CLEVELAND (AP) — United Methodist Church delegates approved a new policy statement Wednesday declaring that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "by self-definition, does not fit within the bounds of the historic, apostolic tradition of the Christian faith."
As a result, LDS members who become Methodists should be treated as converts from another faith and be re-baptized, the policy said.
A nine-page paper, passed by the Methodist General Conference without floor discussion, said the LDS church has "some radically differing doctrine on such matters of belief as the nature and being of God; the nature, origin, and purpose of Jesus Christ; and the nature and way of salvation."
The Methodists said the LDS church believes in a "gendered, married and procreating god" with "a body of flesh and bones," and has a theology that "more closely resembles a tritheistic or possibly a polytheistic faith" than monotheism — worship of the one God.
Methodists also objected that "the Jesus of Mormonism is not co-eternal with the Father and of one substance with the Father" and that the LDS Church adds other scriptures to the Bible.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Southern Baptist Convention have issued similar assessments of LDS doctrine.
The Public Affairs Office of the LDS Church released the following statement in response to the United Methodists' General Conference:
"As a fundamental tenet of our faith, we believe that all people have a God-given right to worship how, where or what they may.
Latter-day Saints embrace both ancient and modern revelations that proclaim Jesus Christ as the living, divine Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Any assertion otherwise demonstrates a lack of knowledge of Latter-day Saint doctrine and teachings."
New members of the LDS church have always been rebaptized no matter what previous faith they belonged to.
The United Methodist Church is the nation's third largest religious body, with 8.4 million members. The LDS church ranks seventh, with 5 million members in the United States.