How Doctrine Has Been Determined In The Chart:
Christianity, LDS Mormons, and FLDS Mormons each have a different emphasis of how doctrine is determined.
Christians put a lot of emphasis on the Bible. As a matter of fact, Protestant Christians actually coined the phrase "sola scriptura" (which means "only scripture") during their break off from the Catholic Church during the Reformation many years back. For that reason ONLY the Bible is used to determine the beliefs of Christianity.
The LDS Church is a little bit harder to tackle when it comes to doctrine because there are so many who claim what their doctrine is, and many times, they conflict with one another. It should be noted that the LDS Church differentiates between what is "official" and "unofficial" doctrine by the standard works (Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, Articles of Faith, etc.). For this reason, I am only going to display the official doctrine. This is also because this site does not plan on dealing with the LDS doctrines in depth; instead, this site is about the FLDS Church. For an official statement on approaching LDS Doctrine, click here.
The FLDS doctrine was determined using quotes mainly by church leaders, Rulon T. Jeffs, and Warren S. Jeffs; especially Warren. There is no such thing as "unofficial doctrine" in the FLDS Church; there is only official doctrine. Also, whatever is stated or taught by the prophet of the church is considered to be direct revelation from God. Warren stated, "You must be connected to the man who holds the priesthood after the order of the Son of God - those words mean he [the prophet] can act in God's place - to have eternal life and get to the celestial kingdom." (Warren S. Jeffs | 20 Nov 1995)
Additionally, in a declaration made by Alvin S. Barlow, the source for FLDS Church doctrine is addressed. "The faith and doctrines of the FLDS are embodied in the sacred texts revealed by God to the Prophet Joseph Smith, including the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. Other sacred writings central to the FLDS are the Prophet Joseph Smith's Inspired Version of the Bible and Lectures on Faith; and the Journal of Discourses, which comprises of sermons of Prophets and Apostles along with the teaching of other early leaders of the Church. Theses are the same writings common to the non-fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which is headquartered in Salt Lake City ("LDS"). Additionally the FLDS holds sacred the teaching and writing of the Prophets Leroy S. Johnson, Rulon T. Jeffs, and Warren S. Jeffs." (Alvin S. Barlow SR. | Declaration of Alvin S. Barlow SR. | 16 Apr 2007).
It should also be noted that the FLDS Church column refers to the FLDS Church and the FLDS Church ONLY. It does not claim to speak for other fundamentalist Mormon groups. Please refer to those groups for their own statement of beliefs.
I'm human and I make mistakes. See something wrong? Email me!
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| God (also called the Father or Heavenly Father) | God the Father is one individual in the trinity. He has no body and cannot be seen by mankind. -- "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 11 I, even I, amd the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour. 12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God." (Isaiah 43:10-13) "Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any." (Isaiah 44:8) | God the Father is one individual in the godhead. He is separate and distinct from the others (Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost) and has a glorified physical body. -- "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us." (D&C 130:22) "When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other---'This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!'" (Joseph Smith - History 1:17) | God the Father is an exalted man whose name is Michael. He was incarnated as Adam and is the literal father of our spirits. He has a glorified body of pefected flesh and bone. -- "When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other---'This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!'" (Joseph Smith - History 1:17) "Father Michael, a celestial man. Jesus is the only heir - the son who has the right to his Father's kingdom through birth. It makes you just feel so grateful that the God over Father Michael, Jehovah was born into the flesh through Father Michael. Jesus Christ is Jehovah - He is the Father and the Son." (Warren S. Jeffs | February 23, 1996) | | Holy Spirit (also called the Holy Ghost) | The Holy Ghost is what allowed Mary to conceive Jesus. The Holy Spirit brings conviction and testimonies of God, as well as a freedom from bondage. -- "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35) "John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." (Luke 3:16) "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8) "Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear." (Acts 2:33) "Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost." (Acts 11:16) "He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost." (Acts 19:2) "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (2 Corinthians 3:17) | The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit so that it may dwell in us. -- "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us." (D&C 130:22) | The Holy Spirit is the mind of Christ and the Father, and embodied in the living prophet. -- "Who did Joseph Smith see when the Godhead, when the Father and the Son appeared to - the Godhead as to the earth in the flesh? Michael was the Father. Jesus Christ was the Son, as to the flesh. Here Joseph Smith, Jun., their Witness and Testator, becomes the third member of the Godhead. Now Joseph steps into that office of the Holy Ghost. He has charge of this last dispensation into which all the other dispensations will be gathered as one. That is the only recording we have where the Father and the Son appeared together to a man. This was to Joseph, who is now one of the Godhead with those two, as to this earth." (Rulon T. Jeffs | 02 Jun 1991) "The power of the Priesthood is the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit is the mind of the Father and the Son. God is priesthood - priesthood is God with us. The prophet is God with us and God over us. To obey the prophet (Rulon Jeffs) is to obey God." (Warren S. Jeffs | November 20, 1995) | | Jesus Christ | Jesus Christ was the only begotten son of God who died for our sins and rose again on the third day. All sins are forgiven through the atonement. He is fully God and fully man. -- "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romas 5:6-8) "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept." (1 Corinthians 15:17,20) "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." (Colossians 2:9) | Christ atoned for our sin nature. By accepting him as Savior, we can be saved by grace allowing us to receive general salvation in the