Mormonism and Christianity

Mormonism has had an uneasy relationship with traditional Christianity since its earliest days in the 1820s, when its founder Joseph Smith, Jr., a fourteen year old boy, claimed to have had a vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ, who told him the creeds of Christianity were "an abomination." In 1830, Smith published a new work of scripture called the Book of Mormon, which he said he translated from a buried set of Golden Plates, and preached a divine restoration of the original church established by Jesus Christ, with its gifts, priesthood, and doctrine.

Modern Mormonism, Christian ecumenism, and interfaith activities

Presently, Latter-day Saints typically believe that most traditional Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant adherents have much truth, and strong faith in Christ, which is essential for their salvation. They also believe that most of these people will have the opportunity to accept the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ prior to the final judgment, and that all that truly have faith in Christ will be saved or possibly even exalted.

Related Topics:
Latter-day Saints - Orthodox - Final judgment

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Mormons—as contrasted with mainstream Christians—believe that differences between the doctrine of the Trinity and some Latter Day Saint conceptions of the Godhead are relatively minor and can be supported by biblical scripture, ante-Nicean tradition, similar beliefs in some Protestant churches, and modern revelation.

Related Topics:
Trinity - Godhead

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However, it remains true that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not accept the baptisms of mainstream Christian denominations as valid, though most Christian denominations do accept each other's baptisms (but often not those of the LDS Church). Also Mormon missionaries include mainstream Christians indiscriminately in their proselytization efforts, seeking to convince them that some of their core beliefs are false and persuade them that acceptance of LDS beliefs is necessary.

Related Topics:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Mormon missionaries

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Ecumenical and interfaith efforts by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Brigham Young, the leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the majority of saints after Smith's death, sounded a conciliatory tone, saying:

Related Topics:
Brigham Young - Leader - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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Some who call themselves Christians are very tenacious with regard to the Universalians, yet the latter possess many excellent ideas and good truths. Have the Catholics? Yes, a great many very excellent truths. Have the Protestants? Yes, from first to last. Has the infidel? Yes, he has a good deal of truth; and truth is all over the earth. (Discourses of Brigham Young, pg 10).

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In effect this showed that Brigham Young considered that other religions possessed some knowledge of truth. He obviously considered truths found within the main Christian churches to be comparable to the truths found with 'the infidel' (presumably non-Christian religions) in this regard. The overriding principal that Young sought to teach is that truth is found everywhere and that Latter-day saints recognize this fact.

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In the last several decades, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been making a sustained effort to demonstrate the prominence of Jesus Christ in the church. These efforts include adding the subtitle "Another Testament of Jesus Christ" to The Book of Mormon and recently re-branding the Church's official logo by making the words "Jesus Christ" larger.

Related Topics:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - The Book of Mormon

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Ecumenical and interfaith efforts by the Community of Christ

More so than The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Community of Christ has made dramatic efforts to reconcile its doctrines with mainstream Christianity, and to reach out to other Christians.

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The Community of Christ:

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• has never sanctioned polygamy
• has always ordained persons of any race
• has no required creedal statement, asking only faith in Christ for baptism
• has since 1982 accepted homosexual members fully, homosexual priesthood if celibate
• has since 1984 ordained women
• has since 1994 practiced open communion
• has been in dialog with National Council of Churches, World Council of Churches, and Christian Churches Together

The Community of Christ stands on creed and homosexuality, while being more open, may render it less acceptable or "Christian" to some denominations. It is engaged in ongoing informal discussion within the church concerning further modification of its stance regarding homosexuality, and on the issue of acceptance of other Christian baptisms.

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Official positions on Mormonism by traditional Christian denominations

While the Community of Christ has been generally well-received by mainstream Christians, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has thus far received relatively tepid ecumenical acceptance by most mainstream Christian denominations. The Presbyterian Church USA, for example, publishes a brochure describing the church as follows:

Related Topics:
Community of Christ - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Presbyterian Church USA

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, like the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), declares allegiance to Jesus. Latter-day Saints and Presbyterians share use of the Bible as scripture, and members of both churches use common theological terms. Nevertheless, Mormonism is a new and emerging religious tradition distinct from the historic apostolic tradition of the Christian Church, of which Presbyterians are a part.http://www.pcusa.org/pcusa/wmd/eir/mormon.htm

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And adds:

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It is the practice of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to receive on profession of faith those coming directly from a Mormon background and to administer baptism (ibid.).

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Nevertheless, the brochure acknowledges that "Presbyterian relationships with Latter-day Saints have changed throughout the twentieth century. By God's grace they may change further" (ibid.).

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In its 2000 General Conference, the United Methodist Church decided not to recognize Latter-day Saint baptisms, stating:

Related Topics:
2000 - United Methodist Church - Latter-day Saint

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by self-definition, does not fit within the bounds of the historic, apostolic tradition of Christian faith. This conclusion is supported by the fact that the LDS Church itself, while calling itself Christian, explicitly professes a distinction and separateness from the ecumenical community and is intentional about clarifying significant differences in doctrine. As United Methodists we agree with their assessment that the LDS Church is not a part of the historic, apostolic tradition of the Christian faith. http://www.gc2000.org/pets/cal/TEXT/c0806.asp

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Likewise, in 2001, in the Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith refused to accept Latter-day Saint baptisms. The Catholic Church generally recognizes baptisms from other Christian faiths in the name of the Trinity, provided the baptizer's intent corresponds to that of a Catholic priest. However, because of differences in Mormon and Catholic beliefs concerning the Trinity (Mormons disagree fundamentally with the traditional Christian doctrine of the Trinity), the Catholic Church stated that Mormon baptism was "not the baptism that Christ instituted."

Related Topics:
2001 - Roman Catholic Church - Vatican - Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith - Latter-day Saint - In the name of the Trinity - Priest - Trinity

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The Episcopal Church (USA), part of the 80-million member Anglican Communion, an Anglo-Catholic tradition, also does not recognize Mormon baptisms, though it recognizes Christian baptisms that are Trinitarian in nature.

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