What problems, if any, do Mormons have with the Apostles' Creed?
score:13
Latter-day Saints reject the doctrines of the Trinity as taught by most Christian churches today. These creeds were canonized in the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. and do not reflect the thinking or beliefs of the New Testament church.1
That said there isn't too much with the Apostles Creed(in bold) that LDS beliefs differ from.
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
The LDS believe:
Under the direction of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ created the heavens and the earth2
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
The LDS believe Jesus to be the Only Begotten Son of God and that we, mankind, are all children of God.3
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
The LDS believe he went to Spirit Paradise(only some of the dead) to start missionary work to those in Spirit Prison.4
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
The biggest point of disagreement. The LDS believe:
After the deaths of the Savior and His Apostles, men corrupted the principles of the gospel and made unauthorized changes in Church organization and priesthood ordinances. Because of this widespread apostasy, the Lord withdrew the authority of the priesthood from the earth. This apostasy lasted until Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son appeared to Joseph Smith in 1820 and initiated the restoration of the fulness of the gospel.5
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
1 https://www.lds.org/ensign/1988/03/comparing-lds-beliefs-with-first-century-christianity?lang=eng
2 https://www.lds.org/topics/creation?lang=eng
3 https://www.google.com/search?q=lds+child+of+god&rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS754US754&oq=lds+child+of+g&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l4.2879j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 and https://www.lds.org/ensign/2010/12/jesus-christ-is-the-only-begotten-son-of-god?lang=eng
4 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/138.12,18-21?lang=eng#p12
Upvote:3
I think that the other answer you received, though it contains useful information, gives a misleading overall impression.
Latter-day Saints don't use the Apostles' Creed, simply because it's not part of the revealed canon of Scripture. Most LDS are unaware it exists. (There are some more 'traditional' Christian churches which take a similar position on the creeds, e.g. Stone-Campbell tradition 'Churches of Christ.')
Nonetheless, we affirm everything the Apostles' Creed says - if 'sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem' is understood properly. That's the only part which isn't rather directly from the Bible, and we do believe the Bible to be the word of God. Of course Protestants can't accept a naive reading of that phrase either.
About the 'ecclesiam catholicam' clause: the idea of the 'church invisible,' which is a standard way many 'mainstream' Christians interpret this without making this about the Roman Catholic Church, is in good agreement with LDS doctrine. Basically, the idea is "whatever associations and divisions among people there may seem to be on the surface, ultimately people are assembled into two camps; either you're in Christ's camp or you aren't." This is precisely the point made in Nephi's vision early in the Book of Mormon. Even though the institutional church is authorized by God, there are undoubtedly some who have joined it who unfortunately aren't really in the 'Church of the Lamb' and most definitely others who really are in Christ's camp though they haven't (yet) joined His institutional church.
Overall, I think it's safe to say we affirm the content of the Apostles' Creed in a rather 'orthodox' way. Indeed, given that many others have altered their ideas regarding the resurrection of the flesh, we're likely more comfortable with the content than many Protestants. The situation is rather unlike the later creeds, each of which contains some doctrines (e.g. h*m*ousion) we see as decidedly the uninspired word of man.
I think the 'clarifications' depperm made overemphasize perceived differences. We generally say the Father created the world, it's just that with a non-Nicean viewpoint there's new significance to Hebrews 1:2 "his Son ... by whom also he made the worlds." Because the Savior does the will of the Father, asking whether the Father or the Son created the world is somewhat like asking whether I chopped down the tree or my axe did - both are true. Mainstream Christians are used to the idea that though Christ is the only son of God in some sense there are other senses in which all people, or all the faithful, are His children (Acts 17:29, Eph 4:6, Heb 12:9, Rom 8:16); we are a little more specific about that. Similarly re 'descendit ad inferos' - though our doctrine about the intermediate state between death and resurrection is different from e.g. Catholic purgatory, the D&C 138 statement that Christ visited and freed the 'spirits of the just' is very much the same as e.g. the Catholic catechism or Aquinas. The part that's unique to D&C 138 is how the 'preaching unto the spirits in prison' (1 Pet 3:19) reaches beyond that via His commissioning others.
More post
- 📝 On the covenants in the initiation of becoming a Christian
- 📝 Why did Joseph only present five brothers?
- 📝 When did Satan get cast out of heaven? Or is that yet to come?
