{"id":38191,"date":"2025-05-27T01:05:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T01:05:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/?p=38191"},"modified":"2025-07-14T20:18:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T20:18:27","slug":"are-mormons-christians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/learn\/are-mormons-christians\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00bfSon cristianos los mormones? Entendiendo las diferencias"},"content":{"rendered":"
Esta entrada es parte 2 de 25 en la serie Los mormones \/ Santos de los \u00daltimos D\u00edas<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\u00bfSon cristianos los mormones? Una exploraci\u00f3n de la fe y las creencias<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I believe God wants us to live with understanding and open hearts. So many good people are looking to understand all the different ways folks express their faith. And when we learn more, it can make our own faith stronger and help us show more love and kindness to everyone around us. A question that comes up a lot, especially in Christian circles, is this: \"Are Mormons Christians?\" We're going to take a good, honest look at this question, with a spirit of learning and respect. We\u2019ll see what the Bible teaches, what our friends in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the LDS Church or Mormons) believe, and how those things line up. This is a journey to find clarity, and I believe God gives wisdom to everyone who truly wants to find truth.<\/p>\n

\u00bfSon cristianos los mormones y por qu\u00e9 existe un debate al respecto?<\/h2>\n

You might be asking, \"Joel, are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Christians?\" And that\u2019s a question a lot of sincere people have, and it usually comes from a good place, a real desire to understand. You see, many people, including Latter-day Saints themselves, talk about their deep love for Jesus Christ and how much they want to follow His teachings. The discussion, and sometimes the friendly debate, comes up because even though there are shared values and a love for Jesus, there are some big differences in what they believe at the very foundation when you compare it to the teachings that have been central to Christian faith for centuries, teachings rooted right there in the Bible.\u00b9<\/p>\n

The word \"Christian\" itself, well, people can see it in different ways. For some, it\u2019s like a big umbrella, covering anyone who says they follow Jesus Christ. If you look at it that way, then yes, Latter-day Saints would be seen as Christian because Jesus Christ is so important to their faith. But for many of the historic Christian churches\u2014like our Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant friends\u2014that word \"Christian\" is a bit more specific. It means holding to certain core beliefs that have been set and agreed upon throughout Christian history, things like how we understand God as a Trinity, who Jesus Christ really is in His divinity, the Bible being the complete and final word, and how we receive God\u2019s gift of salvation.\u00b9 As one person put it, the answer to whether Mormons are Christian \"largely depends on who you are talking to. Mormons view themselves as Christian. Most non-mormons do not view Mormons as Christian\".\u00b2 So, from the viewpoint of \"traditional Christian orthodoxy,\" the answer is often \"no\" because of these different core beliefs.\u00b9<\/p>\n

This conversation is about more than just a word; it\u2019s about what the name \"Christian\" truly stands for. It\u2019s about understanding who God is, who Jesus Christ is, how we read and trust God\u2019s Word (the Bible), and the amazing way God has made for us to have salvation and eternal life. These are big, life-shaping truths, friend.<\/p>\n

A really important part of this whole discussion is what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes about itself. They see themselves as the original Church of Jesus Christ restored. They believe that other Christian churches went through something called a \"Great Apostasy,\" where they fell away from the complete truth and God\u2019s authority after the time of the apostles.\u2074 Because of this, they believe that this true Church was brought back, or restored, through their founder, Joseph Smith, way back in the 19th century.\u2075 this view naturally sets the LDS Church apart from, and as a kind of correction to, all other types of Christianity. From an LDS perspective, their church is \"the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth\".\u2077 This idea of a necessary \"Restoration\" because all the original truth and authority were supposedly lost creates a deep theological difference from mainstream Christian churches. These churches believe that the faith has continued and that God, through the Holy Spirit, has kept the essential teachings alive throughout history, all based on what Jesus and the apostles taught in the Bible.<\/p>\n

