Are Christians Mormon?

For a hundred and fifty years the question has been repeatedly asked worldwide, “Are Mormons Christian?” We have struggled through the semantic tangles to answer that with an unqualified “yes.” In his heart every Mormon knows that this question is much like asking, “Is Hamlet Shakespearian?” It might be said, “After all, Hamlet is a manifestation of Shakespeare. In fact, Hamlet is Shakespeare.” Precisely. And so, the Mormon knows that Mormonism is the most vital twentieth century manifestation of Christ. Unlike Hamlet, it is alive. If it is less than that it is nothing. Here the plan is to reverse the question and ask, “Are Christians Mormon?” This is not mere word play. In our time there are renowned and influential spokesmen and writers in all the major wings of Christendom—and they are not on the periphery but at the center—who are defending and teaching what, a century ago, Joseph Smith almost alone taught.