WASHINGTON — LDS and non-LDS scholars appear to agree that Mormonism stands apart from traditional Protestant faiths and Catholicism, not so much regarding the uniqueness of particular doctrines but rather regarding the fundamental belief in modern prophets.
That is a tenet of faith upon which hinges the Book of Mormon, the claim of apostolic authority and Joseph Smith as the prophet of the Restoration.
That theme continued Saturday during the final day of a two-day academic conference at the Library of Congress on "The Worlds of Joseph Smith," which is a gathering of some of the nation's top religious scholars to debate the life and legacy of Joseph Smith, founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The event, co-sponsored by the Library of Congress and Brigham Young University, commemorates the bicentennial of Joseph Smith's birth.
Unlike the other prophets of his day, "Joseph's teachings came not from reflection on old teachings but on new teachings," said Richard Mouw, president of the Fuller Theological Seminary and professor of Christian philosophy and ethics.
And those new teachings, he argued, strike at fundamental Christian beliefs about man's relationship with God, about the very nature of God and whether God continues to talk to man through his creation.
And while critics of the man millions revere as a modern prophet have labeled him as "dishonest or a mad man," Mouw said the debate must "set aside specific concerns of Joseph Smith's credibility" to critically examine questions basic to Christianity.
"He challenges every variety of Christian thought," he said.
Non-LDS participants in the conference acknowledged there is fundamental disagreement on certain aspects of the LDS faith but much of the discord is based on how Latter-day Saints, Protestants and Catholics use and interpret particular words.
Randall H. Balmer, a professor of religious history at Columbia University, points out that Catholics and Protestants believe in modern prophecy to some extent, but they believe the canon of scripture to be closed. Latter-day Saints do not.
Catholics believe in an unbroken apostolic authority extending back to Peter, and Protestants believe in a priesthood of believers. Latter-day Saints believe angels appeared to Joseph Smith and bestowed direct priesthood authority, he said.
And many groups, evangelicals in particular, believe today that God talks directly to them, but that revelation cannot contradict the Bible. In contrast, Latter-day Saints have taken modern prophecy "to a new level altogether," Balmer said.
But that raises the question, he said, of why Smith is to be believed but not the many other prophets of the same era who claimed to have received revelations from God.
"How do we know what is and is not scripture?" he said.
Balmer also cautioned LDS scholars against academic "circular arguments" where they attempt to use rational arguments to prove Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, by saying "because Smith told us so." Likewise the argument that the Book of Mormon is scripture "because the Book of Mormon tells us so."
The "enlightenment style" — and Balmer said evangelicals are guilty of the same theoretical misstep — is akin to "the serpent devouring its own tail."
Balmer and Mouw's comments came in response to a paper, "Joseph Smith Challenges the Christian World," presented by David L. Paulsen, a professor of philosophy at Brigham Young University, who argued that of all the tenets of faith articulated by Joseph Smith, "none is more fundamental than his claim to direct revelation from God."
The prophet, he said, "answered clearly and boldly" that the canon of scripture was not closed, that God had spoken to man again and that more truth awaited revelation.
"He agrees with, adds to and sometimes repudiates existing Christologies," Paulsen said.
But the differences between LDS doctrines and those of Protestant and Catholic faiths are not the polar opposites that antagonists on both sides have long claimed, said Robert L. Millet, a professor of religious understanding at BYU.
Millet argued the LDS Church has become increasingly accepted into the religious mainstream not because it changed its doctrines but because it refocused its emphasis toward Jesus Christ and the Atonement — doctrines that were there all along.
"Have we changed? Indeed we have," Millet said. "We may in fact be coming of age."
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