Mormons, Christians, Mitt and the Trinity

SALT LAKE CITY — If there is any dealbreaker that prevents some people from considering members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as Christian, it is the Mormon view on the Trinity. The differences may seem intractable — Mormons talk about the separate nature of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit while traditional Christians talk about the three divine persons as one indivisible God.

This theological difference causes Mormons to be excluded from Christian gatherings and organizations — and impacts the willingness of people to vote for presidential candidates Mitt Romney or Jon Hunstman, who both belong to the LDS Church.

But a new survey by political pollster Gary C. Lawrence has found some unexpected common ground between one way Mormons describe God's unity and how many Christians describe God's oneness.

Lawrence's firm conducted a poll on multiple subjects for a forthcoming book titled, "Mormons Believe … What?!" One subject was the wedge religious issue of what people really believe about the Trinity.

The poll asked two questions of Christians across the country. Half were asked, "Do you believe that God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are three separate Beings, or are they three Beings in one body or substance?"

Twenty-seven percent responded similar to the Mormon belief that they are separate beings. Sixty-six percent answered in line with traditional Christian beliefs that they are "three beings in one body or substance."

The other half of Christians surveyed were given a different question about the Trinity: "The New Testament says that God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are one. Do you believe that means they are one in purpose or one in body?"

This time the answers went the other direction. Those answering the traditional "one in body" were 31 percent. Those answering "one in purpose" were 58 percent.

Lawrence said that Mormons say the oneness of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the New Testament is an oneness of purpose. The positive response of Christians to this concept in the second question surprised Lawrence. "I was wondering if there was a difference. I wasn't expecting a flip-flop. But it was. It just shifts from two-to-one one way and almost two-to-one the other way," Lawrence said.

What caused the shift? Lawrence said it is in the way the questions were asked.

The first question focused on contrasting separateness and oneness — "separate beings" versus "three beings in one body or substance."