Christianity vs Mormonism - Difference and Comparison

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	Christianity	Mormonism
Concept of Deity:	Believe in the Trinity of God. Three persons in one Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit	Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three distinct beings who are "one in purpose" (as shown in the baptism of Christ when he prays to the Father, and the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit descends upon him a separate being.)
Clergy:	priests, monks, ministers, pastors, bishops, Elders, Deacons, Youth Ministers, Sunday School Teachers	Lay-clergy. Ministry is not paid. Prophet, Bishops, Quorom of the Twelve Apostles. Includes Deacons, Teachers, Priests, Elders, High Priests, Patriarchs etc.
Belief of God:	Christianity believes in the Trinity of God. They also believe that there is only one true "God" while there are many other "gods" that the world serves.	Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost comprise the Godhead
Status of Adam:	Sin came through the fall of Adam in the garden and resulted in separation from God but was reconciled through Christ's death and resurrection.	First man. Physical father of men. Made this life possible for all men through the fall.
About:	Christianity is an Abrahamic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, believed to be the son of God.	Mormonism is a term used to describe the religious, ideological, and cultural elements of certain branches of the Latter Day Saint movement, specifically, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
View of other Abrahamic religions:	According to Christian doctrine, Judaism is a true religion, but with incomplete revelation and Islam is a false religion.	Many religions are good and encourage faith and good works. They are believed, however, to be missing precious truths lost through the years.
Religious Law:	laws are recognized but this religion focuses on Grace. The 10 Commandments are a base but they focus on the idea of following the whole Bible as they have been freed from the legalistic following of the OT laws.	Word of Wisdom, Law of Chastity etc. The Higher Law Christ speaks of in the Bible.
Use of statues and pictures:	While crosses and pictures are generally accepted, the act of prayer to saints (their statues), Mary, or deceased believers for intercession or to the image of Jesus is not accepted and is labeled worshiping false idols.	Idols are not accepted, Depictions of the life of Christ and other saints are acceptable. Art for representation of a story not for idolatry.
Confessing sins:	To God or to priests	To God, and possiblly to elders of church if serious so they can provide guidance through the repentance process.
Scriptures:	Holy Bible, a collection of canonical books in two parts (the Old Testament and the New Testament)	Holy Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price
Day of worship:	Sunday but varies throughout many individual churches.	Sunday is the Lords Day of rest. However worship should be continual.
Place of worship:	Church, chapel, Cathedral	Church, Chapel or Temple
Place of origin:	Palestine	Fayette, New York, USA
Identity of Jesus:	Son of God, God Incarnate, Saviour of the world, one with God the Father and Holy Spirit. We become family as we receive the "spirit of adoption" to God, therefore Christ is ones huband, brother, savior, and Lord.	Son of God, Savior, originally one of the spirit beings that all humans used to be. Has a physical body. Is "knowable" and understanding.
Human Nature:	"original sin" inherited from Adam, tendency towards evil, but the sins of the father do not pass through to the son, therefore, Children are holy, and until they reach the age where they can know good from evil, their sins are not held against them.	Free to do good or evil. Fall of Adam is not held against us, but was for our benefit to give us the chance to learn and grow.
Prophet:	Jesus	Belief in past prophets of the bible, as well as modern prophets.
Means of salvation:	Salvation through faith, while differing denominations debate eternal security, they generally agree that salvation is secured through a relationship with Jesus Christ and daily repentance of sins.	Salvation through striving for virtue and repentance through the Atonement of Jesus Christ
Birth of Jesus:	Virgin Birth	Virgin Birth
Practices:	Regularly visit the church especially on Sundays for Holy Mass & Bible studies. And encouraging involvement not only within the church (body) but also in the community, doing good works and spreading the word.	Attending weekly church meeting including partaking of Sacrament. Baptism, and other ordinances. Attending the temple if worthy. Following modern prophets like Joseph Smith.
God's role in salvation:	Many denominations believe in predestination, while others do not. Salvation is available to all people, but not everyone will accept it. However grace is extended to all who will accept it and God would have no man perish.	God is the path to salvation along with faith and deeds. Our salvation is based on our ability to choose and the Atonement of Christ which provides a way for all men to return to Christ and the Father.
Belief:	Christians recognize Jesus as the Messiah, believing that salvation to eternal life is God's will for all people	Recognize Jesus as the Messiah. And also believe that immortality and eternal life is God's will for all people
Death of Jesus:	Death by Crucifixion	Death by crucification
Population:	1.8 Billion (Wikipedia)	12.2 million
Original Languages:	Aramaic, Greek, and Latin	English
Geographical predominance:	Europe, North and South America	USA, Canada, England, Latin America.
Ressurection of Jesus:	affirmed	Yes
Time of origin:	c. 33 A.D.	April 6, 1830
Resurrection of Jesus:	Affirmed	Affirmed - Jesus Christ is a resurrected being alive today.
Status of women:	Variable. Conservatives & liberals differ greatly. Women can become nuns, pastors in some denominations and only teachers in others.	Polygamy not supported. The Relief Society is one of the largest women's organizations in the world.
Second coming of Jesus:	Affirmed	Affirmed
Holy days:	Christmas, Easter, New Year, Pentecost, Saints' Feast Days	Easter, Christmas, celebrations of events in Mormon history
Geographical distribution and predominance:	Europe, North and South America
Legislation:	Prerogative of the church denominations or independent churches. Each church decides it's own bylaws but usually follows the greater authority of the General Counsel of that denomination for rulings in disputes on church issues.
Original Language:	Aramaic and Greek
Literal Meaning:	Christian" (Greek Χριστιανός Strong's G5546), meaning "belonging to Christ" or "partisan of Christ". Also referred to as "little Christs"

