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Mormon beliefs about God and Jesus Christ make them Christians, no matter what critics say.
This was the message repeated by several speakers on Sunday at the 177th annual LDS General Conference, held in the 21,000-seat Conference Center in downtown Salt Lake City and beamed via satellite to Mormon chapels across the globe.
Before delving into doctrine, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints President Gordon B. Hinckley reassured the Mormon faithful that his health is good, "despite all the rumors to the contrary." Hinckley, 96, had a cancerous tumor removed from his colon a year ago, then underwent chemotherapy.
"Skillful doctors and nurses keep me on the right track, and some of you may go before I do," he said, after which the audience erupted in laughter.
Several LDS authorities talked about the necessity of forgiveness, the urgency of repentance and the dangers of spiritual procrastination. Perhaps the most pointed speech, though, was Apostle Dallin H. Oaks' discussion of the rising problems of divorce among Latter-day Saints.
Oaks acknowledged that many good Mormons have been divorced and that they have "firsthand knowledge of circumstances worse than divorce."
"When a marriage is dead and beyond hope of resuscitation, it is needful to have a means to end it," Oaks said of extreme circumstances such as abuse. For most church members, however, "the remedy is not divorce but repentance. . . . Divorce is not an all-purpose solution, and it often creates long-term heartache."
Oaks suggested that couples having marital problems seek help from their Mormon bishop, who would never counsel divorce.
"Under the law of the Lord, a marriage, like a human life, is a precious, living thing," Oaks said. "If our bodies are sick, we seek to heal them. We do not give up."
Among the day's sermons, the "we are Christians, too" mantra stood out.
It may have been prompted, in part, by the recent distribution of an anti-Mormon DVD produced by evangelical Christians or by some of the harsh statements about LDS theology made in the context of Mitt Romney's campaign for president.
During the morning session, Hinckley said he found the Nicene Creed, a statement from 325 A.D. about the relationship between God the Father and Jesus Christ that most Christians accept, to be "confusing."
The LDS Church relies instead on the personal experience of founder Joseph Smith, who claimed to have a vision of God and Jesus in 1820.
"He knelt in their presence; he heard their voices; and he responded," Hinckley said. "Each was a distinct personality."
God is a "being, real and individual. He is the great governor of the universe, yet, he is our father, and we are his children. . . . Jesus is the living Christ. He is the Jehovah of the Old Testament and the Messiah of the New."
Apostle M. Russell Ballard echoed Hinckley's sentiments and then spoke to the critics concerns about the Book of Mormon, which Latter-day Saints believe is an ancient record that was translated by church founder Joseph Smith.
"The Book of Mormon does not dilute or diminish or de-emphasize the Bible," Ballard said. "On the contrary, it expands, extends, and exalts it. There is no disagreement between the Bible and the Book of Mormon . . . both testify of Christ."
Ballard urged Mormons not to "criticize or belittle anyone's beliefs. Our great responsibility as Christians is to share all that God has revealed with all of his sons and daughters."
James E. Faust, second counselor in the governing First Presidency, spoke sitting down, as he has done of late due to back problems. He described the murder of five Amish girls last October by a milkman, who had lost all reason and control. The shooter then took his own life.
The girls' parents embraced the gunman's father, saying, "We will forgive you." That was followed by further loving outreach to the milkman's wife and children.
"It was because of their faith in God and trust in his word, which is part of their inner beings," Faust said. "They see themselves as disciples of Christ and want to follow his example."
The Mormon leaders then share some local examples of extraordinary forgiveness, including LDS bishop Christopher Williams' "unconditional forgiveness" of the teen who hit and killed his wife and two children. Faust was overcome with emotion while describing the death of Steven Christensen, who was killed with a bomb planted by Mormon forger Mark Hofmann in 1985.
On one occasion, Christensen's father, Mac Christensen, had to restrain a family member who nearly attacked a member of the press.
"This thing will destroy my family if we don't forgive," Faust quoted Mac Christensen as thinking. "Venom and hatred will never end if we do not get it out of our system."
The conference was adjourned until October.