What the Church means by Christian
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints answers “Are Mormons Christian?” this way:
Yes. Mormons, more properly referred to as Latter-day Saints or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, unequivocally affirm themselves to be Christian, or in other words, followers of Jesus Christ.
Source: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Are Mormons Christian?,” FAQ, accessed August 18, 2026, faq.churchofjesuschrist.org/are-mormons-christian.
The Gospel Topics essay uses the same claim:
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unequivocally affirm themselves to be Christians.
Source: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Are ‘Mormons’ Christian?,” Gospel Topics Essays (2016), churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/christians.
A 2010 Newsroom blog post, written for journalists, puts the Church’s meaning in one sentence:
What Mormons mean when they say they are Christian is that they follow Jesus Christ.
Source: Nate Nielson, “Are Mormons Christian?,” Newsroom Blog, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, April 19, 2010, newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/blog/are-mormons-christian.
The same post says the Church is not claiming a match with every other Christian tradition:
When Mormons say they are Christian, they are not suggesting that their beliefs line up perfectly with evangelicals or Catholics or other Christians.
Source: Nielson, “Are Mormons Christian?,” Newsroom Blog, April 19, 2010.
What some other Christians mean by creedal
The Newsroom says the argument often talks past itself because the two sides are using different tests. For some other Christians, it writes, Christian is a shorter way of saying creedal Christian:
For them the term “Christian” is often a reference to the more narrow term “creedal Christian”—adherence to a set of creeds formulated centuries after biblical writings, which are not themselves canonical.
Source: Nielson, “Are Mormons Christian?,” Newsroom Blog, April 19, 2010.
The same post names the Nicene Creed and says Latter-day Saints are not asking to be let in by signing it:
Mormons are not interested in parsing semantics or embracing the Nicene Creed or any other post-New Testament creed in order to be accepted by the world of Christian orthodoxy. While there is more common ground between Mormons and creedal Christians than many realize, the differences are also substantial.
Source: Nielson, “Are Mormons Christian?,” Newsroom Blog, April 19, 2010.
Do Latter-day Saints accept those creeds?
The Church does not take the later creeds as a package, and it does not use them as the test of the word Christian. That is not a denial of God the Father, of Jesus Christ, or of the Holy Ghost. Some creedal Christians read “not the creeds” as if those three were missing. The Church’s first Article of Faith, quoted on its Godhead page, is the opposite:
We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
Source: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Godhead,” Topics and Questions (2023), churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/godhead.
The Gospel Topics essay says the roles the Church ascribes to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost largely correspond with the views of others in the Christian world. Much of what the creeds were written to defend is also Latter-day Saint doctrine:
Whatever the doctrinal differences that exist between the Latter-day Saints and members of other Christian religions, the roles Latter-day Saints ascribe to members of the Godhead largely correspond with the views of others in the Christian world. Latter-day Saints believe that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and all-loving, and they pray to Him in the name of Jesus Christ. They acknowledge the Father as the ultimate object of their worship, the Son as Lord and Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit as the messenger and revealer of the Father and the Son. In short, Latter-day Saints do not accept the post–New Testament creeds yet rely deeply on each member of the Godhead in their daily religious devotion and worship, as did the early Christians.
Source: “Are ‘Mormons’ Christian?,” Gospel Topics Essays (2016).
The Newsroom line above is the same point: more common ground than many realize, and substantial differences. The essay still states the Church’s position on the creeds as documents. The Gospel Topics essay lists those creeds as the first reason some people give for saying the Church is not Christian:
Latter-day Saints do not accept the creeds, confessions, and formulations of post–New Testament Christianity.
Source: “Are ‘Mormons’ Christian?,” Gospel Topics Essays (2016).
The essay’s account of why is historical, not a slogan. The Church does not take the creeds as a closed package. It says the early Christian view of God changed, and that later creeds mixed Christian teaching with Greek philosophy:
Scholars have long acknowledged that the view of God held by the earliest Christians changed dramatically over the course of centuries. Early Christian views of God were more personal, more anthropomorphic, and less abstract than those that emerged later from the creeds written over the next several hundred years. The key ideological shift that began in the second century A.D., after the loss of apostolic authority, resulted from a conceptual merger of Christian doctrine with Greek philosophy.
Source: “Are ‘Mormons’ Christian?,” Gospel Topics Essays (2016).
Godhead
The Godhead page states where Latter-day Saints say they differ from other Christian religions:
But where Latter-day Saints differ from other Christian religions is in their belief that God and Jesus Christ are glorified, physical beings and that each member of the Godhead is a separate being.
Source: “Godhead,” Topics and Questions (2023).
And:
Although the members of the Godhead are distinct beings with distinct roles, they are one in purpose and doctrine.
Source: “Godhead,” Topics and Questions (2023).
Restored, not reformed
The Gospel Topics essay also answers a related test: descent from Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant lines. The Church does not claim that descent.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not descend through the historical line of traditional Christianity. That is, Latter-day Saints are not Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Protestant.
Source: “Are ‘Mormons’ Christian?,” Gospel Topics Essays (2016).
This is the ‘restored,’ not a ‘reformed,’ church of Jesus Christ.
Source: “Are ‘Mormons’ Christian?,” Gospel Topics Essays (2016).
Sources
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Are Mormons Christian?” FAQ. Accessed August 18, 2026. https://faq.churchofjesuschrist.org/are-mormons-christian.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Are ‘Mormons’ Christian?” Gospel Topics Essays. 2016. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/christians?lang=eng.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Godhead.” Topics and Questions. 2023. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/godhead?lang=eng.
- Nielson, Nate. “Are Mormons Christian?” Newsroom Blog. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. April 19, 2010. https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/blog/are-mormons-christian.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Style Guide: The Name of the Church.” Newsroom. https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide.