Mormonism

===Relationship with mainstream Christianity===
{{See also|Mormonism and Nicene Christianity}}

[[File:Christus statue temple square salt lake city.jpg|thumb|Mormons see Jesus Christ as the premier figure of their religion.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=8}} ("As the name of the church&nbsp;... suggests, Jesus Christ is the premier figure. Smith does not even play the role of the last and culminating prophet, as Muhammad does in Islam"); {{cite web |url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/what-mormons-believe-about-jesus-christ |title=What Mormons Believe About Jesus Christ |publisher=LDS Newsroom |access-date=November 11, 2011}}; In a [http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/mormons-in-america-executive-summary.aspx#beliefs 2011 Pew Survey] a thousand Mormons were asked to volunteer the one word that best describes Mormons. The most common response from those surveyed was "Christian" or "Christ-centered".</ref>]]

Mormonism categorizes itself within [[Christianity]], and nearly all Mormons self-identify as [[Christians|Christian]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mormonism in America |url=http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/mormons-in-america-executive-summary.aspx |website=Pew Research Center |date=January 2012 |quote=Mormons are nearly unanimous in describing Mormonism as a Christian religion, with 97% expressing this point of view.}}</ref><ref name = aremormonschristian>{{citation |author= Robinson, Stephanie |date= May 1998 |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/1998/05/are-mormons-christians?lang=eng |title= Are Mormons Christians? |publisher= LDS Church |journal= [[New Era (magazine)|New Era]]}}</ref><ref>According to [[Bruce R. McConkie]], a [[general authority]] of the LDS Church, "Mormonism is indistinguishable from Christianity." {{citation |author= Bruce R. McConkie |title= Mormon Doctrine |page= 513 |title-link= Mormon Doctrine (book) }}<!-- Need to know the year so we know which edition this is from --></ref> For some who define Christianity within the doctrines of [[Catholicism]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern]] and [[Oriental Orthodoxy]], the [[Assyrian Church of the East|Churches]] [[Ancient Church of the East|of the East]], and [[Protestantism]], Mormonism's differences place it outside the umbrella of Christianity.<ref>For example, a 2007 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center found that one in three Americans surveyed do not consider Mormons to be Christian. See for example [http://www.religionnewsblog.com/19478/religion-poll-2 ReligionNewsblog.com]</ref><ref>"It is sometimes said that Mormonism is to Christianity as Christianity is to Judaism. Both Mormonism and Christianity established themselves by reinterpreting a preceding faith. Christianity built on Judaism but emphasized the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; Mormonism began with Christianity but accepted new revelation through a modern prophet." {{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=62}}</ref><ref>Examples of organizations that do not recognize Mormonism as Christian include:<br/> • [[Luther Seminary]] ({{citation |title=The New (and Old) Religions Around Us |url=http://www.luthersem.edu/lifelong_learning/layschool/handouts/New%20and%20Old%20Religions%20Slides%20Session%204.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103232351/http://www.luthersem.edu/lifelong_learning/layschool/handouts/New%20and%20Old%20Religions%20Slides%20Session%204.pdf |archive-date=January 3, 2014 |first= Mark A. |last= Granquist |date=March 7, 2011 |website=Luther Seminary}});<br/> • [[Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary]] ({{citation |url=http://www.mbts.edu/2011/10/is-mormonism-christian |title=Is Mormonism Christian? |date=October 20, 2011 |website=Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary |access-date= May 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829125115/http://www.mbts.edu/2011/10/is-mormonism-christian/ |archive-date= August 29, 2013 }});<br/> • [[Southern Baptist Theological Seminary]] ({{citation |url= http://www.christianity.com/christian-life/political-and-social-issues/mormonism-is-not-christianity-11628184.html |title= Is Mormonism Christian? |first= Albert |last= Mohler |author-link= Albert Mohler |date= n.d. |work= christianity.com |publisher= [[Salem Web Network]] }}.<br/> See also: [[Christian countercult movement]]</ref>

Since its beginnings, the faith has proclaimed itself to be Christ's Church [[Restorationism (Christian primitivism)|restored]] with its original authority, structure and power; maintaining that existing denominations believed in incorrect doctrines and were not acknowledged by God as his church and kingdom.<ref>Teaching that existing denominations "were believing in incorrect doctrines, and that none of them was acknowledged by God as his church and kingdom" {{Harvnb|Smith|1842a|p=707}} and "all their creeds were an abomination in his sight." {{Harvnb|Smith|1842c|p=748}}</ref> Though the religion quickly gained a large following of Christian seekers, in the 1830s, many American Christians came to view the church's early doctrines and practices<ref>, the most publicized of which included [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionism]], [[plural marriage]] and the church's [[theodemocracy|theocratic aspirations]] (both now discontinued by the mainstream faith),</ref> as politically and culturally [[subversion (politics)|subversive]], as well as doctrinally heretical, abominable, and condemnable. This discord led to a series of sometimes-deadly conflicts between Mormons and others who saw themselves as orthodox Christians.<ref>For more information on historical conflicts, see [[History of the Latter Day Saint movement]].</ref> Although such violence declined during the twentieth century, the religion's unique doctrinal views and practices still generate criticism, sometimes vehemently so. This gives rise to efforts by Mormons and opposing types of Christians to proselytize each other.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

