| a.k.a. | Latter-Day Saint | |
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| Number of Members | 16,800,000[1] | 210,000,000[2] |
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| How does one get saved? | 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. | Repent of your sins, believe in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, and be baptized.[3] |
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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, 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. | Yes, a Christian can lose his salvation by apostasy. |
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| Who gets baptized and why? | Understanding persons get baptized as the first ordinance, cleansing them of all sins. | The unsaved, typically as infants, get baptized as the first sacrament of Christian initiation, cleansing them of all sins. |
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| How should baptism be done? | Baptism should be by immersion. | Baptism should be by triple immersion. |
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| When does one receive the Holy Spirit? | The gift of the Holy Ghost is received at confirmation. | The Holy Spirit is received at chrismation, generally immediately after baptism. |
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| What is the trinity? | The Godhead comprises three separate gods—God the Father, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. | The Trinity is God existing as one god in three equal, eternal, cosubstantial persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. |
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| What is the human nature? | Humans are neither inherently good nor inherently evil. | Human nature is intrinsically good but is wounded and incapable of choosing God in our fallen environment.[4][5] |
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| Are we guilty of Adam's original sin? | No, "men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression." | No, we are not guilty of Adam's sin, nor did we inherit a sinful nature from him, but we did inherit the consequences.[6] |
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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. | Yes, Christian perfection is possible. |
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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. | Metousiosis: Yes, the bread and the wine change in essence into the body and blood of Christ. |
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| Can one be baptized of behalf of someone who has died? | Yes, a living person can be a proxy for the dead to be baptized, who then can accept or reject it in the afterlife. | No, the dead cannot be baptized. |
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| What happens if a saved person dies without being perfect? | Once Christians leave their sinful bodies, nothing else is needed to receive glorified, sinless bodies. | There is no purgatory, but Christians will continue in theosis after death.[7] |
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| Did Mary ever sin? | Yes, Mary sinned like all other humans except Jesus. | Mary was prone to sin like anyone else, but no, through her own free will she still never did. |
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| What spiritual gifts are available today? | Continuationism: All spiritual gifts are still available to believers.[8] | Continuationism: All spiritual gifts are still available to believers. |
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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] | Speaking in tongues is sometimes unintelligible and sometimes foreign human languages.[12][13] |
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| What are the requirements for clergy? | | Priests must be men over 30 ordained by bishops. |
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| How many church ordinances/sacraments are there? | 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.[14] | The church has seven sacraments: Baptism, Chrism, Holy Eucharist, Confession, Ordination, Marriage, and Holy Unction.[15] |
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| Who can take communion? | | Only members of the church can participate in Holy Communion.[16] |
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| To whom do Christians need to confess their sins? | 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.[17][18] | Confession should be made to God before a priest.[19] |
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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.[20][21] | Episcopal: Churches should be governed by the bishop in that episcopacy, who in turn is governed by a patriarch of an autocephalous church. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is first among equals. |
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| What day of the week should Christians worship? | Christians worship on Sunday. | Christians worship on Sunday. |
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| How does God's revelation come to us today? | There are many sources of God's revelation. | Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition have equal authority and comprise one finished deposit of faith. |
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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—and three other canonical books: the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. | There are 76 canonical books of the Bible: 39 protocanonical books, 10 deuterocanonical books, and 27 New Testament books. |
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| Was the Bible written inerrantly? | No, the Bible is not inerrant in any respect.[22][23] | |
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| Who can speak with God's authority today? | 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.[24][25] | The church as a whole speaks with God's authority at ecumenical councils. |
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| How was the earth created? | The earth was created by God organizing matter which has existed eternally.[26] | No established doctrine |
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| What is marriage? | Marriage is a covenant before God between one man and one woman.[27] | Marriage is a covenant before God between one man and one woman. |
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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. |
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| When is divorce permissible? | Divorce is permissible for any reason allowed by law.[28] | Divorce is permissible for adultery, abuse, or abandonment.[29][30] |
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| May a Christian remarry while his former spouse is still alive? | Yes, a Christian may freely remarry after divorce.[31] | Yes, a Christian may remarry a second or third time for human weakness.[30] |
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| When does a fetus become human? | No established doctrine, but the church opposes elective abortions.[32][33] | Humanity begins at conception.[34] |
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| Is contraception permissible? | Yes, contraceptives are permissible.[35] | Most believe that yes, contraceptives are permissible.[36][37] |
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| Are blood transfusions permissible? | Yes, blood transfusions are permissible. | Yes, blood transfusions are permissible. |
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| Should women cover their heads? | No, head coverings are no longer required due to cultural changes.[38] | Varies widely |
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| Should Christians drink alcohol? | No, alcohol should be totally avoided. | Yes, drinking alcohol is fine as long as one does not get drunk. |
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| Should Christians fight in wars? | Yes, Christians should fight in just wars.[39][40] | Yes, Christians can fight in just wars.[41][42][43] |
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| Whom does the Holy Spirit come from? | The Holy Spirit is a separate god. | The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone. |
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| Do icons glorify God? | | Yes, icons are holy and should be venerated.[44] |
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| Where does a Christian's soul go after death? | The righteous await the resurrection in Paradise, part of the spirit world.[45][46] | After death, souls sit conscious in an Intermediate State, with a foretaste of heaven for Christians.[47] |
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| When will the church be raptured? | | The church will not be raptured at any point. |
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| When is the millennial reign of Christ happen? | | Amillennialism: The millennial reign of Christ is an indefinite period of time beginning on the day of Pentecost and ending at His Second Coming. |
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