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APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION Regarding the Apostles, we Catholics believe that as thy passed away, they were replaced. These men became bishops. As their ministry spread, more bishops were appointed so that they can lead a particular region. Now bishops are the ones in charge of a geographic region. For example, Timothy Dolan is the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, meaning he's responsible for Catholics in the New York area. Bishops are descended from the Apostles. In fact, this is called "Apostolic Succession". The pope, currently Pope Francis, is the successor of St. Peter.

I wholeheartedly agree. There is much we can learn from each other and that is what I want to do by starting this thread, so that LDS can learn about Catholicism through a Catholic. We Catholics are like Mormons in that we get, unfortunately, a bad reputation and our beliefs tend to be distorted. As Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, America's first "televangelist" said: "There are not more than 100 people in the world who truly hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they perceive to be the Catholic Church." So please, ask away anything you'd like to know or always wondered about us crazy Catholics.

I was inspired by a thread in another forum I'm a member of. Ever had a question about Catholics/Catholicism that you'd like answered? Now's your chance. (Note, I'm not trying to convert, but instead engage in interfaith dialogue and answer questions you may have about another faith).

I'm figuring, that if I decide Mormonism is not for me, yet there are things in it I value and help me, I can take them and add them to my spiritual life and have a mix of different Christian denominations (I know,it's weird). Sort of like a Later-Day Catholic lol.

Yeah, they mentioned that chances are, if you invite a nonmember to a fireside they'll come dressed for a bonfire.

After attending my first LDS church service this weekend, I have an appointment to meet with the missionaries tonight. Problem is, I don't know where to meet them. I'm 29 years old and live with my family so I'd rather meet somewhere that isn't my house (at least not until I know this is something. I really want to pursue) The problem is the only place I can think of is the nearby Starbucks and that just seems blasphemous. Is it? Or would the missionaries understand? There's also a bookstore 5 miles away from my house (not sure if that's too far for them, they have a car). They have a coffee shop but it seems to me less inappropriate for them since its in a bookstore. What do you think? Where should I meet with them?

They described it as a devotional. Basically, they invite a speaker to come give a talk. In our case it was on sacrifice, listening to the Holy Ghost, and marriage (both relating to sacrifice).

Thanks, guys! I just wanted to give a quick update: Yesterday I went to my first ever LDS church service. It was 6 hours!!! (the regular 3, plus a baptism, potluck and fireside). And I will most likely be meeting with the sister missionaries soon. This has all helped me so much recently! To think, this time last week I was having suicidal thoughts, now I'm happier than ever before!!!! While I'm not ready to convert and don't really know/understand/believe some LDS beliefs (I may use this website to ask many questions) I am thankful to Heavenly Father and the Savior for this opportunity and for helping me overcome depression.

Thanks, guys. I've never met any Mormons before, but I did find peace while watching LDS videos online (for the first time in a while)! :) Thank God. Though I don't know if this means I continue looking into the LDS faith. Not sure.

Thanks. Hopefully reading the Book of Mormon will give me this same feelings. I've never read it.

Hi everyone! I've been going through a tough break up and have been very depressed lately and have even stopped practicing my faith (Catholicism). I seemed to have lost hope. However, there is something I've noticed. The other day I was listening to Joseph Smith's History from the Pearl of Great Price and was filled with this feeling of hope and joy, as if it were true. Then today, just now actually, I saw a video on the Plan of Salvation. WOW! It put things in perspective and gives me hope. I need to see things through this plan!! So pray for me. I may not be sold on the LDS Church or Joseph Smith, but the happiest and most hopeful I've been lately have been these two occurrences.

My thing is, if I'm a Catholic and never heard of Joseph Smith or of the Restoration, I'd want to know a bit about it at first before being asked to be baptized, which is a big commitment. I think it's steps. First teach me what the Church teaches, then ask me to be baptized.

I joined a Catholic forum online about a year ago. After about a week on there, the forum made me start doubting my Catholic faith because they were "If you don't do XYZ, you're not a TRUE Catholic, so go become a Protestant." It made me feel horrible. Then there were times where I learned of the transgressions of my priest. But then I remembered other good faithful priests and that my faith isn't shouldn't depend on what others think or the actions of one priest. If you have a testimony, keep the faith. Though in all honesty, if I met with missionaries for the first time and they asked me to be baptized the first meeting, I'd be turned off.

Thanks I checked on Mormon.org and it gave me the same ward as lds.org. It's 5.1 miles from where I am, 15 minutes by car, though 45 minutes by public transportation, so it will be difficult. I'm guessing that that's a good distance. In my state there is an estimated 55,111 Mormons. I'm currently in one of the larger cities. So I don't know if that's a lot or a little. I wouldn't mind friendly people. That's one of the things I love about the LDS Church: the friendly people. Another question: Do wards generally have a close community? Or is it just, "See you in church Sunday, nod, see you next week"?