Mormons believe in Jesus Christ as the literal [[Son of God (Christianity)|Son of God]] and [[Messiah]], [[Crucifixion of Jesus|his crucifixion]] as a conclusion of a [[sin offering]], and subsequent [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/what-mormons-believe-about-jesus-christ |title=What Mormons Believe About Jesus Christ—LDS Newsroom |publisher=Newsroom.lds.org |access-date=November 27, 2013}}</ref> However, Latter-day Saints (LDS) reject the [[ecumenical creeds]] and the definition of the [[Trinity]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1.18-19?lang=eng |title=Joseph Smith History 1:18-19 |publisher=Scriptures.lds.org |access-date=November 27, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title= Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith |editor-first= Joseph Fielding |editor-last= Smith |editor-link= Joseph Fielding Smith |location= Salt Lake City |publisher= [[Deseret Book]] |year= 1976 |orig-date= 1938 |page= 370 |title-link= Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (book) }}</ref> (In contrast, the second-largest Latter Day Saint denomination, the [[Community of Christ]], is Trinitarian and [[monotheistic]].) Mormons hold the view that the [[New Testament]] prophesied both the [[Great Apostasy|apostasy]] from the teachings of Christ and his apostles as well as the [[Restorationism (Christian primitivism)|restoration]] of all things prior to the second coming of Christ.<ref>See, for instance, [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/2-thes/2.2-3?lang=eng Thessalonians 2:2-3] and [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/acts/3.19-21?lang=eng Acts 3:19-21]</ref>

Some notable differences with mainstream Christianity include a belief that Jesus began his [[Substitutionary atonement|atonement]] in the garden of [[Gethsemane]] and continued it to his crucifixion, rather than the orthodox belief that the crucifixion alone was the physical atonement;<ref>{{citation |first= Bruce R. |last= McConkie |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1985/05/the-purifying-power-of-gethsemane?lang=eng |title= The Purifying Power of Gethsemane |journal= [[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]] |date=May 1985 |page= 9}}</ref> and an afterlife with three [[degrees of glory]], with [[hell]] (often called [[Spirit world (Latter Day Saints)#Spirit prison|spirit prison]]) being a temporary repository for the wicked between death and the resurrection.<ref>Mormon scriptures speak of hell in two ways. The first is another name for [[Spirit world (Latter Day Saints)#Spirit prison|spirit prison]], a place for the spirits of people who have "died in their sins." The second is a more permanent place called [[Outer Darkness]], reserved for the Devil, his angels, and those who have committed the unpardonable sin. ''True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference'', 2004, LDS Church. "[http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Curriculum/home%20and%20family.htm/true%20to%20the%20faith%20a%20gospel%20reference.htm/hell.htm?f=templates$fn=document-frame.htm$3.0#JD_36863Hel Hell] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616000140/http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Curriculum/home%20and%20family.htm/true%20to%20the%20faith%20a%20gospel%20reference.htm/hell.htm?f=templates$fn=document-frame.htm$3.0#JD_36863Hel |date=2010-06-16 }}," p. 81; See also: [[Christian views on Hell#Latter-day Saints|Christian views on Hell (Latter-day Saints)]]</ref> Additionally, Mormons do not believe in creation ''[[ex nihilo]]'', believing that matter is eternal, and creation involved God organizing existing matter.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Bushman|2008|p=71}}</ref>

Much of the Mormon belief system is geographically oriented around the [[North America|North]] and [[South America]]n continents. Mormons believe that the people of the [[Book of Mormon]] lived in the [[western hemisphere]], that Christ appeared in the western hemisphere after his death and resurrection, that the true faith was restored in [[Upstate New York]] by Joseph Smith, that the [[Garden of Eden]] was located in North America, and that the [[New Jerusalem]] would be built in [[Missouri]].{{citation needed|date=June 2023}} For this and other reasons, including a belief by many Mormons in [[American exceptionalism]], [[Molly Worthen]] speculates that this may be why [[Leo Tolstoy]] described Mormonism as the "quintessential 'American religion{{' "}}.<ref>[[Molly Worthen|Worthen, Molly]], "[https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/06/13/the_missionary_position The Missionary Position] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103203934/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/06/13/the_missionary_position |date=November 3, 2014 }}", ''[[Foreign Policy Magazine|Foreign Policy]]'', June 13, 2011.</ref>