Latter-day Saints identify as Christians. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not accept the post-New Testament creeds as binding statements of faith.
What the Church means by Christian
On its FAQ, Are Mormons Christian?, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints answers 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.
In a 2010 Church Newsroom essay, Nate Nielson also emphasized that identifying as Christian does not mean claiming complete doctrinal agreement with other Christian traditions:
When Mormons say they are Christian, they are not suggesting that their beliefs line up perfectly with evangelicals or Catholics or other Christians.
What “creedal Christian” means
In that same essay, Nielson described how some other Christians use the word Christian as a shorter form of 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.
Encyclopaedia Britannica defines the Nicene Creed this way:
Nicene Creed, Christian statement of faith that is the only ecumenical creed because it is accepted as authoritative by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and major Protestant churches.
Why Latter-day Saints reject the later creeds as binding
In the same 2010 Newsroom essay, Nielson stated the Church’s position on the Nicene Creed and later creeds:
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.
The 2016 Gospel Topics essay Are “Mormons” Christian? states that position as doctrine:
Latter-day Saints do not accept the creeds, confessions, and formulations of post–New Testament Christianity.
That essay attributes the development of later creedal formulations partly to changes in early Christian thought and interaction 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.
Godhead
The Church still affirms belief in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The first Article of Faith, quoted on the Church’s Godhead page, states:
We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
The same Gospel Topics essay describes areas of overlap with beliefs expressed in the historic creeds:
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.
On that Godhead page, Latter-day Saints say they differ from other Christian religions here:
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.
Restored, not reformed
The Gospel Topics essay also states that the Church does not claim descent from Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant lines:
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.
That essay describes the identity as restoration rather than Reformation:
This is the ‘restored,’ not a ‘reformed,’ church of Jesus Christ.
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.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Nicene Creed.” Accessed August 18, 2026. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nicene-Creed.