One true faith
Encyclopedia
The concept of a one true faith, one true religion, or one true church, (typically capitalized) stem from the concept of the One True God asserted by believers in a monotheistic
view of God
. Belief in such a God, regarded as the "true God," typically carries with it a certain degree of exclusivism
.
The claim that one faith is true, and that by implication other religions are more or less false to the extent to which they differ from the "one true faith", is based upon the foundational claim that God has spoken to mankind through some public revelation, which reveals the will of the divinity. The concept of "one true faith", though pertaining to religion, is also based on the basic philosophical law, known as the Law of Non-Contradiction. Two propositions which contradict each other cannot both be true. Therefore, various religious traditions offering contradictory doctrines, cannot be affirmed as equally "true".
mentioned in the Nicene Creed
: "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church".
Some Christian churches claim to be the one true church while others claim only to be part of the one true church.
is sometimes seen as one of the essential elements in constituting the one true church, ensuring it has inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacrament
al authority and responsibility that Jesus Christ gave to the Apostles
.
This is the position of those Anglicans
who uphold the branch theory
that, "though the Church may have fallen into schism within itself and its several provinces or groups of provinces be out of communion with each other, each may yet be a branch of the one Church of Christ, provided that it continues to hold the faith of the original undivided Church and to maintain the apostolic succession of its bishops."
The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church
, according to that theory, are the principal branches of the one true Church, along with the Anglican Communion
. Those churches, however, reject the theory, as do Anglicans other than the church faction often termed "Anglo-Catholicism." Anglo-Catholicism
is a point of view that arose during the Nineteenth Century's Romantic era and which led to a renewed interest in things Gothic. The Reformation
in England was imagined by Anglo-Catholics to have been only a temporary and artificial interruption in the Catholic history of English Christianity. Anglicans generally do not subscribe to the idea that their church, with or without any supposed connection to the Roman Catholic and Eastern churches, constitute a "one true Church" to the exclusion of other Christian bodies.
as the Mystical Body of Christ.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church
, the Catholic Church professes in the Creed
the "sole Church of Christ" to be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic
. Peter Kreeft has written that the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ, who appointed the twelve Apostles to continue his work as the Church's earliest bishops. Alan Schreck writes that the Church "is the continuing presence of Jesus on earth", and John F. Barry that all duly consecrated bishops have a lineal succession
from the apostles. It is the teaching of the Catholic Church that the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) is the successor to the apostle Simon Peter, and that the pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles is continued by the bishops under the primacy
of the Pope.
Furthermore, the Holy See
has stated: "Christ 'established here on earth' only one Church and instituted it as a 'visible and spiritual community', that from its beginning and throughout the centuries has always existed and will always exist, and in which alone are found all the elements that Christ himself instituted. 'This one Church of Christ, which we confess in the Creed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic […]. This Church, constituted and organised in this world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the successor of Peter and the Bishops in communion with him'. In number 8 of the Constitution Lumen gentium
'subsistence' means this perduring, historical continuity and the permanence of all the elements instituted by Christ in the Catholic Church, in which the Church of Christ is concretely found on this earth. It is possible, according to Catholic doctrine, to affirm correctly that the Church of Christ is present and operative in the churches and ecclesial communities not yet fully in communion with the Catholic Church, on account of the elements of sanctification and truth that are present in them, which originally came from the Catholic Church and are shared in common with the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, the word 'subsists' can only be attributed to the Catholic Church alone precisely because it refers to the mark of unity that we profess in the symbols of the faith (I believe… in the 'one' Church); and this 'one' Church subsists in the Catholic Church."
In Lumen gentium
the Catholic Church teaches that "many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure. These elements, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling toward catholic unity", and also: "Whosoever, [...] knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ, would refuse to enter or to remain in it, could not be saved.
In the encyclical Mortalium animos
of 6 January 1928, Pope Pius XI
wrote that "in this one Church of Christ no man can be or remain who does not accept, recognize and obey the authority and supremacy of Peter and his legitimate successors" and quoted the statement of Lactantius
: "The Catholic Church is alone in keeping the true worship. This is the fount of truth, this the house of Faith, this the temple of God: if any man enter not here, or if any man go forth from it, he is a stranger to the hope of life and salvation." Accordingly, the Second Vatican Council declared: "Whosoever, [...] knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ, would refuse to enter or to remain in it, could not be saved. In the same document, the Council continued: "The Church recognizes that in many ways she is linked with those who, being baptized, are honored with the name of Christian, though they do not profess the faith in its entirety or do not preserve unity of communion with the successor of Peter." And in its Decree on Ecumenism it stated: "Catholics must gladly acknowledge and esteem the truly Christian endowments from our common heritage which are to be found among our separated brethren. It is right and salutary to recognise the riches of Christ and virtuous works in the lives of others who are bearing witness to Christ, sometimes even to the shedding of their blood. For God is always wonderful in His works and worthy of all praise."
