Introduction: A Prophetic Condemnation That Cannot Be Unsaid
In the spring of 1820, a fourteen-year-old farm boy named Joseph Smith Jr. walked into a grove of trees near Palmyra, New York, seeking divine guidance about which church to join. What allegedly transpired in that grove would become the foundational narrative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—a religion that would eventually claim millions of adherents worldwide. Yet at the heart of this founding vision lies a troubling pronouncement that contemporary Mormonism struggles to address honestly: a direct condemnation of all existing Christian denominations as corrupted, their creeds as “abomination,” and their professors as spiritually bankrupt.
There is a fascinating pattern in how modern LDS leadership and membership handle this cornerstone doctrine. The question demands honest examination: Do Mormons still believe that all other Christian denominations were and remain fundamentally wrong, having apostatized from divine truth? Or has this foundational claim become an embarrassment to be softened, reinterpreted, and diplomatically obscured in an era when interfaith dialogue and Christian ecumenism have become culturally valuable?
This essay examines the historical record—drawing extensively from Mormon sources themselves—to establish what Joseph Smith and subsequent LDS prophets actually taught about Christianity. It will contextualize these claims within the religious ferment of early 19th-century America, and ultimately pose a question that every thoughtful Mormon must confront: Can the church’s founding revelation be reconciled with its modern public relations efforts to appear as just another Christian denomination?
The Second Great Awakening: Christianity’s Vibrant Expression in Smith’s Era
To understand the audacity of Joseph Smith’s claims, we must first appreciate the religious context in which they emerged. The period from the 1790s through the 1840s witnessed what historians call the Second Great Awakening—a powerful evangelical revival that swept across the United States and fundamentally transformed American Christianity.
According to Britannica, this revival “was a religious revival that impacted the United States during the first half of the 19th century and led to expanded missionary activity and the formation of many new religious denominations.” The movement emphasized personal salvation, emotional religious experience, perfectionism, and the democratization of American Christianity. Camp meetings drew thousands, conversions multiplied exponentially, and denominations like the Methodists and Baptists experienced explosive growth.
This was not a period of religious confusion or theological chaos, as Mormon apologetics sometimes suggest. Rather, the Second Great Awakening represented a crystallization and popular dissemination of fundamental Christian orthodoxy. The revivals proclaimed clearly identifiable doctrines: salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, the authority of Scripture, the Trinity, the deity of Christ, substitutionary atonement, and the hope of resurrection. These were not novel teachings but the historic faith articulated by the early church councils and reaffirmed through centuries of Christian witness.
Charles Finney, Lyman Beecher, Peter Cartwright, and countless circuit riders carried a consistent gospel message throughout the region where Joseph Smith lived. The religious enthusiasm in upstate New York was so pronounced that the area became known as the “Burned-Over District”—burned over, that is, by successive waves of revival fire.
Yet it was precisely into this environment of Christian vitality that Joseph Smith inserted his radical counterclaim: these Christians, these revivals, these conversions—all of it was fundamentally mistaken. Every church was wrong. Every creed was abominable.
The First Vision: An Unambiguous Condemnation
Joseph Smith’s account of his First Vision, as canonized in the Pearl of Great Price (Joseph Smith—History 1:5-20), describes his confusion about which church to join amid the religious excitement in his area. After retiring to a grove to pray, Smith reported that God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him in person.
The response Smith claimed to receive was unequivocal. According to his account, when he asked which church he should join, he was told “that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that ‘they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.'”
Let us pause to consider the severity of this pronouncement. Not “some churches have errors” or “certain practices need reform,” but “all their creeds were an abomination” and “those professors were all corrupt.” This was not a call for reformation but a declaration of total apostasy.
As documented by the Religious Studies Center at Brigham Young University, this condemnation was comprehensive and foundational to Mormon identity. In an article titled “All Their Creeds Were an Abomination,” the author acknowledges that “the creeds mentioned by the Savior would include such documents as the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the many variations and expansions of these creeds.” These creeds, which had defined Christian orthodoxy for over fifteen centuries, were declared abominable—a term used in scripture to describe things utterly detestable to God.
Joseph Smith Quotes documents this stark teaching: “I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong, and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in His sight.” This wasn’t peripheral teaching that could later be amended—it was the very reason for Mormonism’s existence.
The Doctrine of Universal Apostasy: Christianity’s Complete Corruption
The First Vision’s condemnation of existing churches rested upon a foundational Mormon doctrine: the Great Apostasy. This teaching held that shortly after the death of the original apostles, the Christian church fell into complete apostasy. Not partial error, not corruption requiring reform, but total departure from divine truth. According to Mormon theology, this apostasy necessitated a complete restoration through Joseph Smith, who would recover priesthood authority, lost scriptures, and correct doctrine.
Brigham Young University’s Religious Studies Center published an article titled “Joseph Smith and the Only True and Living Church,” which explains: “The First Vision opened a new gospel dispensation—a restoration of the Lord’s church and kingdom made necessary by a universal apostasy from the primitive Christianity established by Jesus and his Apostles.”
This concept of “universal apostasy” is crucial. It means that for approximately 1,700 years—from shortly after the apostolic age until Joseph Smith’s restoration—no legitimate Christian church existed on earth. No valid priesthood authority remained. No authentic ordinances could be performed. The prayers of billions of Christians went unheard. The martyrs died for a corrupted faith. The great theologians from Augustine to Aquinas, from Luther to Wesley, taught doctrinal abominations.
Mormon leaders did not shy away from this breathtaking claim. They proclaimed it boldly and repeatedly.
The Prophets Speak: A Chorus of Condemnation
The historical record of Mormon prophetic statements about Christianity is extensive and unambiguous. These were not occasional rhetorical excesses but consistent, repeated teachings spanning decades and multiple church presidents.
Joseph Smith: The Foundation
Joseph Smith himself set the tone. According to documented quotations compiled by various sources, Smith taught that Christianity had become completely corrupted. In one documented statement, Smith declared: “The Christian world… have apostatized from the true faith, and will all be damned unless they repent” (as referenced in multiple historical compilations).
MormonThink.com’s compilation of historical quotations (archived here) documents Smith’s teaching that “The Christian world, so called, are heathens as to the knowledge of the salvation of God.”
The implication was clear: those who considered themselves Christians were, in Mormon understanding, no better than pagans in terms of their salvific knowledge.
Brigham Young: No Equivocation
Brigham Young, Smith’s successor and second president of the LDS Church, was even more explicit in his condemnations of Christianity. He taught:
“Should you ask why we differ from other Christians, as they are called, it is simply because they are not Christians as the New Testament defines Christianity” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 10, p. 230).
Young went further, declaring: “The Christian world, so-called, are heathens as to the knowledge of the salvation of God” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 8, p. 171).
In another discourse, Young stated: “With a regard to true theology, a more ignorant people never lived than the present so-called Christian world” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 8, p. 199).
These quotations, documented at Alpha and Omega Ministries, reveal Young’s unvarnished view: Christians were ignorant heathens who knew nothing of true salvation.
Orson Pratt: The Apostate Church
Orson Pratt, one of the original Twelve Apostles in the LDS Church and a significant theologian, wrote extensively about the apostasy of Christianity. He declared:
“Both Catholics and Protestants are nothing less than the ‘whore of Babylon’ whom the Lord denounces by the mouth of John the Revelator as having corrupted all the earth by their fornications and wickedness” (The Seer, p. 255).
Pratt continued: “This great and universal apostacy began to develop itself even in the first century… The Apostolic Church, in its meridian splendor, continued but a short period” (The Seer, p. 213).
These statements leave no room for ecumenical ambiguity. Christianity—Catholic and Protestant alike—was identified with the apocalyptic “whore of Babylon,” a symbol of ultimate spiritual corruption.
John Taylor: False Churches and False Prophets
John Taylor, the third president of the LDS Church, maintained this antagonistic posture toward Christianity. He taught:
“We talk about Christianity, but it is a perfect pack of nonsense… the Devil could not invent a better engine to spread his work than the Christianity of the nineteenth century” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 167).
Taylor also declared: “What does the Christian world know about God? Nothing… Why so far as the things of God are concerned, they are the veriest fools; they know neither God nor the things of God” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 13, p. 225).
These quotations, preserved in multiple historical archives, demonstrate that Mormon leadership consistently viewed Christianity not merely as mistaken but as actively serving Satan’s purposes.
Bruce R. McConkie: Modern Reaffirmation
Even in the 20th century, influential LDS leaders maintained this position. Bruce R. McConkie, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and author of the widely used Mormon Doctrine, wrote:
“Apostasy was universal… And this darkness still prevails except among those who have come to a knowledge of the restored gospel” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed., p. 44).
McConkie also stated regarding Christianity: “It is also to the Book of Mormon to which we turn for the plainest description of the Catholic Church as the great and abominable church. Nephi saw this ‘church which is most abominable above all other churches’ in vision” (Mormon Doctrine, 1st ed., p. 130).
The Double Message: “We Don’t Criticize” Versus Historical Reality
Given this extensive historical record of condemnation, it is particularly striking to observe the modern LDS Church’s public posture toward other Christian denominations. Today, Mormon leadership often emphasizes interfaith cooperation, shared values, and mutual respect.
Yet as Mormonism Research Ministry documents in an article titled “We Never Criticize?,” this contemporary diplomatic stance conflicts sharply with the historical record. The article notes the irony of modern LDS claims not to criticize other faiths, while their founding documents and prophetic statements consist largely of systematic criticism of Christianity.
The LDS Church’s official missionary materials still teach the necessity of restoration following universal apostasy, even if the language has been softened for public consumption. The fundamental claim remains: legitimate Christianity ceased to exist until Joseph Smith restored it.
This creates a profound tension. Can the church simultaneously claim that all Christian creeds are “abomination” and that Mormons are simply fellow Christians with minor theological differences?
Mormonism as One Among Many: The Context of 19th-Century Religious Innovation
It is essential to recognize that Mormonism was not unique in claiming special revelation or positioning itself as an alternative to existing Christianity. The early 19th century witnessed an explosion of new religious movements, many claiming restoration of lost truths or special divine guidance.
The Shakers, founded by Mother Ann Lee, claimed special revelation and practiced communal living and celibacy. The Millerites, following William Miller, predicted Christ’s imminent return and developed into what would become the Seventh-day Adventist movement. The Oneida Community, the Rappites, and numerous other groups all claimed spiritual insights beyond traditional Christianity.
As one Reddit discussion analyzing 19th-century religious movements notes, Mormonism succeeded where many others failed not because of superior truth claims but through effective organization, geographic isolation, persecution that strengthened group identity, and strong institutional development.
The context matters: Joseph Smith’s claims emerged during America’s most fertile period of religious experimentation. His success in building a lasting movement should not be confused with the validation of his theological claims. Many movements made equally dramatic assertions about divine revelation and apostasy; Mormonism simply proved more organizationally durable.
The Contemporary Evasion: Plausible Deniability and Theological Ambiguity
Modern Mormonism faces a dilemma. The founding narrative requires belief in Christianity’s total apostasy and the abominable nature of Christian creeds. Yet contemporary culture—and the church’s desire for mainstream acceptance—demands a more conciliatory approach.
This tension has produced what can only be described as theological gymnastics. Modern Mormon apologists employ several strategies to soften the harsh implications of the founding Mormon doctrine:
1. Redefining “Apostasy”: Some argue that “apostasy” meant loss of priesthood authority, not corruption of all Christian teaching. This allows them to affirm much Christian doctrine while maintaining Mormon distinctiveness.
2. Contextualizing “Abomination”: Apologists suggest that “abomination” referred specifically to the philosophical additions made to simple Christian faith through creeds, not to Christians themselves or basic Christian belief.
