Thank you for sharing. Could you share more what the LDS Church teaches in regards to the Catholic Church. Do you see anything in common with the Mormon and Catholic Church? Maybe the Mormon Church just copied the Catholic Church?
I know the explanation I’m about to give is rather simplistic (to say the least) but I’ve known quite a few fellow-former-Mormons-turned-Catholics who share the sentiments:
The LDS Church agrees a lot with the Catholic Church when it comes to church polity. The LDS Church believes in an actual priesthood, ordained by the laying on of hands, in a succession that can be traced back to their Prophet (who claims to have been given the authority from the spirits of the Apostles, hence their own spin on Apostolic Succession).
The LDS Church has a church hierarchy, with the Prophet at the head, a quorum of “12 Apostles” all the way down to “Stake Presidents” (Mormon equivalent to a Bishop) and to “Bishops” (Mormon equivalent to a Parish Priest).
Recognizing these similarities, and already coming from a tradition that embraced the concept of a Visible, Established Church made accepting Catholicism much easier than say accepting the local “Bible Based Church” or even some “High Church Protestant” affiliations.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Joseph Smith copied a lot from many other sources, but I doubt that much came from Catholicism as Mormonism was founded in the early 19th century, just during (or after) the 2nd Great Awakening in upstate NY… in other words, Rural Protestant America. I’m sure Smith knew OF Catholicism (as in it’s existence) but I think it would be safe to assume that he likely held similar anti-Catholic views as did many of the area and time. As far as the similarity in church polity (which is about the ONLY similarity between Mormonism and Catholicism save for similar
contemporary moral values) I think this was just a coincidence. JSmith apparently just read the Bible much like a Catholic would. It also helps knowing that much of the LDS origins stem from the Stone-Campbellite movement (Church of Christ) and so the LDS are naturally “restorationists” with a bunch of extra baggage.
Views about Catholicism, both by the rank & file members as well as the LDS church at large, have varied throughout history. Initially, there was little doubt in any of the LDS minds that the “abominable church” that “corrupted the ordinances” etc was the Catholic Church.
Since the basic Mormon thesis was that there was once a visible church but now its gone and Joseph Smith had to restore it, then obviously someone (or some group) did something to the church of antiquity. Since Protestants (generalized) don’t even believe in the efficaciousness of sacraments nor in a visible priesthood, the logical conclusion would be to conclude (especially in light of history) that the “abominable church” was the Catholic Church.
I think over time, the anti-Catholicism of Mormonism waned mostly due to increased Catholic-Mormon relations. The LDS were persecuted by the Protestant majority in the mainland US and eventually fled to Utah. There were already sparse Spanish Missions out there made of Catholic religious, with whom the Mormons generally got along. During the Polygamy issues between the LDS and the US government, many Mormons then fled to Mexico where once again they were met by a large Catholic majority.
While I was growing up (I’m 23) I never experienced anti-Catholicism in Mormonism, granted I am young and I have lived my entire life in California.
Though historically the LDS have tried to distance themselves from traditional Christianity, there has been a move to try to include itself and even make flimsy appeals to the Church Fathers, early Saints, and (not kidding) even Catholic Ecumenical Councils to justify uniquely LDS beliefs.
We’re definitely in the middle of a paradigm shift.
