Same Words, Different Dictionary:  Mitigating Mormon Mischief

“Mormon Trinitarianism is unique.  And it is tritheistic.”¹

“[Mormonism replaces] the Creator-creature divide with a single ontological continuum of being”²

“Know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error”³

“Satan disguises himself as an angel of light . . . his servants disguise themselves as servants of righteousness”⁴

They are certainly persistent.  Our religious friends centered in Utah – Mormons – continue their press to be recognized as “Christian.”  This is no accident nor a random effort.  And now, actual Christians have taken the bait and furthered the cause of their polytheist neighbors, whether as pew sitters or scholars.⁵  Let’s get to the gist.

Mormon Inc.’s Corporate Rebranding Effort

The “Utah Mormons”⁶ have in the last decade undertaken a comprehensive “rebranding” campaign designed to blur the distinction between it and biblical Christianity.⁷  Like any other major and well-funded business⁸ they incorporated a new “style guide” – they understand that words matter:  Control the terms; control the message; and thereby control the outcome:⁹

In a 2018 article for CNN, writer Doug Criss described the shift away from the word “Mormon” in a new style guide released by the LDS that year:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is embarking on a rebranding effort of sorts.

The church, commonly referred to as the Mormons, really wants people to stop using that word. It also wants people to stop using LDS as an abbreviation. From now on, it prefers that people use the church’s full name, and when a shortened reference is needed, to just use “the Church” or “Church of Jesus Christ.”¹⁰

The Mormons are also leavening the waters of scholarship, seeking to diminish, occlude, or spackle over the perception of its unorthodox theological novelties among broader evangelicalism.¹¹  And, now, well-established evangelicals, who should know better, are buttering the Mormon manna.  Eerdmans recently published a large tome by BYU scholar, Grant Understood, which contends that Mormon theology, carefully understood, is really not materially different from evangelical positions and is certainly within the pale of Christianity.¹²  Let’s explore that claim and what’s really occurring.

First, consider the title of Underwood’s work:  Latter-Day Saint Theology Among Christian Theology.  Did you catch that?  Did you see the sleight of hand?  This title shifts from a qualitative analysis to a quantitation one.  In other words, the reader is nudged by this title to think of the Mormon view as one among many bona fide Christian theologies.  Mormon theology, the idea goes, is but a species of the genus, Christian theology.  But of course, this begs the question.  It begs the question because it employs a buried false premise.

This same ploy is often used by sexual perverts and their advocates.  Such folks contend that “minor-attracted” persons suffer as “sexual minorities.”¹³ That’s a quantitative claim, but the real issue remains qualitative:  Is pedophilia a legitimate sexual practice?  What if someone penned a book with this title:  Bestiality Among Other Christian Sexual Practices.  Or, this one:  Obscenity Among Other Great Works of English Literature.  These are subtle bait and switch ploys.  Question the premise and refuse to be duped.

Second and worse, several noted Evangelical scholars have endorsed Underwood’s “make Mormon theology sound Christian” project.  Here is Richard Mouw’s effusive endorsement:

“Anyone who still identifies Mormonism with the anti-Christian ‘cults’ should read this wonderful book. . . .This book is a groundbreaking accomplishment in fostering mutual understanding where there has long been theological name calling.”¹⁴

Mouw, formerly of Fuller Seminary, has long been functionally carrying Mormon water under the guise of “seeking understanding and conversation.”¹⁵

Craig Blomberg, a theologian from Denver Seminary wrote the book’s Forword.  There, he tells us Underwood’s agenda:

Underwood is candid in acknowledging he hopes the book will help outsiders to the LDS church see Mormonism as genuinely Christian.¹⁶

Blomberg views the book positively as one which

“encourages readers . . . to have courteous conversation with people not entirely like themselves.”¹⁷

And, he hopes that if the book shifts the dialogue to be

“about what constitutes a true follower of Jesus, theological warts and all, it will have been well worth the effort.”¹⁸