Terrestrial Kingdom. He lives in heaven now with a perfected body of flesh and bone. -- "I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me. And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil---And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works. And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world." (3 Nephi 27:13-16) "Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh." (Ether 3:16) "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us." (D&C 130:22) "In our fallen state, we are subject to opposition and temptation. When we give in to temptation, distance ourselves from God and come short of His glory." "Jesus's atoning sacrifice took place in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary. In Gethsamane He submitted to the will of the Father and began to take upon Himself the sins of all people." (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | True to the Faith | pg. 15, 17) | Christ is the only begotten in the flesh and atoned for our sin nature in the Garden of Gesthemane, but not our sins. We must be baptized in order to have our sins forgiven. -- "This great being, a God, willingly came into this mortality, took upon Him the flesh. He was perfectly faithful and obedient. Because Father Michael became Adam and partook of the forbidden fruit, all people were lost. We had no hope except another God came and paid for the fall. Punishment requires suffering and that is what our Savior did. Young people, you've been told to have a testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ. This story today is what you must understand the most. In the garden of Gethsemane, the weight of the sins of all mankind were coming upon Him and He, feeling this great weight and pain, was praying for strength to endure it." (Warren S. Jeffs | March 15, 1996) "Jesus conquered death, paid for the sin of the fall and earned the right to be the first to be resurrected." (WSJ | March 18, 1996) "For about 200 years, there was a period of time when the leaders of this new Christian religion became very low and filthy. They corrupted the idea of God. They did terrible things. For instance, we know Jesus was married." (WSJ | Apr 03, 1996) | | Kingdom of God (also called "Zion") | The Kingdom of God is within all those saved. -- "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 27:20-21) | The Kingdom of God (Zion) is wherever the membership of the LDS Church is. -- "In the early days of this dispensation, Church leaders counseled members to build up Zion by emigrating to a central location. Today our leaders counsel us to build up Zion wherever we live. Members of the Church are asked to remain in their native lands and help establish the Church there." (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | True to the Faith | pg. 189) | The FLDS Church is the Kingdom of God on Earth and is located wherever the priesthood sends their members. -- "I testify to you, young people, we are part of the kingdom of God - the greatest work on earth. You are part of it. Are you living to help build it up? The kingdom of God can be built up only by a righteous people who obey the prophet and their good parents. You are not here to be gentiles and go after their ways and entertainments. You are here to become like God and qualify to live with Him - and raise a family that can visit Him and know Him personally. That's what your parents are trying to do with you." (Warren S. Jeffs | April 02, 1996) | | Marriage | Marriage is only between one man and one woman. -- "Each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband." (1 Corinthians 7:2) "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband." (Ephesians 5:25-33) | Marriage is between one man and one woman on Earth. However, polygamy will be practiced in eternity and are also practiced on occation in the temple work for the dead. Monogamous marriages are an ordinance for exaltaion (a higher form of salvation). -- "If a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them - Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths - then shall it be written in the Lamb's Book of Life." (D&C 132:19) "And verily, verily, I say unto you, that whatsoever you seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever you bind on earth, in my name and by my word, saith the Lord, it shall be eternally bound in the heavens." (D&C 132:46) "Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress forbidding plural marriages, which laws have been pronounced constitutional by the court of last resort, I hereby declare my intention to submit to those laws." (Wilford Woodruff | 1890 Declaration) | Marriage is between one man and multiple women. Monogamous and polygamous marriages are ordinances for exaltation (a higher form of salvation). -- "Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into my law and ye shall be saved. But if ye enter not into my law ye cannot receive the promise of my Father, which he made unto Abraham. God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. This, therefore, was fulfilling, among other things, the promises." (D&C 132:32-34) "And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him... for they are given unto him... for their exaltaltation in the eternal worlds." D&C 132:62-63) "No man can become a god unless he has more wives than one." (Warren S. Jeffs | November 01, 1995 ) | | Redemption (or Forgiveness) | Those who have sinned have an advocate in Jesus Christ to the Father. Sins that are forgiven are blotted out and no longer remembered. -- "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18) "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified." (Isaiah 43:25-26) "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14-15) "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16) "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 10:17) "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." (1 John 2:1) | In order to be forgiven of sins, a member must ask for forgiveness and never commit the sin again. -- "Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven; And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts" (D&C 1:32-33) "Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins--behold, he will confess them and forsake them." (D&C 58:42-43) | Some sins are too heinous to forgive. Repentence is completely turning away from your sins. Knowing whether a person has truly repented comes from the declaration of the prophet. -- "A murderer has no forgiveness & he will be destroyed in the next life (hereafter)." (Warren S. Jeffs | January 10, 1996) "If we help others or protect others in their sins, we are guilty of it ourselves. We are to encourage them to do better - even report on them, to their priesthood head and then we leave judgment to the priesthood. We don't go about and say they are wicked, bad, naughty. If we saw a wrong, we say what we saw and then we be quiet. Leave it in the hands of the judge. It takes revelation, Heavenly