The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, And The Others
The Premise
The premise of this article is to help people understand the difference between 'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' and other break off sects. Why they are different and why it is important to know it.
There are a lot of rumors and myths out there circulated some on purpose and some simply by lack of knowledge. The ones spread on purpose are malicious and really nothing can be done about them. However the ones that are simply a lack of knowledge or a mystery are a little easier for us to discuss. Many times a different sect of the LDS church does something atrocious that is in no way related to the original LDS church. This reflects poorly on an innocent group of people striving to follow Christ as best as they can.
The Explanation
I would like to first explain how the different churches claiming LDS origin are related. I apologize if I have any wrongful information or say something offensive, I would appreciate you telling me. I will on that note, use the reference of the Catholic Church as a general explanation.
The Catholic church has been around awhile as we all know. They have some shady things in their past, I am sure some are true and some are not. However, look at the history. Many, in fact nearly all, Christian denominations of the day are protestants from the Catholic faith. To say a renegade protestant faith is a direct reflection on the Catholics would be unwise at best. This does happen occasional and with the LDS church it tends not to be intentional. It is nearly always by accident this happens. There are many protestant sects from the LDS faith. They tend to be even a bit more radical than those of the Catholic or Jewish faiths.
They become mainstream in the news as they clearly violate their own beliefs and assuredly the beliefs of the Christian world at large, I will not delve into details but unless you live under a rock you have heard a few. In fact, I posted a simple article about the name of the LDS church and was hit by a wall of links to 'facts' about my church. In fact it was a different sect that has never really in any serious way been connected to the church with which I associate myself. At first I was upset but I decided to WWJD. This lead me to realize no one was at fault for that except myself. (Talk about a funny feeling!) At that point I decided to jump in head first and explain why I was upset at those comments.
Just be sure when you see something that is related to a religion you check to make sure it has been 'accredited' to the proper group of people. Especially if they go against the beliefs of those who believe in it.
How to Know
There are a few easy ways to identify the difference between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and other sects. For one, there are no ultra orthodox, more liberal or more conservative sects. There is one. As a general rule as far as I have ever seen most sects are small groups either completely unrelated to the LDS church or so far distantly related they no longer share many of the same beliefs. This leads to the LDS church looking hypocritical, (Obviously bias, you would have to look for yourself at members of the church) even though in my honest opinion I feel like it is kept to a minimum especially in the church as a whole. (You always have those one or two people, what can you do)
A few more ways to know is that you can go to these two websites. Any news, embarrassing or not is posted here. It also states the official stance of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on any topic you wish, from the most mundane to the most controversial. If you have heard something different, you can rest easy knowing that the LDS church does not believe it if it is not there.
I hope this clarifies, I have attempted to keep this positive and not 'dog' on any particular sect. I have especially in the spirit of Christ attempted not to explain too in depth the reasons I personally believe some of these other sects exist. I hope you will keep an open mind and love all around you. With that, I look forward to all comments and if they are related I will gladly carry on a dialogue with you and answer any questions etc.
Thanks for reading.
The Source
- Why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Not Mormon.
Why is a name important to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints? - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Scriptures, general conference addresses, Church magazines, temple information, stake and ward websites. - Mormon.org | Beliefs and People of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Learn about Mormon teachings and meet members of the LDS Church