When a Christian talks about his faith with a Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness it is very important to define one’s terms. Otherwise it will be quite possible for the Christian to conclude that a Mormon or a Witness believes a lot of the same things we believe. Such is not the case. There is very little of a doctrinal nature that could be agreed upon. We all use many of the same terms because they are derived from the bible. But we are not using the same dictionary to define those terms.
For instance, when a Christian hears that Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus to be the Son of God the Christian might conclude that both religions believe Jesus is the eternal and almighty Second Person of the Trinity. Not true at all. Mormons believe Jesus to be the first offspring of a god who used to be a man like us but progressed to become a god ruling over his own Earth with many goddess wives. The sexual union of this god and one of his wives resulted in their firstborn son, whom Mormons today call Jesus, the Son of God.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus to be the Son of God because Jehovah (the Father) created him as the “firstborn of all creation.” Afterward this “Son of God” creature created everything else that exists.
Both the Mormon and Witness believe Jesus to be finite, not eternal, and not almighty in the biblical definition of that term.
There are many other terms that must be understood. What is meant by “salvation,” “damned”, “gospel,” “death,” and many more?
