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- According to Latter-day Saints, Mormonism is Christian, and the literal restoration of the original church of Jesus with the fullness of his gospel. However, from the standpoint of the consensus of others who identify themselves as Christian, Mormonism significantly departs from it. A 2007 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center found that one in three Americans surveyed do not consider Mormons to be Christian. Bruce R. McConkie, a Mormon apostle, expressed the LDS view when he wrote, "Mormonism is Christianity; Christianity is Mormonism; they are one and the same, they are not to be distinguished from each other in the minutest detail... " Since its beginning in the 1820s, the Latter Day Saint movement has proclaimed itself to be Christianity restored to its original authority, structure and power; teaching that the existing denominations "were believing in incorrect doctrines, and that none of them was acknowledged of God as his church and kingdom", and "all their creeds were an abomination in his sight. " The conflicting doctrines and claims of authority of Mormonism and mainstream Christianity have been the cause of deadly conflicts in the past and still generate dismissive criticism from both sides today. Latter Day Saints believe in the Old and New Testaments, in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior, the crucifixion as a final offering and his resurrection. However, Latter Day Saints reject the ecumenical creeds and definition of the Trinity taught by the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, and Trinitarian Protestantism, and hold that the New Testament prophesied both the apostasy from the teachings of Christ and his apostles as well as the restoration of all things prior to the second coming of Christ. LDS also hold the Book of Mormon to be divine scripture, equal in authority to the Bible. In the LDS view, although traditional Christians profess belief in Christ and teach much that is true, they misunderstand important doctrines and lack "the keys of the kingdom of heaven" that were a foundational part of primitive Christianity. The LDS teach that these keys were taken from the earth with the death of the original apostles, and were restored to Joseph Smith, Jr. , by those who held them anciently, resulting in a full restoration of primitive Christianity. Mormonism is one of numerous denominations that arose during the nineteenth century, sometimes described by the term 'Restorationism', which like others before and since have rejected traditional Christianity and the denominations that represent it. For their part, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholics, each with their distinctive emphases, teach that the Christian faith has been passed on in the church since the time of the Twelve Apostles. Traditional Christian churches teach that the scriptural canon is closed to new revelation, which ceased with the end of the Apostolic Age. The creeds of traditional Christian churches, such as the Nicene creed (A.D. 325), describe the faith that has been preserved. Traditional Christians teach that this transmitted faith is the biblical doctrine, preserved by the guidance of the Holy Spirit; especially, the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholicism teach that this Faith is a necessary accompaniment to the Bible. By inference, any who depart from the faith preserved by the Holy Spirit cannot authentically proclaim the Gospel of reconciliation through Christ. Traditional belief, especially the belief in Trinitarianism and the conviction that new public revelation ended with the death of the last apostles, implies that the Latter Day Saints' additional scriptures and other revelations alienate them from the Christian tradition of faith.
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