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Beliefs > Question & Answer > Comparing The LDS Church and Other Religions
| Question |
Dear Donny,
In one of your answers you said:
"As you know, there are many other names of Christian religious that do not call themselves the Church of Jesus Christ, such as Baptist, Lutheran, Catholic, Unitarian, Episcopalian,
Presbyterian, Methodist, and Pentecostal and others. As you can see, we are not the only Christians who have a "different" name. All of the major Christian religions are called by
different names".
My belief is that there is only ONE Christian church, but in different countries Christians identify themselves with a variety of denominational groups, according to their culture and
language, which results in diverse forms of worship. I am Anglican, because that is the church of England (although I am in Australia), Anglicans in the USA call themselves
Episcopalians, the Scots gather as Presbyterians, Lutherans are German, Hugenots are French, Catholics adhere to the church of Rome, there are Russian and Greek Orthodox, and of
course fulfilled Jews - but these are just denominations (names) - our religion is ONE - Christianity. In truth, I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ in Australia - but the Christian
chuch is not defined by name, but by it's members.
I know there are also differing denominations within the Mormon church, but their members still consider themselves LDS, even though they don't agree on doctrinal issues.
We Christians outside the LDS church all agree that Jesus is "the Way, the Truth and the Life". That is our binding power, and makes us all members of one church. The Church of
Jesus Christ. We may not call ourselves that on paper, but it's what we are.
Have you had much opportunity to talk to non-LDS Christians?
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| Response |
To clarify, there are not differing denominations within the "Mormon" church. There is only one. Even the name of
the church, as you know, is a nickname, Mormons, given to us by other churches because of our belief in The Book of
Mormon. The name of the church on all of its buildings, in all of its publications, on our baptismal certificates, and on our
hymn books, is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is not just any other church. This is the same church
that Christ organized when He was on the earth in the meridian of time. It is built upon a foundation of apostles and
prophets, with Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, just as His church was anciently organized. Because of
apostasy from that original organization, the changing of doctrine, and the breaking off into factions not governed by the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Christ’s authority and priesthood were taken from the earth and withheld until it was
restored through the prophet Joseph Smith in 1830.
Like other Christian churches, we too have had people leave and create "break-offs," or splinter groups. Some have called
themselves by similar names to ours, others by totally different names. But within the "Mormon" church, there is a prophet
who leads and guides the church under the direction of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is assisted by a quorum of
twelve. Just like Christ’s church, they are assisted by seventies, evangelists, high priests, bishops, deacons and teachers.
I applaud you for your ecumenical feeling that all Christian churches are one, but clearly you can see that since they all
teach different doctrines, and guide men and women according to different ideas about gospel principles and ordinances,
they in fact are not one. A common belief in Christ is not nearly enough. As Christ Himself said in Matt. 7:21-23, in order for
there to be a oneness, we must follow the teachings of the Savior and His apostles. Paul said there must be "one Lord, one
faith, one baptism." (See Eph. 4:5.) Just taking that one ordinance alone, we know that countless Christian faiths
disagree on the mode of and the necessity for baptism. They disagree on who can perform the baptism, and by what
authority it will be performed. The point is, there is not a oneness in Christianity. There is great division and diversity, and as
a result, there is the great necessity for this "restoration of all things" spoken of by the ancient apostles.
I agree with you, Eileen, that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life; that He is our binding power, as far as helping us know
who we must rely on. But our belief in Christ has not made us one as Christians. Otherwise, there would not be this great
divergence of thought as to even who Christ is and what He has actually said.
Your final question asked if I had much opportunity to talk to non-LDS Christians. Yes, I surely have. Over the years, most of
my friends have not been members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most of them have been good people
from all walks of life. Most of them claimed to be Christians, and others do not know what they believe, but came from
Christian background. This is not something that I have blindly followed along through the years, Eileen. I have carefully
studied and given much thought and prayer, too, and I have learned personally that everything you have read on my web
page is true. I invite you to consider it all very carefully.
Sincerely,
Donny Osmond
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