But of course, this glaringly overlooks the key question:  Who IS the Jesus being followed?  The Mormon Jesus is certainly not the Jesus revealed in the Bible.¹⁹

Third, these sentiments – and that’s really all they are, emotional “feel goods” – teach us that theological rigor and orthodoxy lack practical day to day import.  All that matters is evidently some Hallmark-card sentimental Kumbaya moment where everyone can say in some vague way “he’s a follower of Jesus.”  This all sounds so pious and nice.  But let’s recall that even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.²⁰ Truth requires something more than “a burning in the bosom.”²¹

Biblically, it’s precisely theological rigor concerning the person and work of Christ – the truth – that liberates us.²² And we are liberated to thereby “worship in spirit and truth.”²³

No Theology, No Trinity, Only Anthropology

Mormonism’s gods are puny gods, humanoids who “progressed” by works of meritorious obedience to LDS dictates and became gods – “exalted” in LDS terminology – but only of their own planet – not the cosmos.  Mormons emphatically deny the fundamental binary of the cosmos: the Creator-Creature distinction.  As Understood explains Mormon doctrine:

As Smith’s apostolic associate Parkey Pratt summarized it, God and man are not “two distinct species” but “one species, one race, one great family.”

Replacing the Creator-creature divide with a single ontological continuum of being and affirming a literal family relationship between God and humankind is a dramatic step beyond the traditional Christian concept of a “personal God” with whom humans can have a “relationship.”²⁴

This means that the only plausible object of their worship is the creation itself.  They have exchanged the truth for the lie and thereby worshipped and served the creation instead of the Creator.²⁵  Make no mistake:  Mormons are therefore pagan Oneists, to use Peter Jones’ taxonomy, cloaked in Christianese garb. 

This means further that Mormonism lacks actual theology.  Rather, they simply advance a fanciful anthropology that merges “god” and humanity.  Man becomes a god.  Biblically, just the opposite is true:  God became man in the Incarnation, not vice versa.  Yet, even in the orthodox view of the Incarnation, Christ the person enjoys both a divine and a human nature “without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.”²⁶ In Mormonism, man progresses into becoming a god ontologically; the creature becomes the “maker”.²⁷

Likewise, Mormonism explicitly denies the Trinity.  Sure, Mormons may on occasion invoke the term – perhaps to dupe uninformed evangelicals – but they drain it of its theological meaning by suffusing it with polytheism.  When pushed, they admit to holding tritheism, not monotheistic Christian Trinitarianism:

“Mormon Trinitarianism is unique.  And it is tritheistic.”²⁸

Denying the Trinity denies Christianity, no matter what the rebranding guide intends.  No religious system that denies or distorts the Trinity can be Christian.  The Trinity is foundational and non-negotiable to the Christian Faith.  To contend otherwise is to engage in word salad religious alchemy.  And heresy.

Other Mormon Departures from Christian Orthodoxy

Mormonism’s non-Christian views have been set forth in detail in many works.  That effort will not be reproduced here.  What the following will do is note some of the more egregious Mormon non-negotiables that render it unmistakably non-Christian.²⁹ Here is a basic, yet not exhaustive, comparison:

Mormonism versus Christianity³⁰

By Tal Davis

Introduction:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon church) professes to be a Christian church. However, a careful comparison of basic doctrinal positions of that church to those of historical, biblical Christianity reveal many radical differences. This pamphlet compares Mormon doctrines as stated in LDS authoritative primary sources to those of historic Christianity as derived solely from the Bible.

The Doctrine of God:

Historic Christianity

The one God is a Spirit who is the personal, eternal, infinite Creator of all that exists. He is the only God and necessary for all other things to exist. He exists eternally as a Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (see Deut. 6:4; Isa. 43:10; 44:6-8; Matt. 28:19; John 4:24; 17:3)

       Mormonism

God (Heavenly Father) is an exalted man with a physical body of flesh and bone. LDS founder Joseph Smith said, “If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible-I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345). The trinity is denied with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost seen as three separate entities. “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us” (Doctrine and Covenants [D&C] 130:22).

