Am I technically a Christian?

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kaybelle

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I was baptized into the United Church of Christ as a baby. I believe they are trinitarian and thus would be considered a “valid” baptism.
I was not raised UCC or with any religion in my home. As a young teenager, I began searching for God and ended up being baptized into the Latter Day Saint church due to the strong influence of my family’s many Mormon friends and neighbors. I have been a practicing Mormon for many years.
Recently, I have done a lot of research and become very unhappy and disillusioned with the LDS church. I have begun exploring Catholicism and joining the Catholic church is becoming a real possibility for me. The Mormon baptism is, of course, not recognized by the Catholic church.
If I were to convert to Catholicism, would I be considered a Christian coming into full communion with the Church (i.e. my infant UCC baptism would be honored), or does my LDS baptism override that one?
 
Call a priest, make an appointment. Look at the various Church’s in your area. Find one you can see yourself in, and feel connected with.

I assume the first congregation is Baptist, so I don’t believe you’ll need to be Baptized.
 
Ephians 4:5

One baptism, one lord, one faith

If your infant baptism was trinity in form and intent it leaves a permanent mark that can’t be removed
 
kaybelle said:
I was baptized into the United Church of Christ as a baby. I believe they are trinitarian and thus would be considered a “valid” baptism.
I was not raised UCC or with any religion in my home. As a young teenager, I began searching for God and ended up being baptized into the Latter Day Saint church due to the strong influence of my family’s many Mormon friends and neighbors. I have been a practicing Mormon for many years.
Recently, I have done a lot of research and become very unhappy and disillusioned with the LDS church. I have begun exploring Catholicism and joining the Catholic church is becoming a real possibility for me. The Mormon baptism is, of course, not recognized by the Catholic church.
If I were to convert to Catholicism, would I be considered a Christian coming into full communion with the Church (i.e. my infant UCC baptism would be honored), or does my LDS baptism override that one?
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Welcome to CAF kaybelle. This is a great place to learn about he Catholic faith.

Yes, I believe the UCC provides a valid trintiarian baptism, but if you can’t provide any proof such as a certificate, you will be given a conditional baptism in your Catholic parish.

Mormons are not “technically” Christian at all, so people baptized in the Mormon tradition are just getting wet as part of a cultural practice. It has no eternal significance.
 
You can only be baptized properly once. It leaves an indelible mark on the soul. Thus, it is likely your UCC baptism is valid. However, to remove any doubt, Father may give you a conditional baptism if you do not have proof.

What proof is this? The most obvious form would be a baptismal certificate. But if that cannot be found I believe an affidavit from someone who witnessed it that it happened counts.
 
Don’t worry about this at all, not even a little bit! Either your UCC baptism was valid, it wasn’t, or for whatever reason can’t be determined. Not a problem in any event and will be sorted-out in the RCIA process.

(As others noted, LDS baptism is not valid – it lacks the proper intent.)
 
Thank you so much! I am glad to know.
I’ll have to look for that baptismal certificate.
 
kaybelle said:
I was baptized into the United Church of Christ as a baby. I believe they are trinitarian and thus would be considered a “valid” baptism.
I was not raised UCC or with any religion in my home. As a young teenager, I began searching for God and ended up being baptized into the Latter Day Saint church due to the strong influence of my family’s many Mormon friends and neighbors. I have been a practicing Mormon for many years.
Recently, I have done a lot of research and become very unhappy and disillusioned with the LDS church. I have begun exploring Catholicism and joining the Catholic church is becoming a real possibility for me. The Mormon baptism is, of course, not recognized by the Catholic church.
If I were to convert to Catholicism, would I be considered a Christian coming into full communion with the Church (i.e. my infant UCC baptism would be honored), or does my LDS baptism override that one?
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The Mormon baptism is not recognized by the Catholic Church, but the UCC baptism is and it came first. It will be recognized as long as it was done in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and water was used.
 
andrewstx said:
The Mormon baptism is not recognized by the Catholic Church, but the UCC baptism is and it came first. It will be recognized as long as it was done in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and water was used.
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The requirements for a valid sacrament are matter, form, minister and intent. LDS baptisms meet the requirements you listed plus minister (anyone, almost). They lack the intent of the Church in baptism which is why they are not valid.

I know this is a little off-topic, but many folks only think of matter and form. The minister for baptism could be a non-Christian or even atheist as long as they intended to do what the Church does. It may not actually be “anyone” (although that is how we commonly explain it). Excluded is the person being baptized (they may not baptize themself) or anyone who lacks the ability to form the intent (e.g. a child).
 
lutherlic said:
The requirements for a valid sacrament are matter, form, minister and intent. LDS baptisms meet the requirements you listed plus minister (anyone, almost). They lack the intent of the Church in baptism which is why they are not valid.

I know this is a little off-topic, but many folks only think of matter and form. The minister for baptism could be a non-Christian or even atheist as long as they intended to do what the Church does. It may not actually be “anyone” (although that is how we commonly explain it). Excluded is the person being baptized (they may not baptize themself) or anyone who lacks the ability to form the intent (e.g. a child).
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I very much doubt that Mormons intend to do what the church does, when they hold the opinion that the CC is “totally apostate” and only intend to baptize mostly 8 year old only into their “restored” church.

The intention is completely wrong IMO.
 
GaryTaylor said:
I assume the first congregation is Baptist, so I don’t believe you’ll need to be Baptized.
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The United Church of Christ is a completely different denomination than Baptists. But both baptize using the Trinitarian formula. However, the UCC baptizes infants whereas Baptists only do believer’s baptism.
 
andrewstx said:
I very much doubt that Mormons intend to do what the church does, when they hold the opinion that the CC is “totally apostate” and only intend to baptize mostly 8 year old only into their “restored” church.
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The CDF has ruled LDS baptisms to be invalid for several reasons including their huge divergence on the nature of the trinity and belief that the source of baptism predates Christ. Theirs is simply not a Christian baptism by intent.
 
lutherlic said:
The CDF has ruled LDS baptisms to be invalid for several reasons including their huge divergence on the nature of the trinity and belief that the source of baptism predates Christ. Theirs is simply not a Christian baptism by intent.
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What does this mean for all former LDS who converted to the Catholic Church before the invalid baptism ruling?

Were they conditionally baptized in the past or were they accepted without further baptism?

If they were accepted without a conditional baptism don’t they all need to be baptized now?

If I were a former LDS who was accepted before the ruling, I would be running, not walking, to my nearest parish and begging for baptism.
 
Miriam1947 said:
What does this mean for all former LDS who converted to the Catholic Church before the invalid baptism ruling?

Were they conditionally baptized in the past or were they accepted without further baptism?

If they were accepted without a conditional baptism don’t they all need to be baptized now?

If I were a former LDS who was accepted before the ruling, I would be running, not walking, to my nearest parish and begging for baptism.
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According to this piece, many were conditionally baptized. Since the condition would have been met (that they had no previous valid baptism), that would in fact be their true baptismal date.

Former LDS members who joined the Church with only a prior LDS baptism and who were neither baptized or conditionally baptized, should speak with their pastor ASAP.
 
kaybelle said:
Thank you so much! I am glad to know.
I’ll have to look for that baptismal certificate.
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In any event, there are more sacraments where Baptism came from! A great resource for those considering catholicism from outside is “Catholicism for Dummies.” Really good intro that is precise without getting bogged down in jargon.

Welcome!
 
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