- 📝 Were there any OT prophecies that Jesus should be a wood-working carpenter
- 📝 Being flogged in the synagogues before the second coming?
- 📝 What is unique about Christianity?
- 📝 Is Jesus depicted as dead or alive on a crucifix?
- 📝 Genesis 9:7 fruitful and increase in number
- 📝 According to Catholicism, does God want everyone to be Catholic?
- 📝 ESV verse removed? Where are the explanations found?
- 📝 Have any 20th/21st century Ecclesiologists developed a framework/models for describing/categorising the functions of the visible church?
- 📝 Is Hell eternal, or do some/all escape it?
- 📝 When was the festival of the see of Peter in the 6th Century?
- 📝 What answer do speakers of 'tongues' have in regard to the emphasis of scripture?
- 📝 Defense of ancient Enoch authorship
- 📝 What is the opposite of Total Depravity?
- 📝 Who is Sheshbazzar? Is he the same person as Zerubabbel?
- 📝 Could the Pope be removed from office for lapses in judgment?
- 📝 Who gave JC authority?
- 📝 Besides Paul, were there any other enemies of the early church who converted to Christianity?
- 📝 Confessional Lutheranism: How does Unlimited Atonement work?
- 📝 Did Paul read aloud his letters to the Corinthians? To the Philippians? Other books?
- 📝 According to Catholicism, can demons force or misguide you into receiving communion?
- 📝 Is the Catholic Magesterium in favor of hard liquor prohibition?
- 📝 What's "reciprocal subsidiarity"?
- 📝 What is the source for Martin Luther's quote against the use of pipe organ music?
- 📝 What is the "Holy place" Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:15?
- 📝 How do Protestants interpret "covers a multitude of sins" (James 5:19)?
- 📝 Why question Paul's apostleship now
- 📝 Atheism is the default position. Isn't the burden of proof on the Christian to assert that God exists?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What problems, if any, do Mormons have with the Apostles' Creed?
- 📝 What are the major problems that Chalcedonians have with Miaphysite Christology?
- 📝 What are the Biblical and theological problems with theistic evolution?
- 📝 What problems, if any, do Swedenborgians have with the Apostles' Creed?
- 📝 Did Luther have any disagreements with the teachings of Augustine of Hippo?
- 📝 What problems, if any, do Christadelphians have with the Apostles' Creed?
- 📝 What are the differences between Mormonism and Islam, and how do Mormons react to comparisons with it?
- 📝 Have any prominent theologians written on what the ascension looked like?
- 📝 What problems, if any, do Jehovah's Witnesses have with the Apostles' Creed?
- 📝 What does childbearing have to do with the salvation of a woman?
- 📝 What problems, if any, do Oneness Pentecostals have with the Apostles' Creed?
- 📝 What should the man of God in 1 Kings 13 have done when faced with the old prophet's lie?
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church, will people be able to have private conversations with God at any time in Heaven?
- 📝 Biblically Unitarians claim "the Bible does not teach that Jesus is God." Then by what means do you know or have any experience with Jesus Christ?
- 📝 What problems, if any, do Biblical Unitarians have with the Apostles' Creed?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church have any guidelines as to what is the ideal age to start dating?
- 📝 Would the Catholic Church have problems with gays or lesbians getting married under state law but not having sex?
- 📝 Do we have to obey the laws of the bible? If so, what laws?
- 📝 What is the history of the concept of a "personal relationship with Jesus"?
- 📝 What explanations have been offered for the "messianic secret" passages?
- 📝 What were Martin Luther's main disagreements with the Catholic Church?
- 📝 Did the Apostles' Creed originate with the Apostles?
- 📝 What crime was committed by the "thieves" crucified with Jesus?
- 📝 What effect did the Reformation have inside the Catholic Church?
- 📝 What do Protestants who deny transubstantiation do with the remainders of wine and bread after the Eucharist?
- 📝 What effect did the 1897 decree regarding the Johannine Comma have on Catholic scholarship?
- 📝 What evidence do we have today about Christian groups not represented at the first four ecumenical councils?
- 📝 What Popes have resigned in the past?
- 📝 What did Jonathan Edwards have to say about the fact that he owned slaves?
- 📝 What is the basis that many mainstream Christian groups justify labeling groups like the Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses as Non-Christians?