First off, is it called a meeting house? Secondly, what would I expect as a first time visitor? I'm considering attending a LDS worship service. I love my Catholic faith, but there's something about Mormonism that I find interesting. Unfortunately, it is hard to get from where I am to the nearest meeting house (it'll involve taking the subway and then a bus and walking) so I'm still deciding on whether or not I should go. Anyways, any information and advice would be helpful.

I actually found a woman on YouTube who reads a chapter of the Book of Mormon a day. But life gets complicated. But sometimes when I'm reading it by my self, I can't help but agree with Mark Twain, "so "slow," so sleepy; such an insipid mess of inspiration. It is chloroform in print." No disrespect meant, it's just how it feels for an outsider getting into it. Hopefully I'll find it better when I really get into it. But I usually don't have a problem when reading along with the YouTube video. Thanks. I love meeting people of other faiths, but where I'm from it's a majority Catholic, so I barely get exposed to other faiths. And online there are so many anti-Catholic forums that I don't get to enjoy them. But so far I love this and love Mormonism. And Mormons! (even though I've never met one)

Here are excerpts from Pope John VI's Humanae Vitae. He begins by talking about love and the marriage bond: "The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator. It has always been a source of great joy to them, even though it sometimes entails many difficulties and hardships. The fulfillment of this duty has always posed problems to the conscience of married people, but the recent course of human society and the concomitant changes have provoked new questions. The Church cannot ignore these questions, for they concern matters intimately connected with the life and happiness of human beings." --- "But the most remarkable development of all is to be seen in man's stupendous progress in the domination and rational organization of the forces of nature to the point that he is endeavoring to extend this control over every aspect of his own life—over his body, over his mind and emotions, over his social life, and even over the laws that regulate the transmission of life." --- "Married love particularly reveals its true nature and nobility when we realize that it takes its origin from God, who "is love," the Father "from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named." Marriage, then, is far from being the effect of chance or the result of the blind evolution of natural forces. It is in reality the wise and provident institution of God the Creator, whose purpose was to effect in man His loving design. As a consequence, husband and wife, through that mutual gift of themselves, which is specific and exclusive to them alone, develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives." --- "Finally, this love (between husband and wife) is fecund. It is not confined wholly to the loving interchange of husband and wife; it also contrives to go beyond this to bring new life into being. "Marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordained toward the procreation and education of children. Children are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute in the highest degree to their parents' welfare." " --- "The reason is that the fundamental nature of the marriage act, while uniting husband and wife in the closest intimacy, also renders them capable of generating new life—and this as a result of laws written into the actual nature of man and of woman. And if each of these essential qualities, the unitive and the procreative, is preserved, the use of marriage fully retains its sense of true mutual love and its ordination to the supreme responsibility of parenthood to which man is called. We believe that our contemporaries are particularly capable of seeing that this teaching is in harmony with human reason." --- Here he is talking about why a Catholic is not to use artificial birth control: "Therefore We base Our words on the first principles of a human and Christian doctrine of marriage when We are obliged once more to declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun and, above all, all direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children. (14) Equally to be condemned, as the magisterium of the Church has affirmed on many occasions, is direct sterilization, whether of the man or of the woman, whether permanent or temporary. Similarly excluded is any action which either before, at the moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is specifically intended to prevent procreation—whether as an end or as a means. Neither is it valid to argue, as a justification for sexual intercourse which is deliberately contraceptive, that a lesser evil is to be preferred to a greater one, or that such intercourse would merge with procreative acts of past and future to form a single entity, and so be qualified by exactly the same moral goodness as these. Though it is true that sometimes it is lawful to tolerate a lesser moral evil in order to avoid a greater evil or in order to promote a greater good," it is never lawful, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may come of it —in other words, to intend directly something which of its very nature contradicts the moral order, and which must therefore be judged unworthy of man, even though the intention is to protect or promote the welfare of an individual, of a family or of society in general. Consequently, it is a serious error to think that a whole married life of otherwise normal relations can justify sexual intercourse which is deliberately contraceptive and so intrinsically wrong." --- Here the Pope talks about the effects of artificial birth control on society: "Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection. Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law. Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty? Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective? Should they regard this as necessary, they may even impose their use on everyone. It could well happen, therefore, that when people, either individually or in family or social life, experience the inherent difficulties of the divine law and are determined to avoid them, they may give into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in the most personal and intimate responsibility of husband and wife." --- All these quotes come from the Pope's letter to the faithful. The full letter could be found here: Humanae Vitae - Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Paul VI on the regulation of birth, 25 July 1968 Believe it or not, this is considered a short encyclical. Hopefully this helps you understand where I'm coming from on this issue. God bless!

Men and women are equal, but not necessarily the same.

I don't know much about FNP (Family Natural Planning). I just hear it a lot because I'm part of a Catholic forum also and that's the only method of BC the RCC (Roman Catholic Church) allows. I am thankful because I never really thought, "Oh, what does the LDS Church teach on birth control." But now I know and feel more informed. In fact, before posting I looked up what the Pope said about it in "Humanae Vitae" because I never read it, but now I read parts and liked it...I was tempted to post a couple excerpts. But now I know more exactly what MY Church teaches even if this thread was originally about a different Church.

