More differences in beliefs regarding the nature of God.
Christianity teaches, as does the Bible, that God is not like human beings, having flesh and blood, but is a spiritual being, something wholly other and different from humanity.
"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24)
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God... (1 Timothy 1:17)
Even though Christians believe that God did manifest himself in the flesh in Jesus, it was just that a manifestation, a showing of himself to humanity, it was not his essential nature. God is not made of earthly materials and to create images of him from such is to commit idolatry.
"...and [they] exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures." (Romans 1:23)
Thus, even though I recognize how some might be confused because of historic Christian views regarding Jesus as God in the flesh, the historic Christian understanding is that the Bible states that God is an invisible spirit that cannot be contained even within the entirety of the universe.
Not surprisingly then, it follows that Christianity teaches that God is an eternal being. Both the Old Testament and New Testament affirm that eternality is an essential characteristic of God's nature. According to the Bible, God has always existed:
Thy throne is established from of old; Thou art from everlasting. (Psalms 93:2)
The Bible also claims that God is the uncaused cause of everything in the universe:
"It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands, And I ordained all their host. (Isaiah 45:12)
"Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created." (Revelation 4:11)
Contrast this with the
Mormon teachings regarding God:
The Mormon scriptures teach that God has a body of flesh and bones.
"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." (D&C 130:22)
The official Mormon teaching book,
Gospel Principles, teaches that God "was once a man like us":
"This is the way our Heavenly Father became God. Joseph Smith taught: 'It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the character of God. . . . He was once a man like us; . . . God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth... (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 345-46)."
Gospel Principles goes on to state that not only did God once have a mortal body, but He still possesses a body "that looks like ours" and is made of "flesh and bones":
Because we are made in his image (see Moses 6:9), we know that God has a body that looks like ours. His eternal spirit is housed in a tangible body of flesh and bones (see D&C 130:22).9
According to Mormon theology, God was created. Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, taught that God began His existence the same way as all men did - He was created and lived a mortal life as a man on "an earth." The principle is still taught by the Mormon church, as seen in
Gospel Principles: “This is the way our Heavenly Father became God. Joseph Smith taught: ‘It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the character of God. . . . He was once a man like us; . . . God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did’ (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 345-46).”
One of the most radical departures from historic Christianity is the Mormon teaching that humans can become gods through obedience to "the gospel."
Gospel Principles says that Temple Mormons (select Mormons who go through special rites) can progress to Godhead, just as God the Father did:
"If we prove faithful to the Lord, we will live in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom of heaven. We will become exalted, just like our Heavenly Father. Exaltation is the greatest gift that Heavenly Father can give his children (see D&C 14:7)."
"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."
"When we lived with our Heavenly Father, he explained a plan for our progression. We could become like him, an exalted being." (
Gospel Principles, chapter 47)
I don't think I have to get to the differences between Mormon and Christian views of Jesus Christ to illustrate how decidedly different their teachings are from historic Christianity, that despite their claims to be Christian, that they mean something so different from the rest of Christendom, that you cannot speak of the two groups by the same name.
If Mormons are Christians, then by their definition all others who historically call themselves Christians are really Gentiles -- "Gentile: A person who does not belong to the chosen people. The scriptures use the word to mean (1) non-Israelites, and (2) nonmembers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka, Mormons)."
For more Mormon terms and theology see
Gospel Principles.