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The Father and the Son have tangible bodies of flesh and bones, and the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit. Although the members of the Godhead are distinct beings with distinct roles, they are one in purpose and doctrine.

The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

That the sole authority for faith and practice among Baptists is the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Confessions are only guides in interpretation, having no authority over the conscience.

Revelation is communication from God to His children. This guidance comes through various channels according to the needs and circumstances of individuals, families, and the Church as a whole. When the Lord reveals His will to the Church, He speaks through His prophet.

The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelation of the Spirit, or traditions of men.

The official, canonized scriptures of the Church, often called the standard works, are the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.

The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon or rule of the Scripture, and, therefore, are of no authority to the church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved or made use of than other human writings.

The Bible is the work of many prophets and inspired writers acting under the influence of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21).

The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of the people of God of old), and the New Testament in Greek (which at the time of the writing of it was most generally known to the nations), being immediately inspired by God, and by His singular care and providence kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentic; so as in all controversies of religion, the church is finally to appeal to them.

As the Bible was compiled, organized, translated, and transcribed, many errors entered the text. The existence of such errors becomes apparent when one considers the numerous and often conflicting translations of the Bible in existence today.

Southern Baptists believe that the Bible is truth without any mixture of error and are deeply committed to the preservation of the Scriptures

Latter-day Saints revere the Bible. They study it and believe it to be the word of God. However, they do not believe the Bible, as it is currently available, is without error.

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy.

Under the direction of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ created the heavens and the earth. From scripture revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, we know that in the work of the Creation, the Lord organized elements that had already existed. He did not create the world “out of nothing,” as some people believe.

Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation.

From the Prophet’s account of the First Vision and from his other teachings, we know that the members of the Godhead are three separate beings. The Father and the Son have tangible bodies of flesh and bones, and the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit.

the Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son;

We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.

Enduring to the end means remaining true to our commitment to God and His commandments throughout our lives. It includes making covenants with Him, repenting each day, and relying upon the power of Jesus Christ to help us overcome trials, temptations, and opposition. All who endure to the end will receive the gift of eternal life and return to live with God (see Matthew 10:22).

All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end.

Agency is the ability and privilege God gives us to choose and to act for ourselves. Agency is essential in the plan of salvation. Without agency, we would not be able to learn or progress or follow the Savior.

Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end.

Each of us will accordingly receive an eternal dwelling place in a specific kingdom of glory. The Lord taught this principle when He said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” There are three kingdoms of glory: the celestial kingdom, the terrestrial kingdom, and the telestial kingdom.

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.

Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation.

Because we are all God’s children, every person who was ever born on earth is our spirit brother or sister. And because we are the spirit children of God, we each have inherited the potential to develop His divine qualities.

In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race.

Perfect can also mean without sin or evil. Only Christ was totally perfect. True followers of Christ may become perfect through His grace and Atonement.

Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life.

Much of the ceremonial law was fulfilled at the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which ended sacrifice by the shedding of blood (Alma 34:13–14). The law was administered under the Aaronic Priesthood and was a preparatory gospel to bring its adherents to Christ.

Besides this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel ceremonial laws, containing several typical ordinances, partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, his graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits; and partly holding forth divers instructions of moral duties, all which ceremonial laws being appointed only to the time of reformation, are, by Jesus Christ the true Messiah and only law-giver, who was furnished with power from the Father for that end abrogated and taken away.

Baptism by immersion in water by one having authority is the first ordinance of salvation and exaltation in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is also necessary for an individual to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to receive eternal salvation.

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ.

By performing proxy baptisms on behalf of those who have died, Church members offer these blessings to deceased ancestors. Individuals can then choose to accept or reject the ordinances that have been performed on their behalf.

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.

Today the sacrament is an ordinance in which Church members partake of bread and water in remembrance of Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice. This ordinance is an essential part of worship and spiritual development. Through this ordinance, Church members renew the covenants they made with God when they were baptized.

The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

Although the sacrament is for members of the Church, nothing should be done to prevent others from partaking of it.

As stated earlier in other questions related to local church autonomy, the requirements for who may partake of the Lord’s Supper are addressed and determined by the local church.