The Doctrine of Jesus Christ:

Historic Christianity

Jesus Christ was the virgin born God incarnate who existed in all time with the Father and Holy Spirit in the eternal Trinity. As a man He possessed two natures -human and divine. He lived a sinless life and willingly died on the cross as a sacrifice for the sin of all humanity. (see John 1:1-18; 8:56-59; Phil. 2:6-11; Col. 1:13-22; Heb.1:3; 13:8)

Mormonism

Jesus was the spiritual “first born” Son of God in the preexistence. “Every person who was ever born on earth was our spirit brother or sister in heaven. The first spirit born to our heavenly parents was Jesus Christ, so he is literally our elder brother” (Gospel Principles [GP], p. 11).”And now, verily I say unto you, I was in the beginning with the Father, and am the Firstborn” (D&C 93:21). He is also the “only begotten” physical offspring of God by procreation on earth. “Jesus is the only person on earth to be born of a mortal mother and an immortal father. That is why he is called the Only Begotten Son” (GP, p. 64). His atonement (death and resurrection) provides immortality for all people regardless of their faith. “Christ thus overcame physical death. Because of his atonement, everyone born on this earth will be resurrected . . . This condition is called immortality. All people who ever lived will be resurrected, ‘both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous’ (The Book of Mormon [BOM], Alma 11:44)” (GP, p. 74). (See GP, pp. 11, 17-19, 61-77.)

The Doctrine of Scriptures and Authority:

Historic Christianity

The Bible (Old and New Testaments) is the unique, revealed, and inspired Word of God. It is the sole authority for faith and practice for Christians. (see 2 Tim. 3:15-17; 2 Pet. 1:19-21)

Mormonism

Recognizes the LDS Four Standard Works as authoritative. These include the Bible “as far as it is translated correctly” (Articles of Faith 1:8). It also includes The Book of Mormon (BOM) which Joseph Smith declared is “the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 194).

The church also regards The Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) as Scripture. It “is a collection of modern revelations . . . regarding The Church of Jesus Christ as it has been restored in these last days” (GP, p. 54).

The Pearl of the Great Price (PGP) is the fourth book believed to be inspired.  “It clarifies doctrines and teachings that were lost from the Bible and gives added information concerning the creation of the earth” (GP, p. 54).

The church’s president is regarded as “a seer, a revelator, a translator, and a prophet” (D&C 107:91-92).

The Doctrine of Humanity:

Historic Christianity

Human beings are created in God’s image, meaning they have personal qualities similar to God’s. Every person is a unique, precious being of dignity and worth. (see Gen. 1:26-27)

Mormonism

People are the preexisted spiritual offspring of the Heavenly Father and Mother. “All men and women are . . . literally the sons and daughters of Deity . . . Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming upon the earth in a temporal (physical) body” (Joseph F. Smith, “The Origin of Man,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1909, pp. 78,80, as quoted in GP, p. 11).They are born basically good and are “gods in embryo.” A commonly quoted Mormon aphorism (attributed to fifth LDS president Lorenzo Snow) says “As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become.”

The Doctrine of Sin:

Historic Christianity

Human beings have chosen to sin against God, rejecting His nature and pursing life opposed to His essential character and revealed law. (see Rom. 3:23; 7:14-25; 1 John 1:8-10)  

Mormonism

People sin by disobedience to God’s laws. Adam’s fall, a part of Heavenly Father’s plan, caused a loss of immortality, which was necessary for mankind to advance, (see GP, pp. 31-34). As Eve declared according to LDS scripture, “Were it not for our transgression we never should have . . . known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient”(PGP, Moses 5:11; see also BOM, 2 Nephi 2:22-25). Each person is responsible for his or her own sin.