Catholicism also teaches that there are some elements of truth in non-Christian religions, and Vatican II's Nostra Aetate
stated: "The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ 'the way, the truth, and the life' (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself." The Church looks at these elements of truth as preparations for the introduction of the gospel and salvation.
has identified itself as the "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church" in, for instance, synods held in 1836 and 1838 and in its correspondence with Pope Pius IX
and Pope Leo XIII
.
" believe that Joseph Smith, Jr. was chosen to restore the original organization established by Jesus, now "in its fullness", rather than to reform the church. This belief is no longer shared by the second largest breakoff of the Latter Day Saint Movement
, the Community of Christ
(formerly The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).
As Allen and Hughes put it, "[n]o group used the language of 'restoration' more consistently and more effectively than did the [Latter Day Saints] ... early Mormons seemed obsessed with restoring the ancient church of God." According to Smith, God the Father and Jesus appeared to him and instructed him that the creeds of the churches of the day "were an abomination in his sight" and that through him, God would restore (or re-establish) the true church. Smith taught that the Great Apostasy
was complete and required a full restoration of the original church. This included the Aaronic priesthood, the Melchizedek priesthood, and the full church structure consisting of prophets
, apostles, pastors, evangelists
and teachers. Joseph Smith founded the Church of Christ in 1830, serving as the first prophet believed to be appointed by Jesus in the "latter days".
Smith published the Book of Mormon, which LDS members believe was translated from Golden Plates
as directed by the angel Moroni. Members of the Latter Day Saint movement believe that the Book of Mormon contains a record of the original church of Jesus in the Americas between about 600 BC and AD 421. In addition, Smith claimed that he received the true authority or priesthood
directly from those who held it anciently, namely John the Baptist
, who returned as an angel and gave him and Oliver Cowdery
the authority to baptize. Saint Peter
, Saint James and Saint John
, the Apostles, returned as angels and gave Smith and Cowdery the authority to lead the church just as they had done anciently.
The church was organized on April 6, 1830 in New York
State. Originally the church was unofficially called the "Church of Christ". Four years later, in April 1834 it was also referred to as the "Church of Latter Day Saints" to differentiate the church of this era from that of the New Testament. Then, in April 1838, the full name was stated as the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints".
Some Christians have attributed Smith's connection to the Book of Mormon to the to the actions of a preacher, Sidney Rigdon
, who was associated with the Campbell movement in Ohio but left it and became a close friend of Joseph Smith. Neither the Mormons nor the early Campbell movement's leaders invented the idea of "restoration"; it was a popular theme of the time that had developed independently of both, and Mormonism and the Restoration Movement represent different expressions of that common theme. The two groups had very different approaches to the restoration ideal. The Campbell movement combined it with Enlightenment rationalism, "precluding emotionalism, spiritualism, or any other phenomena that could not be sustained by rational appeals to the biblical text." The Latter Day Saints combined it with "the spirit of nineteenth-century Romanticism" and, as a result, "never sought to recover the forms and structures of the ancient church as ends in themselves" but "sought to restore the golden age, recorded in both Old Testament and New Testament, when God broke into human history and communed directly with humankind."
( , ʔɪsˈlæːmThere are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is z or /s/, and whether the a is pronounced /ɑː/ as in father, /æ/ as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) /ə/ as in the a of sofa (Merriam Webster). The most common are ˈɪzləm, ˈɪsləm, ɪzˈlɑːm, ɪsˈlɑːm (Oxford English Dictionary, Random House) and ˈɪzlɑːm, ˈɪslɑːm (American Heritage Dictionary).) is the monotheistic religion
articulated by the Qur’an, a text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim
word of God
' onMouseout='HidePop("56182")' href="/topics/Allah">Allah
), and the teachings and normative example (called the Sunnah
and Hadith
) of Muhammad
, often considered as the last Prophet of Islam
. In addition to referring to the religion itself, the word Islam means 'submission to God
' or to show subservient obedience to God. An adherent of Islam is called a Muslim
.
