Mormon Quotes

One true church

Joseph Smith
The old Catholic church traditions are worth more than all you have said. Here is a principle of logic that most men have no more sense than to adopt. I will illustrate it by an old apple tree. Here jumps off a branch and says, I am the true tree, and you are corrupt. If the whole tree is corrupt, are not its branches corrupt? If the Catholic religion is a false religion, how can any true religion come out of it? If the Catholic church is bad, how can any good thing come out of it?
Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 6:478; Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 223; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 375
Joseph Smith
Truth is Mormonism. God is the author of it.
Joseph Smith, Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 199
Joseph Smith
Before you joined this Church you stood on neutral ground. When the gospel was preached, good and evil were set before you. You could choose either or neither. There were two opposite masters inviting you to serve them. When you joined this Church you enlisted to serve God. When you did that you left the neutral ground, and you never can get back on to it. Should you forsake the Master you enlisted to serve, it will be by the instigation of the evil one, and you will follow his dictation and be his servant.
Joseph Smith, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, p. 324
Joseph Smith
I see no faults in the Church, and therefore let me be resurrected with the Saints, whether I ascend to heaven or descend to hell, or go to any other place. And if we go to hell, we will turn the devils out of doors and make a heaven of it.
Joseph Smith, History of the Church 5:517; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 316
Joseph Smith
Mormonism, is the pure doctrine of Jesus Christ; of which I myself am not ashamed.
Joseph Smith, The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, p. 547-548
John Taylor
Thus we are the only people that understand anything about the present position or the cause of the organization of the world and of man, and that understand anything correctly about a preparation for a future state; that we are the only people that know how to save our progenitors, how to save ourselves, and how to save our posterity in the celestial kingdom of God; that we are the people that God has chosen by whom to establish his kingdom and introduce correct principles into the world; and that we in fact are the saviours of the world, if they ever are saved;
John Taylor, Journal of Discourses 6:163
Wilford Woodruff
As the Apostle Paul said 'If we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel than that we have preached let him be accursed.'
Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Discourses 12:276
Bruce R. McConkie
I do not know all of the providences of the Lord, but I do know that he permits false doctrine to be taught in and out of the Church and that such teaching is part of the sifting process of mortality.
Bruce R. McConkie, McConkie's 1981 letter to BYU
Orson Pratt
But who in this generation have authority to baptize? None but those who have received authority in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints: all other churches are entirely destitute of all authority from God; and any person who receives Baptism or the Lord's supper from their hands will highly offend God, for he looks upon them as the most corrupt of all people. Both Catholics and Protestants are nothing less than the "whore of Babylon" whom the Lord denounces by the mouth of John the Revelator as having corrupted all the earth by their fornications and wickedness. And any person who shall be so wicked as to receive a holy ordinance of the gospel from the ministers of any of these apostate churches will be sent down to hell with them, unless they repent of the unholy and impious act.
Orson Pratt, Apostle Orson Pratt, The Seer, p. 255
Orson Pratt
If, after a rigid examination, it be found an imposition, it should be extensively published to the world as such; the evidences and arguments on which the imposture was detected, should be clearly and logically stated, that those who have been sincerely yet unfortunately deceived, may perceive the nature of the deception and be reclaimed, and that those who continue to publish the delusion, may be exposed and silenced....
Orson Pratt, Apostle Orson Pratt, Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon
Boyd K. Packer
Surely no one who really thinks would hold to that position, [that all faiths lead to God].
Boyd K. Packer, "The Only True and Living Church"
Gerald N. Lund
Today, the world is permeated with philosophies similar to those taught by Korihor. We read them in books, see them championed in the movies and on television, and hear them taught in classrooms and sometimes in the churches of our time. Note just a few examples drawn from modern writings: "We believe that traditional dogmatic or authoritarian religions that place revelation, God, ritual, or creed above human needs and experience do a disservice to the human species. ... Traditional religions often offer solace to humans, but, as often, they inhibit humans from helping themselves or experiencing their full potentialities. ... Too often traditional faiths encourage dependence rather than independence." ("Humanist Manifesto II," The Humanist, Sept./Oct. 1973, pp. 5—6; compare Alma 30:14, 16, 27—28.) "Science affirms that the human species is an emergence from natural evolutionary forces. As far as we know, the total personality is a function of the biological organism transacting in a social and cultural context." (Ibid; compare Alma 30:17.) Here we see clear evidence of Mormon's inspiration to give us a full account of Korihor and his teachings. Korihor's teachings are old doctrine, and yet they are ideas as modern as today's high‑speed printing presses and satellite dishes.
Gerald N. Lund, Ensign, Countering Korihor's Philosophy, July 1992
Dallin H. Oaks
Some persons have a finely developed social conscience. They respond to social injustice and suffering with great concern, commitment, and generosity. This is surely a spiritual strength, something many of us need in greater measure. Yet persons who have this great quality need to be cautious that it not impel them to overstep other ultimate values. My social conscience should not cause me to coerce others to use their time or means to fulfill my objectives. We are not blessed for magnifying our calling with someone else's time or resources. We are commanded to love our neighbors, not to manipulate them, even for righteous purposes. In the same way, we should not feel alienated from our church or its leaders when they refrain from using the rhetoric of the social gospel or from allocating Church resources to purposes favored by others. We should remember that the Lord has given his restored Church a unique mission not given to others. We must concentrate our primary efforts on those activities that can only be accomplished with priesthood authority, such as preaching the gospel and redeeming the dead.
Dallin H. Oaks, BYU Fireside, "Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall", June 07, 1992
Robert Oaks
Some Church members may have reservations because of a physical appetite they are not quite willing to surrender. Some members are constantly evaluating the gospel by the standards of the world. They may think, 'That is not how I think the Lord would want it done,' or, 'Based on my understanding of the scriptures, the Church position should have been...' Other common reservations are flagged by words such as 'yes, but...' when scriptures or prophets are quoted. Or we may hear, 'I am not going to let the Church make my decisions for me.' ... Unquestioning obedience to the Lord indicates that a person has developed faith and trust in Him to the point where he or she considers all inspired instruction — whether it be recorded scripture or the words of modern prophets — to be worthy of obedience. Let us believe all things. Let us have unquestioning faith in all of the doctrines and truths of the restored gospel.
Robert Oaks, Elder Robert Oaks, "Believe All Things" Church Ensign, July 2005, page 30
LeGrand Richards
God is calling to the Jews. He invites them into the fold of Christ. He wants them to come and take their place in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints, the Kingdom of God which 'shall stand forever.' (Daniel 2:44)
LeGrand Richards, Israel! Do You Know?, 1954, p. 209
J. Reuben Clark
[We'll develop BYU's School of Theology] only for the purpose of developing and demonstrating the truth of the Restored Gospel and the falsity of the other religions of the world, and thereby up build the faith and knowledge of post‑graduate scholars.
J. Reuben Clark, Heber J. Grant, J. Reuben Clark, and David O. McKay to Committee on Publications (Joseph Fielding Smith, John A. Widtsoe, Harold B. Lee, and Marion G. Romney), 9 Aug. 1944
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