3. Emphasizing Commonalities: Modern LDS rhetoric frequently stresses shared beliefs with other Christians—belief in Jesus Christ, the Bible, prayer, service—while downplaying distinctive Mormon doctrines.
4. Claiming Misunderstanding: Some argue that critics misrepresent Mormon teaching, that the church has always respected other faiths, and that quotations from early leaders are taken out of context.
An example of this approach appears in discussions on forums like AddFaith.org, where members attempt to reconcile the First Vision’s harsh language with contemporary interfaith politeness.
Yet these explanations ultimately fail to address the core issue. If the creeds that defined Christianity for 1,700 years are truly “abomination” in God’s sight, this judgment cannot be diplomatically softened. If Christianity underwent universal apostasy requiring complete restoration, then Christians before Smith’s restoration were not simply mistaken on minor points—they lacked saving truth entirely.
The question stands: Do modern Mormons actually believe what Joseph Smith claimed to have been told in the Sacred Grove?
The Inescapable Question for Modern Mormons
This brings us to the central challenge this historical examination poses to contemporary LDS members: intellectual honesty demands a clear answer.
Either:
- Joseph Smith’s First Vision account is accurate, Christianity had completely apostatized, all Christian creeds remain abominable to God, and other Christians lack the authority and ordinances necessary for salvation, in which case Mormon cooperation with Christian organizations and claims to be “just another Christian denomination” represent profound dishonesty.
Or:
- Joseph Smith’s characterization was a contrived falsification; Christianity had not completely apostatized, Christian creeds contain substantial truth, and Christians can have authentic relationships with God, in which case the foundational claim justifying Mormonism’s existence collapses.
There is no comfortable middle ground. The apologetic attempts to have it both ways—to maintain the exclusivity of Mormon truth claims while enjoying the cultural benefits of Christian identification—represent intellectual incoherence.
Consider the implications if Mormons truly believe their founding documents. This would mean:
- The billions of Christians who lived and died between approximately 100 AD and 1830 AD had no access to legitimate priesthood ordinances, no valid baptisms, and no authoritative church.
- The great Christian martyrs—from Polycarp to Jan Hus to the countless believers killed for their faith—died for a corrupted gospel.
- The theological formulations of the Nicene Creed, which Christians worldwide recite as defining orthodoxy, are “abomination” to God.
- Augustine, Athanasius, Anselm, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Edwards, and every other Christian theologian taught fundamental error.
- The worldwide Christian church, claiming over 2 billion adherents, remains in apostasy unless it accepts Mormon restoration claims.
Can modern Mormons genuinely affirm these positions? Or have these stark claims become embarrassing relics that contemporary Mormons wish to quietly forget while maintaining cultural Mormon identity?
The Historical Record Cannot Be Rewritten
What makes this question particularly pressing is that the historical record is unambiguous and unchangeable. Joseph Smith’s account is canonized scripture. The statements by Brigham Young, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, and others are documented in official church publications. Bruce R. McConkie’s Mormon Doctrine was widely distributed by the church for decades.
Reformed Christian apologist Tim Challies, in his analysis of Joseph Smith as a false teacher, notes that Smith’s claims “set him in direct opposition to historic Christianity” and that “he insisted that Christianity had fallen into complete apostasy.”
The overview of Mormonism at OnceDelivered.net summarizes the problem: “The LDS church teaches that Christianity underwent a ‘Great Apostasy’ shortly after the death of the apostles… This required a complete restoration, which Joseph Smith claimed to provide.”
These are not anti-Mormon fabrications but accurate summaries of Mormon teaching, confirmed by Mormon sources themselves.
The Burden of Honest Belief
Religious faith deserves respect, including the faith of Mormons who sincerely believe their tradition’s truth claims. But respect for persons does not require acceptance of intellectual inconsistency. If Mormonism is true, then its foundational claims about Christianity’s apostasy must be true—and modern Mormons should have the courage to affirm them clearly rather than obscuring them with diplomatic language.
