| a.k.a. | | Latter-Day Saint |
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| Number of Members | 8,687,000[1] | 16,800,000[2] |
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| How does one get saved? | Repent of your sins, believe in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection to save you, be baptized, and do good works for the rest of your life. The 144,000 most faithful Christians will go to heaven; the rest will live on earth. | There is no singular salvation for Mormons: Exaltation, or going to the highest of the three degrees of glory and becoming a god, is achieved by getting baptized, confirmed, ordained in the Melchizedek priesthood (if a man), endowed, and married and then by keeping the covenants for the rest of one's life. |
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| Who gets saved? | Anyone who chooses by his own free will to believe and accept God's gift of grace will be saved. | Anyone who chooses by his own free will to believe and accept God's gift of grace will be saved. |
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| Can one lose his salvation? | Yes, a Christian can lose his salvation by apostasy. | Yes, the promise of exaltation can be lost by breaking one's covenants, except for a select few couples who are chosen for a second anointing which guarantees exaltation unless one sins against the Holy Ghost or commits murder. |
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| Who gets baptized and why? | Saved people get baptized as a public demonstration of their new lives.[3] | Understanding persons get baptized as the first ordinance, cleansing them of all sins. |
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| How should baptism be done? | Baptism should be by immersion.[3] | Baptism should be by immersion. |
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| When does one receive the Holy Spirit? | God's holy spirit is received after one prays for it, learns God's Word, and lives in line with it.[4][5] | The gift of the Holy Ghost is received at confirmation. |
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| What is the trinity? | There is no Trinity. Jesus is God's first creation, and the Holy Spirit is not a person. | The Godhead comprises three separate gods—God the Father, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. |
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| What is the human nature? | Human nature is corrupt and naturally inclined to evil. | Humans are neither inherently good nor inherently evil. |
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| Are we guilty of Adam's original sin? | No, we are not guilty of Adam's sin, but we did inherit the consequences and a corrupt human nature from him, causing us all to sin. | No, "men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression." |
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| Are Christians required to keep the Old Testament ceremonial laws? | No, the ceremonial laws of Judaism were fulfilled and done away with by Jesus. | No, the ceremonial laws of Judaism were fulfilled and done away with by Jesus. |
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| Can Christians become sinless in this earthly life? | No, although Christians can and should sin less, they can never become sinless in this life. | No, although Christians can and should sin less, they can never become sinless in this life. |
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| Do the elements of communion become the body and blood of Christ? | No, the elements merely symbolically represent the body and blood of Christ.[6] | No, the elements merely symbolically represent the body and blood of Christ. |
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| Can one be baptized of behalf of someone who has died? | No, the dead cannot be baptized. | Yes, a living person can be a proxy for the dead to be baptized, who then can accept or reject it in the afterlife. |
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| What happens if a saved person dies without being perfect? | Death itself is the full and complete punishment for sin.[7] | Once Christians leave their sinful bodies, nothing else is needed to receive glorified, sinless bodies. |
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| Did Mary ever sin? | Yes, Mary sinned like all other humans except Jesus. | Yes, Mary sinned like all other humans except Jesus. |
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| What spiritual gifts are available today? | | Continuationism: All spiritual gifts are still available to believers.[8] |
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| What framework has God used in dealing with man? | | God has different periods of history where he has at least one authorized servant on earth.[9][10] |
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| What is the gift of tongues? | | Speaking in tongues is sometimes unintelligible and sometimes foreign human languages.[11] |
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| What are the requirements for clergy? | No clergy is employed. All members are ministers, but only men who have been ministerial servants may be elders. | |
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| How many church ordinances/sacraments are there? | The church has two ordinances: Baptism and Holy Communion.[6][12] | The Church has five saving ordinances: Baptism, Confirmation, Ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood (for men), the Temple Endowment, and the Marriage Sealing. There are roughly a dozen other ordinances important for comfort.[13] |
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| To whom do Christians need to confess their sins? | Confession should be made directly to God, but confession to another believer is beneficial for some sins.[14] | Confession should be made directly to God unless the church might discipline for such sin, in which case it must be confessed to the bishop.[15][16] |
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| How should a church be structured? | | Wards should be governed by the president in that stake, who in turn is governed by the seventies, who are governed by the Twelve, who are governed by the President of the Church.[17][18] |
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| What day of the week should Christians worship? | Jehovah's Witnesses meet on any two days of the week. | Christians worship on Sunday. |
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| How does God's revelation come to us today? | The Bible, as interpreted by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, is the only infallible source of God's revelation. | There are many sources of God's revelation. |
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| How many books are in the Bible? | There are 66 canonical books of the Bible: 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books.[19] | There are 66 canonical books of the Bible—39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books—and three other canonical books: the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. |
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| Was the Bible written inerrantly? | | No, the Bible is not inerrant in any respect.[20][21] |
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| Who can speak with God's authority today? | The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses is God's "faithful and discreet slave" and "spokesman", although it does so imperfectly. | The President of the Church and the Twelve Apostles are prophets, seers, and revelators who speak for God and whose prophecies shall all be fulfilled.[22][23] |
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| How was the earth created? | The earth was formed by gravity pulling dust together, which ultimately came from the Big Bang.[24] | The earth was created by God organizing matter which has existed eternally.[25] |
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| What is marriage? | Marriage is a covenant before God between one man and one woman. | Marriage is a covenant before God between one man and one woman.[26] |
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| Is sex permissible outside marriage? | No, sex outside of marriage is not permissible.[27] | No, sex outside of marriage is not permissible.[26] |
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| When is divorce permissible? | Divorce is only permissible for adultery.[28] | Divorce is permissible for any reason allowed by law.[29] |
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| May a Christian remarry while his former spouse is still alive? | Yes, a Christian may remarry after divorce if the divorce was for a valid reason.[30] | Yes, a Christian may freely remarry after divorce.[31] |
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| When does a fetus become human? | Humanity begins at conception.[32] | No established doctrine, but the church opposes elective abortions.[33][34] |
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| Is contraception permissible? | Yes, contraceptives are permissible.[35] | Yes, contraceptives are permissible.[36] |
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| Are blood transfusions permissible? | No, blood transfusions are not permissible.[37] | Yes, blood transfusions are permissible. |
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| Should women cover their heads? | Women should cover their heads when praying or teaching when a man normally would.[38][39] | No, head coverings are no longer required due to cultural changes.[40] |
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| Should Christians drink alcohol? | Yes, drinking alcohol is fine as long as one does not get drunk.[41] | No, alcohol should be totally avoided. |
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| Should Christians fight in wars? | No, Christians should never fight.[42] | Yes, Christians should fight in just wars.[43][44] |
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| Whom does the Holy Spirit come from? | God's holy spirit comes from God alone. | The Holy Spirit is a separate god. |
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| Where does a Christian's soul go after death? | After death, one's existence ceases until and unless God resurrects him.[45] | The righteous await the resurrection in Paradise, part of the spirit world.[46][47] |
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