# Is Mormonism a Cult? > The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a large public church, and its style guide rejects the word Mormonism. The doctrinal disagreement is three beings, Joseph Smith’s revelations, and exaltation, not a slur. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/is-mormonism-a-cult - Religions: Latter-day Saints - Denominations: none - Beliefs: none - Tags: latter-day-saints, godhead - Updated: 2026-10-10 - Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) ([GitHub](https://github.com/hi-its-paul)) The word is used in two ways, and they should not be mixed. In a sociological sense it often means a small, closed group gathered around a living leader who controls ordinary life. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not that. It is a large public church, with published scriptures, Sunday worship, and missionaries. In a theological sense, some Christians use the word for a group that speaks of Jesus while teaching a different God, additional scripture, and a different gospel. That disagreement is real. It is the one the other pages on this shelf document from the church’s own texts. The church’s style guide says the term “Mormonism” is inaccurate and should not be used. This page answers the question people ask, and it does not use the insult as its own name for members. ## Key points - The Newsroom style guide says “Mormonism” is inaccurate, and that the preferred description is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. [(1)](#ref-1) - Russell M. Nelson said Joseph Smith did not name the church, and neither did Mormon. The name he quotes is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [(2)](#ref-2) - Gospel Topics, Godhead, says the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings, one in purpose. [(3)](#ref-3) That is not the Nicene confession of one God. [Do Mormons believe in the Trinity?](/latter-day-saints/the-godhead-in-latter-day-saint-teaching) quotes Doctrine and Covenants 130:22. - [Articles of Faith 1:8](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/a-of-f/1?lang=eng&id=p8) sets the Book of Mormon beside the Bible as the word of God, and limits the Bible to what is translated correctly. [(4)](#ref-4) - The King Follett sermon, quoted on [Do Mormons believe they will become gods?](/latter-day-saints/do-mormons-believe-they-will-become-gods), says God was once as we are now and that the faithful must learn to be gods. - [Are Mormons Christians?](/latter-day-saints/are-mormons-christians) answers the denomination question from those doctrines, without the slur. ## What does the word name? People reach for “cult” in at least two conversations. One is sociological. It pictures a small group, a leader who cannot be questioned, secrecy about the teaching, and pressure that cuts members off from family and ordinary life. That description is a claim about control. It has to be tested against the institution in front of you. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints publishes its scriptures, its manuals, and its general conference talks. Visitors can attend Sunday meetings. The sacrament prayers are in Doctrine and Covenants 20, quoted on [What do Mormons believe?](/latter-day-saints/what-do-mormons-believe). Missionaries invite inquiry. Members leave, and the church continues. A fair description of that public church is not the picture of a hidden circle around one living man. The church’s essay, cited on [Who wrote the Book of Mormon?](/latter-day-saints/who-wrote-the-book-of-mormon), says a mob killed Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum at Carthage Jail in 1844. Presidents since then are successors. The other use is theological. Some Christians apply the word to any group that uses Jesus’ name and denies the Nicene confession: one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, of one substance, and salvation as God’s gift in [Ephesians 2:8–9](/bible/ephesians/2). On that use, the word is doing the work of “another gospel,” which [Galatians 1:8](/bible/galatians/1/8) names when it says that even an angel from heaven is accursed if he preaches another gospel. [(6)](#ref-6) The verse does not hand anyone a slur for the person sitting across the table. It names a different message. The rest of this page stays on the message. The church’s style guide asks writers not to use “Mormonism” at all. [(1)](#ref-1) On [that page](https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide): > The term “Mormonism” is inaccurate and should not be used. When describing the combination of doctrine, culture and lifestyle unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the term “the restored gospel of Jesus Christ” is accurate and preferred. That request is fair to honor in the church’s own name. The question in the title is still the question people type. The answer is the doctrine, not the nickname. ## Where the doctrine differs Gospel Topics, Godhead, says the members of the Godhead are three separate beings, one in purpose and doctrine, and that the Father and the Son have bodies of flesh and bones. [(3)](#ref-3) [John 1:1](/bible/john/1/1) says the Word was God. [(5)](#ref-5) [John 4:24](/bible/john/4/24) says God is a Spirit. The church’s Bible Dictionary says Jehovah is the premortal Jesus Christ, under the Father’s direction in “The Living Christ.” [What do Mormons believe?](/latter-day-saints/what-do-mormons-believe) quotes those pages, including the Pearl of Great Price account in which Satan asks for the Father’s honor and Jesus is the Beloved Son in the same council. The pages do not print “spirit brother.” The teaching is still that both are sons and one rebelled. Nicene Christianity says the Son is of one substance with the Father, and that Satan is a creature who fell. [Articles of Faith 1:8](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/a-of-f/1?lang=eng&id=p8) [(4)](#ref-4), on [that page](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/a-of-f/1?lang=eng&id=p8): > 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. The Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price are Latter-day Saint scripture. [Who wrote the Book of Mormon?](/latter-day-saints/who-wrote-the-book-of-mormon) gives the church’s account of the plates, the seer stone, and the return of the plates to the messenger. [2 Nephi 25:23](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/25?lang=eng&id=23), Book of Mormon, says they are saved by grace after all they can do, quoted on [What do Mormons believe?](/latter-day-saints/what-do-mormons-believe). Gospel Principles says exaltation is the kind of life God lives. Those are doctrines. They can be stated, quoted, and answered without calling a member a cultist. The style guide, quoted above, says the term “Mormonism” is inaccurate. The question in the title is still the question people type. The answer is the doctrine. ## Are Latter-day Saints a Christian denomination? They are not a denomination beside Catholic, Baptist, or Orthodox churches on this site. Those churches confess the Trinity. [Are Mormons Christians?](/latter-day-saints/are-mormons-christians) says Latter-day Saints worship Jesus and use his name, and that three beings, a Father who was once a man, and exaltation to godhood are not the Nicene confession. [What is the difference between Mormons and Catholics?](/latter-day-saints/what-is-the-difference-between-mormons-and-catholics) quotes the Catechism’s consubstantial Trinity and the Catholic Church’s 2001 answer that Latter-day Saint baptism is not valid. A person can reject the sociological insult and still say the gospel is different. [The Trinity](/christianity/the-trinity) and [Is Jesus God?](/christianity/is-jesus-god) are the Christian claim. [What do Mormons believe?](/latter-day-saints/what-do-mormons-believe) is the map of the Latter-day Saint claim in the church’s words. