What's Unique about the Mormon Church?

I served as a missionary in France for two years, where my primary purpose was to share my beliefs with others. Sometimes when I mentioned belief in God, the role of Jesus Christ as Savior and other commonly accepted ideas, someone would ask me "What makes your religion any different from others?" I think it's a good question. What unique claims does the LDS church make that perhaps others don't?

Here's a list, each deserving its own discussion:

1. We claim that we are Christ's Church (see previous post), that He's at its head, that He established it and that we're acting under his direction and authority, through a prophet and apostles.
2. We claim that we have a living prophet on earth, much like Abraham or Moses, and that he acts under the direction of God the Father and Jesus Christ, and is authorized to act in Their names.
3. We believe that we have apostles on the earth today, much like Peter, James and John, and like Paul. They lead the Church and assist the prophet in so doing.
4. We believe in continued revelation. We believe that the prophet and apostles can understand the will of the Lord for the Church as a whole, and that individuals can understand the will of the Lord in their own lives. We believe we're as much entitled to prophets and guidance as were those in ancient times.
5. Because we believe in revelation, we believe in modern scripture, specially attuned to our times. Among these is The Book of Mormon.
6. We believe that we are literally the children of God, our Father in Heaven. That we lived with Him prior to coming to earth, and that this life is a testing period to determine if we can return to live with Him again.
7. We believe in eternal progression, that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can progress not just throughout this life, but in the eternities ahead of us.
8. We believe that the priesthood of God is back on the earth and is the only power and authority to act in the name of God and that it can only be exercised in Christ's Church.
9. We believe that Jesus Christ requires us to make covenants with Him and to participate in certain priesthood ordinances, such as baptism and eternal marriage, in order to be entitled to return to our Father's presence.

These are just some of the unique claims of the LDS Church. The Church's invitation is for all souls to come unto Christ and to join His Church, and that in that course they will find peace and happiness in this life and in the life to come. We believe that God's sole desire for us is that we find true happiness and that He has prepared His Church as the organization through which we can achieve that happiness. And that the commandments, rather than restrictive, are a road map to guide us through mortality--much as parents' rules for their children (from bedtime to behavior to diet) are to bring joy to their lives--stemming from someone with perfect love, compassion and wisdom.