Mormonism and Christanity are both Abrahamic religions. Historically, although Mormons consider themselves to be Christians, Mormonism has had an uneasy relationship with traditional Christianity such as the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and most branches of Protestantism. This is primarily due to the fact that adherents to Mormonism claim that the movement is a "restoration" of the earliest Christian and Judaic doctrines. Mormonism is considered to have branched from Christianity itself but differs on their status of God and their beliefs.

According to the Latter Day Saints (Mormons), Mormonism and Christianity are identical; Mormonism restores and perfects Christianity. However, traditional Christianity regards Mormonism as a departure from Christianity, or a corruption of it.
Since its beginning in the 1820s, the Latter Day Saint movement has proclaimed itself to be Christianity restored to its original authority, structure and power; teaching that the existing denominations "were believing in incorrect doctrines, and that none of them was acknowledged of God as his church and kingdom", and "all their creeds were an abomination in his sight." Since that time, Mormonism and mainstream Christianity have both found much to admire in one another's history and manner of life; but their conflicting doctrines and claims of authority have been the cause of deadly conflicts in the past and still generate dismissive criticism from both sides today.

1 Origin
2 Beliefs
3 Practices
4 Hierarchy
5 Scriptures
6 Population
7 Geographical distribution
8 Related Articles
9 References

[edit] Origin

Christianity began in 1st century AD Jerusalem as a Jewish sect and spread throughout the Roman Empire and beyond to countries such as Ethiopia, Armenia, Georgia, Assyria, Iran, India, and China. The first known usage of the term Christians can be found in the New Testament of the Bible. The term was thus first used to denote those known or perceived to be disciples of Jesus.

Mormonism was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 in Fayette, USA when he refused to join the Christian church. He stated that God, in a theophany (or "First Vision"), had indicated to him that all other Christian churches were in a state of apostasy and that he was to join none of them. In March 1830 the Book of Mormon was published, which Joseph Smith said was scripture that he had translated by divine power from buried golden plates delivered to him by an angel. It professed to recount a history of the Lord's dealings with some of the ancient inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere, including a description of their civilizations. The most significant part of this history is the appearance of Jesus after his resurrection.

Smith, along with five associates, formed the Church of Jesus Christ according to New York State law at the time. He indicated that he was directed by God the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ, to restore the fullness of the Gospel because Christian churches had lost essential doctrines and priesthood authority that could not be recovered without a restoration.

