Commenting on the debate, originating from the Reformation, between “sacraments” and “[saving] ordinances,” Charles Randell Paul wrote the following which some might find of interest:
The two terms—sacraments and saving ordinances—are not identical. Catholics and most Protestants call the sacred rituals instrumental to personal salvation “sacraments.” Other Protestants such as the Southern Baptists, and the Latter-day Saints call them “ordinances.” Some Christian groups believe that neither sacraments nor ordinances are important to attaining salvation. My study has led me to believe that the term “ordinance” was developed as a middle way between sacerdotal/sacramental and universal salvation of the good-hearted. Very briefly, a sacrament was an authorized ecclesiastical ritual that humans needed to help them change sufficiently to enter God’s kingdom. Sacraments were public acts of submissive obedience to please God. Ordinances were acts to teach correct order and allow an overt commitment to change. A sacrament was a legal act that pleased God. An ordinance was a learning experience necessary for progress toward God. In either case, salvation came from being good and practicing the sacraments or ordinances. Mormons and Catholics believed sacerdotal authority was also required for the ritual to be efficacious. On this point, to avoid handing the keys of salvation over to the ordained priesthood, Protestants were less strict. (Charles Randell Paul, Converting the Saints: A Study of Religious Rivalry in America [Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2018], 73-74, n. 38)
