Denomination Differences

The Amish and Mormons are two of the most socially conservative denominations and both are primarily found in the United States of America. Both traditionally have large families. Neither drinks alcohol or condones sex besides between husband and wife. Mormons even forbid drinking "hot drinks", meaning coffee or tea, believing it violates the Mormon health code. Both dress modestly, although Amish take it far further, believing in "plain dress" for all. Both have extensive church rules and a focus on church discipline, including confession to the bishop for violating the rules. For Amish this Ordnung means the almost complete eschewing of modern technology, jewelry, mirrors, and insurance and the shunning of those who violate the Ordnung. Mormons must pay a 10% tithe, must go on a mission for roughly two years, and cannot talk about certain temple rituals. Both denominations also exclusively read traditional Bible translations. This means the King James Version in English, although the Amish typically read the German Martin Luther Bible, even in America.

However, despite these outward similarities, they are extremely different in their theology. Aside from their cultural practices, the Amish are fairly normal Christians doctrinally. Mormons on the other hand deny the Trinity and aren't even monotheist. Instead, Mormons believe in at least three gods and believe that every good Mormon will someday become a god himself, which to most Christians is so heretical as to make them not even Christians. Mormons proselytize extensively, famously by going door-to-door, while Amish do not evangelize at all.

Mormons also have a very different view of the Bible. Even though both denominations read the King James Bible, Mormons have three other relatively modern books—the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price—which they believe have equal authority as the Bible. They also do not believe that Bible itself is even free from error.

These extra texts lead to very different ideas about the Gospel itself as well. Where Amish believe like most Protestants that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone, Mormons believe they must agree to and keep a list of covenants for all their lives to earn exaltation, with lower degrees of glory for those who fail to do such.

The Book of Mormon was written by Joseph Smith via scribes in the 1820s. Smith claimed this dictation was really a translation of a golden book written in "reformed Egyptian" which he found buried in New York but returned to an angel before the public could view it. He claimed to have done this translation of the unknown language miraculously by looking at two stones in a hat and dictating what he read without allowing the scribe to view the "golden plates". The text itself describes a group of ancient Hebrews in the Americas and an extended theophany of Jesus to the American Indians. It repeats some themes from the Bible and uses Early Modern English, but also states that many core Christian beliefs, such as the Trinity and the plan of salvation are actually wrong and been unrevealed for thousands of years. This alleged new revelation by Joseph Smith is the core of Mormonism, with many other new canonical scriptures following after.

The Amish by contrast believe that the Bible is God's only inspired word. They originated from the Swiss Brethren, which was an Anabaptist group in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Amish, primarily German-speaking Swiss people at that time, then largely migrated to the United States in the 18th century to escape economic depression and religious persecution in the Electoral Palatinate. They initially settled in Pennsylvania but later groups spread throughout the Midwest as well.

Despite being almost entirely located in the United States at this point, the Amish have no America-centric theology like the Mormons do. Amish are actually pacifists and thus generally are hesitant to endorse the United States given its history of war. They have also come into conflict over education, law enforcement, and Social Security. These legal fights still do not compare to the numerous military conflicts the Mormons have fought in the United States. Yet Mormons tend to be a very patriotic cohort nowadays. Unlike Amish, they also tend to be very politically active, with many Mormons holding high political office in the United States, especially in Utah, where they are concentrated and a majority.

While the Amish and Mormons tend to live a bit outside of society's norms, they do so very differently. Amish reject society's clothing, insurance, and technology while following orthodox Christianity. Mormons accept most of the changes of modern life while filtering them through their own unique religion.