Albion wrote:
I think you are misstating the evangelical and larger protestant position on this topic. The scriptures are full of passages that firmly attest to the believer being made righteous (saved) through faith...justified before God...made right with him in his sight by his grace because of their faith in his Son. Continued grace enables the believer to live a life centered in good works and obedience to God. They are the demonstration of the saving grace that has taken place in the repentant sinner, given through faith, and not the means to earn that salvation ...."..lest any man boast". One would be perfectly right to question the sincerity of any claimed salvation if the claimant's life did not reflect the presence of God's grace through his/her actions. Works are the result of saving grace and not in any way the means to earn it.
There is no evangelical and larger protestant position on this topic. Protestantism is split into hundreds of sects with all kinds of different angles on this topic. When I listen to Billy Graham, I hear a person talk about "settling the issue of your salvation this night before leaving here." He's of the "once saved always saved" persuasion. You can't lose your salvation. I've called his number, said the sinner's prayer, and been told that I no longer had to worry about my salvation. Then there are the Arminians mostly represented by groups spawned by the teachings of John Wesley who say you can lose your salvation if your works don't measure up. I well remember hearing Mark Lowry joke with Bill Gaither about how he was a Baptist so he could sin all he wanted to, but Gaither was a member of a group who said he could lose his salvation. While I think what you have said is the common apologetic you get from a Protestant who believes people are saved by faith alone, the reality is that most Protestants don't even agree on what actions are sins. One Protestant might believe that abortion is a sin, while another Protestant would claim there is nothing wrong with abortion. I notice T.D. Jakes, a Oneness Pentecostal who rejects the Trinity doctrine, is acceptable viewing on the Trinity Broadcasting Network! Locally, a local Christian station has Irving Baxter with his "Politics and Religion" show spouting about how the Pope is the anti-Christ even though Baxter is a Oneness believer as well.
So back to the original question, Mormons want to be called Christian because they worship Christ as they understand him. I prefer to refer to the Mormon Church as an unorthodox Christian group rather than as non-Christian. They are not Trinitarian Christians and according to the Catholic Church their baptisms aren't valid, but they at least in my mind would seem to have a desire to do what Christ asked them to do through baptism even if they misunderstand it. I think calling them non-Christian (and I know that many Catholic experts have called Mormons non-Christians) is a bit too strong.