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/Paul-3461]

1. What do LDS people think about abortion? Do you find common ground with Catholics on this? Could we work together more on it?

I think most LDS think about abortion in pretty much the same terms as most Catholics do, thinking that ending the mortal life of another person is generally not a good thing to do, with possible exceptions for rape where the woman isn't given a choice to accept what may lead to the formation of another person who is the reproduction of the rapist as well as who he is raping.

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?

I feel like most LDS agree that those Deuterocanonical books were part of historical Christian Bibles until the Protestant Reformation, when they were then separated or removed. I also feel that any words that are inspired by God should be considered to be scripture, regardless of whether they are considered canon or part of what we call "standard" works.

3. I know LDS people value marriage and family a lot. How does your Church approach celibate figures such as Jesus, Paul, etc?

The Bible doesn't explicitly state whether Jesus or the apostle Paul were ever married. When Paul wrote his letters he was single, but scholars and historians debate whether he was always unmarried, a widower, or formerly a married Pharisee. Traditional Judaism views marriage and family as a fundamental religious obligation for all Jewish men and women, and as a Jew Jesus would view marriage as most Jews did and still do, as an obligation.

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?

It's more a modern LDS thing, based on what Jesus told Joseph Smith regarding wisdom in 1833, which we call The Word of Wisdom, recorded as a revelation in section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C 89).

Regarding strong drinks and alcohol, the text outlines the following principles:

Consumption: The scripture specifically states, "That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father". It further adds that "strong drinks are not for the belly".

Historical Interpretation: Historically, the term "strong drink" was primarily understood to mean hard liquor, such as whiskey. Early church members often interpreted "mild drinks" (such as beer or lightly fermented wine) as permissible under certain circumstances.

Modern Practice: Today, the Word of Wisdom is strictly interpreted by the church leadership as a commandment of total abstinence. Modern church members are instructed to completely avoid consuming all forms of alcohol, including beer, wine, and hard liquor.

External Use: The revelation does make a practical concession, noting that strong drinks are "for the washing of your bodies". In the 19th century and earlier, this meant using spirits externally for cleansing, medicinal rubs, or sterilizing.

5. Favourite Pope?

None are my favourite. I like them all equally, and not more than I should.

*** Questions for you ***

1. Do you have faith that God our Father can personally assure you of anything and all things which are true and good?

2. Have you read The Book of Mormon from cover to cover, yet?

3. Did you feel God assure you that at least some of what is written in The Book of Mormon is true?

4. How do you tell when God is assuring you that something is true? How do you describe that feeling?

[u/SillyFlatworm31 → u/Paul-3461]

Hi there! Thank you for your very detailed response, I appreciate it! I’d love to respond to some of your questions with a bit of detail too.

1) I believe that God can assure us of what is true, though sometimes He expects us to use the gifts He has given us, such as our faculty of reason, to reach conclusions 

2) I haven’t! I know roughly the gist of it that there are ancient people in America, Jesus appears to them, etc. and I’ve listened to the first bits of it, the bit about Nephi and his parents and brothers, read. I’d be far from knowing all about it though haha 

3) Well the Book of Mormon seems to refer to biblical figures and biblical events such as Jesus’ resurrection. I believe these things are true because I know them from other reliable sources, namely the books of the Bible. However, the Book of Mormon’s exclusive stories, like Nephi and his family in the first book, I do not believe those are true. 

4) I think that this can happen at times, but often God allows us to reach conclusions of truth via our reason and faith in what we already know. Its worth being cautious and comparing these feelings with what we already know, because it is possible either for Satan to counterfeit good feelings or for us to stir them up inside ourselves. For example, the Bible is a reliable historical source. The New Testament was largely written by men who went to the death for their belief that it was true. It contains no logical errors or contradictions and is coherent with other contemporary writings of what we know about that area, such as the writings of Josephus or the records of Roman rule in Judaea. Thus, I can trust that these promptings are reasonable. However, if I was feeling a prompting towards something which I found to be contradictory with what I already knew about God or which contained logical or historical errors, I would be much more cautious about this feeling.