So, when you ask, \"Are Mormons Christians?\" the answer isn\u2019t a simple yes or no because it really hangs on how you\u2019re defining \"Christian.\" Latter-day Saints say a \"Christian\" is someone who believes in and worships Jesus Christ as the Savior, and by that definition, they say they are absolutely Christian.\u2078 Mainstream Christianity, though, usually defines \"Christian\" by believing in those core, historically agreed-upon doctrines that come from the Bible, especially the ones written down in the early Christian creeds. Because LDS beliefs are quite different on these key creedal points, many in mainstream Christianity feel that Mormonism, while it focuses on Christ, doesn\u2019t quite fit into that historical definition. Our goal here is to look at these differences with clear eyes and a respectful heart, praying that we all grow in understanding based on God's revealed truth.<\/p>\n

\u00bfC\u00f3mo se comparan las creencias mormonas sobre Dios con lo que la mayor\u00eda de los cristianos creen acerca de la Trinidad?<\/h2>\n

Entender qui\u00e9n es Dios, ese es el fundamento mismo de nuestra fe. Tanto los cristianos tradicionales como nuestros amigos Santos de los \u00daltimos D\u00edas creen en Dios, nuestro amoroso Padre Celestial. Pero c\u00f3mo entendemos Su ser mismo, Su esencia, ah\u00ed es donde vemos una de las mayores diferencias.<\/p>\n

La visi\u00f3n cristiana: Un Dios en tres personas: La Trinidad <\/h4>\n

For thousands of years, Christians have held to the teaching of the Trinity. This is the belief in one God who lives in three co-equal, co-eternal Persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.\u00b9\u2070 these aren\u2019t three different gods one God who is perfectly united. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons they share the very same divine nature and substance, and they are perfectly one in their will and purpose. The Athanasian Creed, an old Christian statement of faith, says it like this: \"the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Yet there are not three gods; there is but one God\".\u00b9\u2070 Christian teaching says God is a single Being existing in three Persons (that\u2019s a fancy word, hypostases) of one substance (ousia).\u00b9\u00b9 This teaching is like a cornerstone, showing how God has revealed Himself in Scripture, and it was affirmed by the early Church leaders. It shows us a God who is relational, even within His own being. <\/p>\n

La visi\u00f3n SUD: La Trinidad (Godhead): Tres seres distintos <\/h4>\n

Latter-day Saints also believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, and they often call this group the \"Godhead\".\u2074 But their understanding is that these are three separate and distinct glorified beings, three distinct individuals (or Gods), who are perfectly united in their purpose, mind, and will not in their actual substance or being.\u2074 LDS teaching says that God the Father has a perfected, immortal physical body of flesh and bones, and so does Jesus Christ in His resurrected body. The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit and doesn\u2019t have a body like that.\u2074 Official LDS sources tell us, \"Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are two separate beings but, along with the Holy Ghost (Spirit), are one in will, purpose and love\".\u2075 This view is very different from the Trinitarian idea of one divine essence. The teaching that God the Father has a physical body is also different from how most Christians understand God as spirit (like it says in John 4:24), and that\u2019s a point Christian theologians often bring up.\u00b9\u2075 <\/p>\n

Una diferencia clave: Progresi\u00f3n eterna y divinidad <\/h4>\n

And there\u2019s more, friend. LDS teachings include an idea called \"eternal progression.\" This belief suggests that God the Father was once a man who progressed and grew to become God.\u2074 And because of this, Latter-day Saints believe that humans, who they see as His literal spirit children, also have the potential to progress and become gods and goddesses themselves. This is often called \"exaltation\" or \"deification\".\u2074 Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, taught, \"you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves\".\u00b9\u2076 This idea is summed up in a well-known LDS saying by Lorenzo Snow: \"As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be\".\u2074 <\/p>\n

These different ways of seeing God\u2014the Trinity versus separate, embodied beings, and the idea that humans can become gods\u2014are more than just small theological points. They are the most basic difference from which many other belief differences flow. Historic Christianity defines God as one eternal, uncreated Being, totally different from His creation.\u00b9\u2070 The LDS view of God the Father as an exalted man and the teaching of eternal progression for humans really challenges this core understanding. If the very definition of \"God\" is so different, then the \"Jesus\" who is worshipped and the \"salvation\" that is sought will also be understood in different ways, leading many Christians to feel that Mormonism is a different religious system.<\/p>\n

