To Pastor Jeffress

Hi Pastor Jeffress,

I just read an article in which you state Mormons aren't Christians and that we are a cult. I am a Mormon and nothing is further from the truth.  I can see where you and others may have some confusion about our church since there are so many splinter groups, as there have been with any religion since the beginning of time.  But those groups are small, with many inconsistencies, and not of our same faith.

 

Have you read the Book of Mormon? As the title page states, it is "Another Testament Of Jesus Christ".  I also might ad that while "Mormon" is a nickname we've been given, our official name is "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints". We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly.  We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.  Ours is the same church set up by Jesus Christ Himself when He was on the earth. And after the apostasy, there was necessarily a restoration. In1820, Joseph Smith was a young boy earnestly seeking to know which church to join. He read James 1:5. He retired to a grove of trees behind his home to pray. As he prayed, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Him. They told him that none of the churches were right, and not to join any.   From there over time, God directed him in restoring the Gospel as it has been on the earth in it's fullness. Our church today is a worldwide organization with over 14 million members in over 180 countries and territories. We have a living prophet and apostles,  as in previous dispensations.  All the priesthood keys have been restored.  We have the fullness of Christ's Gospel.

 

As to calling our church a cult, here is the definition of one:

cult/kəlt/

Noun:

A system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object. A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.

If our devotion towards Jesus Christ qualifies us on the first definition, then so it would for all of Christianity.  As to the second, with over 14 million members worldwide, we are hardly "a relatively small group of people".  It's more as "the ^astone was cut out of the mountain without hands" which will grow and fill the whole earth, as Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream interpreted by Daniel (see Daniel 2:31–45; D&C 65:2).

 

I invite you to find more information about our beliefs at www.lds.org. You can also learn about us by reading the Book of Mormon.  I testify that I know Jesus Christ lives and He speaks to us now as He did in days of old, both through His prophets as well as through personal revelation. I further testify that Jesus Christ is the center of our religion.  We are Christian in every sense.

Sincerely,

Shannon Workman

720.427.1971

 

www.mormon.org  read/watch testimonies of thousands of members from across the world

www.lds.org  read/watch living prophets and apostles speak and learn about our beliefs