Posted on 02/13/2014 7:14:06 PM PST by GraceG
So I was involved in a philosophical discussion with a friend and the subject came up where they wondered what is the difference between a Religion and a Cult.
Thinking about it I came up with a easy way to tell the difference between the two.
Here it is: A Religion that doesn't let a member of it become an apostate of that Religion without any sort of harassment, injury or death is by definition not a Religion but is indeed a Cult. Also if the Religion in question forces or coerces a member of the family to distance them selves from other member who are not believers, it is also a Cult.
So basically to be a Religion one must:
1. Be able to leave it without any sort of harassment. 2. Should not force you to leave or distance yourself from your non-believer family members
Is Mormonism a cult?
1. In Temple recommend interviews, members are told that the interviewer represents Jesus and should answer all questions as if they were talking to Jesus. This is a break down of barriers designed to condition the member to completely submit to church authority
2. Naked touching in the temple washing and anointing ritual also breaks down barriers, creates submission to church authority [This eternal ordinance was changed in Jan 2005 see mormon366.htm ]
3. New name, suggests reassignment of identity
4. Temple endowment experience is hypnotic, produces a relaxed, even sleepy alpha like state for receptivity to church indoctrination, oaths, instruction, commitment. Similar to Moonie repetitive indoctrination sessions where chanting, singing, and long periods of lecturing happen.
5. Secret signs, tokens, passwords to get into Mormon heaven. If one does not have this exclusive information, they will be denied access past certain angels along the way back to God’s presence. This is an element of control designed to produce exclusivity
6. Requirement to wear church approved underwear night and day, conditioned to believe they possess special protections. Another design to control via exclusivity
7. Strict tithing requirements. Yearly face to face confrontation with a high church authority to declare to him (as the lord’s representative) how much money the member was able to give to the church. Encouraged to give everything that the lord blesses you with even ones time, talents to the building up of the LDS church. In addition to tithes, generous fast offerings are encouraged. Giving to other charities or worthy causes outside the church is heavily discouraged. The member intuitively knows that the tithing, fast offering, missionary funds and perpetual education funds must be donated to first... and only THEN should outside charities be considered. This cult characteristic, to me, falls under extreme duress to give only to the church organization. The member is even told that if the tithing is not “honest” they will literally burn up at the Lord’s 2nd coming.
8. Outsiders not permitted to enter the temple. Exclusivity.
9. Members believe Jesus literally walks the halls of the temples and no other buildings on earth receive this privilege. There is only Faith promoting rumors to back this up of course. Yet it is a very strong and widely held belief in the church that this is so.
10. There is a blatant Us vs. Them mentality. The LDS testimony conditions members to ‘know’ based on feelings that they are the only ones on earth with the Truth or approved plan of God. Everyone else is wrong and must be saved or baptized into the LDS church. This doctrine goes as far as to maintain that every living human who has ever lived in this earth must be baptized. While logically impossible, the doctrine is widely believed. God will figure it out. This rationality is supposed to support this impossibility
11. LDS church has more evidence to prove it false than it does to prove it true, yet members see this as a test of faith and God’s way of strengthening his “Elect”. Or members have been conditioned to never look at this material. Very similar to the Moonie approach that outside information was evil and falls under satanic origins. Anything that could potentially deprogram a Moonie was satanic. Family members, spouses, newspaper articles, radio... you get the idea.
12. Members are encouraged strongly to never look at ‘anti’ literature. Yet early apostles encouraged the discovery of truth and preached openly that truth would stand up to highest degree of scrutiny. This was before damning evidences to the church’s platform of ideology was widely known or even challenged. During this era, the church had a sense of infallibility as the saints were securely sequestered in the desert of Utah. Completely isolated from the outside world.
13. Bishop interviews are obsessed with sexual purity for youth & missionaries. Adults have been told which sexual acts are permissible and which are not. Though, this is not consistent throughout the church. Young people must disclose any sexual acts, even minor ones. This young person (male or female) believes they are talking to Jesus Christ’s representative in these interviews. Lying to the bishop is equated to lying to Jesus.
14. Missions are extreme examples of Cult experience.
A. 80 hrs a week free labor (Missionary makes no money) in fact the missionary pays largely for his own meals, lodging, transportation and clothing out of his own pocket. The missionary is told that the 2 years in service is a “tithing” of the first 19 years of his life that God gave him/her.
B. When not working in field one is encouraged to read scripture & pray constantly
C. High amounts of self-indoctrination and mass indoctrination at zone, district meetings. Guilt tactics are used. If low recruit numbers are happening, the missionary is frequently blamed. Reasons for low recruit numbers are tied to unlikely reasons such as a lack of dedication or commitment to mission rules or even a suggestion that too many missionaries were masturbating too frequently in the past month. This is a gross abuse of mind control.
D. Encouraged to frequently recite scripture and hymns, carry a prayer in ones heart at all times so as to fortify ones efforts to keep rules, remain “sanctified to the cause” and not have impure thoughts or masturbate.
E. No outside influences, no TV, no radio
F. Must always be with companion except for showers and toilet
G. Confined to one area, not permitted to go outside geographic boundaries
H. Extreme limited contact with family, letters once a week, no phone call home but twice a year
I. Primary job is to recruit new members, give the prospect milk and NO meat doctrine. Deception (by only telling the rewritten version of the church’s history and doctrine) is encouraged most often without the missionary NOT knowing he is testifying to untruths.
J. Every person met is sized up as potential recruit,
K. Current members are badgered for referrals for new recruits, friends and neighbors
L. Loaded language, acronyms. Outsiders cannot follow many regular LDS conversations
15. If one ever leaves the church, they are told and conditioned to think they will be sent to outer darkness in the afterlife. There is a fear of imminent damnation if they leave the group.