The LDS teaching that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones also goes against the philosophical and biblical understanding in mainstream Christianity that God is pure spirit and unchanging.\u00b9\u00b9 Mainstream Christianity, looking at Bible verses like John 4:24 (\"God is spirit\") and classical theism, sees God as not having a physical body and as being transcendent, beyond our physical world. LDS doctrine clearly states that God the Father has a real, tangible body.\u2074 This has big theological implications because a God with a body is, by nature, located in space and time, which challenges the classic understanding of God\u2019s attributes like being everywhere at once (omnipresence) and being unchanging (immutability). LDS theology sees this as bringing back a truer, more personal understanding of God, one they believe was lost when Greek philosophy influenced early Christianity.\u2079 On the other hand, mainstream Christianity sees the classical understanding as a faithful explanation of what the Bible reveals. This really shows a fundamental disagreement on how to interpret scripture, the role of philosophical thinking in theology, and the very nature of God\u2019s attributes.<\/p>\n

\u00bfQu\u00e9 creen los mormones sobre Jesucristo y c\u00f3mo se alinea esto con las visiones cristianas tradicionales?<\/h2>\n

Jesucristo es un nombre sostenido con la m\u00e1s profunda reverencia, una figura central de incre\u00edble importancia tanto en el cristianismo tradicional como en las creencias de La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los \u00daltimos D\u00edas. Ambas tradiciones declaran Su filiaci\u00f3n divina, Su poderoso papel como Salvador y el poder transformador de Su vida, Su muerte y Su gloriosa resurrecci\u00f3n. Pero incluso con estas afirmaciones compartidas, existen algunas distinciones muy importantes en c\u00f3mo se entiende a Jes\u00fas: qui\u00e9n es \u00c9l y la naturaleza de Su asombrosa obra.<\/p>\n

La visi\u00f3n cristiana: Jes\u00fas es plenamente Dios y plenamente hombre, uno con el Padre <\/h4>\n

Traditional Christianity teaches us that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the second Person of the Holy Trinity. He isn\u2019t a created being; no, He has always existed with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, sharing the very same divine essence.\u00b9\u2070 The Nicene Creed, a declaration of faith from ancient times, confesses that He is \"God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father.\" That means He is of the very same substance as the Father. He is fully God, and through the miracle of the incarnation, He became fully man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.\u00b9\u2070 He lived a life without sin, died on the cross as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of all humanity, and on the third day, He rose again, conquering death itself!19 Because He is God Himself, His sacrifice is understood to have infinite value, enough to save every single person who believes. He is absolutely unique, the \"only begotten Son\" in a way that sets Him apart from every created being. Jesus's full divinity and His full humanity are seen as absolutely essential for His role as the perfect bridge between God and us, and as the Savior of the whole world.\u00b9\u2077 <\/p>\n

La visi\u00f3n SUD: Jes\u00fas es el Hijo de Dios, nuestro Salvador con distinciones clave <\/h4>\n

Latter-day Saints also believe with all their hearts that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. They affirm His virgin birth to Mary, His perfect life, His incredible miracles, His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, His death on the cross, and His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.\u2074 The Book of Mormon itself calls Jesus Christ \"the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning\".\u2074 <\/p>\n

But LDS theology offers a different understanding of Jesus's existence before He came to earth and His relationship with God the Father. In LDS doctrine, Jesus Christ is the firstborn spirit child of God the Father and a divine being they call Heavenly Mother.\u2075 This means He is the elder spirit brother of all human spirits, and that includes Lucifer (Satan), though, of course, their paths and their devotion to God went in completely opposite directions.\u00b2\u00b9 While He is divine and the Creator of the earth under the Father\u2019s direction, He is understood to be a separate God from God the Father, one of the three distinct individuals in the Godhead.\u2074<\/p>\n

