Latter Day Sinner

In the effort to identify as a Christian church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints needs to be more careful about adopting the prejudices of traditional Christianity. One in particular that continues to bother me is the way that Saints treat the Quran and Islam. I think there are some undeniable parallels between our two books and our two faiths. I was specifically counseled that the Quran is a satanic book. This is the most Christian prejudice that exists between the two religions. The LDS community as a whole should reject the notion that a book of new revelation delivered by an angel to found a small transient community to form a major world religion is not what it says it is. Our books have a lot in common and the stark denial among the Saints of similarities boggles my mind.

More to my point the basic tenants of Islam (The Five Pillars) are completely compatible with Mormonism. A Muslim bears his testimony in the Shahadah and fasts for the month of Ramadan. The first Sunday of each month the Saints are asked to fast and bear our testimony in front of the local ward. Muslims are commanded to pray five times a day. Saints are encouraged to pray without ceasing. Alms in Islam is called Zakat and in Mormonism it is called a tithe. And then there is pilgrimage. Muslims are encouraged (if their situation permits) to make a journey at least once in their lives to Mecca and Medina. Saints dedicate significant time and resources to travel to the nearest temple to perform sacred ordinances. Those are the five principles of Islam and their counterparts in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Muslims are our brothers and we have a sacred duty with them to continue to honor God in the basics. This is something traditional Christianity often rejects. Mormonism should not make this mistake. If you are a Saint and you are reading this, then I beg you to take this simple but clear argument seriously.