The Doctrine of Salvation:

Historic Christianity

Salvation is release from the guilt and power of sin through God’s gift of grace. It is provided through Christ’s atonement and received by personal faith in Christ as Savior and Lord. (see Rom. 3:20; 10:9- 10; Eph. 2:8-10)

       Mormonism

Jesus’ atonement provided immortality for all people. Exaltation (godhood) is available only to Mormons through obedience to LDS teachings: faith, baptism, endowments, celestial marriage, and tithing. “Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God-Wherefore, all things are theirs” (D&C, 76:58-59).

These are some of the blessings given to exalted people:

1. They will live eternally in the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (see D&C, 76).

2. They will become gods.

3. They will have their righteous family members with them and will be able to have spirit children also. These spirit children will have the same relationship to them as we do to our Heavenly Father. They will be an eternal family.

4. They will receive a fullness of joy.

5. They will have everything that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have – all power, glory, dominion, and knowledge (See GP, p. 302).

Baptism for the dead provides post-mortem salvation for non-Mormons, and is “by immersion performed by a living person for one who is dead. This ordinance is performed in temples” (GP, p. 375). (See also GP, chapters 18-23.)

The Doctrine of Life after Death:

Historic Christianity

Eternal life in heaven with God for those who have trusted in Jesus Christ. Eternal separation from God’s presence in hell for the unsaved. (see Matt. 5:12-30; 25:41; Rev. 20-22)

Mormonism

One of three levels of glory:

1. Exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom for faithful Mormons where people may become gods or angels; “Then shall they be gods” (D&C 132:20).

2. Terrestrial Kingdom for righteous non-Mormons; “These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men. These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fullness” (D&C 76:75-76).

3. Telestial Kingdom for wicked and ungodly (not hell); “These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers . . . who suffer the wrath of God on earth”(D&C 76:103-104). (See also D&C 76:57-119; 131:1-4.)

The Doctrine of the Church:

Historic Christianity

Christians congregate together in local bodies and along denominational lines sharing distinctive doctrinal and ecclesiastical concepts. There is no organization or denomination that can claim exclusive designation as the “one true church. The universal church consists of all the redeemed in Jesus Christ in all of the ages. (see Matt. 16:15-19; 1 Cor. 1:12-14; Eph. 2:19; 3:11-12)  

Mormonism

Asserts that the LDS is the one true church on the face of the earth. Joseph Smith claimed Jesus Christ told him to join none of the existing denominations because “they were all wrong . . . that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt” (PGP: Joseph Smith-History 1:19-20). Mormons claim only the LDS possesses the divine authority of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood as restored by God to Joseph Smith in 1829. (D&C 13; 27:8- 13; 107:1-20; PGP: Joseph Smith-History 1:68-73)

References:

Gospel Principles. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2009. (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-principles?lang=eng)

McConkie, Bruce. A New Witness for the Articles of Faith. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1986.

Smith, Joseph, Jr. The Book of Mormon – Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2006. (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng).

Smith, Joseph, Jr. The Doctrine and Covenants. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1982.

Smith, Joseph, Jr. History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 7 vols. 2nd ed. rev. Edited by B.H. Roberts. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1932-1951.

Smith, Joseph, Jr. The Pearl of Great Price. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2006. (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp?lang=eng)

Smith, Joseph Fielding. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1977.

Much more could be demonstrated.  Here are just a few more tidbits.  The Mormon “god” is not eternal. Rather, he was born a man who progressively became a god and has been given his own planet to populate.  How?  Sexually.  Yes, that’s right.  People pre-exist as spirits – the sexual offspring in spirit bodies of the fleshly embodied “heavenly Father and Mother[!]” These sexually derived spirit bodies gain a fleshly body following sexual activity on earth – hence the traditional Mormon emphasis on polygamy and larger families.  It evidently takes two sex acts to make a baby with flesh.

