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#4 The Facts On The Mormon Church
4. Does Mormonism claim to be the only true
church on earth?
Mormonism does not claim to be one part of the Christian
religion, such as a Christian denomination. Rather, it claims to comprise the
only true Christian religion on earth. This is in harmony with the "first
vision" of Joseph Smith, where Jesus supposedly condemned all Christian
religious as corrupt abominations. Doctrine and Covenants emphasizes that
Mormonism is "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth."
Indeed, from their earliest days, Mormons have claimed they were the only
people of God on earth. In 1854, leading Mormon Orson Pratt argued, "All other
churches are entirely destitute of all authority from God." A leading doctrinal
theologian of the modern Mormon Church, the late Bruce McConkie, asserted that
"Mormons...have the only pure and perfect Christianity now on earth." He also
taught, "All other systems of religion are false." The Mormon Sunday school
text, The Master's Church, Course A, informs children, "We cannot accept
that any other church can lead its members to salvation..."
Taken from The Facts On The Mormon Church, by John Ankerberg
and John Weldon, Published by Harvest House Publishers
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