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Mormonism a cult? The church asks that “Mormonism” not be used. Sociologically, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a large public church with open scriptures and Sunday worship, not a hidden sect around a living founder. Theologically, its Godhead, its added scriptures, and its teaching of exaltation are not the Nicene gospel. That is a doctrinal disagreement. It is not a name for the person who holds the view. ### Are Mormons Christians? They believe in Jesus Christ and name their church for him. They teach three separate beings and a Book of Mormon beside the Bible. [Are Mormons Christians?](/latter-day-saints/are-mormons-christians) walks through that in the church’s own sentences. ### Why do people use the word? Often because the teaching of God differs from the creed, and the extra books differ from the Bible, and a short insult is easier than those pages. The pages are the fairer answer. ## Keep reading - [What do Mormons believe?](/latter-day-saints/what-do-mormons-believe) - [Are Mormons Christians?](/latter-day-saints/are-mormons-christians) - [Do Mormons believe in the Trinity?](/latter-day-saints/the-godhead-in-latter-day-saint-teaching) - [Do Mormons believe they will become gods?](/latter-day-saints/do-mormons-believe-they-will-become-gods) - [Who wrote the Book of Mormon?](/latter-day-saints/who-wrote-the-book-of-mormon) - [What is the difference between Mormons and Catholics?](/latter-day-saints/what-is-the-difference-between-mormons-and-catholics) - [The Trinity](/christianity/the-trinity) - [Is Jesus God?](/christianity/is-jesus-god) ## Passages quoted on this page ### Ephesians 2:8–9 King James Version. > [2:8] For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [2:9] Not of works, lest any man should boast. ### Galatians 1:8 King James Version. > But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. ### Style Guide, The Name of the Church English, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [Open on newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org](https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide) > The term “Mormonism” is inaccurate and should not be used. When describing the combination of doctrine, culture and lifestyle unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the term “the restored gospel of Jesus Christ” is accurate and preferred. When referring to people or organizations that practice polygamy, it should be stated that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not affiliated with polygamous groups. ### John 1:1 King James Version. > In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ### John 4:24 King James Version. > God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. ### 2 Nephi 25:23 English, churchofjesuschrist.org. [Open on churchofjesuschrist.org](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/25?lang=eng&id=23) > For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. ### The Correct Name of the Church English, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [Open on churchofjesuschrist.org](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/10/the-correct-name-of-the-church?lang=eng) > Joseph Smith did not name the Church restored through him; neither did Mormon. It was the Savior Himself who said, “For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [Style Guide — The Name of the Church](https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide) (Newsroom of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The term Mormonism is inaccurate and should not be used.) 2. [The Correct Name of the Church, October 2018 general conference](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/10/the-correct-name-of-the-church?lang=eng) (Russell M. Nelson. The Savior named the church.) 3. [Gospel Topics, Godhead](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/godhead?lang=eng) (Three separate beings, one in purpose.) 4. [Articles of Faith, 1:8](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/a-of-f/1?lang=eng&id=p8) (Pearl of Great Price. The Bible as far as it is translated correctly, and the Book of Mormon as the word of God.) 5. [Gospel of John, 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/1). King James Version 6. [Letter to the Galatians, 1:8](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/galatians/1/8). King James Version ## See also - [Do Mormons Believe in the Trinity?](https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/the-godhead-in-latter-day-saint-teaching) — No. Latter-day Saints teach that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings, one in purpose. That is not the Nicene confession of one God in three persons. - [Do Mormons Believe They Will Become Gods?](https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/do-mormons-believe-they-will-become-gods) — Gospel Principles says exaltation is the kind of life God lives. The King Follett sermon says God was once as we are now, and that the faithful must learn to be gods. Isaiah 43:10 says no God was formed after the LORD. - [What Do Mormons Believe?](https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/what-do-mormons-believe) — Latter-day Saints believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost as three beings, and they receive the Book of Mormon beside the Bible. Nicene Christians confess one God. - [Are Mormons Christians?](https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/are-mormons-christians) — Latter-day Saints worship Jesus Christ and use his name. Their teaching of God, of Jesus, and of salvation is not the Nicene confession, so they are not a denomination inside Trinitarian Christianity. - [Do Mormons Celebrate Christmas and Easter?](https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/do-mormons-celebrate-christmas-and-easter) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints keeps Christmas as the season of Christ’s birth and Easter as the celebration of his resurrection, with Easter Sunday services. ## History [View history on GitHub](https://github.com/Apologetics-Wiki/apologetics-wiki/commits/main/src/content/articles/is-mormonism-a-cult.md)