Proud to be Mormon

While Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy are similar to each other doctrinally, both hold teachings that differ from Mormonism. Both Catholicism and Orthodoxy believe God's being is trinitarian, whereas Latter-day Saints affirm that Jesus Christ has a separate nature and is a separate entity from the Father. Christ's oneness with the Father is spiritual in purpose and mind. In both Catholic traditions, Christ's death and resurrection provides access to saving grace. For Latter-day Saints the Atonement of Jesus Christ was a descending below all things in order to rise above all. The Atonement reunites man with God, and all that Christ received from the Father may be received by man from the Father through Christ. Catholics believe that Jesus bestowed on Peter his pastoral authority, which has been passed on in the institution of the Papacy. Latter-day Saints believe that Peter held the keys of apostolic authority, but that these keys were lost in succeeding generations, requiring a modern restoration of these keys. With this restoration came knowledge and authority lost since the New Testament Church, including organizational patterns, the spirit of prophecy, and the temple and its ordinances. For Catholics the scriptural canon is closed while for Latter-day Saints the canon remains open and revelation is ongoing. Latter-day Saints also do not believe in transubstantiation but understand the sacrament as symbols for the remembrance of the body and blood of Christ. While Catholics view marriage as a grace-giving sacrament, Latter-day Saints teach that the eternal glorification of the family is the highest spiritual possibility. Finally, in addition to other differences, while Latter-day Saints honor Mary, they have no equivalent of the doctrines of the immaculate conception, perpetual virginity, intercession, and the bodily assumption of Mary.

Written By:
Roger Keller - Roger Keller has been a professor of religion at Brigham Young University.

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