# Mormonism and the Baha'i Faith

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-18 — 1 clipping.*

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: William P. Collins, Mormonism and the Baha'i Faith, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> Research Note
> 
> Mormonism and the Bahá’í Faith
> William P. Collins
> 
> Mormonism, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a new religious tradition that emerged from
> American Protestant Christianity in the early nineteenth century through the teachings of the Mormon “prophet”
> Joseph Smith (1805–1844). During a period of religious revival in western New York state in the 1820s, Smith
> claimed to have received visitations from an angel who showed him buried golden plates bearing the record of
> inhabitants of the American continent, descended from Jews who migrated to the new world about 600 B.C. These
> Joseph Smith proceeded to “translate” and then publish in 1830 as The Book of Mormon.
> In his youth, Smith experienced spiritual visions in which he was told by Jesus Christ not to join any of the
> then competing sects as these had all arisen from a Christianity that had apostatized from the “true Gospel.” With
> the release of The Book of Mormon, those who recognized it as a divine book felt the need to have a church that
> would embody the doctrines of a new and authentic Christianity. In April, 1830, Joseph Smith and a few associates
> founded the Church of Jesus Christ, later known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Latter-day
> Saint or Mormon movement now encompasses two major denominations (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
> Saints with over 7 million members and, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with some
> half-million members) and scores of small groups that descend from the visionary ideals of Joseph Smith.
> Smith received, during the fourteen years of his leadership of the Mormon Church, many “revelations” on
> doctrine and organization. These became part of a second volume of scripture entitled The Doctrine and Covenants.
> He also “translated” an Egyptian papyrus, which he claimed to be the memoirs of Abraham and Moses. (The
> original papyri were discovered in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and presented to the Mormon Church in 1967;
> the papyri are, according to Egyptologists, ordinary funeral papyri with no reference to Abraham.) These together
> with a selection of other statements from a third standard work of Mormon holy texts known as The Pearl of Great
> Price. Mormons consider the Bible their fourth standard sacred text.
> Smith was an innovator in religious doctrine, as evidenced in the Mormon views of God as a physical
> being, limited in time and space; of God as an exalted man, and of men as gods in embryo; of matter as having
> eternal uncreated existence; and in special ceremonies for the salvation of the dead and the solemnization of plural
> marriage (no longer officially practiced) and celestial marriage.
> Mormonism played an important role in the development of the American frontier in New York, Ohio,
> Missouri, Illinois, and the intermountain West throughout the nineteenth century. Smith was assassinated in an
> Illinois jail by an anti-Mormon mob in June, 1844. The main branch of Mormonism, the Church of Jesus Christ of
> Latter-day Saints headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, has developed under the guidance of Brigham Young and
> succeeding church presidents into an international movement with increasingly large membership in Asia, the
> Pacific, and Latin America.
> 
> Historical Contacts between Bahá’ís and Mormons
> On a personal level there have been important exchanges. Ali-Kuli Khan, Persian chargé d’affaires in Washington
> and a Bahá’í, attended the International Dry-Land Congress in 1912. John A. Widtsoe (1872–1952), president of the
> Utah State Agricultural College and later a member of the Mormon Church’s Quorum of Twelve Apostles, also
> attended. The two established a friendship that led to enrollment of Iranian students in Utah schools and the offer of
> agricultural assistance to Iran.
> In September, 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spent two days in Salt Lake City during his missionary tour of North
> America. He attended a session of the National Irrigation Congress in the Mormon Tabernacle, at which he was
> offered a seat on the speakers’ platform. Mahmúd Zarqání records in his diary that while speaking to the press,
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá contrasted the National Irrigation Congress with the “congress” created by Bahá’u’lláh in Persia,
> stating that whereas the former was under the aegis of a particular church, the latter was under the tent of the unity
> of humankind and international peace.
> Xorol Robinson Oliver, daughter of Alice Walter Smith and Oliver LeGrand Robinson, came from a well-
> known Mormon family. Her aunt Alice Robinson Richards was Salt Lake City temple matron and her uncle George
> Franklin Richards, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Oliver’s given name is not known for certain.
> Genealogical records show no Xorol in the family. Her letters to Shoghi Effendi and to the National Spiritual
> Assembly claim the descent noted here and confirm details of family records available at the Family History Library
> in Salt Lake City. She began a search for the promised Christ in 1911 after the death of her mother, who began
> appearing to her in dreams and visions. Oliver established a friendship with a Bahá’í, Orcella Rexford, in the l920s,
> leading to Oliver’s becoming a Bahá’í in 1934. Oliver was the center of a number of controversies in the Bahá’í
> community because of her attempts to have the “revelations” from her deceased mother taken as guidance. In her
> correspondence with Shoghi Effendi, she wrote of having attempted contact with the Mormon Church President
> Heber J. Grant during 1936. She reported that Grant’s secretary refused her access to the president because she was
> promoting a “false prophet.” On 21 March 1938, David O. McKay, second counselor in the church presidency (and
> later president of the church), wrote a letter in reply to Oliver’s request that she be permitted to present the Bahá’í
> Faith from the platform of the Church General Conference:
> 
> There will be no opportunity for such a message to be presented to the Church during the approaching
> General Conference, nor, so far as I know, at any other time. All the truths contained in the Bahá’í Message
> are fully incorporated in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which members, and particularly missionaries, are
> devoting their time, talents and means to promulgating.
> 
> Oliver stated in her 5 July 1938 and 27 August 1940 letters to Shoghi Effendi that she presented a written statement
> of proofs from the Kitáb-i-Íqán to the Bishop (presumably, LeGrand Richards, Presiding Bishop of the Church
> 1938–1952, Oliver’s first cousin), and then was later asked by him to preset her dead mother’s statements about the
> Second Coming and supporting statements of her own. He would then present these to the upper echelons of the
> Mormon priesthood.
> In October, 1987, representatives of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States
> presented to Mormon Church President Ezra Taft Benson a copy of “The Promise of World Peace” by the Universal
> House of Justice. At a press conference later, Judge James Nelson, on behalf of the Bahá’ís, described the contents
> of the peace statement. The Mormon spokesperson noted that “the First Presidency has expressed appreciation for
> the thoughtful presentation by the representatives of the Bahá’í Faith, and share their hopes and concern for world
> peace.”
> 
> Mormon Views of the Bahá’í Faith
> The members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tend toward conservative, exclusive view of their
> relationship to other religions, seeing the church as “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth
> with which he, the Lord, is well-pleased”; “true religion… is found only in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
> Saints.” There are less doctrinaire view available, such as 2 Nephi 29: 7–14 in The Book of Mormon. The above-
> quoted letter from Second Counselor David O. McKay to Xorol Oliver is the closest an official Mormon
> pronouncement on the Bahá’í Faith that has appeared.
> 
> Bahá’í Views of Mormonism
> Joseph Smith is not considered by Bahá’ís to be a Manifestation of God or Lesser Prophet:
> 
> Regarding your question concerning Joseph Smith and the ‘Book of Mormon’; as the Bahá’í
> Teachings quite clearly outline the succession of Prophets from the day of Christ as being Muhammad. the
> Báb, and finally Bahá’u’lláh, it is obvious that Joseph Smith is not a Manifestation of God. (Bahá'í News
> 416 [Nov. 1965]: 15)
> 
> Regarding your questions: we cannot possibly add names of people we (or anyone else) think might be
> Lesser Prophets to those found in the Qur’án, the Bible and our own Scriptures. For only these can we
> consider authentic Books. Therefore, Joseph Smith is not in our eyes a Prophet. (Letter written on behalf of
> Shoghi Effendi to individual, 13 March 1950)
> 
> Joseph Smith we do not consider a Prophet, minor or otherwise. Certainly no reference he made could have
> foretold the Coming of this Revelation in his capacity as a Prophet. (Letter written on behalf of Shoghi
> Effendi to an individual, 21 Feb. 1942)
> 
> Smith may, however, have been a “seer”—someone of unusual spiritual insight—who was attuned to the spiritual
> currents of the time. Ramona Brown records in her notes that Shoghi Effendi remarked, “Joseph Smith was a seer,
> not a Prophet of God, neither major nor minor Prophet.” The Universal House of Justice writes of Joseph Smith that
> “he was a religious teacher sensitive to the spiritual currents flowing in the early 19th century” (from a letter written
> on its behalf, 7 Feb. 1977).
> The Book of Mormon is not considered an authentic revealed scripture. Its supposed historicity is, according
> to Shoghi Effendi, “a matter for historians to pass upon” (High Endeavours 71).
> 
> Bahá’í Interaction with Mormons
> Shoghi Effendi exhorts Bahá’ís to bring the Bahá’í Faith to the attention of Mormons by emphasizing points of
> common interest and the fulfillment of Christian prophecies. He cautions Bahá’ís to understand that Mormons have
> a high level of committment to their own faith and will likely not respond in large numbers.
> 
> He appreciates indeed your efforts for the spread of the Bahá’í Teachings among the Mormons. But while
> he would approve of your maintaining your teaching work with them, he does not consider it advisable that
> you devote all your time and energies to this service, specially if you do not find that your efforts awaken
> much response. (Written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual, 30 May 1937)
> 
> With regard to Joseph Smith and his activities; the Guardian would advise the friends not to attach any
> importance to such individuals. The less they direct their attention to such things, the better it is for them
> and for the Cause, as in this way they will avoid getting involved in activities, which no matter how
> praiseworthy they may now appear to be, are nevertheless doomed to failure. (Written on behalf of Shoghi
> Effendi to an individual, 9 Feb. 1937)1
> 
> The Guardian would advise you to teach the Mormons, like everyone else, the Faith, when you find them
> receptive. They have many good principles, and their teachings regarding chastity, not drinking or
> smoking, etc., are quite similar to ours, and should form a point of common interest. (Bahá’í News 416
> [Nov. 1965]: 15)
> 
> The Mormons are a people with high principles and ideals, and the step into the Cause is not as difficult for
> them as for many others not possessing their faith and devotion. However, the very zeal with which they
> serve their own Faith makes it difficult for them to grasp the greater vision of our Holy Cause. He hopes
> that Mr…, so obviously a devout Christian, will, through studying the Bahá’í teachings on Christ and the
> prophecies in the Bible concerning His Second Coming, and through a study of the life and spirit of
> Bahá’u’lláh, come to see that Christ, far from being lost to Bahá’ís, is enthroned in their hearts mote deeply
> than ever through recognizing Him in this new Manifestation. (Written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an
> individual, 30 Mar. 1944)
> 
> Literature on Mormons and Bahá’ís
> Early attempts to deal with Mormonism from a Bahá’í viewpoint were by converts from Mormonism and generally
> followed a proof–text method with emphasis on certain passages from Mormon standard works (especially Doctrine
> and Covenants 85:7 and 130:12–15, and 2 Nephi 29:7–14) (see Lamb and Stevens). Recently, there have been
> attempts to understand pore fully the differences in the two religions and to obtain a clearer grasp of the overall
> Bahá’í perspective, divorced from any former allegiance to the Mormon belief system (see Collins).
> 
> Notes
> 1. It is not known to what question Shoghi Effendi is responding, and we should therefore be cautious about
> concluding that teaching Mormons is “doomed to failure.”
> Bibliography
> 
> Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
> Allen, James B., and Glen M. Leonard. The Story of the Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City: Deseret, 1976.
> Arrington, Leonard J., and Davis Bitton. The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latter-day Saints. New York:
> Knopf, 1979.
> Brodie, Fawn M. No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet. 2d ed. Rev, and enl.
> New York: Knopf, 1982.
> Hill, Donna. Joseph Smith: The First Mormon. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1974.
> O’Dea, Thomas F. The Mormons. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957.
> Shipps, Jan. Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1985.
> 
> Bahá’í Faith and Mormonism
> Chouleur, Jacques. “Le Mormonisme: De la Secte Américaine à la Religion Universelle.” Ph.D. Dissertation,
> Université de Paris, 1978, 487–89.
> Collins, William P. “The Bahá’í Faith and Mormonism: A Preliminary Survey,” World Order 15.1/2 (Fall
> 1980/Winter 1981): 33–45.
> ———. “The Bahá’í Faith and Mormonism: Further Reflections,” World Order 17.3 (Spring 1983):25–33.
> ———. “Thoughts on the Mormon Scriptures: An Outsider’s View of the Inspiration of Joseph Smith,” Dialogue: A
> Journal of Mormon Thought 15.3 (Autumn 1982): 49–59.
> Lamb, Artemus. “The Fulfillment of Mormon Prophecy,” World Order [old series] 10.8 (Nov. 1944): 258–62.
> Shoghi Effendi. High Endeavours. Anchorage: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Alaska, 1976.
> Stephens, Kenneth D. So Great a Cause!: A Surprising New Look at the Latter-day Saints. Healdsburg, Calif.:
> Naturegraph, 1973.
> “LDS Leaders Receive Baha’i Document,” Desert News. Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 12, 1987.
> “LDS, Baha’i Leaders Trade Gifts, Offer Peace Hopes,” Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 10, 1987.
> Unpublished letters of Shoghi Effendi, Xorol Robinson Oliver, and enclosure from David O. McKay are from the
> International Bahá’í Archives, Haifa, Israel.
>
> — *Mormonism and the Baha'i Faith (Used by permission of the curator)*