Mormonism is everywhere. The Republican nominee for president is a Mormon, there is a play on Broadway almost the Volume of Mormon and the LDS Church building has launched a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign called "I'm a Mormon." In light of the recent involvement in Mormonism, it will be helpful to compare and dissimilarity some of the key differences between Mormonism and Christianity.

Mormonism puts a heavy burden of works on its followers. Although there are some passages that talk nearly grace and free salvation (ii Nephi 31:19; 1 Nephi two:iv), the overwhelming emphasis in the Mormon scriptures is on earning salvation through obedience to commandments and refraining from sin. For example, Alma five:27 says, "Accept ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to dice at this time, inside yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently apprehensive?" The next passage says you must be entirely stripped of pride or you cannot meet God.

Moroni 10:32 says, "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind, and strength, then is his grace sufficient for yous." God may have provided an opportunity for conservancy through the death of Jesus, according to Mormonism, but you take to keep all the commandments and follow all the ordinances to reach the highest level of sky. The onus is on you. This seems in precipitous contrast to the grace-filled message of the Bible (Eph. 2:eight–10; Titus 3:5; John 6:29) where works stem naturally from a recognition that nosotros have been saved.

The view of faith in the Mormon scriptures differs from the Bible. Alma 32:17 says, "Yea,there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto the states a sign from heaven, so nosotros shall know of a surety; then nosotros shall believe. Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth information technology." In other words, religion involves assertive something we do non know. If we knew it, there would exist no demand for faith.

Merely the Bible proposes a different relationship between faith and reason. Noesis is not the contrary of belief, equally the Mormon scriptures suggest. Rather, the Bible presents a view of faith that is based upon what nosotros practise know. Jesus healed the paralytic so the people would know that he has the authority of God (Marking two:10). As Biola professor J.P. Moreland often says, faith involves trusting what nosotros have reason to believe is true.

I suspect the reason the Volume of Mormon has this view of organized religion and knowledge is that the Mormons' claims cannot exist investigated. The cities mentioned in the Book of Mormon have not been located (i.due east. Zarahemla), the gilt plates cannot be examined and Book of Mormon "historical sites" cannot be excavated in the same way biblical sites tin be. When there is no convincing external prove corroborating a belief, information technology must exist based upon feel, feeling and blind faith. This may exist the view of organized religion in the Book of Mormon, but it is decidedly not the biblical view (see John xx:30–31).

There are many more differences betwixt Christianity and Mormonism (some more central than others). Consider a few beliefs of the LDS church:

▶ Humans have the potential to achieve godhood if they follow Mormon teachings. In his King Follett spoken language, Joseph Smith Jr. said, "Here and then is eternal life — to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God the same equally all gods take done before you lot."

▶ There is no original sin. The Articles of Faith 2 says, "Nosotros believe that men volition exist punished for their ain sins, and not for Adam'southward transgression." This is in contrast to Romans v, which says decease came to all through one man's sin. This raises the troubling question for Mormons of why Jesus even had to die.

▶ God the Male parent has a physical torso. D&C 130:22 says, "The Male parent has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's."Thus, human is made in the image of the body of God (Moses 6:nine). This is in contrast with John iv:24, which says, "God is spirit."

Much more than could be said about salvation, heaven, the Trinity, revelation and the person of Christ. But this should suffice to make the point that, although Christians and Mormons use the same words such as grace, faith, God and sin, they mean very different things by them.

Sean McDowell ('98, M.A. '03) is a professor of Christian apologetics at Biola University, a best-selling author of over 15 books, an internationally recognized speaker and a part-time high school teacher. He holds a Ph.D. in apologetics and worldview studies. Follow him on Twitter @sean_mcdowell and his blog at seanmcdowell.org.