The broken bread is a reminder of His body and His physical suffering—especially His suffering on the cross. It is also a reminder that through His mercy and grace, all people will be resurrected and given the opportunity for eternal life with God. The water is a reminder that the Savior shed His blood in intense spiritual suffering and anguish, beginning in the Garden of Gethsemane and concluding on the cross.

The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

The priesthood includes the authority to administer gospel ordinances that are necessary for salvation and exaltation. People make sacred covenants with God as they receive these ordinances.

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.

The President of the Church is a prophet, seer, and revelator. He is also the senior Apostle. Under the Lord’s direction, he presides over the Church and is the only person on earth authorized to exercise all priesthood keys (see Matthew 16:16–19; see also 3.4.1.1 in this handbook).

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes.

Under the direction of those who hold priesthood keys, the Aaronic Priesthood and the Melchizedek Priesthood are conferred on worthy male Church members (see Doctrine and Covenants 84:14–17). After the appropriate priesthood is conferred, the person is ordained to an office in that priesthood, such as deacon or elder.

Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its two scriptural offices are that of pastor/elder/overseer and deacon. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.

Worthy male Church members receive priesthood authority through priesthood conferral and ordination to priesthood offices. All Church members can exercise delegated authority as they are set apart or assigned to help accomplish God’s work.

While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.

It is a duty of all persons to confess all their sins to the Lord and obtain His forgiveness (D&C 58:42–43). When necessary, sins should be confessed to the person or persons sinned against. Serious sins should be confessed to a Church official (in most cases the bishop).

He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man.

The Sabbath is the Lord’s day, set apart each week for rest and worship. In Old Testament times, God’s covenant people observed the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week because God rested on the seventh day when He had created the earth. After the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which occurred on the first day of the week, the Lord’s disciples began observing the Sabbath on the first day of the week, Sunday.

The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private.

Hymns and worshipful children’s songs are used for all congregational singing in worship services. Hymns, children’s songs, or other sacred musical selections may be used for prelude and postlude music, choir music, and solo or small group presentations.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not display the cross on its buildings or in its chapels or classrooms or similar places.

the acceptable way of worshipping the true God, is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imagination and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures.

A gift of the Holy Ghost that allows inspired individuals to speak in, understand, or interpret unfamiliar languages. We believe in the gift of tongues (A of F 1:7).

Probably most believe that the “gift of tongues” as described in the Bible ceased upon the completion of the Bible. Some may view speaking in tongues as a spiritual gift given to some Christians enabling them to communicate the Gospel to foreign cultures in a language the speaker had not known previously.

We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

If you polled Southern Baptist churches across the nation on the topic of “charismatic” practices you would likely find a variety of perspectives. Probably most believe that the “gift of tongues” as described in the Bible ceased upon the completion of the Bible.

Individuals do not have to give in to Satan’s temptations. Each person has the power to choose good over evil, and the Lord has promised to help all who seek Him through sincere prayer and faithfulness.

Scripture teaches that the chief enemy of the praying believer is Satan (Daniel 10:10–14; Ephesians 6:10–18; 1 Peter 5:8)

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is no special outer religious clothing in regular Sunday worship services.

Jesus Christ is the head of the local church—we are not. Each church is responsible before God for the policies it sets and decisions it makes.

In the New Testament, a virgin chosen by God the Father to be the mother of His Son in the flesh. After Jesus’ birth, Mary had other children (Mark 6:3).

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.

In the New Testament, a virgin chosen by God the Father to be the mother of His Son in the flesh. After Jesus’ birth, Mary had other children (Mark 6:3).

In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin.

We are all children of God. He loves us and knows our needs, and He wants us to communicate with Him through prayer. We should pray to Him and no one else.

Religious worship is to be given to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to him alone; not to angels, saints, or any other creatures; and since the fall, not without a mediator, nor in the mediation of any other but Christ alone.

The postmortal spirit world is a place where the spirits of those who have died dwell before the Resurrection. The spirit world consists of paradise, where the righteous dwell, and spirit prison, where those who did not know the gospel or who were wicked in mortality dwell.