16. One man (the prophet figure) speaks for God. Members see this as extremely positive as they believe the prophet will never lead them astray. When confronted that prior prophets in history have been wrong or even preached harmful doctrine that was widely held up as God’s word (racial discrimination) the member quickly dismisses this. This is supported by the perceived good works the church produces and the notion that Mormonism produces good people and strong families.
http://www.exmormon.org/mormon/mormon387.htm
I hope you get a chance CC to listen to The Joseph Papers series with your husband.
They were complied with LDS and non LDS Scholars
Joseph Smith Tour Part 1 New England
Scholars visit New England, where the Smiths and the Macks, Joseph’s noble heritage, originated. Tour vermont, where Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucky Mack began a large family—and a fascinating narrative unequaled in American religious history.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
A Mormon missionary once told me Id be a slave in the Mormon afterlife when I died because I was a Christian and refused to be converted into the cult, Mormonism...
I was also told I was evil and damned because I refused to give up the names of my dead ancestors and I refused to be dead dunked in proxy for them so that they could be Mormons and listed as members on the Mormonism cult’s rolls...
“Don’t you love your ancestors?”
Missionaries don’t always tell you the truth...
Are you saying its a lie my grandson told me when he said his email had to be on the LSD domain?
When you’Re finished calling my grandson a liar let me know.
Was your grandson in my house that day in circa 1980 ???
What does he say was said ???
Let me know grasshopper...
Resty do you have a temple recommend yet ???
Have you ever “gone through the temple” yourself ???
I don’t share my pearl with those who opposed my faith.
I don’t want your old pearls...
I just want to know about your Mormon temple experience...
When you comment on Mormon doctrines and practices, are you just repeating what you have heard or are you reporting from your own personal experience ???
For instance when I write about God and Christianity, I know from my own life ..
If I speak about God loving me its because I know that He does..unconditionally..
If I speak of the Holy Spirit, its because I know He is the Third person of the Trinity, and is God and I am baptized in Him and speak in a Heavenly language, building myself up in in Holy Ghost Jude 1:20
If I speak about prayer, I know how and why God answers mine..
If I speak of healing I know that He is my healer and He has healed me of cancer, a stroke and straighten my crooked back..and other illnesses..
If I talk of miracles I know for myself that He has done miracles in my life and in the lives of my family and people I know..
If I talk of Heaven I know that I am going there and that Heaven is my forever home with God..
but even more importantly, when I speak of salvation I know that the LORD Jesus Christ is God and He left Heaven and suffered on the Cross and died there to win me His Salvation...
Resty do you have a temple recommend yet ???
Have you ever “gone through the temple” yourself ???
****
BTW do you pay a full tithe and do you support those who are in need of donations?
OK
So you don’t have a Mormon temple recommend...
therefore you are not credible to speak of what happens in the Mormon temple...
however there are several FReepers in these threads who do know what happens...
I don’t want your old pearls...
I just want to know about your Mormon temple experience...
****
Yeah I should believe you! I don’t think so...
as I recall a lesson in Matt 4
do you support those who are in need of donations?
____________________________________
Im so glad you mentioned charity..
Let’s look at the “charity giving” by the Mormon business in the UK...
the 2012 financial document that describes the Mormon charity as:
Question 1 - The charity’s aims
What are your charity’s aims?
“The Charity has the general aim of assisting The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (”the Church”) to grow its membership and to provide facilities for them to reach out, work with, and provide services to the wider community.
The Charity assists members of the Church and others in need of religious assistance or in conditions of need, hardship, sickness or distress.”
Charitable activities - £ 000s
Provision of worship facilities. - £24,314
Missionary Work - £6,937
Geneology Work - £5,669
Do you support FR?
Do you ???
FR doesn’t support Mormonism...
Do you support FR?
____________________________
so FARMS/FAIR/LSD Inc yelled to you “Quick Resty, change the subject. We cant prove that our Mormon temple ordinances are valid”
They don’t have to they are not LDS
Speaking of liars what do you think of the lies of Joey Smith and his followers ???
Feb 14, 1831 - THE PALMYRA REFLECTOR publishes an account from “our Painesville correspondent” of Mormon missionaries, saying that “they then proclaimed that there had been no religion in the world for 1500 years,—that no one had been authorized to preach and for that period,—that Joseph Smith had now received a commission from God for that purpose . . . . Smith (they affirmed) had seen God frequently and personally—Cowdery and his friends had frequent interviews with angels . . .commissions and papers were exhibited, said to be signed by Christ himself!!! . . .”
Mormonism is rife with Magic Thinking. When truth about their leaders is exposed which shows them to be inveterate liars and conmen, Mormons magically twist that to be truth tellers are lying to the world. We see examples of that twisted think right here on FR almost daily. ... BTW, Happy Valentine’s Day, m’Lady.
No they are not a cult, but they are in error. They are not considered a cult, because they were the true religion until they failed to recognize their Messiah and thus broke the original covenant by failing to heed the words of their prophets which identified Jesus and the coming of the new covenant.
It doesn't look good for the Jews given the following:
God was displeased with the Jews enough to exile them for almost 2000 years and to allow evil such as the Holocaust to happen to them, and they still haven't repented. Those initial verses tell me that the Jews have to come to Jesus to be saved. Prior to Jesus, Jews were saved by trusting in God and believing that he would provide their salvation. I wish for the Jews sake that there is some way that God can stretch salvation through Jesus to the Jews who trust Him even though they didn't recognize Jesus. But the way I read scripture, I don't think that's going to be the case.
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