CAN
ALL CHURCHES BE RIGHT?
Can they? When someone was asked what
was the greatest enemy faced by Christ in the modern world he said without hesitation,
“Christianity.” We said earlier that if the Book of Mormon were true, then the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only completely true
church upon this earth. What about other Christian churches? If you are in the
habit of thinking that all churches are merely different roads to the same
place, consider the following quotations from the Bible:
1. “For God is not the author of
confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” (1 Corinthians
14:33)
2. “One Lord, one faith, one
baptism.” (Ephesians 4:5)
3. “Enter ye in at the strait gate:
for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and
many there be which go in thereat. Because strait is the gate and narrow is the
way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
4. “Not every one that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the
will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils?
and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto
them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew
7:21-23)
5. “For I know this, that after my
departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also
of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away
disciples after them.” (Acts 20:29-30)
6. “But there were false prophets
also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who
privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought
them, and bring up themselves swift destruction.” (2 Peter 2:1)
7. “For my people have committed
two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them
out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:12)
8. “for the time will come when
they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap
to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their
ears from the truth, and shall be turned into fables.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
9. “Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor
a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander
from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro
to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.” (Amos 8:11-12)
10. “Thus saith the Lord
concerning the prophets that make my people err. Therefore night shall be unto
you, that ye shall not have a vision, and it shall be dark unto you. . . . Then
shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all
cover their lips, for there is no answer of God. The heads thereof judge for
reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine
for money; yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us?
None evil can come upon us.” (Micah 3:5-7, 11)
Jesus Christ told Joseph Smith the
following about the churches of the world in the words of Joseph Smith:
I was answered that I must join
none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said
that all their creeds were an abomination in His sight; that those professors
were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts
are far away from me; they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having
a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.” (Joseph Smith 2:19)
Any person who says, “I belong to
a church and I’m satisfied,” is the person of whom we wrote earlier who
possibly could use a little of the scientific doubting. It might lead one to do
as Paul suggested,
Prove all things; hold fast that
which is good. (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
Latter-day Saints have full
charity towards other churches but are uncompromising on which church is the
only completely true one. For this reason the Church will not participate in
any affiliation moves with other churches. Concerning this, Nelson uses the
following strong words:
Consequently, gentle reader,
before you join the ranks of those who misinterpret the nonaffiliation of
Mormonism, ponder well this question: Can there be more than one true religion?
If this question seems difficult, let me put another: Can there be more than
one true science of chemistry? of botany? of zoology? of astronomy? of geology?
Can there be more than one true history of natural phenomena?
Suppose the vague, chimerical
systems of speculations, out of which the exact science s have grown, were flourishing
now, defended by the sophistry of long-haired mountebanks; and that each had
its set of believers, —a thing by no means impossible, —what
attitude would the real scientists of our day take toward them? Well, that is
precisely the attitude Mormons are compelled to take toward the medieval sects
of religion that still linger among us. (Nels L. Nelson, Scientific Aspects
of Mormonism, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, p. 315)
The scriptures contain a statement
concerning ministers other than those ministers chosen by Christ:
And John answered and said,
Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because
he followed not with us.
And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for
us. (Luke 9:49-50)
This is used as evidence that
Christ will recognize any church or any group working in His name, i.e., the
statement is used as evidence that all churches are correct.
This statement of Jesus Christ
does not excuse one from proper baptism by proper authority. See Acts 19:2-5
for a case of rejection of baptism by false teachers and Acts 19:13-16 for a
case of the uselessness of an unauthorized ministrations. (Arthur Wallace, Evidence
in Science and in Religion [Los Angeles: Arthur Wallace, 1966], 170-72)
Further Reading
Does
Luke 9:49-50 refute the need for a New Covenant Priesthood?
