Catholic Testamony vs. Mormon Testimony of Christ

Here's a Catholic member's testimony of Christ posted as a comment to the blog Traditional Catholicism:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible: And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten, not made; consubstantial with the Father, by Whom all things were made: Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. He was crucified also for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried: And the third day He arose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven. He sitteth at the right hand of the Father: and He shall come again with glory, to judge the living and the dead: and His kingdom shall have no end: And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, Who, together with the Father [and the Son], is adored and glorified: Who spoke by the prophets. And one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. And I expect the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

As you say, this is quite different from your belief. This isn’t the whole of my belief, but it is a good and brief summary.

 And my response:

Aaron:
I’ve carefully read each sentence from your testimony paragraph that you suggest is “very different” from my beliefs, and compared them to the verses I’ve already quoted from the Book of Mormon above.

They still seem awfully similar to me.

Honestly, I can’t see any substantive differences between  your testimony and the statements in the Book of Mormon, except for the word, “consubstantial,” which I’m not familiar with and is not found in the Bible. I could even agree with the word “catholic” when used as you did as an non-capitalized adjective as defined by Webster: “universal in extent; involving all; of interest to all; or pertaining to the whole Christian body or church.”

I also love and agree with John 1:1-2, which you quote. “In the beginning was the Word. . .”

It sounds like we both agree about not just the teachings, but also the nature of Jesus Christ: “God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.” (Book of Mormon)

I even agree that God (I’m used to the word Godhead, rather than Trinity) is “simultaneously God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, who are three distinct persons but one and only True God.”

Our only difference on that topic that I can see is that I feel we can understand how God can be all three distinct and yet remain “one”, and you feel it’s a “divine mystery” that we can never figure out. I believe God wants us to understand Him and who He is, so that we can more effectively emulate Him and pray to Him.

In addition to our matching beliefs about the divinity of Jesus Christ, our Churches agree quite well in what it means to follow Jesus in real life.

Our Churches work together on numerous social issues in the US and abroad. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and LDS Charities gives heavily to and works closely with Catholic Charities internationally. In Salt Lake City, the Mormon Church is a heavy supporter and donor to the Catholic Catheral of the Madelaine, where our two Churches work together to help relieve suffering and poverty in Utah. The Catholic Cathedral is a key distribution point for food produced by the Mormon Church for the poor in Salt Lake City, using both Mormon and Catholic volunteers!

This united effort and many others like it to strengthen marriage and the family are a result of our joint belief in Jesus’ teachings about helping the poor and needy, and about strengthening the family.

I love and celebrate the many Christ-like works that Catholics and the Catholic Church engage in, and I believe you’re doing these good efforts because you are following Jesus Christ.

In other words, I’m perfectly willing to acknowledge you’re a Christian, even though I think you’re slightly off with your belief that the Trinity is a mystery that we can never understand.

Why is it so hard for you to acknowledge that I can also believe in Jesus Christ, or be a “Christian”?