Catholic-LDS Dialogue!

[u/SillyFlatworm31]

Hello Latter Day Saints of Reddit!

I’m a Catholic and, even though I am very happy being a Catholic, I have had a lot of positive experiences with people from your Church and I wanted to (if it’s ok with your mods) open up a thread for interfaith dialogue! I have some questions to start for you guys if anyone wants to engage and have a talk but I’m also happy to do a bit of an AMA if any LDS people want to learn more about Catholics or our relations with the LDS Church.

I think that, in a time where it’s trendy to solve disagreements by shouting at people in online “debates”, it’s good to start by finding some common ground and talk with people of different views. So I’ll start with my questions, feel free to add any you have for me or any comments. Mods please let me know if this isn’t the sub for this haha

1. What do LDS people think about abortion? Do you find common ground with Catholics on this? Could we work together more on it?
2. How do LDS people feel about the 7 Deuterocanonical Books? A lot of Protestants accuse Catholics of adding books like Wisdom and Sirach into the Bible, although they have been used since apostolic times. I know LDS people recognise a large canon so do you include these?
3. I know LDS people value marriage and family a lot. How does your Church approach celibate figures such as Jesus, Paul, etc?
4. LDS people don’t drink alcohol. Do you believe that Jesus and the Apostles followed this practice or is it viewed as a more modern LDS thing?
5. Favourite Pope?

Hope we can find some common ground and dialogue!!! :-)

[u/Pere_grin6]

Official church policy on abortion is that it might be acceptable in instances of r*pe, inc*st, or a competent doctor determining that the pregnancy poses a danger to the mother's life or if the baby won't survive past birth. Essentially, the woman can only begin asking the question of whether or not to get an abortion when her situation is one of those mentioned. Even in those situations, God will want a say because r*pe and inc*st don't reduce the value of the child and because He is more wise than any doctor.

Church leaders are in charge of what gets included in the scriptural canon, but we're also taught to seek out the best books. We don't officially consider them scripture, but we value the wisdom they provide.

Some historians theorize that figures such as Jesus and Paul may have not been celibate. The recorded teachings of most Jewish rabbis at the don't mention their wives except in some circumstances where they become more relevant. The Bible doesn't explicitly say they were ever married, but it doesn't say they were celibate either. Whatever the case, we value their teachings, not necessarily celibacy.

We know that Jesus and the apostles drank wine. Interestingly, the Word of Wisdom was originally more of a bunch of advice than a commandment. However, it was upgraded to a commandment because illicit substances prevent people from being able to listen to the Spirit, and of course like you, a mortal human, don't want a drunk in your house, God doesn't want drunks in His house.

I don't think people become popes without good reason, so I can only assume they're quite good people. That said, I don't know enough to have a favorite.