Dear Theophilus

Gospel Reading for the Day:  John 1:1-18 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life,  and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own,  and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children...

The goal of the Christian faith is not more independence, but less. "Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel" (Philippians 1). I saw this on campus here at Seattle Pacific University and thought it profoundly relevant: "Ours is meant to be a desperately dependent existence" God represents this in the fullest degree as example and proof. Where God is one, God is three. We bow and follow the Triune God, who exists as both-and. This model of relationship shapes everything about us. We, as one, make up the body of Christ where our selves are absorbed into the oneness of the Church. In marriage, the two become one. We are siblings, parents, friends, lovers, enemies. We exist only in relationship. Reject the lie that to be successful, to be norm...

I have to make myself clear at the front. I am a Christian. I have some very close Mormon friends, closer than family. And I am not fighting for who is "right," I am merely trying to explore the truth claim that Christianity and Mormonism are the same. It is my contention that they are different in hugely significant ways that make it untenable to say that they are one in the same. Jesus is another significant source of contention between Christians and Mormons. First, the term 'Christian' seems to be a source of contention here. Christian is derived from the greek and means 'little Christs.' People have been called Christian since the book of Acts, (ch. 11). These are people who both (1) claim that the Christ has come and (2) imitate and follow his teaching. For Christians, the Christ has come in the person of Jesus of Nazareth; hence Jesus Christ. So, in one sense, Mormons are Christians. Their sacred writing depict a Christ coming to both I...

There is a rumor going around that people think Mormons and Christians are the same. This could not be further from reality. I have heard this many times and it usually comes from Mormons and people who overvalue tolerance at the expense of truly understanding. President Hinckley of the Mormon church personally taught this to all of the Mormon church and is it found on their official site . Let's get a few things straight at the start. I love my Mormon friends. I consider some closer than family. I think they are mistaken about some things, but love certainly triumphs over differences here. Second, this post is completely unpolitical. I could care less if a Mormon is president. I could really care less about politics at all in this point in my life. Ok... that being said, there are some huge differences between Orthodox Christianity and Mormonism. Differences that cause each group to be outside of the others tent - if that makes sense.   The biggest and most...