Some Protestants don’t believe Mormons are Christians because they believe in more scripture than the Old and New Testaments.

How are Mormons different than Christians, or other Christians, with regard to their beliefs in scripture? Mormons do believe in more scripture than the Bible. Mormons believe in an open scriptural canon because they believe in modern-day revelation.  They believe that the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price are all scripture. All of these books of scripture testify that Jesus is the Savior of the World. 

The Protestant argument against Mormons is based on the theology of sola scriptura. This Latin phrase translates to “scripture alone” and means that the Bible is the sole scripture of the church. Sola scriptura also assumes that the Bible has all the doctrines and practices necessary for salvation. Protestants often use Revelation 22:18-19 as evidence for sola scriptura, “…If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.” The theology of sola scriptura doesn’t take into account the fact the Book of Revelation was a stand-alone book for hundreds of years before the Bible was compiled. It is illogical to say that John was forbidding people to add to the whole Bible when the whole Bible did not exist until hundreds of years after the Book of Revelation was written. Additionally, most biblical scholars would agree that John wrote the Book of Revelation before writing his Gospel and his Epistles (Letters of John). Finally, an admonition, similar to the one written in Revelation, is in the book of Deuteronomy, “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it…” (Deuteronomy 4:2) Deuteronomy clearly isn’t the final book of the Old Testament, nor the New Testament. Moses and John were both limiting their admonition to the singular book of scripture they had written. So, does sola scriptura mean are Mormons Christians or aren’t Christians? The sola scriptura argument is not a logical reason to preclude Mormons from being called Christians.

For Protestants to claim that Mormons aren’t Christian because they believe in more scripture than the Bible is illogical in other ways, as well. First, most Protestants believe in the doctrines and authority of the first seven ecumenical councils. These councils are clearly not the Bible. Second, many Christian denominations believe that the Bible includes different books of scripture than those declared as canon by Protestants. Despite this, most Protestants believe these other denominations are still Christian. For example, the Roman Catholic, Ethiopian Christian, or some Orthodox Christian religions believe in more books of scripture than Protestant religions. It is a double standard to say Mormons aren’t Christians because they believe in more scripture than the Bible.