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500 years ago this Halloween, Martin Luther a Catholic monk (I forget which order, but I'm sure that information is readily available) went public with his concerns about the Roman Catholic Church, kicking off the Protestant Reformation. Some of my reflections: 1) God wants us to come to a unity of faith. The Reformation shows how difficult it can be. The Protestant Catholic schism is not the only division within Christianity, but it is arguably the most obvious. 2) I recall some sentiments expressed withing Mormonism regarding how the Reformation laid the groundwork for the LDS Restoration by making "heresy" no longer punishable by death. The Restoration could only survive in a society that could tolerate (even if only just barely) religious plurality. 3) While the worst of the "bad feelings" from the Reformation are mostly behind us, there are still some anti-Catholic sentiments out there. At the same time, I hear of anti-Protestant sentiments from the Catholic side of the aisle. It seems to me that the wounds from the Protestant Reformation are still healing. Some these "you're not Christian" arguments can strick pretty close to home as a Mormon, as many of the same accusations get leveled against us (and we are not entirely free from guilt for our own brand of "Mormon superiority"). Anyone else (LDS and non-LDS here) have any reflections on the Reformation?

Hello all, Thought I'd come here to learn a little more about LDS. My background is conservative Protestant for most my life then some searching around and have been following mostly a Zen Buddhist path for a few years. I have several LDS people in my life and one thing I admire is the community-oriented nature of the church as well as the commitment to living moral lives. I am also a Freemason of several years and our principles of living are very similar. Anyway, glad to be here and learn!