Language is the core issue blocking productive dialogue between Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and Catholics. We share many of the same terms, like God, creation, and Jesus Christ, without recognizing that they carry vastly different meanings. Conversations that seem promising often end up going in circles.
Most faithful Mormons love Jesus and live a Christian life to the best of their knowledge. Their faith is strong, even if their understanding is mistaken. If we want to successfully evangelize Mormons, we must first understand where we do and do not agree.
Take a term as commonplace as “creation.” When Catholics say God created everything, we mean the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo—that everything is created from nothing. We are completely indebted to God for our existence and completely reliant on him for our continued existence. God is omnipotent, a God to fear and admire—a God who demands and deserves worship.
When we discuss creation with many Orthodox and Protestants, we largely agree on this term’s sense. Productive dialogue is possible, or at least not impeded, because of this common understanding.
The Vast Mormon Differences
When Mormons think of creation, they mean that god formed, or organized, humanity out of pre-existing, unorganized matter (Abraham 4). This matter is eternal and uncreated. Everything in existence is formed out of this same matter, even god himself.
There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes. We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter (Doctrine & Covenants 131:7-8).
In fact, Mormons believe that god the Father was once a man like us, and grew in knowledge to become a god. In other words, he is not the ultimate source of existence, nor has he always been a god. Understood properly, the Mormon conception of god is more like an earthly father. He is loved and honored because he is our ruler and the one who formed us, but not because he rules and creates everything that exists. After all, since this matter is infinite and eternal, it’s possible that any sufficiently powerful being could have formed humanity instead.
Another point of confusion is the term Christian. Christians recognize Christ as the Second Person of the consubstantial Trinity, who loves us so much that he descended to become man and save us through his life, death, and resurrection.
In contrast, Mormons don’t believe that Jesus Christ is God. Rather, he is a god, substantially distinct from both the Father and the Holy Ghost. This directly contradicts the Christian doctrine of the Trinity being the same substance—homoousios—defined at the first council of Nicaea in 324. In addition, Jesus ascended from not-god to god when he was selected as a worthy savior out of the competing voices (Abraham 3:23-28).
Explaining the Differences
With differences such as these, how can we best share our faith?
First, ask questions to define our terms. Focusing on the most important topics—God, creation, and Jesus Christ—is where we can find clarity, or even common ground. Questions like “When you say ‘Heavenly Father created the world from spiritual matter,’ what does that mean for you?” or “Can you explain more about god once being a man?” will center conversations on what our Mormon friends need to hear.
Second, be genuinely sympathetic to their position. It’s easy to get frustrated when someone says Jesus wasn’t always god. As someone who was once a Mormon missionary, I can attest that most Mormons don’t recognize the consequences of someone becoming a god. We need not agree with their position, but we should approach our differences with empathy.
When to Share Our Faith
Third, share our faith at the right time and in a loving way. Mormons are used to people attacking their beliefs. Being too bold too quickly often leads to them tuning out the conversation and ending it abruptly by testifying how they know what they believe is true because the Holy Spirit manifested it to them.
However, if you take the first three steps seriously, you will be coming from an angle of Christlike love and care for their souls. Mormons will feel the difference.
When you feel the time is right, question the foundations of their beliefs. Push into the reasons why they believe what they believe. Then, share with them why believing in a God who created everything from nothing, whom we trust and rely on for all existence, is both more reasonable and more beautiful than a highly intelligent god among other gods.
Although there’s no guaranteed way to help our Mormon friends recognize the truth of Catholicism, understanding our differences in language and terminology is an excellent way to make any real progress. If we help guide them as their loving Christian brothers and sisters, we can help them build their foundations anew in the one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.