[edit] Beliefs

The core, distinguishing Latter Day Saint belief is that Joseph Smith, Jr. was a prophet who, like Moses, received revelation and scripture from God. The first such revelation recorded by Smith stated that the original apostolic church was lost after a "Great Apostasy" in the early church. Smith claimed subsequent revelations instructed him to organize the restored church of Jesus Christ and carry it to all the earth. Today, Latter Day Saints (sometimes referred to as Mormons) believe their church has the same authority as the church established by Jesus Christ, that successor Apostles are also prophets, and that revelation is on-going.
This contrasts with trinitarian Churches, who believe that their doctrines are thoroughly consistent with those taught by Jesus Christ and his Apostles. Traditional Christianity holds that the scriptural canon is closed, and that this kind of active revelation ceased with the end of the Apostolic Age. In accordance with their historic creeds, Mormonism is deemed a corrupted form of Christianity, or Christian in only a nominal or cultural sense. Their apologists argue that the beliefs unique to the LDS are incompatible with the Bible and unsupportable from either tradition or history.

The Mormons believe in modern prophets, beginning with Joseph Smith, Jr., and continuing today with Gordon B. Hinckley. Mormons believe in God the Father, the Son (Christ), and the Holy Ghost existing as three separate individual beings or personages while the Christians regard Christ as immortal and believe in the Trinity. Mormons, like mainstream Christians, also believe that Jesus Christ is the essential path for salvation. They also believe in a form of theosis called exaltation or eternal progression.

[edit] Practices

Christians believe that all people should strive to follow Christ's commands and example in their everyday actions. For many, this includes obedience to the Ten Commandments. Other Christian practices include acts of piety such as prayer and Bible reading. Christians assemble for communal worship on Sunday, the day of the resurrection, though other liturgical practices often occur outside this setting. Scripture readings are drawn from the Old and New Testaments, but especially the Gospels.

The Mormons wear ceremonial temple garments under their daily clothes and perform baptisms for the dead, and other ordinances by proxy, in temples and doing attendant genealogical research. A dietary code called the Word of Wisdom, currently requiring abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea, and illegal drugs; caffeinated soft drinks are left to individual discretion. Virtually all Christians hold special ceremonies or rites, often called sacraments. The Mormons call these ceremonies ordinances. The three main ordinances practices by Mormons are Baptism, Confirmation, Sacraments, Endowments and Sealings. While Mormons are expected to confess their sins directly to God as repentance while mainstream Christians confess their sins to a priest.

Some Mormons now do not accept the baptisms by other Christian denominations as valid. Some denominations of Christianity reject Mormon claims of additional scriptures, and of the prophetic office of Joseph Smith and other Mormon leaders; they disagree with Mormon claims that they have committed apostasy. Doctrines such as the beliefs about early American civilizations, which are unique to Mormon theology and not found in the teachings of mainstream Christian churches are also causes of disagreement. Nonetheless, many Christian denominations treat Mormons with respect, while not minimizing the differences in belief.

[edit] Hierarchy

Mormonism:- The hierarchy of authority begins with Jesus Christ himself and continues to the Presidency of the Church. The President of the Church is the highest ecclesiastical authority on the Earth and is often referred to as "the Prophet." He, along with his counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, are believed to have direct communication with Jesus Christ and are often referred to as "special witnesses" of Christ because of this close relationship with Him. The Prophet is assisted by two counselors, who together with him form the "First Presidency" of the Church. The Presidency, along with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which have equal authority, unitedly lead the church. These leaders are considered to be prophets, seers, and revelators. No decision is made for the Church as a whole without absolute unanimity on the part of these 15 men.

Christianity:- With Jesus Christ as the God, the hierarchy consists of priests, ministers, pastors and bishops.

[edit] Scriptures

Christianity regards the Holy Bible, a collection of canonical books in two parts (the Old Testament and the New Testament) as authoritative: written by human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and therefore the inerrant Word of God.
Mormons accept the Bible, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price as works of scripture

[edit] Population

Data suggest that there are around 1.8 billion Christians in the world while there are 12.2 million Mormons worldwide.

[edit] Geographical distribution

Christianity is the world's largest religion. It is the predominant religion in Europe, the Americas, Southern Africa, the Philippines and Oceania. It is also growing rapidly in Africa and Asia, particularly in China, South Korea and the Middle East. It is declining in other countries including Australia, Great Britain, France and Germany. On the other hand, Mormonism is concentrated mainly in the USA, Latin America, Canada,Philippines and England. It has very less of a presence in China and the middle east.