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Originally Posted by ErikJohnson

“The LDS position [vis-à-vis the doctrines that distinguish Protestantism from Catholicism] was almost always better aligned with the Roman Catholic position that the Reformers were repudiating.” And I stand by that statement. I think we began to substantiate it when we unpacked the first of these (Sola Scriptura) earlier on the thread. Is anyone going to argue the LDS view is really closer to the Protestant? If someone has such an argument—I’d love to hear it and discuss. And if anyone cares to do so—we can go through the other four Solas.

1 Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone")

I've already covered this piece.

The following items are the greatest achievements of the Protestant Reformation (in my personal opinion.)
1.) The Bible sweeps the Earth and is available to be read by anyone who can read ...

2.) A blessing and a curse at the same time, the tradition arose that "the Bible is God's only perfect word. The Bible contains everything that God ever intended for us to have. If it is not in the Bible then it is false." This was instrumental in bringing into question many Catholic practices that had absolutely no basis in scripture. In numerous cases, the Bible directly contradicted Catholic practices. Unfortunately, the practice of using the Bible as the measuring stick of correctness perpetuated its own myth. It turned the Bible into something that the Bible itself never claims to be: The receptacle of all divine truth, perfect, complete and infallible. Highly unfortunate as it effectively slams the door on God ever revealing anything new to mankind.

The LDS viewpoint is neither Catholic nor Protestant, as both Protestant and Catholic are in agreement that there is no more authoritative revelation from God equal to the Biblical Prophets and Apostles.

However, Protestantism and Catholicism are very different on this point. Catholicism claim authority on a "second only to scripture" basis in the form of Ecumenical Councils, the personal authority of the Pope and even the authority of the local Priest. It was specifically the belief that the Pope's and the Church were misusing their power that directly led to the Protestant Reformation. There were a lot of other factors and in reality, it was a perfect storm scenario that fractured the unity of Christendom. But the objection generally held by Protestants was that the Pope and Church were exercising authority they didn't actually have. Thus, when summarizing what Protestant faiths held in common, "by Scripture alone" becomes the critical unifying starting point. It is the true foundation of the Protestant Reformation.

It is noteworthy that because Protestantism picks and chooses what they do and do not accept from the catalog of things that are not in the Bible. They accept some Ecumenical Councils and reject others. They accept some decisions by some Popes and reject others. So I would contend that Protestantism is not true to it's conviction of "By Scripture Alone." They accept the decisions made at the Council of Nicaea as authoritative. The Council of Nicaea is not in the Bible. The Nicene Creed is not found anywhere in the Bible. So Protestants do not confine themselves to "By Scripture Alone" like they claim. They keep some bits of non-Biblical practice while rejecting others.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is essentially "option C" as it relates to the first Sola. We do not accept the authority of the Pope nor do we accept the validity of the Ecumenical Councils convened by the Roman Catholic Church throughout it's history. We wholeheartedly believe that the Bible can and should be used as an important standard for measuring truth and correctness. However, we do not confine ourselves to only accepting truth if it can be found in the Bible. So we agree with both sides and neither side.

2 Sola fide ("by faith alone")
3 Sola gratia ("by grace alone")
4 Solus Christus or Solo Christo ("Christ alone" or "through Christ alone")
5 Soli Deo gloria ("glory to God alone")

The important thing to remember about the rest of the Solas is that different Protestant groups understand each of them differently. To some, Faith = Works + Belief. To others, Faith = Belief only. Protestants differ greatly on how grace is attained and who can qualify for it. Some viewpoints held by one Protestant group are vastly different and completely contradictory to the viewpoints held by another. So these are good summary statements, but each group defines them as they see fit.

The keys to the 5 Solas encompassing all of Protestantism are found in Sola 1 (which I've already discussed), Sola 4 and Sola 5. "Through Christ Alone" and "Glory to God Alone." This puts forth the idea that salvation does not come by and through the Church (specifically the Roman Catholic Church). It comes from God and God alone. The Catholic Church has no right to say who is saved and who is damned. The Catholic Church has no right to modify salvation and the justice of God in any way. These are the rights of God and God alone. Only He can decide who is saved and who is damned. Protestant groups vary greatly on where you go from there.

On this point, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints once again represents "Options C." We do not accept the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and thus we wholeheartedly agree that that Church has no authority to determine who is saved and who is damned. We do believe in the existence of valid Priesthood authority from God as a necessity to perform the rites and ordinances that are required for them to be fully valid before God. However, we wholeheartedly disagree with the notion that any mortal Priesthood leader has the right to usurp or alter the judgment of God at their own whim (ala the Sale of Indulgences, etc.) Confession on a more limited scale does exist in our religion, but it is absolutely understood that confession to mortal ecclesiastical leaders does not grant us forgiveness from God. Only God gets to do that. We understand confession of serious sins as a step in the repentance process, and that God has commanded it, so it is a necessary step humbling ourselves before God and necessary for repentance in rare cases. It does not bestow forgiveness in any way. Likewise, the Prophet cannot forgive sins. So we agree with both sides, and we disagree with both sides.