The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and Its Doctrine: A Philosophical Approach

Keywords: philosophy of religion, religious doctrines, alternative religious movements, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Abstract

In the article, I demonstrate how realistic philosophy of religion can be employed in order to obtain a preliminary verification of the truthfulness of the doctrine proclaimed by a particular religious community. The first element of a religious doctrine that qualifies for philosophical evaluation is its non-contradictory character. For this reason I endeavour to reconstruct one such doctrine and show how it is possible to demonstrate, through philosophical analyses, that such a doctrine does not meet the aforementioned criterion. For the object of my studies I chose the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (called the Mormon Church for short), as I find it particularly interesting among the religious movements alternative to Christianity.

Among new religious movements currently in existence the Mormon Church stands out in several respects. First, this religious community utilises a variety of sources of revelation. Furthermore, although their sacred story, that spanning a dozen or so centuries, begins in Israel it mostly takes place on American soil. Finally, the Mormon Church sets forth a vision of a future ‘holy land,’ and the concept of salvation that is essentially different from those of other Bible-based religious movements.

The Mormon concept of salvation, referred to as the plan of eternal progress shows both unique goal and unique means to achieve it. People are to become gods and populate multiple worlds. According to Mormons there will be different levels of salvation associated with what life a person lived on earth.

Reconstruction and philosophical analysis of the main elements of the Mormon doctrine shows its weak points, inconsistencies, and oversimplifications. From this perspective, the Mormon ‘sacred story’ hardly could be regarded as something more than a colourful and interesting myth. But the question of reasons why Mormons still put their faith in such an inconsistent doctrine lies outside the scope of these considerations.

References

A Brief Explanation about the Book of Mormon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints. Accessed 8 December 2018. https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/explanation?lang=eng.

Book of Mormon. Another Testament of Jesus Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints. Accessed 6 December 2018. https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng.

Bronk, Andrzej. Podstawy nauk o religii [Foundations of the Study of Religion(s)]. Lublin: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL, 2003.

Bronk, Andrzej. “Teologia i nauki przyrodnicze. (Uwagi na marginesie) [Theology and Natural Sciences. (Remarks in the Margins)].” Roczniki Filozoficzne 39/40 (1991/1992), 2: 5–38.

Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints. Accessed 6 December 2018. https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament?lang=eng.

Gospel Principles. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints. Accessed 10 December 2018. https://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-principles?lang=eng.

Krąpiec, Mieczysław Albert, and Andrzej Maryniarczyk. The Lublin Philosophical School. Lublin: Polskie Towarzystwo Tomasza z Akwinu, 2010.

Maryniarczyk, Andrzej. Rationality and Finality of the World of Persons and Things. Lublin: Polskie Towarzystwo Tomasza z Akwinu, 2016.

Maryniarczyk, Andrzej. The Realistic Interpretation of Reality. Lublin: Polskie Towarzystwo Tomasza z Akwinu, 2015.

Moskal, Piotr. Apology for the Catholic Religion. Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL, 2013.

Moskal, Piotr. Traktat o religii [The Treatise on Religion]. Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL, 2014.

Moskal, Piotr. “Zagadnienie rozpoznania religii prawdziwej [The Problem of Recognizing the True Religion].” Roczniki Filozoficzne 58 (2010), 1: 175-185.

Pearl of Great Price. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints. Accessed 6 December 2018. https://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp?lang=eng.

Tanner, Sandra. “Was The Garden of Eden in Missouri?” Utah Lighthouse Ministry, Online Resources. Accessed 8 December 2018. http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/ gardenofeden.htm.

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints. Accessed 12 December 2018. https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-joseph-smith?lang=eng.

The Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints. Accessed 12 December 2018. https://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp/a-of-f/1?lang=eng.

The Family: A Proclamation to the World. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints. Accessed 10 December 2018. https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation?lang=eng&old=true.

The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints. Accessed 13 December 2018. https://www.lds.org/liahona/2000/04/the-living-christ-the-testimony-of-the-apostles-the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints?lang=eng.

Published
2020-03-30
Section
Articles