You said -- :Disingenuous squirming. They reject your "cult" label.
They actually don't. "Cult" is a defined term. It is -- like I've said several times before -- Christian terminology. So, any group that departs from what has been boiled down to the lowest common denominator, of *key Christian doctrine* between all the major Christian denominations -- is -- a cult.
So, you go down, point by point, on those items -- and a group either affirms or denies it. When you've "ticked them off", you know whether that group is Christian or *non-Christian -- according to the historic, basic and core Christian doctrines.
If you read that document closely -- you'll see that they're saying that the Mormons don't. In fact, they're saying that while *they* go back to Apostolic Christianity, that Mormons are (so to speak) "Jonny-come-latelies" and don't match what they (i.e., Presbyterians) believe from their "Apostolic traditions" (which is "code speak" for those who know it).
Now, what I've seen, by how people react to this terminology, is that they're thinking that the word pertains to something like Jim Jones or David Koresch. And, you see..., it's basically a "clinical term" -- if you will. It's a defined term. It's not an "emotional term" or a "derogatory" term -- as it's used. But, people "invest themselves" emotionally (in the term) instead of "clinically" and logically -- as one would do in a theology study course.
And that's what the "public at large" comes to think of the term, because they're reading the MSM and they'll use it to describe someone like Jim Jones or someone like David Koresch. The public sees (in their minds), burning buildings or dead people laying around on the ground.
So, once again, by definition, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a *cult* -- by Christian terminology, meaning that they are *non-Christian*. They *do not* adhere to the basic and core Christian tenets. It's that simple (and not related to dead bodies, kool-aid or burning buildings).
Regards,
Star Traveler
"A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader."And the definition doesn't support your bigotry.