You may have heard people ask, “Do Mormons call themselves Christians?” or the follow-up question, “Do Mormons celebrate Easter and other Christian holidays?” We need to look at Mormon history and the debates about Mormon teachings to fully answer these questions.
Do Mormons Celebrate Easter Sunday?
On Easter Sunday, Mormons attend church services that include holiday music and decorations. Church interiors will be decorated with white lilies, which symbolize rebirth. Worship programs will include a variety of Easter hymns (such as “He is Risen” or “That Easter Day with Joy Was Bright”). Sunday School services may include lessons about core LDS teachings or creative activities like reading a short Easter play or a poem like “The Garden” by Jamie Lawson.
While Mormons don’t attach any particular significance to Easter eggs or baskets, they are not officially banned from giving them. Easter hunts or baskets may be included in children’s activities on Easter Sunday.
What Do Mormons Believe about Jesus?
While the word “trinity” is a theological term developed after the Bible was written, it describes a concept that the Bible implies: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit as three different but equal members of the Godhead, each uncreated. In other words, Jesus is God’s Son because He came to earth in human form, but He existed before coming to earth. God the Father did not create Jesus: He was always part of the Triune Godhead. While the Bible talks about Jesus being the firstborn, it describes rank: Jesus is the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15) because He is above it, not the first created thing. He is the firstborn of the dead (Revelation 1:4) because He returned from the dead and instituted a new era of the kingdom of God.
While Section 93 of the LDS Doctrines and Covenants calls Jesus “the firstborn” and cites Bible verses as evidence, Mormon theology holds a different view of Jesus’ firstborn status. As Solveig Nilson summarizes, Mormon theology maintains “Jesus was simply the first born of God and thus is an elder brother to all humanity (or deity, in another perspective).” In other words, Mormons see Jesus as a created being, although one with supernatural status. The Book of Mormon also alludes in Moses 4 to Jesus and Lucifer being on the same level in heaven before Lucifer rebelled.
Clarence J. Haynes observes that LDS teaching also describes Jesus being conceived by God the Father rather than The Holy Spirit, and understands his sacrifice on the cross differently. LDS teachings maintain that Jesus Christ died on the cross to atone for humanity’s sins and was resurrected on the third day. However, 2 Nephi 25:23 states, “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.” As Haynes puts it, “For the Mormon, salvation by grace alone is not enough which means Jesus’ work on the cross was not sufficient.”
In contrast, the Bible maintains that faith without works is dead (James 2:17), but we are saved entirely by grace so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Thus, the Bible paints a different picture than the Book of Mormon about Jesus’ Easter sacrifice. The Book of Mormon and other LDS texts see Jesus’ death as a created being dying for whatever sins humans don’t cover themselves. The Bible sees Jesus’ death as an uncreated being dying to save humans from sins they could never cover themselves no matter how hard they tried.
Therefore, while Mormons celebrate Easter each year and often cite Bible verses and use traditional Easter hymns in their services, their vision of Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection will be slightly different from a Christian Easter service.
Do Mormons Celebrate Lent and Holy Week?
According to an educational website about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Mormons do not observe Ash Wednesday or the other days of Lent. Mormons do not generally have Good Friday services, but they celebrate Easter Sunday, where they remember Jesus rising from the tomb.
Larger LDS churches or organizations may have Easter celebrations that start near the beginning of Easter month. For example, this year, the Mesa Easter Pageant in Mesa, Arizona, will begin holding performances on April 6, 2022. The Mesa Easter Pageant began in 1938 as an Easter Sunday event and has grown to a large outdoor event with a four-story stage, including over 400 cast members, live animals, and music. Pageant organizers report that this event holds the record for the largest outdoor Easter pageant in the world.
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Salt Lake City, Utah, often hosts an Easter event during Easter week. On April 10, 2022, it will stream He Is Risen: A Special Easter Celebration, with people able to watch it on demand for several days afterward or see it broadcast on BYUtv (a streaming service operated through Brigham Young University) on April 17.
In addition, MormonWiki.com mentions that the General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints happens in early April. The conference will have various speakers and worship services, streamed so that Mormons worldwide can listen in. If Easter Sunday occurs during the conference, the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will give a special Easter message. Other messages may not mention Easter, but the general conference creates an extra sense that it is an important time of year, a time to refocus spiritually.
Do Mormons Call Themselves Christian?
The full (and technically proper term) for Mormonism is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). The Church of Latter-Day Saints is founded on teachings by Joseph Smith, who published the Book of Mormon in 1830, based on what he claimed were ancient teachings written with hieroglyphics on golden plates. Smith said he discovered the golden plates after several visitations from an angel named Moroni in 1823-1830.
Mormons regard the Book of Mormon as a holy text complementing the Bible, with its story focusing on an ancient American civilization (as opposed to the Bible’s emphasis on Ancient Near Eastern civilizations). For this reason, Mormons often refer to themselves as Christians and argue their theology is consistent with Christianity.
However, many Christian scholars have argued that Smith’s claims about the Book of Mormon defy Revelation 22:19’s teaching that Scripture’s canon is closed and there are no further revelations. Many religious scholars have also looked at the Book of Mormon’s historical claims and seen issues with its claims (such as Smith’s claims to have found golden plates containing “reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics”).
Various aspects of LDS theology, seen in the Book of Mormon and the canonized teachings, are inconsistent with the Bible. For example, the Bible states that God the Father is “eternal, immortal, invisible” (1 Timothy 1:17): He may appear in various forms, but ultimately God the Father is an omnipresent spirit. The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith says, “If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible—I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form.” This information is repeated in Section 130 of the LDS Doctrine and Covenants, referring to God the Father and God the Son having bodies.
There are many other concerns about Mormon teachings that conflict with Christian teachings, such as how Mormons view the soul. One of the primary conflicts has to do with how Mormons view Jesus. Yet Mormons celebrate easter to remember the atonement for sins and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Further Reading:
Is the Book of Mormon Credible?
Is Jesus Christ the Spirit Brother of Satan?
Is Mormonism Compatible With The Bible?
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Learn more about the meaning and significance behind the Easter holiday and Holy Week celebrations:
What is Lent? and When Does Lent Start?
What is Ash Wednesday? and When is Ash Wednesday?
What is Palm Sunday?
What is Maundy Thursday?
What is Good Friday? and When is Good Friday?
What is Holy Saturday?
What is Easter? and When is Easter Sunday?
Easter Bible Verses
The Resurrection of Jesus
Easter Prayers