According to Mormonism, Jesus is the sexual by-product of “the father” having intercourse with Mary – the Divine having literal intercourse with a mortal – sounds like Greek mythology – yes, this “father” is polygamously married and thus he’s committing adultery to sire Jesus – hardly a holy family to be imitated.

Finally, let’s recall the Mormon story of origin.  Allegedly, young Joseph Smith encountered an angel who informed him that he should join no church, telling him:

“they were all wrong . . . that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt”³¹

Paul has something to say about angels or religious men who change the Gospel’s message:

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.³²

Moreover, the Mormon myth requires that no faithful church existed by 1820³³ and this situation necessitated Joseph Smith to restore³⁴ it to earth.  Of course, this directly contradicts the Lord’s potent promise:

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.³⁵

This presents a huge quandary for Mormons:  If Joseph Smith’s story is true, then Jesus erred and His prediction failed, and thus He cannot be the sinless savior.  On the other hand, if Jesus’s word concerning the church’s durability and growth is true, then Joseph Smith’s story cannot be true.  Smith is a prophet, albeit a demonstrably false one.  Sadly:

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’³⁶

Evangelicals, especially seminary professors, should not be playing theological footsie when the stakes are so high.  Mormons should not be coddled; they should be converted.

1. BYU Professor and Mormon Grant Underwood, Latter-Day Saint Theology among Christian Theologies (2025),
   Chapter 1, Kindle edition. ↩︎
2. Ibid ↩︎
3. 1 John 4:6 ↩︎
4. 2 Cor. 11:14, 15 ↩︎
5. In the 1980’s the Southern Baptist Convention discovered that roughly 40% of converts to Mormonism came from Baptist backgrounds. https://slate.com/human-interest/2007/12/how-the-southern-baptist-convention-has-tried-to-keep-its-members-from-becoming-mormons.html ↩︎
6. Other groups aside from those following Brigham Young to Utah claim to follow Joseph Smith and his Book of Mormon:  The Reorganized Church of Latter-Day Saints changed its name – rebranded – in 2001 to “Community of Christ,” and there also exists the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints, which continues Smith’s and Young’s polygamous practices to this day, whereas the Utah Mormons ceased the practice – but still affirm it – in order to have the Utah Territory attain Statehood after losing in the U.S. Supreme Court, Reynolds v. U.S. 95 U.S. 145 (1878).  Mormon leadership evidently conjured a revelation of convenience to halt the polygamous practice and satisfy Congress.  Similarly, Mormon doctrine changed in 1978 or so when its ban on blacks holding the “priesthood” and doing “temple work” threatened its non-profit status because it arguably violated the Civil Rights Act.  Here’s a popular explanation, https://www.kjzz.org/the-show/2024-09-17/the-inside-story-of-how-the-lds-church-ended-its-ban-on-black-people-in-the-temple.  See also, Bill McKeever, Unexplaining the Mormon Priesthood Ban on Blacks, https://www.equip.org/articles/unexplaining-mormon-priesthood-ban-blacks/ ↩︎
7. Ed Stetzer, The Rebranding of Latter-Day Saints to a Christian Denomination:  How Should Christians Respond?  https://churchleaders.com/voices/490906-latter-day-saints-and-the-marketing-of-religion.html/2 ↩︎
8. The Mormon investment portfolio alone tops $56B. https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2024/11/17/lds-church-investments-with-ensign/.  Its total wealth tops $265B which dwarfs the Roman Catholic Church ($10 to $15B), https://medium.com/@tanner_79717/mormon-churchs-massive-wealth-dwarfs-the-vatican-s-dd1f66d7fa38 ↩︎
9. Josef Pieper, Abuse of Language, Abuse of Power (1992) ↩︎