If those claims are false or overstated, then intellectual honesty requires acknowledgment that Mormonism’s foundational narrative is flawed. One cannot simultaneously claim that God declared all Christian creeds “abomination” and that Mormons and Christians worship the same God with equal validity through different traditions.
The historical Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and their successors would have scorned such theological equivocation. They believed they possessed the truth that all Christianity lacked. They proclaimed it boldly, accepting persecution and exile rather than compromising their claims.
Modern Mormons face a choice: embrace that stark exclusivism with its social costs, or acknowledge that the founding narrative’s extreme claims about Christianity’s apostasy were mistaken—which would require fundamental reconsideration of Mormon truth claims.
Conclusion: A Call for Honest Wrestling
This essay does not call for Mormons to abandon their faith—that decision belongs to individual conscience. Rather, it calls for honest confrontation with the historical record and the logical implications of foundational Mormon doctrine.
The Second Great Awakening demonstrated that Christianity in Joseph Smith’s era was vibrant, growing, and proclaiming the historic Christian gospel with power. Millions experienced genuine spiritual transformation. The fundamental truths of Christianity—salvation through Christ, the authority of Scripture, the Trinity, and substitutionary atonement—were clearly articulated and widely embraced.
Into this context, Joseph Smith inserted a radical counterclaim: despite all appearances, this Christianity was completely wrong, its creeds abominable, its professors corrupt. This claim, if true, has staggering implications. If false, it exposes Mormonism’s founding narrative as unwarranted presumption.
Modern Mormons cannot have it both ways. They cannot simultaneously affirm that God declared Christian creeds “abomination” in 1820 and claim full fellowship with those who embrace those creeds today. They cannot maintain that universal apostasy required Joseph Smith’s restoration while suggesting that Christians before 1830 had authentic faith.
The historical record—drawn extensively from Mormon sources—speaks clearly. The question is whether modern Mormons will speak with equal clarity, either affirming their founding narrative’s radical claims or acknowledging the need for fundamental theological reassessment.
This is not a question hostile critics impose from outside but one that emerges inevitably from Mormonism’s own foundational texts and prophetic statements. It deserves an honest answer from those who claim Joseph Smith as prophet and the LDS Church as Christ’s restored kingdom.
Do Mormons truly believe all Christian creeds remain an abomination in God’s sight? Or has this foundational claim become a theological inconvenience to be softened, reinterpreted, and carefully avoided in polite interfaith company?
The historical evidence demands a clear response. Anything less represents not faithful testimony but intellectual evasion—dancing around the most fundamental question Mormonism’s founding revelation poses to its modern adherents.
Note: This historical analysis relies primarily on documented sources from Mormon publications, official church histories, and recognized historical archives. The quotations and characterizations presented are drawn from the extensive historical record rather than from hostile fabrication. Honest engagement with one’s religious tradition requires confronting what its founders actually taught, not what contemporary practitioners wish they had taught. The invitation here is toward intellectual clarity and historical honesty, whatever conclusions individual readers may draw.
This article was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools. While efforts have been made to ensure accuracy and relevance, the content reflects AI-generated insights, but it has been carefully edited by this author.
Resources:
• https://web.archive.org/web/20101127045259/http://www.mormonthink.com/QUOTES/christianity.htm
• https://josephsmithquotes.com/revelation/join-none/
• https://rsc.byu.edu/prelude-restoration/all-their-creeds-were-abomination
• https://rsc.byu.edu/witness-restoration/joseph-smith-only-true-living-church
• https://oncedelivered.net/2007/12/27/mormonism-an-overview/
• https://mrm.org/we-never-criticize
• https://addfaith.org/forums/topic/54801-why-was-it-revealed-to-js-that-all-other-creeds-are-an-abomination/
• https://www.challies.com/false-teachers/the-false-teachers-joseph-smith/
• https://www.aomin.org/aoblog/mormonism/quotations-from-mormon-leaders-on-the-christian-faith/
• https://www.britannica.com/topic/Second-Great-Awakening
• https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/126wx3k/why_was_mormonism_the_19th_century_religion_that/