What do Latter-day Saints think of Catholics?

Question

Dear Gramps,

What is the current Catholic position on the LDS Church and what is the current LDS position on the Catholic believer? Does a Catholic believe an LDS member will go to heaven somehow and does an LDS believer think a Catholic can follow the path?  How do they differ on positions?  Would a Catholic try to convert an LDS member and should an LDS member try and bring a Catholic into the true church, and why?  Thanks,

Ken

Answer

Dear Ken,

I am not an authority on the beliefs of the Catholic Church, but my understanding is that they believe you have to be baptized in the Catholic Church in order to go to heaven.  If you are interested in knowing about Catholic beliefs, you should read what the Catholic Church has published on their beliefs.  We ask those who are interested in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to read what the Church has published, not what others have to say about us.

We have been commanded by the Lord to spread the Gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.  In the 88th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants verse 81, the Lord commands “every man” who has been warned to warn his neighbor:

 “Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor.”  We should be willing to share the Gospel with all of our neighbors regardless of their current beliefs.

Fifty years ago President McKay gave us the counsel that every member is to be a missionary.

We have the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and everyone needs to hear our message.  We should do this in a positive way.  We do not want to offend anyone of any faith, but to let them know that we care and that we have a message for them that will bring them great happiness.

President Hinckley in a talk given in July 2001 said the following concerning our neighbors who are not of our faith:

“As I have said before, we must not be clannish. We must never adopt a holier-than-thou attitude. We must not be self-righteous. We must be magnanimous and open and friendly. We can keep our faith. We can practice our religion. We can cherish our method of worship without being offensive to others. I take this occasion to plead for a spirit of tolerance and neighborliness, of friendship and love toward those of other faiths.”

The Church has established an excellent relationship with the Catholic Church, especially in Utah.  The LDS Church and Catholic Church have worked together in bringing aid to those suffering from disasters throughout the world.  Often the LDS Church Humanitarian Services has provided supplies that have been distributed by Catholic Charities.  The LDS Church and Catholic Church have also worked together along with other religions in educating the public concerning political issues of a moral nature.

As you know, most recently the Rome Italy Temple was dedicated.  President Russel M. Nelson had the distinct honor in meeting with His Holiness Pope Francis.  In discussing the significance of this meeting President Nelson said:

“The differences in doctrine are real. They are important. But they are not nearly as important as things we have in common—our concern for human suffering, our desire for and the importance of religious liberty for all of society, and the importance of building bridges of friendship instead of building walls of segregation.”

Gramps