This is the first in a series of books developed and sponsored by The Widtsoe Foundation to help Latter-day Saints understand the religious traditions of their neighbors, their community, and the religious world.

In the spirit of mutual discipleship and love for Jesus Christ, Catholic scholar Mathew Schmaltz and Latter-day Saint scholar Alonzo Gaskill bring you Understanding Our Catholic Neighbors, a comprehensive guide to understanding the similarities and differences between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Roman Catholic Church. This will give readers a succinct understanding, reverence, and appreciation for both faiths, their traditions, and their members.

'ÄúWhat we have in common is of far greater significance than that which divides us. The effort to throw off traditions of distrust and pettiness and truly see one another with new eyes'Äîto see each other not as aliens or adversaries but as fellow travelers, brothers and sisters, and children of God'Äîis one of the most challenging while at the same time most rewarding and ennobling experiences of our human existence.'Äù

(President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, April 24, 2015, at the John A. Widtsoe Symposium at the University of Southern California)