These differences in understanding Jesus (that\u2019s called Christology) are very major. For many traditional Christians, the LDS understanding of Jesus as a spirit child of Heavenly Parents\u2014and therefore a created being in His spirit form, no matter how exalted\u2014and as a separate being from God the Father, makes Him a \"different Jesus\" from the One confessed in the historic Christian creeds.\u00b9 If Jesus is seen as a created being rather than as eternally God the Son, of the same substance as the Father, then His power to atone for sin and His unique status as the \"only begotten Son\" (as understood in verses like John 1:14 and 3:16) are seen in a different light. This difference is a primary reason why many Christian groups don\u2019t consider Mormonism to be a branch of historical Christianity.<\/p>\n

While both traditions talk about Christ's atonement, there are some subtle but important differences in understanding how powerful it is and how it applies to us. Mainstream Christianity believes that Christ's atoning sacrifice is completely sufficient for salvation from sin and for being reconciled to God, and we receive it by grace through faith.\u00b9\u2070 LDS theology also affirms Christ's Atonement as essential for overcoming sin and physical death; in fact, all of humanity will be resurrected because of it.\u2075 But to achieve \"exaltation\"\u2014which is the highest level of salvation in LDS belief, involving becoming like God and living forever in His presence\u2014Christ's atonement is a necessary first step it must be combined with a lifetime of obedience to specific LDS laws and ordinances, like temple marriage and other covenants.\u2075 Some Christian observers believe this framework can seem to lessen the complete sufficiency of Christ's work on the cross for our full salvation, making it more like He opened a door that then requires a lot of human effort and following specific church rules to get the fullest benefits.\u00b9 This connects to broader differences in the teaching of salvation.<\/p>\n

\u00bfCu\u00e1l es el papel y la naturaleza del Esp\u00edritu Santo en el mormonismo frente al cristianismo convencional?<\/h2>\n

The Holy Spirit is a name we hear in both traditional Christian circles and among Latter-day Saints. He\u2019s seen as a divine presence, a power that\u2019s absolutely essential for our spiritual lives, offering us guidance, comfort, and helping us become more like God. Believers in both traditions talk about feeling the Spirit's influence. But, just like with the Father and the Son, there are some distinct theological understandings about who the Holy Spirit is and His place within the Godhead.<\/p>\n

La perspectiva cristiana: El Esp\u00edritu Santo es Dios, la tercera Persona de la Trinidad <\/h4>\n

In mainstream Christian teaching, the Holy Spirit is fully God. He\u2019s the third Person of the Holy Trinity, co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Son.\u00b9\u2070 He\u2019s not just some impersonal force or influence, no, He\u2019s a divine Person with a mind, a will, and emotions. The Nicene Creed confesses belief \"in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father (and the Son, in the Western tradition), who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified\".\u00b9\u2070 The Holy Spirit does so much: He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; He gives new life to believers, drawing them to Jesus Christ; He lives inside believers, sealing them for the day of redemption; He empowers them to live godly lives and to serve; He gives spiritual gifts to build up the Church; and He guides believers into all truth, shining a light on the Scriptures.\u00b2\u2076 The personhood and full divinity of the Holy Spirit are considered so important for His vital role in salvation and the ongoing life and mission of the Church. <\/p>\n

La perspectiva de los Santos de los \u00daltimos D\u00edas: El Esp\u00edritu Santo es un personaje de esp\u00edritu, un miembro de la Trinidad <\/h4>\n

Latter-day Saints also believe the Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead, a divine being who works in perfect unity with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.\u2074 They teach that He is a \"personage of spirit,\" which means He doesn\u2019t have a physical body of flesh and bones. This makes Him different from their understanding of God the Father and the resurrected Jesus Christ, both of whom they believe do have such bodies.\u2074 <\/p>\n

