Mormons are a cult. That's what all the major Protestant denominations say. Same goes for the Catholics and their Man in the Beehive Hat. No one likes the Mormons. Not in our neighborhood, people said when the Mormons wanted to build a temple in Oklahoma City. The Mormons did though, and so far the riots haven't happened. Maybe soon.
Mormons are a cult. Say the word with me. Cult. Conjures up images of dark rituals and bloody knives, mass suicides and vicious murders. You just know that Tabernacle choir is up to something as they give those sinister concerts.
Mormons are a cult. But they're a peculiar cult. They support having a strong families fanatically. They preach the Ten Commandments. They care for their members and keep them off of welfare. They practice a conservative approach to finances and tell their members to keep a year's supply of food and water in case of emergency.
Mormons are a cult. My fellow Baptists say so. You'd think the Mormons would preach against all the other faiths considering what the other faiths say about them. And the Mormons -- like all other faiths -- believe they have a lock on heaven, but they're very vocal in supporting the rights of people to worship in any faith. The Mormons have been attacked so much that they have a live and let live attitude.
Mormons are a cult. A rich cult, some say. The church is very conservative in its spending. It invests its tithes in various corporations and then takes those earnings and invests them back in their programs. It also helps that they don't pay salaries to their leaders. That's right. It doesn't pay its preachers or those missionaries who you see on bikes or going door to door.
Mormons are a cult. Knowledgeable people say so because the Mormons accept other books as being inspired by God, not just the Bible. The main one is the Book of Mormon, which is the account of Jesus ministering to the people of the Americas, supposedly interpreted by Joseph Smith from plates of gold.
Mormons are a cult. Actually they prefer to be called Latter-Day Saints now. The whole title of their church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It's easier just to say LDS, but they would prefer to be called Christians.
Mormons are a cult. They used to have multiple wives, but they did away with that in 1890. Oh, there are still some who practice it and call themselves Mormons just as there are people who bury their neighbors in the backyard and call themselves Baptists.
Mormons are a cult. But they're a large cult. They have 5.4 million members according to the 2004 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, making them the fifth largest church in America. Their growth rate was reported at 1.88 percent in 2003 and shows no signs of abating. (Naturally you're going to find some jerks in a church that size. Maybe even some evil people. Don't send me your stories about Mormons attacking you, although I will accept stories about Rotarians.)
Mormons are a cult. They pay taxes, raise families (not always large despite the stereotype), help their neighbors, pray a lot, work a lot, laugh a lot, and generally behave like decent people should.
Mormans are a cult, aren't they?
13 comments:
Not by any means. Although, others in my Faith would say otherwise.
My closest friend is LDS. I participate in her Churches events, attend the womans group gatherings and crafting fairs, and have attended a few services. They are awesome people and I admire the way they take care of their own, as well as, the way they contribute to those in need around the world, regardless of chosen Faith.
I think that before i decide that I would have to do a little more research on both mormons and cults. Does anyone know the proper definition of a cult? There are some pretty strange ideas from the lds church, holy underwear, for instance, but I don't know if that makes them a cult. Btw, check out the blogs i created links for today.
Is cult defined by majority? Because the Catholics must regard Protestants as a cult. After all, we use a different Bible than they do and worship quite differently. They certainly out-number us.
I attend an American Baptist church, and they say Catholics and Mormons are both wrong and going to hell. Small-minded people say that only they know the right way to get to Heaven. Most people can't or won't realize that we are tiny in comparison to the universe and that we will always be confronted by mysteries in this mortal life. We can't have a "lock on heaven" because we cannot completely know the mind of God.
I could never be a Mormon or a Catholic because my heart won't accept their faith, but I am not so self-important and puffed with intellectual pride to assume that they aren't Christians and that God won't honor their prayers and righteous lives. God is the final judge, and I, for one, am content with His judgment.
Well written as always, but I don't think I can agree with your point. I'm not sure if Mormons are Christians, but God doesn't ask me.
BWAHAHAHAHA!!!
My only contact with Mormons has been when those young men come to my door. I'll forego the obvious ribald comments :) and only say they always leave nicely when I ask them to. You can't say that about a lot of religious salesmen.
Of course, we're Christians. To believe otherwise is to give into fear and prejudice. Our church's site www.LDS.org will give you plenty of information. Don't worry, no Missionaries will call-unless you want them too!
-Mormon Man
I am LDS and I have been given a powerful spiritual witness of Jesus Christ and I'm sure of his divinity. When people of other religions tell me they believe in Christ I don't ever attempt to discount thier testimony but accept thier faith as it is given.
Randall
I am a christian, but i'm not religious. I am baptist (southern) as raised, my father being an ordained minister, my mother, at 84, still very active in her church. that said, I don't hold to any view that would exclude anyone from the "Christian club" I have known many different Godly people, in many different faiths that I believe I will see in heaven some day. Christianty is not in the religious fath but in the heart. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are Christian, whatever your religious affiliation.
I am reminded of a comedy routine by Emo Phillips in which he tells a story of discovering a man about to jump off a bridge and his efforts to dissuede him....
Do you believe in God?
I do believe in God. I am a christian.
me too, what franchise?
Baptist.
me too, american baptist or southern baptist?
american baptist.
me too, american baptist council of 1918 or american baptist council of 1938?
american baptist of 1918.
me too american baptist council of 1918 reformed or american baptist council of 1918 fundamentalists?
american baptist council of 1918 reformed.
I said, DIE HERETIC! and I pushed him off the bridge!
For a fairly intense briefing on the Mormans, visit Nationmaster Encyclopedia.
Mark and Frenzied, while I don't know CottonCandy's source, many of those same points in similar language to those given by CC can be found here.
Mark, I loved the joke.
Amber, good to see you here! I'll call you soon. Please see past issues of the St. Anthony Messenger for more about the Catholics' relationship with the Mormons, including the article about requiring Mormons to be rebaptised if they return to the Catholic church.
Thanks to everyone for commenting.
Interesting. I had no idea there was a litmus test for being a Christian.
Re,
"BTW what brought on this tirade?"
This was no tirade. It was just a provocative essay raising a question. The repetition mighta made it seem overly strident, is all. :-)
I thought the repetition was making a point of questioning whether LDS was a cult. Raise the question, followed by points that ring rather hollow when making the assertion of "cultism".
Kind of like:
Chocolate is bad. It tastes good.
Chocolate is bad. It calms my nerves...
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