Muslims believe that God
is one and incomparable
. Muslims also believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed at many times and places before, including through the prophets Abraham, Moses
and Jesus. Muslims maintain that previous messages and revelations have been partially changed or corrupted
over time, but consider the Qur'an
to be both unaltered and the final revelation from God. Religious concepts and practices include the five pillars of Islam
, which are basic concepts and obligatory act
s of worship, and following Islamic law
, which touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, encompassing everything from banking
and welfare
, to warfare and the environment.
believe that the God of Abraham
is the one true God. The Jews believe the God of Abraham entered into a special relationship with the ancient Israelite
s, marking them as his Chosen People
, giving them a mission to spread the concept of monotheism. Jews do not consider their chosenness to be a mark of superiority to other nations, but a responsibility to be an example of behavior for other nations to emulate.
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
view of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. Belief in such a God, regarded as the "true God," typically carries with it a certain degree of exclusivism
Exclusivism
Excluvisism is the practice of being exclusive; mentality characterized by the disregard for opinions and ideas other than one's own, or the practice of organizing entities into groups by excluding those entities which possess certain traits like Christopher Columbus..-Religious...
.
The claim that one faith is true, and that by implication other religions are more or less false to the extent to which they differ from the "one true faith", is based upon the foundational claim that God has spoken to mankind through some public revelation, which reveals the will of the divinity. The concept of "one true faith", though pertaining to religion, is also based on the basic philosophical law, known as the Law of Non-Contradiction. Two propositions which contradict each other cannot both be true. Therefore, various religious traditions offering contradictory doctrines, cannot be affirmed as equally "true".
Christianity
The claim to be the one true church is related to the first of the Four Marks of the ChurchFour Marks of the Church
The Four Marks of the Church is a term describing four specific adjectives—one, holy, catholic and apostolic—indicating four major distinctive marks or distinguishing characteristics of the Christian Church...
mentioned in the Nicene Creed
Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in the year 325.The Nicene Creed has been normative to the...
: "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church".
Some Christian churches claim to be the one true church while others claim only to be part of the one true church.
Anglican branch theory
Apostolic successionApostolic Succession
Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...
is sometimes seen as one of the essential elements in constituting the one true church, ensuring it has inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
al authority and responsibility that Jesus Christ gave to the Apostles
Apostle (Christian)
The term apostle is derived from Classical Greek ἀπόστολος , meaning one who is sent away, from στέλλω + από . The literal meaning in English is therefore an "emissary", from the Latin mitto + ex...
.
This is the position of those Anglicans
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
who uphold the branch theory
Branch theory
The Branch Theory is a theological concept within Anglicanism, holding that the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion are the three principal branches of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.-Theory:...
that, "though the Church may have fallen into schism within itself and its several provinces or groups of provinces be out of communion with each other, each may yet be a branch of the one Church of Christ, provided that it continues to hold the faith of the original undivided Church and to maintain the apostolic succession of its bishops."
The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
, according to that theory, are the principal branches of the one true Church, along with the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
. Those churches, however, reject the theory, as do Anglicans other than the church faction often termed "Anglo-Catholicism." Anglo-Catholicism
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
is a point of view that arose during the Nineteenth Century's Romantic era and which led to a renewed interest in things Gothic. The Reformation
Reformation
- Movements :* Protestant Reformation, an attempt by Martin Luther to reform the Roman Catholic Church that resulted in a schism, and grew into a wider movement...
in England was imagined by Anglo-Catholics to have been only a temporary and artificial interruption in the Catholic history of English Christianity. Anglicans generally do not subscribe to the idea that their church, with or without any supposed connection to the Roman Catholic and Eastern churches, constitute a "one true Church" to the exclusion of other Christian bodies.
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church declared in the Fourth Lateran Council that: "There is one universal Church of the faithful, outside of which there is absolutely no salvation." The Church is further described in the papal encyclical Mystici Corporis ChristiMystici Corporis Christi
Mystici Corporis Christi is a papal encyclical issued by Pope Pius XII during World War II, on the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ. It is one of the more important encyclicals of Pope Pius XII, because of its topic, the Church, and because its Church concept was fully included in Lumen...
as the Mystical Body of Christ.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the official text of the teachings of the Catholic Church. A provisional, "reference text" was issued by Pope John Paul II on October 11, 1992 — "the thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council" — with his apostolic...
