The Southern Baptist Convention is at it again.

“Rob Bowman with the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) says Christians need to be aware that the beliefs of the Mormon Church are inconsistent with biblical Christianity. As one Mormon candidate launches his White House bid, the Southern Baptist official is urging Christians to take advantage of materials his denomination offers that teach the truth about Mormonism.”

The SBC should know this: “Mormonism” is the religion most consistent with biblical Christianity. We do not apologize for our beliefs. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only true Christian church on the face of the earth.

Going to the SBC for “materials” on the LDS Church is like going to Marx to learn about capitalism.  To learn about the LDS Church click here.

The Boston Herald has published an Associated Press article titled “Latter-day Saints: A look at the Mormon church”, with a brief Q&A on some of the beliefs of the Church.

The article is mostly accurate, with a few minor discrepancies. For example, in describing the Word of Wisdom the author states that “cold drinks with caffeine” are prohibited, when such is not the case.

The article was prompted by the extra attention being received by the Church as a result of Mitt Romney’s expected presidential bid.

Peggy Fletcher Stack of The Salt Lake Tribune is the author of a recent article titled “Something about Mary“.

Stack attempts to portray why Mormons don’t consider Mary, the mother of Jesus, a central figure in their worship, unlike some other religions.

Mormons will drag Mary out of the shadows of their faith again this season and plop her into the annual Nativity scene. They’ll gush about her beauty in the various crèches they’ve been collecting from Mexico, Poland and Nigeria. They’ll read about her on Christmas Eve as the family gathers around the fire before bed.

During December, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints celebrate the “fairest of all virgins” who they believe was chosen before this life to be the Messiah’s mother. They herald her acceptance of that role and willingness to sacrifice herself and her reputation for the good of the world. To these believers, Mary is both noble and human, glorified but real. In some essential ways, she is just like them.

For most of the year, though, Mary is largely tucked away – respected for her submissiveness, admired for her faithfulness, but largely invisible. She does not adorn their chapel walls, nor stare down from stained-glass windows. She is not part of their weekly worship or routinely mentioned in prayers.

Ms. Stack then goes on to pontificate as to the possible reason why Mary exists in the “shadows of [our] faith”:

It could be that LDS leaders are uncomfortable with powerful female figures, as its ecclesiastical authority is limited to men. Or it could be an attempt to distance the church from more traditional brands of Christianity, especially Catholicism.

With no supporting evidence for the former sentence and a weak one for the latter, these reasons are unsubstantiated and worthy of correction. Ms. Stack, obviously somewhat familiar with LDS doctrine, is walking on thin ice with statements such as these.

Peggy Fletcher Stack can be contacted at pstack@sltrib.com or 801-257-8725. Send comments about this story to religioneditor@sltrib.com.

MSNBC’s Tucker Carlson contends that some Southern Republicans consider Mormonism a cult instead of a brand of Christianity. Mormons insist they are indeed Christians, worshipping the God of the Old and New Testaments. Michael Graham replied that it may not matter anyway:

The last time I checked, evangelicals didn’t consider Judaism a form of Christianity either, and yet Joe Lieberman is wildly popular and is probably the most popular Democrat among Southern Republicans. In the modern era, it is not one religion versus another.

Source: MediaMatters.org (includes video)