10. Ibid note 7 ↩︎
11. See, e.g., Benjamin E. Park, American Zion:  A New History of Mormonism (2024). ↩︎
12. Grant Underwood, Latter-Day Saint Theology among Christian Theologies (2025). ↩︎
13. Pedophile, Child Lover, or Minor-Attracted Person? Attitudes Toward Labels Among People Who are Sexually Attracted to Children, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9663395/ – Language is “test driven” to see what best influences or even changes the outsiders’ perceptions.  The Mormon rebranding effort uses a similar tactical pathway. ↩︎
14. Richard J. Mouw endorsement. ↩︎
15. See, Kevin DeYoung’s A Review of Richard Mouw’s Talking with Mormons, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/a-review-of-richard-mouws-talking-with-mormons/ ↩︎
16. From the Forword, Kindle edition. ↩︎
17. Ibid. ↩︎
18. Ibid ↩︎
19. See sources in note 29 ↩︎
20. 2 Cor. 11:14 ↩︎
21. This is a ”go to” Mormon slogan often used to deflect tough questions concerning the veracity of Mormon claims.  See, Craig Branch, The Burning Bosom:  A Look at the Mormon “Testimony,” https://arcapologetics.org/the-burning-bosom-a-look-at-the-mormon-testimony/ ↩︎
22. John 8:32 ↩︎
23. John 4:24 ↩︎
24. Grant Underwood, Latter-Day Saint Theology among Christian Theologies (2025), Chapter 1 Kindle edition ↩︎
25. Romans 1:25 ↩︎
26. Formula of Chalcedon (451 AD), https://anglicansonline.org/basics/chalcedon.html ↩︎
27. Mormonism really does not hold that a Creator exists in the biblical sense.  Why?  Because they claim that an endless regressive exists:  men became gods, who sired more men, who became gods, who sired more men, who became gods, etc. – something did not come from nothing as Scripture teaches.  ↩︎
28. Grant Underwood, Latter-Day Saint Theology among Christian Theologies (2025),
    Chapter 1, Kindle edition. ↩︎
29. Rather than footnote every assertion, I will simply set forth uncontestable Mormon doctrine.  For verification see these resources:  https://www.namb.net/apologetics/resource/comparison-chart-mormonism-and-christianity/; https://carm.org/mormonism/a-biblical-response-to-mormons/
    https://www.biola.edu/blogs/biola-magazine/2012/what-are-the-key-differences-between-mormonism-and; https://valerietarico.com/2012/10/05/the-same-god-twelve-beliefs-mormons-might-not-want-you-to-know-about/ ↩︎
30. https://www.namb.net/apologetics/resource/comparison-chart-mormonism-and-christianity/ which cite in toto. ↩︎
31. PGP: Joseph Smith-History 1:19-20 ↩︎
32. Gal. 1:8, 9 ↩︎
33. 1820:  The date ascribed to Smith’s first vision.  Smith was 14 at the time. His later tales about supposedly receiving “golden plates” containing “reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics” enjoys exactly zero archaeological, linguistic, or historical veracity ↩︎
34. It is no coincidence that Mormonism developed in the 18^th Century – many new religious movements – Christian and non-Christan – surfaced then aping Christian concepts and terminology (see., e.g., Jehovah’s Witnesses, 7^th Day Adventism, Christian Science, Unity School of Christianity, Unitarian Universalism, et al), often claiming to restore things.  Consider also the Campbellites and the Restorationist movement.  Mormons even acknowledge this heritage and link with Campbellite restorationism, Campbellites and Mormonites:  Competing Restoration Movements, https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/campbellites-and-mormonites-competing-restoration-movements/l  For a general “Wiki” overview of this movement, consider this article. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restoration_Movement.  Mormonism is thus hardly unique as a restorationist-claiming group grown in the fertile waves and agitated ripples of the 2^nd Great Awakening (1795-1835); it’s simply the most fiscally successful. ↩︎
35. Matt. 16:18 ↩︎
36. Matt. 7:21-23 ↩︎