, the Catholic Church professes in the Creed
Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in the year 325.The Nicene Creed has been normative to the...
the "sole Church of Christ" to be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic
Four Marks of the Church
The Four Marks of the Church is a term describing four specific adjectives—one, holy, catholic and apostolic—indicating four major distinctive marks or distinguishing characteristics of the Christian Church...
. Peter Kreeft has written that the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ, who appointed the twelve Apostles to continue his work as the Church's earliest bishops. Alan Schreck writes that the Church "is the continuing presence of Jesus on earth", and John F. Barry that all duly consecrated bishops have a lineal succession
Apostolic Succession
Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...
from the apostles. It is the teaching of the Catholic Church that the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) is the successor to the apostle Simon Peter, and that the pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles is continued by the bishops under the primacy
Papal supremacy
Papal supremacy refers to the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church that the pope, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ and as pastor of the entire Christian Church, has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered: that, in brief,...
of the Pope.
Furthermore, the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
has stated: "Christ 'established here on earth' only one Church and instituted it as a 'visible and spiritual community', that from its beginning and throughout the centuries has always existed and will always exist, and in which alone are found all the elements that Christ himself instituted. 'This one Church of Christ, which we confess in the Creed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic […]. This Church, constituted and organised in this world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the successor of Peter and the Bishops in communion with him'. In number 8 of the Constitution Lumen gentium
Lumen Gentium
Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. This dogmatic constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,151 to 5...
'subsistence' means this perduring, historical continuity and the permanence of all the elements instituted by Christ in the Catholic Church, in which the Church of Christ is concretely found on this earth. It is possible, according to Catholic doctrine, to affirm correctly that the Church of Christ is present and operative in the churches and ecclesial communities not yet fully in communion with the Catholic Church, on account of the elements of sanctification and truth that are present in them, which originally came from the Catholic Church and are shared in common with the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, the word 'subsists' can only be attributed to the Catholic Church alone precisely because it refers to the mark of unity that we profess in the symbols of the faith (I believe… in the 'one' Church); and this 'one' Church subsists in the Catholic Church."
In Lumen gentium
Lumen Gentium
Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. This dogmatic constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,151 to 5...
the Catholic Church teaches that "many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure. These elements, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling toward catholic unity", and also: "Whosoever, [...] knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ, would refuse to enter or to remain in it, could not be saved.
In the encyclical Mortalium animos
Mortalium Animos
Mortalium Animos was a papal encyclical promulgated in 1928 by Pope Pius XI on the subject of religious unity, condemning certain presumptions of the early ecumenical movement.-External links:*...
of 6 January 1928, Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
wrote that "in this one Church of Christ no man can be or remain who does not accept, recognize and obey the authority and supremacy of Peter and his legitimate successors" and quoted the statement of Lactantius
Lactantius
Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius was an early Christian author who became an advisor to the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine I, guiding his religious policy as it developed, and tutor to his son.-Biography:...
: "The Catholic Church is alone in keeping the true worship. This is the fount of truth, this the house of Faith, this the temple of God: if any man enter not here, or if any man go forth from it, he is a stranger to the hope of life and salvation." Accordingly, the Second Vatican Council declared: "Whosoever, [...] knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ, would refuse to enter or to remain in it, could not be saved. In the same document, the Council continued: "The Church recognizes that in many ways she is linked with those who, being baptized, are honored with the name of Christian, though they do not profess the faith in its entirety or do not preserve unity of communion with the successor of Peter." And in its Decree on Ecumenism it stated: "Catholics must gladly acknowledge and esteem the truly Christian endowments from our common heritage which are to be found among our separated brethren. It is right and salutary to recognise the riches of Christ and virtuous works in the lives of others who are bearing witness to Christ, sometimes even to the shedding of their blood. For God is always wonderful in His works and worthy of all praise."
Catholicism also teaches that there are some elements of truth in non-Christian religions, and Vatican II's Nostra Aetate
Nostra Aetate
Nostra Aetate is the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions of the Second Vatican Council. Passed by a vote of 2,221 to 88 of the assembled bishops, this declaration was promulgated on October 28, 1965, by Pope Paul VI.The first draft, entitled "Decretum de...
stated: "The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ 'the way, the truth, and the life' (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself." The Church looks at these elements of truth as preparations for the introduction of the gospel and salvation.
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox ChurchEastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
has identified itself as the "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church" in, for instance, synods held in 1836 and 1838 and in its correspondence with Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
and Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
.
