objection
By their fruits
Objection
By their fruits ye shall know them.
What is true
Many Latter-day Saints show serious religious fruit.
Why it is not enough
Fruit cannot be reduced to sociology. Biblical fruit includes truthful teaching and fidelity to the apostolic gospel.
Key question: Would strong family life make any non-Christian doctrine Christian?
Fruit includes truth
Moral discipline, family commitment, missionary zeal, and generosity can be real goods. They still do not define the doctrine of God.
The New Testament warns about teachers and spirits, not merely lifestyles. Fruit must include fidelity to Christ's teaching and the apostolic gospel.
Sociology cannot decide Christianity
Pew data and official LDS statistics can show commitment, scale, growth, and social patterns. Those facts answer descriptive questions.
They do not make a non-Nicene Godhead or exaltation system historically Christian. Truth claims require doctrinal testing.
Primary references
These are the public sources behind the answer, with LDS doctrine cited from LDS material where possible.
2 Corinthians 11
BibleRef
The same names can carry different doctrinal content.
1 John 4
BibleRef
A testimony claim must be tested by apostolic doctrine.
Latter-day Saint Religious Landscape Data
Pew Research Center
Survey data showing high LDS religious participation while leaving the doctrinal question untouched.
Statistical Report, 2025
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Official 2025 statistical report showing global LDS membership, convert baptisms, missionaries, and temples.