Los roles que ven que desempe\u00f1a el Esp\u00edritu Santo son similares en muchos aspectos a lo que ense\u00f1a el cristianismo tradicional: \u00c9l testifica del Padre y del Hijo, revela y ense\u00f1a la verdad, brinda consuelo (a menudo se le llama el Consolador), santifica a las personas y las gu\u00eda.\u00b2\u2078 Los Santos de los \u00daltimos D\u00edas hacen una distinci\u00f3n importante entre la influencia<\/em> del Esp\u00edritu Santo, que creen que cualquiera que busque la verdad puede sentir, y el Don<\/em> of the Holy Ghost. This gift is given by the laying on of hands by someone holding what they call the Melchizedek Priesthood after a person is baptized into the LDS Church. It gives the right to the Holy Ghost's constant companionship it depends on the individual's worthiness and faithfulness.\u00b2\u2078<\/p>\n

The way both systems understand the Holy Spirit is tied directly to how they see the Godhead. In Trinitarian theology, the Holy Spirit is of the same divine substance (consubstantial) as the Father and the Son\u2014fully God, uncreated.\u00b9\u2070 In LDS theology, the Holy Ghost is a \"personage of spirit,\" and in this way, He\u2019s different from the Father and Son who are described as having glorified bodies of flesh and bone.\u2074 While He is divine and a member of the Godhead, this description suggests a difference in the kind of being or substance compared to the Father and Son within the LDS framework. This distinction, though it might seem small to some, reinforces the non-Trinitarian structure of the LDS Godhead. If the Father and Son are understood as having bodies and the Holy Ghost as a spirit personage, they are not \"one substance\" in the classic Trinitarian sense. So, the differing views on the Holy Spirit's exact nature are a direct result of the foundational disagreement about the nature of God Himself.<\/p>\n

\u00bfCreen los mormones que la Biblia es la Palabra completa de Dios o tienen otras escrituras?<\/h2>\n

La Santa Biblia es un libro atesorado tanto por los cristianos tradicionales como por los miembros de La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los \u00daltimos D\u00edas. Es valorada como una fuente de la sabidur\u00eda de Dios, Su gu\u00eda y Su revelaci\u00f3n sobre Su relaci\u00f3n con nosotros. Pero un punto muy importante donde sus caminos divergen es en la comprensi\u00f3n de si la Biblia est\u00e1 completa y si puede haber escrituras adicionales.<\/p>\n

La perspectiva cristiana: La Biblia es la Palabra inspirada y autorizada de Dios <\/h4>\n

Mainstream Christianity holds that the Bible, which includes the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired Word of God.\u00b9\u00b9 It\u2019s considered the ultimate and sufficient authority for Christian faith, for what we believe, and for how we live. Christians believe God can communicate with people in various ways\u2014through prayer, through circumstances, and through the wise counsel of other believers. But the general belief within historic Christianity is that the canon of Scripture\u2014that\u2019s the collection of books recognized as divinely inspired and that make up our Bible\u2014is closed. This means that no new writings are being added to the Bible that would carry that same unique, divine authority for all believers everywhere.\u00b3\u00b2 The Protestant Reformation really emphasized the principle of Sola Scriptura, which means Scripture alone is the ultimate authority in matters of faith and practice.\u00b3\u00b2 The fullness of God's saving revelation is believed to be completed in Jesus Christ and written down with authority in the New Testament by the apostles and those who worked with them.\u00b3\u00b3 <\/p>\n

La perspectiva de los Santos de los \u00daltimos D\u00edas: La Biblia es la Palabra de Dios, m\u00e1s otras Sagradas Escrituras <\/h4>\n

Latter-day Saints also believe the Bible is the word of God and they hold its teachings in high regard. They study it and use it a lot in their worship and personal lives.\u2074 Their eighth Article of Faith says, \"We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly\".\u2074 That little phrase, \"as far as it is translated correctly,\" is important because they believe that some \"plain and precious\" truths were lost from the Bible or that errors have slipped in through the translation process over many centuries. Joseph Smith, their founding prophet, said he believed the Bible \"as it read when it came from the pen of the original writers\".\u2074 <\/p>\n

here\u2019s a crucial point: Latter-day Saints believe in an \"open canon\" of scripture. This means they believe God continues to give new, authoritative scripture to the world through His chosen prophets.\u2075 So, along with the Bible, they accept three other books as divinely inspired scripture, and together these are called the \"standard works\":<\/p>\n