Latter Day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) or "MormonsMormons
The Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, a religion started by Joseph Smith during the American Second Great Awakening. A vast majority of Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while a minority are members of other independent churches....
" believe that Joseph Smith, Jr. was chosen to restore the original organization established by Jesus, now "in its fullness", rather than to reform the church. This belief is no longer shared by the second largest breakoff of the Latter Day Saint Movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
, the Community of Christ
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...
(formerly The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).
As Allen and Hughes put it, "[n]o group used the language of 'restoration' more consistently and more effectively than did the [Latter Day Saints] ... early Mormons seemed obsessed with restoring the ancient church of God." According to Smith, God the Father and Jesus appeared to him and instructed him that the creeds of the churches of the day "were an abomination in his sight" and that through him, God would restore (or re-establish) the true church. Smith taught that the Great Apostasy
Great Apostasy
The Great Apostasy is a term used by some religious groups to describe a general fallen state of traditional Christianity, especially the Papacy, because it allowed the traditional Roman mysteries and deities of solar monism such as Mithras and Sol Invictus and idol worship back into the church,...
was complete and required a full restoration of the original church. This included the Aaronic priesthood, the Melchizedek priesthood, and the full church structure consisting of prophets
Prophet, seer, and revelator
Prophet, seer, and revelator is an ecclesiastical title used in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that is currently applied to the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles...
, apostles, pastors, evangelists
Evangelist (Latter Day Saints)
In the Latter Day Saint movement, an evangelist is an ordained office of the ministry. In some denominations of the movement, an evangelist is referred to as a patriarch . However, the latter term was deprecated by the Community of Christ after the church began ordaining women to the priesthood...
and teachers. Joseph Smith founded the Church of Christ in 1830, serving as the first prophet believed to be appointed by Jesus in the "latter days".
Smith published the Book of Mormon, which LDS members believe was translated from Golden Plates
Golden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith...
as directed by the angel Moroni. Members of the Latter Day Saint movement believe that the Book of Mormon contains a record of the original church of Jesus in the Americas between about 600 BC and AD 421. In addition, Smith claimed that he received the true authority or priesthood
Priesthood (Mormonism)
In the Latter Day Saint movement, priesthood is considered to be the power and authority of God, including the authority to act as a leader in the church and to perform ordinances, and the power to perform miracles. A body of priesthood holders is referred to as a quorum.Priesthood denotes elements...
directly from those who held it anciently, namely John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
, who returned as an angel and gave him and Oliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery
Oliver H. P. Cowdery was, with Joseph Smith, Jr., an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's golden plates, one of the first Latter Day Saint apostles, and the Second Elder of...
the authority to baptize. Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
, Saint James and Saint John
John the Apostle
John the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...
, the Apostles, returned as angels and gave Smith and Cowdery the authority to lead the church just as they had done anciently.
The church was organized on April 6, 1830 in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
State. Originally the church was unofficially called the "Church of Christ". Four years later, in April 1834 it was also referred to as the "Church of Latter Day Saints" to differentiate the church of this era from that of the New Testament. Then, in April 1838, the full name was stated as the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints".
Some Christians have attributed Smith's connection to the Book of Mormon to the to the actions of a preacher, Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...
, who was associated with the Campbell movement in Ohio but left it and became a close friend of Joseph Smith. Neither the Mormons nor the early Campbell movement's leaders invented the idea of "restoration"; it was a popular theme of the time that had developed independently of both, and Mormonism and the Restoration Movement represent different expressions of that common theme. The two groups had very different approaches to the restoration ideal. The Campbell movement combined it with Enlightenment rationalism, "precluding emotionalism, spiritualism, or any other phenomena that could not be sustained by rational appeals to the biblical text." The Latter Day Saints combined it with "the spirit of nineteenth-century Romanticism" and, as a result, "never sought to recover the forms and structures of the ancient church as ends in themselves" but "sought to restore the golden age, recorded in both Old Testament and New Testament, when God broke into human history and communed directly with humankind."