This comes from the Baltimore Catechism which was taught in Catholic schools for some time. It was written in Q&A format. 3. Why did God make us? God made us to show forth His goodness and to share with us His everlasting happiness in heaven. Eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for those who love him. (I Corinthians 2:9) 4. What must we do to gain the happiness of heaven? To gain the happiness of heaven we must know, love, and serve God in this world. Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth; where the rust and moth consume and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven; where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. (Matthew 6:19-20)

So birth control use depends on the couple and prayer?

In Catholicism we have Desposits of faith, dogma, doctrine, discipline, and devotions. --- (I got this list from a Catholic site, I did not write the list) 1) Deposit of Faith: Holy Scripture AND Sacred Tradition, recognized and deliniated by the Magesterium. INFALLIBLE. Cannot be added to or subtracted from. 2) Dogma: INFALLIBLE teaching of Faith or Morals, derived from the Deposit of Faith. Propagated by ex cathedra pronouncment of reigning Pontiff or by a ecumenical council of the Church's bishops in turn ratified by reigning Pontiff. Cannot contradict Deposit of Faith or prior Dogma. 3) Doctrine: NOT infallible teaching of the Church of Faith and Morals. Binding on all Catholics while propagated. Can be altered, modified, abandoned, even condemned. Doctrine RARELY becomes Dogma. 4) Discipline: NOT infallible rules of behavior, binding on all Catholics while propagated, designed with the intent to keep believers "on the straight and narrow". Includes Lenten rules of fasting & priestly celibacy. Can be relaxed, altered, or abolished. 5) Devotions: Private practice of prayers, meditions, and disciplines, in accordance to Church approval. Includes 99% of Marian devotions, belief in approved apparitions or visions (Private Revelation), First Saturdays, Stations of the Cross, etc... --- For the most part, Catholic laymen don't speak up too too much on doctrines and dogmas. Once they stop believing in one they leave and find a different church. And for the most part, most priests and bishops are quiet, but every once in a while you'll get a priest who gives his bishop a headache. Usually the bishop deals with him privately. If it's really bad it'll go up to the Vatican, but I doubt it's common. Like has been said by another member on here, there are concerns of the laymen that make it to the top. For example, Pope Paul IV heard cries from the laity on what to do about artificial birth control. So he got a comission of scientists, cardinals and himself. Together they researched birth control and in the end the Pope wrote a letter to the faithful called "Humanae Vitae" (On Human Life) where he speaks out against birth control. That's one of the more recent examples I could think of. I also think John Paul II wouldn't have been beatified as fast as he was if it were not calls from the faithful to canonize him. There are those who stay in the Church, work from the inside. St. Francis did this. The Franciscan friars were founded to help reform the Church from the inside and bring it back to what Christ intended it to be. St. Francis prayed in front of a crucifix one day when he heard a voice say to him. "Francis, rebuild my Church." I have a lot of respect for these kinds of people who do this. Then there are those who decide to leave. Many become protestants, but few have started break away groups. There are quite a few break away Catholic groups that claim to be Catholic, but aren't in communion with Rome. They decide, "Hey, let's just start our own Catholic Church. Do everything the same, just take away X,Y,Z beliefs." I like the St. Francis-type Catholics better. I strive to be one.

Just wanted to say I'm glad you posted this. I never heard any official statements from the LDS leaders on this subject. Good to know what they have to say and what the LDS Church teaches. All I know is what I've heard from my spiritual tradition (Catholicism). In the late 1960's Pope Paul IV wrote an encyclical (letter to the faithful) on birth control. It was entitled "Humanae Vitae", Latin for "On Human Life". It was short, but in it he condemned birth control saying that by allowing birth control society will begin to fall. How prophetic that was. Ever since the family is in decline, moral relativism and promiscuity is on the rise. Don't get me started on abortion! He also has some wonderful things to say about marriage and the family in the encyclical. ^Just wanted to give you some background as to where I am coming from. Thank you for this. I am glad I read this and know the view of the LDS Church. Just wanted to ask, what does the LDS Church say on Natural Family Planning?

Thanks Jason. I'm finding it really hard to get into the BOM. It's a very slow read, added to the fact that I don't have much time to read it

Hi, I'm Andy and I'm 18 years old. Like it says above I am not a member of the LDS Church. I am a Roman Catholic, but with a strong interest in all things Mormon. The beliefs of the LDS Church are interesting and I love it. Easily my favorite Christian denomination. I am currently trying to read the BOM. Since I'm Catholic, feel free to ask me anything about my faith or anything the Catholic Church believes or teaches. I joined on here so that I could learn more about your faith and get to see things through a Mormon perspective since I don't know any Mormons. Hopefully I will be welcomed and be able to make new friends. Thanks, God bless.