Churches, Other: Teachings of Joseph Smith

Rail not against the sects, neither talk against their tenets. But preach Christ and him crucified, love to God, and love to man. (Joseph Smith, The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, p. 347)

We ought always to be aware of those prejudices which sometimes so strangely present themselves, and are so congenial to human nature, against our friends, neighbors, and brethren of the world, who choose to differ from us in opinion and in matters of faith. Our religion is between us and our God. Their religion is between them and their God. (Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols. 3:303-4)

Many objections are urged against the Latter-day Saints for not admitting the validity of sectarian baptism, and for withholding fellowship from sectarian churches. Yet to do otherwise would be like putting new wine into old bottles, and putting old wine into new bottles. What! new revelations in the old churches? New revelations would knock out the bottom of their bottomless pit. New wine into old bottles! The bottles burst and the wine runs out! What! Sadducees in the new church! Old wine in new leathern bottles will leak through the pores and escape. (Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols. 4:426)

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? The character of the old churches have always been slandered by all apostates since the world began. (Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols. 6:478)

Footnotes

386. Letter to Hezekiah Peck, a Church leader in Missouri, Kirtland, 31 August 1835.

387. Letter to the Saints from Liberty Jail, 20-25 March 1839.

388. General conference address, Nauvoo, 3 October 1841.

389. Sabbath address, Nauvoo, 16 June 1844.


(Joseph Smith, Encyclopedia of Joseph Smith's Teachings, edited by Larry E. Dahl and Donald Q.Cannon [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1997], .)