“I’m not here to answer your every personal inquiry...”
Yet you’ve taken four posts to tell me that. You could have answered the question in one. It’s not a “gotcha” of any kind—I’m merely asking for a clarification of your position. To repeat—you seem to imply that LDS is a cult. Do you personally believe that to be true? I’ll give you my answer: I don’t.
Please reciprocate.
The cult thing seems to bother you a lot, tell us about it.
Well dialogue-prone you're not; ejonesie's right. But at least a smab of your comments serve as a proper footstool for comments worth addressing to other lurkers. (I guess you somehow missed the "cult-like" elements from the original article...here, I'll point a few out for ya):
From the article: According to the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, "Gods and humans are the SAME SPECIES of BEING, but at different stages of development in a divine continuum, and the heavenly Father AND MOTHER are the heavenly pattern, model, and example of what mortals can become through obedience to the gospel." The Mormon claim is, "What God was, we are. What God is, we will become."
Here's another article tidbit: Related to this is the teaching that the world was not created ex nihilo but organized into its present form, and that the trespass in the Garden of Eden, far from being the source of original sin, was a step toward becoming what God is. Further, Mormonism teaches that there is a plurality of gods. Mormons dislike the term "polytheism," preferring "henotheism," meaning that there is a head God who is worshiped as supreme.
All, here's my long-time definition of a cult leader: Someone who is not divine yet whom claims to have a monopoly on all truth while all others are wrong in the eyes of God. The LDS church proclaims to be the "one true church" (see Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 14:9-10) and in fact, theologically, according to this passage only recognizes two churches -- the true one and the Satanic counterfeit. (Guess who LDS label as the true "Lamb of God" church and who by default thereby falls under the broad Satanic umbrella?)
And this serves as a worthwhile lead-in to the next Neuhaus excerpt which Steelfish wisely posted -- showing that even early Mormonism sought to define itself as far away from Christianity as possible:
From the article: The LDS claims that God chose Joseph Smith to reestablish the Church of Jesus Christ after it had disappeared some 1,700 years earlier following the death of the first apostles...The question as asked by Mormons is turned around: are non–Mormons who claim to be Christians in fact so? The emphatic and repeated answer of the Mormon scriptures and the official teaching of the LDS is that we are not. We are members of "the great and abominable church" that was built by frauds and impostors after the death of the first apostles....For instance, this from Smith: "That man who rises up to condemn others, finding fault with the Church, saying that they are out of the way, while he himself is righteous, then know assuredly, that man is in the high road to apostasy." With respect to the real existing Christianity that is the Church, the words apply in spades to Joseph Smith. He knew, of course, that he was rejecting the Christianity of normative tradition, and he had an explanation. On the creation ex nihilo question, for instance, he declared only weeks before his death: "If you tell [critics] that God made the world out of something, they will call you a fool. But I am learned, and know more than all the world put together. The Holy Ghost does, anyhow; and he is within me, and comprehends more than all the world; and I will associate myself with him." By definition, he could not be apostate because he spoke for God. It is an answer, of sorts.
The Lds church labels Christian sects as apostate (much like the Muslims label us "infidels");
they deem 100% of our creeds as an "abomination" to their god;
and they think our professing leaders -- or perhaps Christendom en toto -- to be "corrupt"
And they have the gall to post that not only in their "scriptures," but it's the very foundation of their church -- the "first vision" of J. Smith!
you seem to imply that LDS is a cult. Do you personally believe that to be true?
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I do. The LDS fit all 3 definitions of a cult.
Anthropolgically they are a cult - all relgions are.
Sociologically they are a cult - there are many aspects that reinforce “group think”, individuality is repressed, control of behavior and the like.
Theologically they are a cult - they part ways with traditional orthodox Christianity in their view of God, their Christology, and their Soteriology.
So yeah, they are a cult, no implication needed.