As I understand it, the LDS church has recently (within the last few decades) claimed to be Christian like any other because they follow Jesus.
The LDS doctrine denies the Trinity as do some Christian beliefs. But more troubling to me is that the LDS doctrine of pre-mortal existence says that the Father had a Father who had a Father and so on. In that doctrine, God is "a" God and not "the" God, "a" Creator and not "the" Creator.
God announced His Name is I AM and Alpha and Omega and so on.
To me, the first step in recognizing my brothers and sisters in Christ is whether or not they know His Name.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. - Matthew 16:15-17
Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and [that] no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. – I Cor 12:3
However, because the LDS doctrine disagrees on Who God IS, I personally do not call that doctrine Christian. But do you?
To God be the glory, not man, never man.
Interesting question, but as I know next to nothing about the LDS, I’ll have to decline to answer. One of my brothers is LDS, but we never speak about it; he converted because of his wife.
And that error goes to the heart of Christianity and actually destroys its meaning -- that God stepped into time and truly became man in order to pay for the sins which men could not redress themselves.
That's what God's love means -- He became sin who knew no sin so that we who are lost in sin will be forgiven by God Himself taking on the punishment rightly due us. THAT'S the majesty and breath-taking reality of Christianity.
To miss that seems to me to miss all of it.
Certainly Roman Catholics are Trinitarian Christians and no doubt there are God's elect among them. But God tells us that while he winked at certain errors in the past, He's not so accommodating since Christ has appeared to all men and none is without excuse.
One day we will know how much deflection from His word and idolatry in our hearts God will forgive us. Because it's in everyone's heart. The point of life is to minimize that natural tendency toward self-love and maximize our spiritual understanding of God's love, by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ, our only Redeemer.
AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!