Mormonism and culture/Attitude toward non-members/Statements

FAIR Answers—back to home page

Statements from Church leaders regarding how we should treat "non-members"

⍗

Learn more about inter-faith issues

Key sources	Church leader statements
Wiki links	Anti-Mormon What is the LDS attitude to those not of their faith? Latter-day Saints aren't Christians LDS Church is a cult Salvation of non-members Temple work for Holocaust victims Wayward family members, attitude toward
FAIR links	FAIR Topical Guide: Comparative Religion FAIR link Michael R. Ash, "Does Mormonism Attack Christianity?" PDF link Cooper Johnson, "Breaking the Rules," - three rules to observe when examining another's faith FAIR link Cooper Johnson, "Mormon Missionaries, the Vatican, and Respect," FAIR link Ally Isom, "Faith-Centered Dialectics: Talking About Differences Transforms," Proceedings of the 2016 FAIR Conference (August 2016). link Daniel C. Peterson, "'Easier than Research, More Inflammatory than Truth'," Proceedings of the 2000 FAIR Conference (August 2000). link Dan Peterson, "'Mormonism, Islam, and the Question of Other Religions'," Proceedings of the 2011 FAIR Conference (August 2011). link
Online	Marvin J. Ashton, "No Time for Contention," Ensign (May 1978): 7.off-site M. Russell Ballard, "The Hand of Fellowship," Ensign (November 1988): 28.off-site Carlfred B. Broderick, "The Brothers of Jesus: Loving the Unbelieving Relative," Ensign (March 1987): 50.off-site Gordon B. Hinckley, "Four Simple Things to Help Our Families and Our Nations," Ensign (September 1996): 2.off-site George Lyman, "Since The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church, what will happen to good people of other faiths?," Ensign (June 1988): 57.off-site Terryl L. Givens, "New Religious Movements and Orthodoxy: The Challenge to the Religious Mainstream," FARMS Review 19/1 (2007): 201–220. off-site wiki Russell M. Nelson, "Listen to Learn," Ensign (May 1991): 22.off-site
Print	Massimo Introvigne, "'Almost Mormon—Almost Christian': The Image of the RLDS Church in Contemporary Anti-Mormonism," John Whitmer Historical Association Journal 14 (1994): 11. "How to Write an Anti-Mormon Book (A Handbook for Beginners)," in Hugh W. Nibley, Tinkling Cymbals and Sounding Brass: The Art of Telling Tales About Joseph Smith and Brigham Young (Vol. 11 of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley), edited by David J. Whittaker, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Company ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1991),474–580. ISBN 0875795161. GL direct link Daniel C. Peterson and Stephen D. Ricks, Offenders for a Word: How Anti-Mormons Play Word Games to Attack the Latter-day Saints (Provo, Utah: FARMS (reprint edition), 1992), 1. ISBN 0934893357. off-site
Navigators	Table of contents Abuse Bible Book of Abraham Book of Mormon CES Letter Church history Church finances Doctrine and Covenants First Vision Joseph Smith Latter-day Saint temples Mountain Meadows Massacre Plural marriage Prophets and leaders Scripture Brigham Young

Collected quotes

This section contains a wide selection of quotes dealing with the LDS attitude toward those who are not of their faith.

Official First Presidency Statements

1978

"Based upon ancient and modern revelation, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gladly teaches and declares the Christian doctrine that all men and women are brothers and sisters, not only by blood relationship from mortal progenitors, but also as literal spirit children of an Eternal Father.

"The great religious leaders of the world such as Mohammed, Confucius, and the Reformers, as well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received a portion of God's light. Moral truths were given to them by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals.

"The Hebrew prophets prepared the way for the coming of Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, who should provide salvation for all mankind who believe in the gospel.

"Consistent with these truths, we believe that God has given and will give to all people sufficient knowledge to help them on their way to eternal salvation, either in this life or in the life to come.

"We also declare that the gospel of Jesus Christ, restored to his Church in our day, provides the only way to a mortal life of happiness and a fullness of joy forever. For those who have not received this gospel, the opportunity will come to them in the life hereafter if not in this life.

"Our message therefore is one of special love and concern for the eternal welfare of all men and women, regardless of religious belief, race, or nationality, knowing that we are truly brothers and sisters because we are the sons and daughters of the same Eternal Father."

Spencer W. Kimball

N. Eldon Tanner

Marion G. Romney

---

Presidents of the Church

Heber J. Grant

President Heber J. Grant (at the end of the conference in which a statement by Elder Whitney was made)

• "I commend to all Latter-day Saints when the conference pamphlet is published, to read what Elder Orson F. Whitney said about the inspiration of God being given to men in all parts of the world. We endorse his remarks."

Other LDS leaders

Brigham (B.H.) Roberts

• "Instead of holding that a few prophets among the Hebrews had been visited of God and received divine inspiration [Joseph Smith] represented God as saying 'thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews? Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?...For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written. For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it.' [II Nephi 29.6,7,11,12]. 'For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.' [Alma 29.8]. The doctrine unites in one splendid brotherhood all the Seekers after God, all those who received inspiration from the Most High and were sent forth from the Divine Presence to instruct their fellow men. Joseph Smith, I say, unites their hands in a splendid brotherhood of the God-inspired men of this world....How noble is this view of God's hand dealings with the children of men in respect of revelation, as compared with that narrow, bigoted view prevailing at the beginning of the 19th century, which held that the Hebrew Scrip-tures contained all the word of God delivered to the inhabitants of the earth."

Orson F. Whitney

• "[After quoting several verses from Alma 29.1-9 continues: These verses] tell one that Providence is over all, and that he holds the nations in the hollow of his hand; that he is using not only his covenant people, but other peoples as well, to consummate a work....[God] is using men as his instruments. Nor is he limited in the choice of instruments to his own people....Outside the pale of their [prophetic, priesthood] activities other good and great men, not bearing the Priesthood but possessing profundity of thought, great wisdom, and a desire to uplift their fellows, have been sent by the Almighty into many nations, to give them, not the fulness of the gospel, but that portion of truth that they were able to receive and wisely use. Such men as Confucius, Zoroaster, Buddha, Socrates and Plato. ...They were servants of the Lord in a lesser sense, and were sent to those pagan or heathen nations to give them the measure of truth that a wise Providence had allotted to them."

This was followed by President Heber J. Grant (at the end of the conference in which the above statement by Elder Whitney was made)

• "I commend to all Latter-day Saints when the conference pamphlet is published, to read what Elder Orson F. Whitney said about the inspiration of God being given to men in all parts of the world. We endorse his remarks."

Notes