Many people who talk or write about Mormonism are unclear about how to classify the religion. As believers in Jesus Christ they are Christian, but how do they fit into the usual divisions of Protestant and Catholic? Are Mormons Protestants since they aren't Catholic?
Neither Catholic Nor Protestant
Traditionally, most people categorize every Christian religion as either Catholic or Protestant. Yet Mormons (shorthand for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), who describe themselves as Christians, see themselves as neither.
Mormonism is not Catholic because it does not accept the pope as God's spokesman on earth, nor does it accept all of the doctrines or the priesthood authority of the Catholic church.
But Mormonism is not Protestant because it didn't originate as a breakaway sect from the Catholic church. In addition, Merriam Webster's dictionary defines Protestants as those who accept doctrines from the Reformation movement such as justification by faith alone (Mormons believe in salvation by faith coupled with priesthood ordinances) and in the Bible alone as scripture (Mormons believe modern-day scriptures in addition to the Bible, plus the teachings of a living prophet.)
Origin of Mormonism in a Nutshell
Mormonism has a unique history. In 1820, 14-year-old Joseph Smith reported a heavenly visitation after a lengthy inner debate about which church to join.
He reported that God and Jesus Christ told him in response to a prayer for guidance that no existing church at the time had priesthood authority and complete access to gospel truth. He was later directed to translate the Book of Mormon and organize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830.
Smith continued to lead the church until his death in 1842. He was known among Mormons as the first prophet in the "latter days," identical to ancient Old Testament prophets like Moses or Noah. It is believed that the fullness of Christ's gospel was restored through Joseph Smith.
LDS Concept of "Restoration" versus "Reformation"
Though they believe the climate of religious freedom spurred by Martin Luther's Reformation was an important precursor to the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mormons see the two as completely separate events.
When Joseph Smith established the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830, he was believed to be acting under direct revelation from divinity to restore Christ's church as it was established in the 1st century - not merely attempting to reform or change existing incorrect doctrines. (For more information, please see Origin of Mormonism.)
The distinction is an important one to Mormons. LDS apostle L. Tom Perry explains that "the [LDS] church came into being as the result of a restoration and not a reformation." It is for this reason that Mormons resist being lumped into the category of "Protestant," even though they are not Catholic.
The widely accepted "Protestant or Catholic" paradigm, then, isn't very helpful when classifying Mormons. Perhaps it is time for a loosening of the either-or dichotomy that would allow the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to define itself in a way that more accurately represents its beliefs.
Sources:
Merriam Webster's Dictionary, accessed online 29 Dec 2011.
L. Tom Perry, "What Seek Ye?" Ensign, May 2005.
Jenny Evans - Jenny Evans is a freelance writer and editor specializing in parenting and the family. She is also the Mormonism Topic Editor for ...
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