[Grunthor]

Serious question;

What is the difference between a religion and a cult? When I think of cults I think of Jonestown or the Manson Family or the Moonies.

What is it that makes mormonism like these groups? Thank you.

[PapaNew]

I think a cult implies a group (usually religious but not necessarily) that is usually dominated by a personality who exercises a fair amount of control over his followers. It’s also usually exclusive (everyone outside our group is “wrong”) and can be somewhat paranoid (”can’t trust anyone outside our group”) - a sort of extreme “us vs. them” mentality.

[American Constitutionalist]

" What is it that makes mormonism like these groups? Thank you. "

If you actually study in what they believe, they steer away from God's Holy word, the Bible, and have extra Biblical supposed " Revelation " in the book of Mormons by some kook called Joe Smith.

[delacoert]

What is the difference between a religion and a cult? When I think of cults I think of Jonestown or the Manson Family or the Moonies. What is it that makes mormonism like these groups?

It’s just not that hard.

Feigning the delicate sensitivities of popular elitism and culture is not meritorious comportment, it’s just revolting.

You can look up a word like cult in a good old fashioned dictionary like Webster's or Oxford American, and gosh and by golly you can find a definition that applies.

Ex. cult … 3) a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents

If you are Christian (no that doesn't include Mormonism, it's a cult), American, and educated it just isn’t that hard to see.