Are Jehovah’s Witnesses (Watchtower Followers) and Mormons (LDS or Latter-Day Saints) “Cults”?
The word “cult” conjures up a variety of ideas in the minds of people. From the 80 Branch Davidians who followed David Koresh to their fiery death in a Waco compound in 1993 to the 38 Heaven’s Gate followers of Marshall Applewhite who drank poison, committing suicide in an attempt to catch a ride on an alleged spaceship of the 1993 Hale-Bopp Comet, people often think of cultists as weird individuals who isolate themselves into compounds and communes and practice strange beliefs. But, not all cultists and cult groups fit this stereotype image. Many of the most deadly cults are much more subtle in their tactics and present a respectable image to the public that often attracts thousands, if not millions to their ranks. While many in the Christian community label religious groups “cults” if they do not adhere to the basic, fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith, our ministry is much more cautious about the methods we use in labeling groups “cults.” We agree that doctrine plays a sign
