Mormons are Christians - Apologetic Setup [01]

Argument One: The founder of the religion did not want to be regarded as a ChristianCon mis-quotes Joseph Smith's history. Joseph Smith claimed that Jesus said all the Christian sects were wrong, and the professors were all corrupt. By professors, it is referring to the individual church leaders Joseph Smith had been talking to, it is not a blanket statement about all Christians. Con also twists this to mean that Mormons didn't intend to be Christians from the start, but this claim is also unfounded. The LDS church was founded on the belief in Jesus Christ, the teachings of the Bible, and the restoration of prophetic revelation to the earth. Seeing as LDS incorporated Jesus' name into the title of the church, and accept the Bible as the word of God, there is no base to the claim that they didn't consider themselves Christians. Argument Two: The Mormon God is not the God of the BibleFirstly, Con is misrepresenting Mormon belief on the subject of God. God was not appointed to the position as god of planet earth. God is the creator of the earth and heavens. Whether this refers to the universe, a multiverse, or parallel dimensions isn't specified in Mormon theology, just as the details of creation aren't specified in the Bible. Also, there is no official position on how the Father came to be God. Whether that process was a process similar to what Christ went through or something else, there is no official stance or teaching. That being said, Christ said that the son can do nothing but what he has seen the Father do, so it is possible he is referring to the Father having experienced mortality and resurrection before creating the universe. To Mormons, Jesus is the Son of God the Father. [1] As to the characteristics of the Father, Con is not distinguishing between biblical teaching and traditional Christian interpretation of the Bible. God is the only God(creator and Father) that will ever be God, and nothing about becoming like him diminshes that. Con also uses Journal of Discourses, which is not an official publication of the Church or accepted as official doctrine. As to the God of the Bible being omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient, I would ask Con to support his assertions. Science considers the Big Bang to be the best explanation for the creation of the universe. With the Big Bang, space and time were created. Our universe and time-line didn't exist before the moment of the Big Bang. So, if the Big Bang is how God created the universe, then he truly has been God for all time in our universe. There are no scriptures that spell out the details of creation, the details of the characteristics and history of God. God wants us to be more concerned with the present and how we live our lives, than trying to teach us all the truth and all the history of all the universe(s), as we wouldn't be able to handle all that. God has chosen the best things to teach us, so that we can become perfect, even as He is perfect. As to god being a spirit, this is also unsubstantiated. In scripture we are told that God is spirit, not a spirit. I am mortal, does that mean I am made up of 'mortal'? No, it is referring to a characteristic of me. God is spirit, God is love, God has an image similar to man(as we were created in that image). God has a body(face, feet, back). Mormons believe in the God of the Bible, albeit a different interpretation than what is considered traditional. Argument Three: The Church of ChristAppeal to popular belief. Nothing that any church says about another church is biblical source. Mormons believe that traditional baptism isn't valid because the authority of the prophets and apostles isn't with those churches(they don't have prophets and apostles, the foundation of the Church of Christ). Nothing in argument three addresses biblical teachings, so it can't be considered a valid criticism of Mormonism. [1]. http://mormon.org...