Islam
IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
( , ʔɪsˈlæːmThere are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is z or /s/, and whether the a is pronounced /ɑː/ as in father, /æ/ as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) /ə/ as in the a of sofa (Merriam Webster). The most common are ˈɪzləm, ˈɪsləm, ɪzˈlɑːm, ɪsˈlɑːm (Oxford English Dictionary, Random House) and ˈɪzlɑːm, ˈɪslɑːm (American Heritage Dictionary).) is the monotheistic religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
articulated by the Qur’an, a text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim
Verbatim
Verbatim may refer to:*Verbatim Latin - the term "Verbatim" means, in a UK legal context: "word by word, exactly"*Verbatim Corporation, a US company that markets storage media and flash memory*Verbatim , a magazine edited by Erin McKean...
word of God
God in Islam
In Islamic theology, God is the all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer, and judge of the universe. Islam puts a heavy emphasis on the conceptualization of God as strictly singular . God is unique and inherently One , all-merciful and omnipotent. According to the Islamic...
' onMouseout='HidePop("56182")' href="/topics/Allah">Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
), and the teachings and normative example (called the Sunnah
Sunnah
The word literally means a clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. In the discussion of the sources of religion, Sunnah denotes the practice of Prophet Muhammad that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī‘ah and the best exemplar...
and Hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
) of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, often considered as the last Prophet of Islam
Prophets of Islam
Muslims identify the Prophets of Islam as those humans chosen by God and given revelation to deliver to mankind. Muslims believe that every prophet was given a belief to worship God and their respective followers believed it as well...
. In addition to referring to the religion itself, the word Islam means 'submission to God
God in Islam
In Islamic theology, God is the all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer, and judge of the universe. Islam puts a heavy emphasis on the conceptualization of God as strictly singular . God is unique and inherently One , all-merciful and omnipotent. According to the Islamic...
' or to show subservient obedience to God. An adherent of Islam is called a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
.
Muslims believe that God
God in Islam
In Islamic theology, God is the all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer, and judge of the universe. Islam puts a heavy emphasis on the conceptualization of God as strictly singular . God is unique and inherently One , all-merciful and omnipotent. According to the Islamic...
is one and incomparable
Tawhid
Tawhid is the concept of monotheism in Islam. It is the religion's most fundamental concept and holds God is one and unique ....
. Muslims also believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed at many times and places before, including through the prophets Abraham, Moses
Islamic view of Moses
Musa , known as Moses in the Old Testament, is considered an Islamic prophet, messenger, lawgiver and leader in Islam. Moses is mentioned more in the Quran than any other individual, and his life is narrated and recounted more than that any other prophet...
and Jesus. Muslims maintain that previous messages and revelations have been partially changed or corrupted
Tahrif
Taḥrīf is an Arabic term used by Muslims with regard to irreparable alterations Islamic tradition claims Jews and Christians have made to Biblical manuscripts, specifically those that make up the Tawrat , Zabur and Injil .Traditional Muslim scholars, based on Qur'anic and other traditions, maintain...
over time, but consider the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
to be both unaltered and the final revelation from God. Religious concepts and practices include the five pillars of Islam
Five Pillars of Islam
The Pillars of Islam are basic concepts and duties for accepting the religion for the Muslims.The Shi'i and Sunni both agree on the essential details for the performance of these acts, but the Shi'a do not refer to them by the same name .-Pillars of Shia:According to Shia Islam, the...
, which are basic concepts and obligatory act
Act
Act may mean:* Act/Power is a philosophical notion defined by Aristotle and known as entelechy* Act , a British band* Act , a document recording the legality of a transaction or contract...
s of worship, and following Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
, which touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, encompassing everything from banking
Islamic banking
Islamic banking is banking or banking activity that is consistent with the principles of Islamic law and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Sharia prohibits the fixed or floating payment or acceptance of specific interest or fees for loans of money...
and welfare
Zakat
Zakāt , one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is the giving of a fixed portion of one's wealth to charity, generally to the poor and needy.-History:Zakat, a practice initiated by Muhammed himself, has played an important role throughout Islamic history...
, to warfare and the environment.
Judaism
JewsJews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
believe that the God of Abraham
God of Abraham
God of Abraham is a Jewish prayer in Yiddish, recited by women and girls in many Jewish communities at the conclusion of the Sabbath, marking its conclusion . In some Hasidic sects it is also recited by males before the Havdalah, service...
is the one true God. The Jews believe the God of Abraham entered into a special relationship with the ancient Israelite
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
s, marking them as his Chosen People
Jews as a chosen people
In Judaism, "chosenness" is the belief that the Jews are the Chosen People, chosen to be in a covenant with God. This idea is first found in the Torah and is elaborated on in later books of the Hebrew Bible...
, giving them a mission to spread the concept of monotheism. Jews do not consider their chosenness to be a mark of superiority to other nations, but a responsibility to be an example of behavior for other nations to emulate.