Student Question - "What is Wrong With [various religions]?"

What is wrong with the Mormon faith and what do they believe?

Same question about Jehovah's Witnesses & Catholics & Baptists/Presbyterians.

These are good and important questions. I appreciate you asking because we all know nice people in other faith groups and wish or hope that they have a saving faith.

Since your question covers such a broad spectrum, I'll kind of group them together as best I can.

Non-Christian Faiths (Often referred to as cults--but that is an inflamitory word)

The Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses each claim to believe in the Bible and be God's true Christian followers. Scripture warns clearly about false teachers preaching "another Jesus" and "another Gospel" and this is the case for both of these groups. If you click on the names of these groups above, you will be taken to web sites with extensive materials on them and what they teach. People in these groups do not believe in the gospel once for all delivered to the saints. If you know people in these groups and are compelled to share the gospel with them, we can equip you to that end (but only the Spirit can empower you!)

Catholicism
I don't have the space or expertise to explain the history of the protestant Reformation here. Clicking here can give you some information on Rome. Some of the major differences we have with Rome include the authority of the Church and tradition(the Pope is called "the Holy Father" and is considered infallible... we believe in Sola Scriptura--Scripture Alone), the veneration of Mary (they believe she was immaculately conceived), prayers to Mary and the saints, trans-substantiation (the bread/wine actually becomes Jesus' body and blood during mass --communion or Lord's Supper), and others. It is also a matter of debate whether Catholics are really Christians--the good news on this is that our opinions on this don't matter. If a Catholic receives Jesus Christ in the pardon of their sin, they are saved.

Christian Brothers--Baptists and Presbyterians

Within each of these groups is a wide variety of beliefs as well. There are some under each umbrella that are faithful to the Word of God, and with whom we have only minor differences (Reformed Baptists, many Southern Baptists, Presbyterian Church in America [PCA], Orthodox Presbyterian [OPC], also Lutheran-Missouri Synod... and others--not intended to be a complete list). I found myself listing groups that agree with us on Reformed doctrine, but it is also important to remember there are fine Christian brothers and sisters that are not Reformed, but are seeking to be faithful to the Word of God (the Calvary Chapels, Willow Creeks, ... many main-line denominations, etc.) with whom we have a higher level of disagreement, particularly on the Reformed theology and the doctrines of grace. Many of my dearest friends are in this camp and I do not doubt their salvation at all. Finally and unfortunately, under each major heading (Baptist & Presbyterian) there are denominations that have given in to liberal, even apostate theology.

I know it gets complicated. The thing to remember is to be faithful to Christ and His revealed Word. Where you differ with people, graciously present your case and listen to theirs (you might learn something!), but always bring it back to Scripture. As a young believer, be careful how easily you can become convinced by someone's argument. If what you hear is very different from what you've known, at least take it to someone who is more mature in the faith and see if they can help you discern. This could save you a lot of heartache.