The bodies of men after death return to dust, and see corruption; but their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal subsistence, immediately return to God who gave them.

The postmortal spirit world is a place where the spirits of those who have died dwell before the Resurrection. The spirit world consists of paradise, where the righteous dwell, and spirit prison, where those who did not know the gospel or who were wicked in mortality dwell.

The souls of the righteous being then made perfect in holiness, are received into paradise, where they are with Christ, and behold the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies; and the souls of the wicked are cast into hell; where they remain in torment and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of the great day; besides these two places, for souls separated from their bodies, the Scripture acknowledgeth none.

Latter-day revelations speak of hell in at least two ways. First, it is another name for spirit prison, a temporary place in the postmortal world for those who died without a knowledge of the truth or those who were disobedient in mortality. Second, it is the permanent location of Satan and his followers and the sons of perdition, who are not redeemed by the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.

At the beginning of the Millennial Era, Christ will return to the earth. This event will mark the end of the mortal probation of this earth. The wicked will be removed from the earth and the righteous will be caught up in a cloud while the earth is cleansed.

According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness.

In the latter days, many signs for the Second Coming of the Savior have been prophesied. These signals allow faithful people to recognize God’s plan, be warned, and prepare.

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end.

We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

There is no official stance in the SBC beyond what you find in The Baptist Faith and Message . An article published in SBC LIFE in 2014 may be helpful in studying various viewpoints on the end times held by Southern Baptists.

The house of Israel shall be gathered together in the last days before the coming of Christ (A of F 1:10). The Lord gathers His people Israel when they accept Him and keep His commandments.

There is no official stance in the SBC beyond what you find in The Baptist Faith and Message.

The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles proclaim that “marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.” When a man and woman are married in the temple, their family can be together forever.

Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.

Chastity means not having any sexual relations outside of a legal marriage between a man and a woman. Those who are chaste also strive to have sexually appropriate thoughts, words, and actions. Living this law includes being completely loyal to your spouse within marriage, both physically and emotionally.

Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.

When men and women marry, they make solemn covenants with each other and with God. Every effort should be made to keep these covenants and preserve marriage. When divorce occurs, individuals have the obligation to forgive, lift, and help rather than to condemn.

Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.

A living woman may be sealed to only one husband at a time. If she and a husband were sealed and later divorced, she must receive a cancellation of that sealing before being sealed to another man during her lifetime (see 38.4.1.5).

Even the most expansive view of the biblical exceptions allowing for divorce and remarriage would rule out many, if not most, of the divorces in our churches

The decision about how many children to have and when to have them is extremely personal and private. It should be left between the couple and the Lord. Church members should not judge one another in this matter.

That we oppose the distribution of birth control devices to minors except with parental or guardian consent.

Human life is a sacred gift from God and central to His divine plan for the spiritual progression of His children (see Moses 1:39; Abraham 3:23–26). Elective abortion for personal or social convenience is contrary to God’s plan and His commandments.

We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death.

Seeking competent medical help, exercising faith, and receiving priesthood blessings work together for healing, according to the will of the Lord. Members should not use or promote medical or health practices that are ethically, spiritually, or legally questionable.

Organ donation for research or transplantation is a matter of personal conscience.

The Word of Wisdom is a commandment of God. He revealed it for the physical and spiritual benefit of His children. Prophets have clarified that the teachings in Doctrine and Covenants 89 include abstinence from tobacco, strong drinks (alcohol), and hot drinks (tea and coffee).

That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina, June 13-14, 2006, express our total opposition to the manufacturing, advertising, distributing, and consuming of alcoholic beverages

Many Latter-day Saints choose to join the military to help defend their countries from possible threats and preserve their freedoms. In situations where our desire for peace and our obligation to our country seem to contradict, we can seek the Lord’s guidance and follow His Spirit.

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, June 11-12, 2024, affirm the historic, Christian principles of the just war tradition; and be it further RESOLVED, That war must be fought for a just cause, to defend, vindicate, and restore public order, peace, and justice when they have come under attack;