Who the Latter-day Saints are
The church was founded in New York State in 1830 by Joseph Smith, who reported visions of God the Father and Jesus Christ and produced the Book of Mormon, which the church regards as scripture alongside the Bible. Missionaries reached Britain remarkably early, in 1837, and had striking success in Lancashire and the Midlands; thousands of British converts emigrated to join the settlement of Utah. Today the church counts around 17 million members worldwide, with roughly 180,000 in the United Kingdom and temples including Preston and London. Members are widely, and rightly, respected for strong family life, clean living, generosity and a serious commitment to their faith.
What Latter-day Saints believe about Jesus
Latter-day Saints affirm that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, that he atoned for sin, rose bodily from the dead, and will return. The church's name is a deliberate statement of that focus. On these points members will tell you, accurately, that Jesus stands at the centre of their devotion.
Where the differences lie
The question is not sincerity but doctrine. The historic churches define Christian belief by the Bible as interpreted in the early creeds, and at several load-bearing points Latter-day Saint teaching diverges:
- The nature of God. Historic Christianity confesses one God in three Persons, the Trinity, God being eternally God and wholly unlike his creatures in nature. Latter-day Saint teaching holds that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are three distinct beings united in purpose, that the Father has a glorified physical body, and that humans are of the same species as God, capable of exaltation to godhood.
- Scripture and revelation. The historic churches hold the Bible to be God's complete written word. Latter-day Saints add the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price, and affirm continuing revelation through living prophets.
- The church and its authority. Latter-day Saint teaching holds that the original church fell into a great apostasy and that priesthood authority was restored uniquely through Joseph Smith. This entails that Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches lack that authority, which is why the movement is a restoration rather than a denomination.
- Salvation. Both speak of grace, but the frameworks differ: Latter-day Saint theology includes degrees of glory, ordinances such as baptism for the dead, and exaltation, ideas without parallel in the historic creeds.
Why the historic churches answer as they do
Because the differences touch the doctrine of God itself, the Catholic Church, the Orthodox churches, the Church of England and the main Protestant bodies do not recognise Latter-day Saint baptism and regard the movement as a distinct religion that reveres Jesus rather than a Christian denomination. This is a doctrinal judgement, not a verdict on character or sincerity; the same churches readily acknowledge the integrity and devotion of Latter-day Saint neighbours. For their part, Latter-day Saints find the creedal definition question-begging, since they believe those very creeds reflect the apostasy their church was raised up to repair. It is worth noticing that both sides, on their own terms, are being consistent.
How to hold the question well
- Be accurate. Represent Latter-day Saint beliefs as members themselves state them; caricature serves nobody.
- Be honest. Real differences are not unkindness. Pretending the gap away respects neither faith.
- Be neighbourly. In towns across Britain, Latter-day Saints are colleagues, school governors and friends. Warm disagreement is a very Christian discipline.
- Ask, don't assume. If you want to know what your Latter-day Saint neighbour believes, they will be glad to tell you, and missionaries famously make house calls.
Exploring further
If you are weighing these questions for yourself, read the Gospel of John alongside our guides to Christianity and the Trinity, and visit congregations of both kinds; nothing replaces hearing people describe their own faith. For the historic Christian understanding in a British setting, any parish church, cathedral or chapel congregation will gladly make room for your questions.