David D. Peck

DAVID D. PECK is completing his Ph.D. at the University of Utah, studying the history of the modern Middle East. He and his wife Rachel and their four children live in Salt Lake City where he teaches Sunday School in his ward.

Mormonism and Eastern Mysticism

Articles/Essays – Volume 21, No. 2

By adopting the above-cited definition of mysticism, the compilers of the “Topical Guide” (LDS Edition 1979) distance Mormonism from a religious heritage which is perhaps as old as any other of record. The most obvious differences between Mormonism and mysticism are ones of form, and not necessarily of doctrine. The Church organization is both pervasive and extensive, whereas mystical practices are generally much less formal. Mormonism accepts a prophet as head of the Church organization which is endowed with divine authority through an organized priesthood, whereas many mystical traditions manifest a strong non-institutional tendency and go only so far as to incorporate the notion of a “guide,” a leader who does not speak with divine authority but is instead familiar with one path to God.