Great stuff in your comment. Thank you!
Here is something else I found in the official catechism of the Roman church. After reading this, any Bible-believing God-fearing man should run as fast from Rome as possible. All other Roman blasphemies aside, this should tell you all you need to know about this pontiff and the institution he heads.
Paragraph 882 reads as follows: “The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter’s successor, “is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful.” “For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered.”
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2A.HTM
Let’s compare #882 from the catechism to Scripture.
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” (Matthew 28:18)
So, in the wake of His resurrection, the Bible tells us that Jesus claimed to hold ALL power in heaven and in earth. That doesn’t seem to square with the claim of papal power found in paragraph 882.
Let’s look further:
Ephesians 1:20-23
20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
God the Father put ALL things under the feet of Jesus Christ, and gave Jesus Christ to be the head over ALL things to the church, which is His body! Hmmm, that doesn’t seem to square with the papal claim either.
Here is another papal claim from the official catechism:
Paragraph 937 says, “The Pope enjoys, by divine institution, “supreme, full, immediate, and universal power in the care of souls”
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2A.HTM
Christ claimed He had been given all power, but Rome says that power is in the hands of the pope. WOW!
So THIS is where the MORMONs got THEIR idea from!!
In conclusion let us summarize this grand key, these “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet”, for our salvation depends on them.
1. The prophet is the only man who speaks for the Lord in everything.
2. The living prophet is more vital to us than the standard works.
3. The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet.
4. The prophet will never lead the church astray.
5. The prophet is not required to have any particular earthly training or credentials to speak on any subject or act on any matter at any time.
6. The prophet does not have to say “Thus Saith the Lord,” to give us scripture.
7. The prophet tells us what we need to know, not always what we want to know.
8. The prophet is not limited by men’s reasoning.
9. The prophet can receive revelation on any matter, temporal or spiritual.
10. The prophet may advise on civic matters.
11. The two groups who have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich.
12. The prophet will not necessarily be popular with the world or the worldly.
13. The prophet and his counselors make up the First Presidency—the highest quorum in the Church.
14. The prophet and the presidency—the living prophet and the First Presidency—follow them and be blessed—reject them and suffer.
I testify that these fourteen fundamentals in following the living prophet are true. If we want to know how well we stand with the Lord then let us ask ourselves how well we stand with His mortal captain—how close do our lives harmonize with the Lord’s anointed—the living Prophet—President of the Church, and with the Quorum of the First Presidency.
Ezra Taft Benson
(Address given Tuesday, February 26, 1980 at Brigham Young University) http://www.lds.org/liahona/1981/06/fourteen-fundamentals-in-following-the-prophet?lang=eng