Are Mormons Christian?

The Mormon faith (formally known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) has been in the news recently, due to the Presidential candidacy of Mitt Romney. However, other well known politicians and celebrities are Mormons, including Senators Harry Reid and Orrin Hatch, TV Personality Glen Beck, Business Consultant Steven Covey (7 Habits of Highly Effective People), and well known Television and Music personalities Donny & Marie Osmond. There has been some discussion of late in the media regarding what the Mormons believe. In 1997 and in 2007, former President Jimmy Carter described Mormons as Christians. More recently, Pastor Robert Jeffress (friend of Republican Presidential Candidate Rick Perry and Pastor of the 10,000 member First Baptist church of Dallas TX) called Mormonism a "cult." On April 24, 2012, CNN reported that Pastor Joel Osteen said Mitt Romney was a "Christian," and that he sees Mormons as "brothers in Christ."  So, the question is, are the Mormons just another denomination of Christianity like the Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, etc., or are they a completely different faith altogether?  Is there some good evidence out there for comparing what Mormons and Orthodox Christianity believes?

Below are links to some great blog articles that give a clear picture of what Mormons believe and how it differs, and is quite unlike Orthodox Christianity:

Joe Carter, Editor of the Gospel Coalition, has an nice article entitled: The FAQs: Are Mormons Christian?

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/04/24/the-faqs-are-mormons-christian/

Justin Taylor, VP of Editorial at Crossway Books, has an article entitled: An FAQ on the Difference between Mormonism and Biblical Christianity

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/08/30/an-faq-on-the-difference-between-mormonism-and-biblical-christianity/

Kevin DeYoung, Senior Pastor of University Reformed Church in East Lansing MI, has an article entitled: Mormonism 101 

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2011/10/13/mormonism-101/

Denny Burke, Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has an article entitled: Is Mormonsim a Cult?

http://www.dennyburk.com/is-mormonism-a-cult/

Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has an article entitled: Mormonism, Democracy, and the Urgent Need for Evangelical Thinking

http://www.albertmohler.com/2011/10/10/mormonism-democracy-and-the-urgent-need-for-evangelical-thinking/

Finally, there is an article co-authored by a Mormon and an Orthodox Christian that is interesting as it contains opposing views. Bruce D. Porter is a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Gerald R. McDermott is Jordan-Trexler Professor or Religion at Roanoke College. The article is called: Is Mormonism Christian?

http://www.firstthings.com/article/2008/09/003-is-mormonism-christian-31

Finally, there are some good videos by Bobby Conway, the "One Minute Apologist," which discuss the differences between Christianity and Mormonism featuring Richard Howe and Norman Geisler: