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Video transcript:
We believe this is the true Church—yet we also believe everyone will have the opportunity to accept Jesus and exaltation, whether they join the Church in mortality or not. So what does “the true church” actually mean, what is its purpose, and why does it matter?
We often frame finding “the true church” as if we’re trying to find the cup of Christ from Indiana Jones. Only the true Holy Grail brings eternal life. All others bring death. It’s all or nothing. This approach, of course, fosters an environment where people of faith are constantly at each other’s throats, arguing about which cup is actually the true cup of Christ.
But I think the Holy Grail approach is incomplete. Check this out. Doctrine and Covenants 10:55 teaches, “...whosoever belongeth to my church need not fear, for such shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.” At face value, this might appear to favor the Holy Grail approach to the “true church,” but let’s take a closer look. This revelation was received by Joseph Smith in 1828 or 1829. The institutional church was not established until 1830. So… which church is the Lord referring to? Well, perhaps it’s the same church that the prophet Nephi refers to in the Book of Mormon:
“Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil….”
Nephi is not talking about institutional churches here. As President Oaks has taught, the Church of the Lamb of God includes all those who believe in God and seek to serve Him according to their best understanding.
The Church of the Lamb of God includes more than just Latter-day Saints. We are not the only sliver of humanity that God is working with. Remember, the Book of Mormon teaches that all are alike unto God, and he speaks to all nations according to their understanding.
Of course, this all begs the question, if all believers belong to the Church of the Lamb of God, what is the point and purpose of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Well, the Lord tells us back in D&C 10. “And now, behold, according to their faith in their prayers will I bring this part of my gospel to the knowledge of my people. Behold, I do not bring it to destroy that which they have received, but to build it up.”
We have unique blessings and truths to offer the world. That is very real and important. At the same time, check out this bombshell of a quote from Elder Hugh B. Brown:
“We have been blessed with much knowledge by revelation from God which, in some part, the world lacks. But there is an incomprehensibly greater part of truth which we must yet discover. Our revealed truth should leave us stricken with the knowledge of how little we really know. It should never lead to an emotional arrogance based upon a false assumption that we somehow have all the answers—that we, in fact, have a corner on truth. For we do not.”
The reality is that while we have much to offer, we also still have much to learn from God, and from others in the church of the Lamb of God.
Now, as you know, I’m a metaphor guy. They all break down at some point and this one is far from comprehensive, but I think it’s helpful as we try to conceptualize the unique role of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints within the greater Church of the Lamb of God. Let’s look at mortality as a warzone where members of the church of the Lamb of God and the church of the devil are fighting for dominance. And you guys, it’s a bloodbath. There are bullets whizzing by your head and artillery shells going off all around you. You find a foxhole to take cover in, but inevitably, you’re hit, and it’s bad.
A medic throws you in the back of a military jeep, and he takes you away from the front lines to the nearby field hospital. The field hospital is there to bless the lives of all of the soldiers in the army. There, you have quick access to resources not available elsewhere. You have access to authoritative medical professionals who are trained to take care of you. I view The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as that official field hospital servicing the rest of the army. It has access to equipment and resources that are not found elsewhere. Priesthood authority, temple covenants, details about the plan of salvation, the Book of Mormon, modern prophets, etc. Every soldier has his own med kit. Everyone has access to Christ in some form. And that’s awesome, but for some of these blessings, you’ve got to go to the field hospital.
God’s work and his glory are to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of the human family. He wants to win the war, heal everyone, and bring every soldier home. As Latter-day Saints, how cool is it that he lets us wear the red cross and participate in inviting people to the field hospital? That’s what missionary work is. It’s not about proving we’re right and others are wrong, it’s about sharing our unique resources with the wounded. Being a medic is not a rank. We are no better than the other soldiers. We are not immune to injury, ourselves. We just have a different role in the army.
The Church of Jesus Christ is Christ’s authorized Church. We do need to recognize its unique offering, but let’s also recognize those blessings that are available throughout the church of the Lamb of God. Things like real Christlike love and charity, the Bible, faith, and revelation or spiritual guidance. We don’t have a monopoly on any of those things.
I have no problem with discussing our differing beliefs within the church of the Lamb of God, but too often it just devolves into in-fighting and friendly fire. And we forget that our true fight is against the rulers of the darkness of this world. Satan loves distracting us with friendly fire.
God wants us to make decisions out of love, not fear. There’s a lot of fear involved in the Holy Grail approach to faith. In contrast, the field hospital in the army of God approach leaves a lot more room to be motivated by love for God and love for our neighbors. Belonging to the “true church” is less about avoiding Hell, and more about finding healing. And that fills me with relief, and peace, and gratitude.
Now, some of those trained surgeons in the field hospital are modern prophets and apostles. And just like real doctors, we consider them reliable even while recognizing that they can make mistakes. And if you want to dig more into that concept, go watch this video we did on the subject. I’ve got another metaphor there that I think is just super helpful. I’ll see ya there.
Additional notes/resources:
— Come Follow Me Insights (Doctrine and Covenants 10-11), via Scripture Central: https://tinyurl.com/3w5vysdj
— See also “Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants,” by Steven C. Harper, pp. 48-49.
— See also Fiona & Terryl Givens book, “All Things New,” chapter 19, “Church.”
— “Witnesses of God,” by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Feb. 25, 2014, BYU-Idaho: https://tinyurl.com/ydahnat4
— “The Only True and Living Church?” by Philip Barlow, Wayfare Magazine, Jan. 5, 2025: https://tinyurl.com/2wawb984
— “Question: Why would the true church of Jesus Christ be comprised of only a small percentage of the population of the Earth?” via FAIR: https://tinyurl.com/2bwxxckm
— “In what way is our church the true church? – A conversation with Patrick Mason,” via Faith Matters: https://tinyurl.com/45ue7dtv
— “In what way is our Church ‘the true Church’?” via Faith Matters: https://tinyurl.com/7udaxx6p