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Een aantal van Joseph Smith's eerste openbaringen leken niet zo zeer
een nieuwe geloofsrichting op het oog te hebben, als wel de eenheid van
alle Christenen in een soort evenredige geloofsbelijdenis (3
Nephi 11:38-40; LV 10:52, 62-68). Een andere "hersteller"
ten tijde van Joseph Smith, Alexander Campbell, leek een dergelijke visie
te delen, maar Joseph Smith deed al heel snel bijzonder exclusieve uitspraken
over zijn kerk: God had hem bekend gemaakt dat dit "de enige ware
en levende kerk"op aarde was, en dat de geloofsopvattingen van andere
kerken "een gruwel" waren, en dat hun "leiders allen corrupt
waren" (LV 1:30; JS-H 1:19).
Hedentendage hebben zelfs veel behoudende Heiligen moeite met de beperkte
visie en de veroordelende houding waartoe dergelijke uitzonderlijke uitspaken
kunnen leiden. Heiligen der Laatste Dagen kennen een lange traditie van
genuanceerdheid t.o.v. dergelijke uitzonderlijke uitspraken, door te onderkennen
dat waarheid en rechtvaardigheid uit velerlei bronnen kunnen komen, en
dat God ook door andere religie's werkzaam is.
Bepalen of de HLD kerk de enige ware kerk is, is belangrijk voor degenen
die waarde hechten aan religieuze autoriteit. Echter, voor diegenen die
hun spiritualiteit willen verdiepen, gaat het er eenvoudigweg om dat de
Geest werkzaam is door middel van de Mormoonse traditie. Iemand kan geloven
dat het Mormonisme unieke eigenschappen bezit waaraan het andere geloofsrichtingen
ten ene male ontbreekt, misschien ook dat exclusieve religieuze beweringen
simpelweg een menselijke behoefte aan superioriteit en zekerheid weerspiegelen.
Hoe het ook zij, degenen die een mate van liefde ontwikkelen voor de praktijk
van Mormoonse spiritualiteit, kunnen haar omhelsen los van de vraag of
zij geloven dat het Mormonisme de enige ware religie is; zoals huwelijkspartners
elkaar trouw kunnen zijn of zij elkaar nu als de enige ware levenspartner
ervaren of niet.
Joseph Smith: The
inquiry is frequently made of me, "Wherein do you differ from
others in your religious views?" In reality and essence we
do not differ so far in our religious views, but that we could all
drink into one principle of love. One of the grand fundamental principles
of "Mormonism" is to receive truth, let it come from whence
it may. . . . Christians should cease wrangling and contending with
each other, and cultivate the principles of union and friendship
in their midst; and they will do it before the millennium can be
ushered in and Christ takes possession of His kingdom.
|
| History
of the Church (Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, 1932-1951), 5:499 |
John Taylor: I was
going to say I am not a Universalist, but I am, and I am also a
Presbyterian, and a Roman Catholic, and a Methodist, in short, I
believe in every true principle that is imbibed by any person or
sect, and reject the false. If there is any truth in heaven, earth,
or hell, I want to embrace it, I care not what shape it comes in
to me, who brings it, or who believes in it, whether it is popular
or unpopular. |
| Journal
of Discourses 1:155 |
B. H. Roberts: While
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is established for
the instruction of men; and is one of God's instrumentalities for
making known the truth yet he is not limited to that institution
. . . [T]here is but one man at a time who is entitled to receive
revelations for the government and guidance of the Church—and
this in order to prevent confusion and conflict—still it is
nowhere held that this man is the only instrumentality through which
God may communicate his mind and will to the world. It is merely
a law operative within the Church itself and does not at all concern
the world outside the Church organization. |
| Defense
of the Faith and the Saints (Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1907),
1:512-14 |
Orson F. Whitney:
[God] is using not only his covenant people, but other peoples as
well, to consummate a work, stupendous, magnificent, and altogether
too arduous for this little handful of Saints to accomplish by and
of themselves.
|
| Conference Report,
April 1921, 32-33 |
Spencer W. Kimball, Marion
G. Romney, and N. Eldon Tanner: The great religious leaders
of the world such as Mohammed, Confucius, and the Reformers, as
well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received
a portion of God's light. Moral truths were given to them by God
to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding
to individuals. . . . God has given and will give to all peoples
sufficient knowledge to help them on their way to eternal salvation,
either in this life or in the life to come. |
| First Presidency
Statement on God's Love for All Mankind (reproduced in Ensign,
January 1988, 48) |
Chieko N. Okazaki:
As you probably know, much of the practice of Buddhism takes place
in the home with daily prayers and small offerings of food and flowers
before a household shrine. . . . [C]an I pray with my mother at
her household shrine when I visit her? Of course I can. My prayers
are addressed to my Father in Heaven, not to Buddha, and I understand
that the sealing ordinances of the temple link families together
eternally, but it seems to me that both rituals turn the hearts
of the children toward their parents in a beautiful way, and I believe
that God has found a way to teach this principle in at least three
different cultures: in the Old Testament culture of Malachi, the
prophet who tells us about turning the hearts; in the culture of
Buddhism; and in the modern Latter-day Saint culture. |
| Disciples
(Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1998), 147-48 |
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