Mormons are Christians

First off, I would like to quickly address your second argument concerning the "historicity and validity of Joseph"s vision. " whether Joseph"s vision is real or fake has absolutely nothing to do with Mormons being or not being Christians. Considering that there are many who have debated and continue to debate the historicity and validity of Jesus Christ"s life and have concluded similar things as you have about Joseph"s story. For example: "Most modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed,[5][7][8] but scholars differ on the historicity of specific episodes described in the Biblical accounts,[12] and the only two events subject to "almost universal assent" are that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and was crucified by the order of the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate. [9][10][11]" Courtesy of Wikipedia . http://en.wikipedia.org... Even within the Bible itself there exists inconsistency concerning Christ"s life. The following link is to an article that shows discrepancies between the four gospels. . http://atheism.about.com... Even if as you concluded "that the various changes to the account of Joesph Smith's first vision leads one to believe that the account was more likely than not fabricated. " It is not a requirement to be a Christian to not lie. It is not a requirement to be a Christian to not make up stories. Does not Paul in the New Testament state "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:23) There would be no Christians if that was a requirement. Joseph"s account of his vision does not affect the fact that Mormons believe in the Jesus Christ. Now to address your first argument. The following is taken from ( . http://en.fairmormon.org...) "President Gordon B. Hinckley, responding to a question regarding whether Latter-day Saints believe in the "traditional Christ," stated: No I don't. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak. For the Christ of whom I speak has been revealed in this the dispensation of the fullness of times. " President Hinckley is referring to the concept of Christ that has developed in the centuries since the Nicene Creed was formed"He is saying that we do not believe in non-Biblical creeds. This statement is quite correct: Latter-day Saints do not have some of the same beliefs about Christ that other Christian churches do. He is not saying that we do not believe in the Biblical Christ. In fact, the reason that Latter-day Saints do not accept these creeds is because they are non-Biblical. President Hinckley continued (with words usually omitted by critics): Am I Christian? Of course I am. I believe in Christ. I talk of Christ. I pray through Christ. I'm trying to follow Him and live His gospel in my life. " Again the Criteria for being a Christian is "" one must have a faith in Jesus Christ, Believe that he is the Son of God, and believe that it is only through Jesus Christ one can be saved. " The following is a quote from Jeffrey R. Holland. (a member of the LDS quorum of the twelve apostles) "I testify that Jesus Christ is the literal, living Son of our literal, living God. This Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer who, under the guidance of the Father, was the Creator of heaven and earth and all things that in them are. I bear witness that He was born of a virgin mother, that in His lifetime He performed mighty miracles observed by legions of His disciples and by His enemies as well. I testify that He had power over death because He was divine but that He willingly subjected Himself to death for our sake because for a period of time He was also mortal. I declare that in His willing submission to death He took upon Himself the sins of the world, paying an infinite price for every sorrow and sickness, every heartache and unhappiness from Adam to the end of the world. In doing so He conquered both the grave physically and hell spiritually and set the human family free. I bear witness that He was literally resurrected from the tomb and, after ascending to His Father to complete the process of that Resurrection, He appeared, repeatedly, to hundreds of disciples in the Old World and in the New. I know He is the Holy One of Israel, the Messiah who will one day come again in final glory, to reign on earth as Lord of lords and King of kings. I know that there is no other name given under heaven whereby a man can be saved and that only by relying wholly upon His merits, mercy, and everlasting grace19 can we gain eternal life. " (. https://www.lds.org...) In my opponents argument he provided an analogy. In response to that analogy I contend that often times people know the same person and would describe them drastically differently. For example: My Boss might describe me as dutiful, quiet, or very reserved. Giving the impression that I may be shy, Where as my personal friends may describe me as loud and obnoxious. Do these different descriptions constitute different people? Of course not. People have different opinions of Christ, and yet can still have faith in him. Since doctrinal differences do exists between Methodist and Baptist, between Pentecostal and Lutheran, and so on. Doctrinal differences cannot be what makes one a Christian. Even if that doctrine does address Jesus Christ, those differences cannot constitute someone as a Christian or non Christian "To be a Christian one must have a faith in Jesus Christ, Believe that he is the Son of God, and believe that it is only through Jesus Christ one can be saved. " Mormons meet this criteria and are therefore Christian.