the mormon people the making of an american faith

He said that by regarding Monson as a prophet, Mormons believe that God spoke directly through him, something evangelical Christians would never say about their church leaders. GJELTEN: But Mohler stopped there with his positive assessment. He noted that Mormon beliefs about marriage and family are similar to those held by evangelical Christians.ĪLBERT MOHLER: On many of the current issues of white-hot controversy in the United States evangelical Christians find themselves in common terrain in the culture with Mormons. Speaking on his daily podcast, Muller mentioned the passing of Mormon leader Thomas S. That bond was acknowledged this week by Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and one of the leading intellectuals in the evangelical Christian world. Historically, no two faiths have been more closely identified with the conservative agenda. TOM GJELTEN, BYLINE: Exit polls from the last election showed that Mormons and white evangelical Christians were the two religious groups most supportive of Donald Trump's candidacy. NPR's Tom Gjelten says their silence revealed some deep differences between the Mormon and evangelical communities. But there was little praise from evangelical Christian leaders.

President Trump offered his condolences, saying Monson demonstrated wisdom, inspired leadership and great compassion. Monson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died on Tuesday. Give it another half-millennium, and Joseph Smith may well join the ranks of the respectable prophets.This week, Mormons lost the man they regarded as their prophet. But the difference here is of degree, not kind: as sacred history Mormonism's past is hardly less credible than that of any other visionary religion. Joseph Smith is a figure of history, not myth, and upstate New York is altogether too mundane to be graced with angels. On the other hand, the founding miracles of Mormonism are not even two centuries old. The respectable mantle of age has slowly settled upon Joan of Arc and Muhammad, and arguing too loudly at dinner parties that the archangel Michael did not in fact visit young Joan is likely to get you odd looks: it seems simply beside the point. Atheists who reject tales of miracle or resurrection claim Jesus Christ as a moral inspiration. The Bible gains respect as a work of literature from those who do not believe it. The primal narratives of Jewish and Christian scripture have sunk deeply into Western culture, so deeply as to escape much sneering.

The mormon people the making of an american faith