Rivera. All Rights
Reserved. Permission is hereby granted to post the contents of this post in
non-commercial contexts, with attribution to the original author and blog.)
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