You know the old joke: “An Anglican, a Catholic, and a Mormon walk into a Jamaican orphanage…” In this case, the Anglican was yours truly circa 2011, half a decade before I became a Catholic. I was an Episcopalian student at St John’s Prep, a Catholic school in northern Massachusetts. (Alumni include John J. Studzinski, the Herald’s Catholic of the Year.) Every year, the Prep sends older boys overseas, some to study abroad and others on service missions. I opted for the latter, and spent a glorious spring working for the Mustard Seed community in Montego Bay. Mustard Seed Communities was founded by a Catholic priest, but the supply crates were stamped “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints”. The LDS Church donated much of the medical equipment. And that’s typical. Mormons are known for two things: their friendliness, and their business acumen. Put the two together, and it’s no wonder that so many non-Mormon relief groups receive Mormon support. Thomas S. Monson, the LDS Church’s late president, embodied this spirit of charity that crosses sectarian boundaries. To quote a New York Times obituary,
9:35 AM
Catholics and Mormons have more in common than we may think
There are striking parallels between the history of the two faiths
Michael Warren Davis

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