Members of the Community of Christ, RLDS Restoration Branches and the Mormon church shake their heads in confusion when they hear people say their churches are not Christian. They point to the fact that Jesus Christ has a prominent place in the name of their church—how can people say they’re not Christian?
The Biblical definition of a Christian seems simple enough, one who believes in Jesus Christ. However, when comparing the Biblical Jesus to the Jesus portrayed in the scriptures and publications generated by Joseph Smith and his successors, dramatic differences become obvious. Consider the following:
Biblical Jesus – was God in the flesh
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel—which means, “God with us” (Matt. 1:23)
RLDS/CoC Jesus – was a saved being
“All will agree in this that he [Jesus] is the prototype or standard of salvation, or in other words that he is a saved being” (Joseph Smith, Jr., “Lectures on Faith” 7:10k).
Biblical Jesus – Jesus was the Word
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and Word was God… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us….” (John 1:1, 14).
RLDS/CoC Jesus – Jesus is not the Word
“In the beginning was the gospel…and the gospel was the word, and word was with the Son….” (John 1:1 Joseph Smith’s “Inspired Version” of the Bible).
Biblical Jesus – died for the unrighteous
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God….” (Matt. 9:13, 1 Peter 3:18)
RLDS/CoC Jesus – killed the unrighteous
“Zarahemla have I burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof… Moroni have I caused to be sunk in the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof…Moronihah have I covered with earth, and the inhabitants thereof… many great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon this people, because of their wickedness and their abominations…I am Jesus Christ, the son of God.” (RLDS/CoC Book of Mormon 3 Nephi 4:28-44) (LDS 3 Nephi 9:3-15).
Biblical Jesus – offers salvation as a free gift
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith…it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians. 2:8-9).
RLDS/CoC Jesus – requires good works to earn salvation
“Therefore ye are justified [saved] of faith and works…” (Romans 4:16, Joseph Smith’s “Inspired Version”)
“For it is by Grace you have been saved after all you can do” (2 Nephi 11:44) (LDS 2 Nephi 25:23).
“…as many as shall hereafter come to a knowledge of this work [Joseph Smith’s teachings];…who receive it in faith and work righteousness, shall receive a crown of eternal life…” (Doctrine and Covenants Sec. 17:3) (LDS Sec. 20:13-14).
Biblical Jesus – shares His High Priest status with no one
“When Christ came as high priest… He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.” (Hebrews 9:11-12)
“…because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent [untransferable] priesthood…” (Hebrews 7:24).
RLDS/CoC Jesus – shares his role as high priest with many
“Wherefore they shall be high priests who are worthy, and they shall be appointed by the First Presidency.” (Doctrine and Covenants Sec. 68:2c) (LDS Sec. 68:15)
Biblical Jesus – willingly gave His life to pay for the sins of all mankind
“…Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God…” (1 Peter 3:18)
RLDS/CoC Jesus – his atonement is seen as unnecessary and dangerous
“It just no longer makes sense to imagine that God cannot forgive and accept us without killing His Son!” (Robert Mesle, Saints Herald, March 1995)
“Atonement Christology…the underlying assumption of this doctrine, that ‘suffering brings about vindication,’ has led to physical and mental abuse of women and children in the name of God.” (Rita Lester, Saints Herald, December, 1992)
Dear friends,
It is clear from the information presented above, that there are great differences between the Jesus of Joseph Smith and the Jesus of the Bible.
Jesus warned his followers repeatedly that false christs and false prophets would come after He left, and that they would lead many astray:
“Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many… false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive if possible, even the elect.” (Mark 13:6, 22)
Paul voiced the same concerns to the Corinthians:
“…I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” (2 Corinthians 11:3, 4)
God gave us His written Word, the Bible, as our standard for truth. Joseph Smith taught that the Bible was corrupted and therefore not trustworthy as a guide for Christian faith and practice. In so doing he destroyed his followers’ faith in the very thing that God had established for their instruction and protection.
Consequently, from the beginning, the followers of Joseph Smith have put their faith and trust in the words of fallible, mortal men instead of the Word of the infallible, Almighty God. As a result, their Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible. The scriptures make it clear that there is no salvation in a counterfeit Jesus. Only the Jesus of the Bible can offer eternal salvation as is made clear in 1 John 5:12, “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
Our hope for members of churches that embrace Joseph Smith’s Jesus is that they will come to understand that his Jesus is a counterfeit—not the one found in the Bible. We pray that they will reject him and his counterfeit gospel and embrace instead, the true Jesus of the Bible who alone can offer mankind the free gift of salvation from the penalty for our sins—death.
Jesus said:
“I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”
(John 14:6 NIV)
“I have come that they may have life,
and that they may have it more abundantly.”
(John 10:10 NKJ)