Mormonism’s Encounter with Other Religions

Abstract

I argue that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (in other words, Mormonism)1) is in principle open to encounters with other religions, first because the Church teaches that God has inspired all of the major religious leaders of the world, and second because Mormonism is a religion of practices?a specific way of being in the world?more than it is a theological religion. As I understand Mormonism, this focus on imitating Christ by one’s acts is one of the things that makes the Mormon Church open to encounter with other religions because it makes the theological questions less important. I will illustrate my claim that Mormonism is open to encounter with other religions by talking about a Mormon practice and a Mormon belief, rites for the dead and eternal progression. I will compare the first to Confucian filial piety and veneration of ancestors. I will compare the second to the Buddhist understanding of Enlightenment. Thus, the thrust of this paper has two major prongs: showing that Mormonism has a friendly face to other religions and showing that there are significant parallels between its beliefs and practices and those of other religions, including non-Christian ones.