How does the luthern church view mormons?

Answer 1

The Catholic Church views Mormons as pagans, since Mormon theology teaches that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three separate entities, albeit, they are all progressing to the same ultimate stage. This fundamental difference in their theology, having three gods, is paganism. The claims of Joseph Smith are not given credence by the Catholic Church, nor is the Book of Mormon received as Divine Revelation. The fact that the Mormons dare place it alongside the Bible is viewed as blasphemy. For the Mormon Church to be true, it must be assumed that God's Church on earth, instituted by Jesus Christ, somehow failed and that revelation was not completed with the death of the last apostle but instead was withheld until God saw it fit to reveal it to Joseph Smith centuries upon centuries after Christ had died to inaugurate the New Testament. The Church finds this idea repugnant, for the idea assumes Christ died in vain if His saving grace somehow became lost to the world at any point in history. Mormon ordinances (their version of the sacraments) are not received as valid by the Church, nor does the Church respect the Mormons' authority to preach on Christ or His salvation.

Answer 2

The truth is, some very conservative Catholics (and indeed the vatican) recognize only the Catholic church, although the church is moving towards an ecumenical understanding. While the church recognizes clergy and members of other churches, they don't truly consider them on the same level as themselves, same as the Mormons. So in essence, yes they consider Mormons, as well as other denominations "Christian", to be a "Christian" is not as good as being a "Catholic", and for those most traditional, are not worthy of Grace or heaven.

However, most christian denominations do not recognize the Mormon church as a Christian church regardless, since the Mormon church focuses on the prophetic writings of Joseph smith, wheras other Christian denominations, while they interpret some key things differently, focus their doctrine on The Bible exclusively.

Answer 3

There are over 100 different Lutheran denominations worldwide, the largest in the US are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod, and Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Each of these denominations has officially stated that they do not consider Mormonism to be a Christian denomination. You can read a summary of each denomination's beliefs about Mormonism here, or follow the "Related Links" below to read the full statement.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has said the following about Mormonism:

-"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not hold the traditional Christian teaching about the Holy Trinity. Rather, it seems to treat each person of the Trinity as a separate deity."

-"Their teaching about the nature of God is substantially different from that of orthodox, creedal Christianity."

-"Because the Mormon understanding of the Word of God is not the same as the Christian understanding, it is correct to say that Christian Baptism has not taken place. A former Mormon joining an ELCA congregation may be offered Christian Baptism."

Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS):

-"Mormon teachings that Lutherans regard as contrary to the Holy Scriptures [include] baptism for the dead, provisions in Joseph Smith's "Word of Wisdom", eternal marriage, millennial views, premortal existence of humans, etc."

-"Lutherans reject any claim of modern revelation given to 'supplement' or 'add to' the Word of God."

-"The Mormon 'Plan of Salvation' or 'gospel' assumes that human beings are not born in a state of original sin… scriptures plainly teach, however, that… all people born in the natural way are conceived and born in sin."

-"Since the Risen Lord commanded that Baptism be administered in the name of the Triune God and since Mormonism rejects the biblical doctrine of the Trinity, Lutherans do not regard Mormon baptism as valid."

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS):

-"Although it often comes across as another Christian denomination, the LDS church is really a pagan cult."

-"Beneath the clean-cut, all-American exterior of Mormonism lies a Satanic set of doctrines."

Answer 4

The Catholic Church does not accept any other church as the true Christian faith. However, the Catholic Church has been very gracious in working together with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Mormon" church) on many projects and accepting them as a friend and ally on both faith and moral issues. For the most part, the Catholic and Mormon churches get along very well, both locally and internationally. The Catholic Church has said that they do not accept the practice of Mormon baptism for the dead for those who were baptized Catholics, and that they do not want local parishes or congregations releasing their record books to the Mormon Church for that purpose. Catholic parishes still welcome individual Mormons researching their own ancestors, but do not allow the Mormon Church to copy their records in bulk. The Mormon Church understands their concern and has not pressed the issue.