Mormonism is as valid a Christian form as any other Christian sect.

Pro's argument, as of yet, hinges on the idea that Mormonism professes the teachings of Jesus Christ and that they are therefore Christian. On the surface, this seems perfectly reasonable. "If we teach Christ's teachings, we're obviously Christian! " Pro's definition of Christian is indeed accurate, as confirmed by Wikipedia: "A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity. Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament (. http://en.wikipedia.org...) (. http://en.wikipedia.org...). " Where his argument fails then, is in the idea that Mormons profess Christ's teachings. However, it must be noted that one of the main tenets of Mormonism, made clear in the eighth of thirteen Articles of Faith (a set of creeds written by Joseph Smith Jr. defining fundamental beliefs), is that the Bible is true and believable only insofar as it is translated correctly: "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God (. http://www.lds.org...). " Since this is the case, how can Mormons claim to be Christians if the teachings of Christ they profess have every possibility of being inaccurate? The Joseph Smith Translation (JST), an attempt by Joseph Smith Junior to repair inaccuracies in the Bible and included at the back of each Bible issued by the LDS Church, in fact, only contains a portion of the many revisions made by Joseph Smith (. http://en.wikipedia.org...). The full set of revisions can be found in the Inspired Version of the Bible used by the Community of Christ. Additionally, these JST scriptures, referenced by footnotes throughout the main body of the King James text, have not been officially canonized as part of the LDS Church's standard works. The absence of the Joseph Smith Translation in Church canon is quite obvious when visits this link: . http://scriptures.lds.org... The ONLY parts of Joseph Smith's revisions that have been canonized are in the Pearl of Great Price: Joseph Smith—Matthew and the Book of Moses. Indeed, it has been stated by the Church itself on December 7th, 2974 in it's "Church News" that: "The Inspired Version does not supplant the King James Version as the official Church version of the Bible, but the explanations and changes made by the Prophet Joseph Smith provide enlightenment and useful commentary on many biblical passages (. http://www.lds.org...). " Thus, we have found that Mormonism tries to "repair" the teachings of Christ and other Bible passages. Among these reparations are changes to the teachings of Christ and the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the New Testament. Recall that pro stated in his argument that a Christian is someone who "professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ. " Pro seems to think that the teachings of Christ are an entity that Christians and Mormons alike can agree on. However, if two groups of people have different conceptions of what Jesus Christ actually taught, how can they both be Christian? If Christianity professes one set of Christ's teachings (and presumably calls these teachings "Christian") while Mormonism professes a reconstructed set of Christ's teachings, how can it be said that both are Christian? Let's look at an example of another work that claims to agree with Christ's teachings, but cannot be said to be Christian because it eliminates and reconstructs elements of Christ's teachings as they are found in the Bible. The Jefferson Bible, or The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth as it was formally titled, was an attempt by Thomas Jefferson, 3rd president of the United States and a deist, to remove any and all references to the supernatural from the New Testament. "The Jefferson Bible begins with an account of Jesus's birth without references to angels, genealogy, or prophecy. Miracles, references to the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus, and Jesus' resurrection are also absent from the Jefferson Bible. The work ends with the words: 'Now, in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus. And rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. '" The work, in its entirety, is 46 pages long, as compared to the 400 or so page New Testament found in the LDS scriptures. This book does indeed contain teachings of Jesus. However, these teachings have been heavily modified and slimmed down. Would a religion using this book as it's Bible be considered Christian? Of course not. . http://en.wikipedia.org... In summary, while Pro claims that Mormonism professes the teachings of Christ, and is therefore Christian, Mormonism does not even believe that the Bible accurate in its description of Christ's teachings. Furthermore, Mormonism's attempt to repair inaccuracies in the Bible, including the New Testament, has only been canonized in two instances, leaving much of it to be used only as a supplement and entirely omitting other portions. Not only does this give the idea that the Church doesn't quite take its founder and prophet seriously, but it also means that they have modified key elements of Christ's teachings. Again, recall that both Wikipedia and Pro state that a Christian "professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ. " If the teachings of Christ can't even be agreed on, how can we determine who is Christian by the aforementioned criteria? If Christianity at large teaches Christ's teachings as found in virtually all versions of the Bible while Mormonism teaches an entirely different set of Christ's teachings composed of heavily modified King James Version passages, how can both be Christian as defined above? They simply can't.