They are related but not Christian, although Mormons would like you to think so, and some of them even may think so, as well..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormonism_and_Christianity
"Polls and attitudes
Less than one-third of the general public in the United States believe that Mormons are not Christians.[114] Similar polls have concluded that over two-thirds (2/3) of the general public view Mormons as members of the larger Christian community, including many independent evangelical ministries and prominent evangelical leaders.
However, in an October 2010 poll conducted by LifeWay Research, three out of four American Protestant pastors did not believe that Mormons are Christians.[115]"
Earlier in the article:
"Richard Abanes attributes an "increasing lack of delineation between (Mormonism and mainstream Christianity)" to three primary causes:
1.the willingness of some Mormon leaders to be less than candid about more controversial aspects of LDS history and theology,
2.a trend among some Mormon scholars to make LDS belief sound more mainstream, and
3.an evolution of Mormon thought toward doctrinal positions nearer those of evangelicals.[91]
Richard Bushman asserts that, for many people, Mormonism "conjures up an assortment of contradictory images". One set of images suggests that Mormons are "happy, uncomplicated, kindly and innocent - if perhaps naive". In contrast to this set of images, Bushman describes a set of associations that focuses on "a powerful religious hierarchy controlling the church from the top". This perspective views Mormons as "secretive, clannish and perhaps dangerous", often labeling the movement as a "cult rather than a church".[92]
...
Non-recognition of Mormon rites
LDS perspective
Latter Day Saint history comes from the position that other churches were the product of the apostasy, as referenced in the Bible.[99] Latter Day Saints view other Christian churches as teaching some truth, doing good works, and acknowledge their strong faith in Christ.[100] However Latter Day Saints also maintain that all other churches lack the divine authority to perform the ordinances of the gospel because of the apostasy. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and most other Latter Day Saint factions does not accept the baptisms of other Christian denominations as valid. However, the Community of Christ is engaged in ongoing informal discussions concerning this issue."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eliza-wood/differences-between-mormonism-islam-and-christianity_b_1693095.html
"While many Americans might not be willing to consider electing a Muslim candidate for president in 2012, in reality Islam is about as close to Christianity as Mormonism. Certainly, neither is bad. They both have amazing people holding less significant public offices, they are just quite different from Christianity, and it seems that the media is doing a uniquely good job at fusing Mormonism with Christianity in order to better position Romney for mainstream consideration.
Many Christians feel better knowing what their candidates believe about God, and sometimes in heated debates our candidates are put on the spot to confess their faith. With sweat beads lining up neatly across their foreheads they agree that the Bible is the "word of God" to the comfort of many in our nation. Those Christians, many of whom veer to the right these days, haven't done much to demystify Mormonism but they sure would resist a Muslim candidate.
Both Islam and Mormonism have teachings from the Christian Bible and believe Jesus was "a prophet," but they had prophets after Jesus that they believe to be more authentic and current than Jesus. Jesus' teachings were a bit archived in both because Muhammad and Joseph Smith were both visited by angels who told them to receive new orders from God. Both have respected Jesus' messages but moved forward with other teachings and practices that are not consistent with Christianity.
Islam teaches that Muhammad was the last prophet and Mormonism teaches that a line of prophets extended from Joseph Smith all the way to the present with Thomas S. Monson, who is currently considered their prophet.
While in some ways neither Islam nor Mormonism is very much like Christianity, the two faiths actually have a lot of similarities. For example, both had founding prophets who received visits from an angel, leading to revelation of Scripture. Both consider the family unit as the foundation for religious life, and both have an insistence that religion is their complete way of life."
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