Personally, I think this is terrific. In the most important ways, i.e. family, we really do have alot in common with Mormons. Why shouldn’t they participate in the meeting. Yes, we have our differences, but I also think that only good can come from a meeting of this kind for us and the Mormons.
The word ecumenical has several different meanings. In the sense of “interfaith cooperation” for humanitarian relief, or to achieve other purposes for the common good, or for communal prayers, the LDS Church has always been willing to participate in or cooperate with other churches, including the Catholic Church. There is nothing new about that. We think that God hears the prayers of all people, not just of Mormons.
They had a meeting with representatives of non-Christian religions earlier in the week. I’m surprised they weren’t invited to that one instead of the ecumenical meeting. I wonder if the Pope realized there were Mormons there.The word ecumenical has several different meanings. In the sense of “interfaith cooperation” for humanitarian relief, or to achieve other purposes for the common good, or for communal prayers, the LDS Church has always been willing to participate in or cooperate with other churches, including the Catholic Church. There is nothing new about that. We think that God hears the prayers of all people, not just of Mormons.
The most common way in which the word “ecumenical” is understood, however, is in relation to what is known as “ecumenism,” or the “ecumenical movement,” which is a movement aimed at “uniting” all the churches together into one church—probably under the leadership of Rome. That is a movement which the LDS Church so far has not participated in, because of the unique theological position that it assigns to itself—as the Restoration of the original and true church of Christ. For example, the LDS Church has not joined the World Council of Churches, which is one body having that kind of objective. (Interestingly, the Catholic Church has not joined the WCC either.) The only kind of “ecumenism” that we would recognize would be one in which they all agreed to be baptized Mormons!
zerinus
I think Mormons are moving towards orthodoxy more and more everyday.
You may be right about that. I often think it would be great if one of the Osmonds were to become Catholic. I always think that would be a unique conversion story on The Journey Home. But, the question is . . . Who would it be, Virl, Tom, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, DONNY, Marie or Jimmy?
There is no doubt that that this is their goal in the perception of us “gentiles”
.Had a few friends over and the commercial for Speed Racer came on someone said “20 years ago Donny Osmond would have made a perfect Speed Racer” I thought it was funny.
Yeah, but no one can wear a pair of white pants like the Speed Racer.
Could Donny have pulled it off 20 years ago? I remember going into a music store (15 years ago maybe I’ve a bad sense of time) and looking for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat
I think they are going to have to move towards orthodoxy to keep their own people. Their members are getting too educated to continue to accept the confusion that is Mormonism. They have a very high attrition rate. I think they realize they may at the very least become closer to evangelicalism to survive. They won’t go completely Catholic, but in 20 years I could see them considering themselves just another evangelical sect. The Worldwide Church of God recently went through a similar reinvention:There is no doubt that that this is their goal in the perception of us “gentiles”
They only gain converts by being devious and evasive about their doctrine and beliefs.
The participants certainly must to have been rather liberal to have been drinking water and not giving judgmental eyes at the
Father Massa described the request as coming out of a growing respect between Catholics and Mormons, which began under the leadership of the late Gordon B. Hinckley, longtime president of the Latter-day Saints.
There is no doubt that that this is their goal in the perception of us “gentiles”
They only gain converts by being devious and evasive about their doctrine and beliefs.
Poor Lehl could not resist making such a statement. Some catholics just can not get with it and show respect to a different faith that does share some common values with catholicism.The mormons will always be unique because they have the book of mormon and their early church history with heavenly visitations. Also, the mormons have always been an educated group of people. The lds church has encouraged its members to get an education in order to compete in the job market and to improve the mind. This encouragement has always existed within the lds faith.
I agree with you.
whyme,did you by any chance read the ENTIRE ARTICLE? such as the part about baptisms?
That’s the part that interests me. This does not seem to have been publicized among the Mormon faithful. I do see a link from the Deseret News web edition to the Catholic News Service article. I don’t know what they think they gained–they went to a lecture of the Catholic Pope and heard the Catholic Pope declare the belief in the Trinity as the basis of Christian unity!