A committee of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has unanimously accepted a study paper that contrasts the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its own beliefs.
The paper and related speeches were presented as part of the Presbyterian Church's General Assembly being held this week in the Salt Palace. It is not considered a policy statement of the church and is merely for study purposes.The paper was requested, or "overtured," by the Grand Canyon Presbytery in 1988 - one of more than 100 such overtures from presbyteries that year. A presbytery is a rough equivalent of a diocese in the Catholic Church - relatively larger than an LDS stake.
After four drafts, the last of which was reviewed by faculty in the religion department at Brigham Young University, the paper was ready to be presented at the annual conference, which, coincidentally, was held this year in Salt Lake City, said the major author, Boise Pastor Allan H. Swan.
Among the paper's points:
-LDS Church members, unlike traditional Christian Church members, must be "rebaptized" if they should enter the Presbyterian Church. (Just as members of traditional Christian religions must be baptized into the LDS Church.)
-Presbyterians living in predominantly LDS areas should clearly express their feelings if they feel socially unaccepted, might want to question civil rights of minorities and might wish to discuss what kinds of proselyting are appropriate.
-Just as Presbyterian ministers should seek to bind family wounds when some join the LDS Church, they often empathize with LDS women seeking "greater participation in the direction of the church" and persons of color or diverse national origins "seeking their places in leadership."
The paper provides a representation of Latter-day Saint doctrine and provides comparisons between the two faiths. Although the paper raises concerns about the authenticity of The Book of Mormon and purposes of temple ceremonies, it also notes that Presbyterians have not always been fair in their dealings with Latter-day Saints historically and that Presbyterians are not always perfect when they are a majority population.
Swan, who was joined on the paper by Dr. George Telford and Hungarian Aurelia Fule, said he deliberately tried to avoid the large body of anti-Mormon literature and tried to use LDS sources for his doctrinal explanations. He used LDS seminary teacher Garth Allred's "The Divine Plan for the Children of God" as a primary source. He said he did not intend the 53-page paper to be "another Mormon bashing."
Swan told the committee and others at the presentation that Presbyterians should have respect for how much and in what detail they talk about LDS temple ceremonies, which Latter-day Saints consider sacred. "I respect sacred space," he said.
Mount Olympus Presbyterian Pastor H. Jeffrey Silliman told the group about the challenges of working in predominantly LDS Utah. He said many Presbyterians in Utah come back to church with renewed strength. They say things like, "If I don't get something, they're going to get me."
Swan said Presbyterians and Latter-day Saints should work to understand each other's history and beliefs and should work to have dialogue about common issues.