I doubt that the divide will ever end, sorry to say. Christians look at Mormons as extremely peculiar people for some of their...rather odd...doctrines. I see mormons all the time and talk with them regularly and I still think they have peculiar beliefs. This coming from someone who tries to be as open minded as possible about people of other religions.

Mormonism just tramples over so many fundamental doctrines that most of Christianity holds dear; to hear someone with such incredibly divergent beliefs claiming the same faith, it will always ruffle feathers.

I have to agree with Dantheman on this one.

I've actually had a decent amount of exposure to the teachings of the LDS Church and even spent some time with members of the FLDS (On the 4th of July of all days!). As much as I understand you heart for unity and acceptance I have to say that it will never come. And that's not because I'm a pessimist, but because they're irreconcilably different tenants of faith. It's as if they're using all the same terminology but have completely different definitions. Actually, they aren't usually even "completely" different, but if there is only one truth then that must mean that the other is not true.

It should be rather plain to see that there will be major differences between the Mormon and Christian faith since Mormon's have several more books/writings in their canon. Every additional word that's added to the original Christian canonized Bible will be a step in a different direction than Christianity. To say that those added books don't make Mormons any less Christian is to say that the added Mormon books don't offer any new significant amount of revelation or teaching compared to the already existing Bible. And if that's the case, then the Mormon books can be dropped altogether.

And to clarify, while there are indeed many different Christian denominations in the Church they are still all based solely on the teachings of the same book, the Bible. In that regard Catholics and Mormons have something in common. They both have additional books/teachings beyond the canonized Christian Bible and that is why they're considered to be "unChristian."

I'd love to actually chat with you via IM some time and talk a little bit more about the core differences, if you're interested. I have pretty much every type of IM so that shouldn't be a problem.

I'm going to have to agree with the other two. While I can tell you do not like this separation, I can't see it changing. I can debate with you, be friends with you, fight abortion with you, but I simply can't go farther than that. I want to, I just cannot do so while staying true to Scripture. I've got a sermon that you might want to look at, it'll give you an idea of why there is a separation. And just to give you a warning, I'd imagine a few things said will probably offend you. Please do not think of it as an attack, I just thought you might be interested in why we think the way we do about this topic.

http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/trial/doctrine-from-false-teachers-part-1

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Let me see if I can articulate my views without stepping on too many toes. But let me begin by getting the uncomfortable bit out of the way: I don't think Mormons fit the definition of what Christians are. The metric I employ in making this determination is well-enough known to most: we call it the Nicene Creed, although the Athanasian Creed is also worth considering. Mormonism teaches several things in stark contradiction to the tenets of the Christian faith which are detailed in both creeds; it is impossible for me to admit that Mormons are Christian on those grounds.

Now, having said as much, I do not presume that Mormons are automatically condemned. Firstly, it's not mine to judge that point; God alone judges the souls of men. But more to the point, I recognize that Mormons fall into an interesting category of individuals who, while not Christians per se, nevertheless believe on Jesus and in His being the promised Messiah. This category includes Jews for Jesus and a couple of other groups whose focus is most certainly on Christ, though not on a Christ understood to the fullest human extent.

I can't fault a Mormon's faith, in general, nor can I fault the religion as a whole based on the fruits it bears; having been in many debates about family and life issues, I've counted Mormons as valuable allies in articulating pro-family, pro-life, pro-chastity positions, and I recognize that Mormons as individuals are often very upstanding people with a genuine concern for both the temporal well-being and eternal fate of others -- all of which are excellent things.

To return to my initial point, I cannot admit that Mormons are Christians for several reasons, not the least of which is their rejection of the Trinity. At the same time, I will not deny that Mormons believe, devoutly, in Christ Jesus, and I do not think we do much good to establish too wide a gap between Mormonism and Christianity. There's differences there, obviously, enough that we can call the two separate religions...but by the same token, we as Christians have much more in common with Mormons than we do with others of a theistic bent.