Father's spirit, to speak to that person's priesthood head, to judge right. One of the worst things you can do is to judge the prophet and figure out that he isn't doing just right. Anybody who feels like he's not doing just right, that is a revelation to themselves that they are not doing right. The Lord said let no man judge the prophet for the Lord will handle him." (WSJ | March 12, 1996) "They changed the meaning of repentance - if you just believe you will be saved. If you just name your wrongs, you will be saved. We know better. Repentance means you must change and do the wrong no more. At a certain time in the Catholic Church, rich people could pay a lot of money to the Catholic priests, which meant their sins were forgiven. That's not how sins are forgiven. If you did wrong and you gave President Jeffs millions of dollars, that wouldn't make you good. It’s your honest repentance and doing good, turning away from evil, that would make you good." (WSJ | April 3, 1996) | | Salvation | Salvation is a gift. You cannot work to receive it. To receive it, one must confess that Christ is the savior of their sins and has come in the flesh. Works come naturally after being re-born. -- "I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you." (Isaiah 57:12) "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6) "What must we do to do the works God requires?' Jesus answered, 'The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent." (John 6:28-29) "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' They replied, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household." (Acts 16:30-31) "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:8-10) | There are two types of salvation: Kingdom Salvation (Exaltation) & General Salvation; General salvation is defined by grace and results in going to the lower kingdoms (Terrestrial or Telestial). Exaltation (which allows a person to go to the Celestial Kingdom) is received after being baptized, receiving the Holy Spirit in a confirmation ceremony by the appropriate priesthood holders, and remaining worthy to the LDS Church. -- "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." (2 Nephi 25:23) "And the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins; 26 And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God." (Moroni 8:25-26) "Keep my commandments conntinually, and a crown of righteousness thou shalt receive. and except thou do this, where I am you can not come." D&C 25:15 | Salvation is received after being baptized and receiving the Holy Spirit in a confirmation ceremony by the appropriate priesthood holders. In order to be forgiven of sins, a member must ask for forgiveness and never commit the sin again. A member must also do everything that the current prophet asks of the person including, but not limited to, who one is to marry, submission to their teachings, etc. Sins that are unable to be forgiven require blood to be shed or "blood atonment" which usually results in the death of the sinner. -- "The fourth group of people, the sons of perdition, are priesthood men who turned traitor to the prophet and became apostates. When they come out of the grave and are resurrected, they will not go into any degrees of happiness. They will go immediately into eternal punishment that will never die." "No man can become a god unless he has more wives than one." (Warren S. Jeffs | November 01, 1995) "It was Father Michael who came down and took the Savior's hand and brought Him out of the grave. This teaches us the principle that a righteous father will resurrect his sons and his wives. A man's daughters will be resurrected by their husband." (WSJ | March 18, 1996) | | The Bible | The Bible is completely 100% accurate and is therefore the Word of God. It contains all of the scripture needed (sola scriptura). -- "The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever." (Isaiah 40:8) "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that a man of God may be complete thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17) | The Bible is translated incorrectly in some areas so if the other standard works (Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, Pearl of Great Price) then they are to be trusted over the Bible. -- "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." (Joseph Smith Jr. | Articles of Faith 1:8) | The Bible has been corrupted. The interpretations of the latter-day prophets are to be trusted more. Warren has gone as far as to state that church members should discount the Bible completely when studying it. -- "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." (Joseph Smith Jr. | Articles of Faith 1:8) "In the Old Testament, you will rarely read the word "Christ". That is because when the wicked people got hold of the Bible, the writings of the prophets - they removed many of the good things. One day, the Bible will be re-done, put back to it's original state, and you'll see that all the prophets taught their people about the coming of the Son of God, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We have the most pure book called The Book of Mormon." (Warren S. Jeffs | February 14, 1996) | | Virgin Birth | Christ was immaculately conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary. -- "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a pulick example, was minded to put her away privily." (Matthew 1:18-19) "Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:30-35) | Mary was a virgin when she conceived Christ. -- "And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God." (Alma 7:10) | Christ was begotten by the Father, not the Holy Spirit. Mary engaged in sexual relations with God the Father in order to become pregnant with Christ. Mary was one of God the Father's wives who helped him in his exaltation process on another world. -- "When the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his own likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost." (President Brigham Young | Journal of Discourses 1:50) "Years before the Savior was born, one of Heavenly Father's wives was born into this earth. On this earth, she was known as Mary. While she was yet a very young lady, the angel Gabriel, who was Noah, appeared to Mary. He taught her what her mission in life was. She was to be the mother of the Savior, but she was also taught who the father would be. She was not married - she was very young. The scriptures say the Holy Ghost, the spirit of God, fell upon her and she was with child. It means when Father Michael, the father of this earth, came to Mary, she had to have the spirit of God protect her, as she was with a God. The earthly father of Jesus was Father Michael. It wasn't a mortal man like our fathers are. Jesus is called "The Only Begotten Son of the Father" in the flesh. That means His father was a celestial man while His mother was mortal." (Warren S. Jeffs | February 23, 1996) |
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