Mormons & Catholics Archive
The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, while the prophet leads The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes called Mormons. There are both similarities and differences between the two positions.
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To understand the role of a prophet, one must first understand how the highest levels of the Mormon church is organized. At the head of the church is the prophet. He is assisted by two counselors (advisors) who share the workload and are chosen by the prophet himself. No one seeks for the position or campaigns for it. The prophet alone makes the choice through prayer and inspiration. These three, known as the First Presidency, oversee the workings of the worldwide church.
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In the Catholic faith, canonization is the official recognition that someone is a saint and was so even prior to the
official recognition. A process is followed to allow the church to determine who is a saint.
Mormons (the nickname for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) do not follow this process. The term saint is used in the official name of the church and denotes, as used in the Bible, a community of people who followed God.
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Stations of the Cross is a Catholic tradition that grew out of a desire to replicate pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Today, they help Catholics remember the final days of the life of Jesus Christ as they move through a series of wooden crosses that have been blessed by a person with the authority to do so and pray. Some consider it reparation for the suffering and loneliness of the Savior’s personal Via Dolorosa. Pope Pius XI considered it an obligation for Catholics and John Paul II praised those who make an effort to stand by the endless crosses the Savior endures even today through abuse and mistreatment from those who do not honor the Sacrifices He made for them.
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Although Mormons don’t participate in a formal ceremony, they do teach the principle behind it. As Pope John Paul II said, we must stand beside the Savior.
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Mormons see Adam and Eve very differently than most of the Christian world. Rather than blaming Eve for all our problems, we celebrate her as the mother of all living and honor her for making the hardest choices. Through the scriptures of the restoration and modern revelation, we have learned more about these two first ancestors.
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes informally called Mormons, is a lay church. It does not have a paid, professional clergy. Instead, all members of the church are invited to serve in callings-church assignments-as chosen by God.
Local congregations, known as wards, are led by a bishop. The bishop is a man who holds the priesthood. The bishop
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has a family and a career, unless he’s retired, and so he is doing this work during his “free” time. This calling, which typically lasts five years, is a gift he gives to God, and is very demanding, since he does nearly everything a full-time pastor might do. He oversees the financial, temporal, and spiritual well-being of the ward, visits the sick, meets with those in need to determine how the church can help, counsels those who are having problems, and leads the program for teenage young men.
He has not been through a formal seminary program to learn how to do this job, although training... Read the rest of this entry »
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;”>Mormons do not pray to Mary. Statues are art, and, as with any other form of art, might be found in an individual building or home, usually in a nativity setting.
There are several aspects of Mormon beliefs that must be understood before this question can be
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answered. The first is that Mormon beliefs do not include the trinity. While they believe in God, Jesus, and in the Holy Ghost, they do not teach that they are the same being. They are three very distinct beings, wholly unified in purpose. For more on this, please read:
How Could Jesus Pray to Himself?
The second important point of Mormon doctrine is that we lived with God before we were born. God created our spirits and we lived with Him for a time before coming to earth.
Read more about this:
The Purpose of Life
These two teachings are important because they explain why we don’t feel we need to pray to Mary in order to get God’s attention. It is sometimes... Read the rest of this entry »
Catholics teach that Christ died on Friday, and for that reason, they follow special penitential observances on Fridays, willingly suffering as He suffered, and traditionally, this has required the sacrifice of the eating of meat, something many people enjoy. They use Friday as a special time to draw closer to God, to become aware of their sins, and to work to overcome them. Although the bishop’s counsil suggests this is now voluntary, but encouraged, Catholics are still asked to use Friday as a day to draw closer to God and can substitute other penances. (Pastoral Statement on Penance and Abstinence A Statement Issued by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops November 18, 1966)
Mormons do not abstain from meat, but there are other ways in which they too draw closer to God and focus on seeking forgiveness of and abandonment of their sins.
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One such method is the weekly taking of the Sacrament. Mormons are baptized for the remission of their sins at age eight, which Mormons... Read the rest of this entry »
The Athanasian Creed was named after St. Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria. It was once believed to have been his work, but it no longer is, in part because it was written in Latin, and in part because it deals with controversies that didn’t arise until long after the fourth century, which is when Athanasius lived.
The creed teaches the trinity of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. It also teaches that Jesus is one substance both with God and with Mary. The final section teaches, “They that have done good shall go into life everlasting: and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.”
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This creed has often been controversial-the last section was fiercely debated in the nineteenth century in England-and is not used in the eastern church. It is seldom even used in the western church, having been dropped from the Catholic liturgy since Vatican II.
Mormons do not teach the Athanasius Creed. Because they are a restored church, and not a Protestant Church, they... Read the rest of this entry »
Mormon children can be confirmed members of the church at the age of eight. Converts older than eight are confirmed soon after their baptisms.
The confirmation is a very simple procedure. The person being confirmed sits in a chair, with arms folded for the prayer that is about to begin. Men who hold the proper level of Mormon priesthood and who have been invited by the person being confirmed, gather around the seated person. They each place one hand on the child’s head, and one on the shoulder of the man next to them. The child will have previously decided who will confirm her. Since all worthy male members of the church of the proper age can hold the priesthood, this is usually the child’s father. If the father doesn’t hold the priesthood or isn’t living, any other priesthood holder can be selected.
The confirmation is done formally, with the priesthood holder simply confirming the child a member of the church in selected language, and then telling the child to... Read the rest of this entry »
Catholics have mass to show adoration to the Savior. They teach Jesus offered Mass at the Last Supper and that the bread and wine offered during mass are literally transformed into the Savior’s blood and body.
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Mormons have a similar celebration, called the Sacrament. It is offered during a weekly Sacrament Meeting, which is the primary worship service. There are differences between the Ca
tholic and Mormon service, however.
Mormons use bread and water in the Sacrament. Although wine was used when Christ held the first Sacrament, Mormons teach that the bread and water only represent the blood and body of the Savior, rather than being transformed into the actual blood and body, and therefore, it is not important that water is used instead.
Joseph Smith received the following revelation from God:
2 For, behold, I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory-remembering... Read the rest of this entry »
