Why do some people consider Mormonism a cult?
Cult is a loaded word. The original meaning of the word is simply a system or community of religious worship and ritual. However, Americans usually mean an extremist sect whose followers often live in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader. That seems to apply to early Mormonism, although in fairness, most religions (including Christainity generally) fall into that category at some time in their history. Mormons take proclaim that they are “peculiar people”, but their current unconventionality is not nearly as peculiar as it was under the prophets Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Neither are most 20th/21st century prophets as authoritarian or charismatic as the early prophets. Mormons are unconventional to a degree, and the church is authoritarian to a degree–but not nearly as much as it was 150 years ago. Below is a list of the common properties of potentially destructive and dangerous cults–from factnet.org, which tries to raise awareness
“Cult” is a loaded word, and it’s too subjective to have one definition. People love to use it as a pejorative term for any religion that they dislike, especially if it’s a minority group compared to that of the person using the word. My college roommate was Mormon, and we have discussed religion. Some of the history and beliefs of the LDS Church make no sense to me and probably never will. Others actually seem more logical to me than some more “traditional” Christian theology. I’ve heard several people call the LDS Church a cult, and my impression is that it’s a surface reaction to ideas like baptism by proxy and temple ceremonies that just don’t make sense to the rest of us. There’s no getting around the fact that some LDS beliefs seem very odd to non-members, but it’s unfortunate that the c-word gets thrown about excessively as a result. To me, cults are groups that harm their members or seek to manipulate “lost soul” types. Now, for all my skepticism about translating golden plates
Many of the people who consider the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a “cult” also consider the Roman Catholic Church a “cult.” The word is used purely subjectively to mean “anyone who doesn’t believe the way I believe.” However, the main reason that some people consider Mormonism a cult is because of the anti-Mormons’ tendency to distort and mislead in order to sell books and CDs, or to find some reason to feel superior. If their own beliefs were treated the same way, they would appear just as cultish. What a Saint will call milk and honey, the anti-Mormons will call “repeatedly digested grass” and “bee spit” in order to twist public opinion.
REASONS WHY MORMONISM IS A DOCTRINAL CULT: The Bible is not the real source of authority for LDS teaching, since they also have a number of other documents which contradict it and which they follow above the Bible teachings. The “Christ” which Mormons mention is most definitely not the Lord Jesus Christ mentioned in the Bible. While Mormons certainly use Jesus’ name, they do not follow the Jesus which Christians have always followed. In addition to the different scriptures, source of authority, and different Christ as mentioned above there are other additional major differences between the LDS teaching and Christianity. * Different definition of God * Different definition of man * Belief in many gods (polytheism) verses the one true God of the Bible and Christianity (monotheism) * Different definition of the ‘trinity’ which is radically different to the Christian/Biblical concept * Denial of the Virgin Birth of Christ * Radically different doctrine of Salvation, including denial of the
There are two definitions of “cult”. Many people define cult as something that’s founded on excessive devotion to one person, such as Joseph Smith or, later, Brigham Young. The second and more useful definition of a cult is a religion that claims to be Christian with a different God, a different Jesus and a different way of salvation. The Mormon God has a physical body and did not beget his Son in the mystical way that Christianity teaches; also, Mormonism teaches that there are both a Holy Ghost and a Holy Spirit. So this contradicts the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, laid out in the Nicene Creed. The Mormon Jesus is also quite a bit different from the Christian Jesus, inasmuch as he seems to have been married to both Mary and Martha, if Walter Martin’s book is correct. And the Mormon definition and way of salvation is quite different from traditional Christianity–it is much more works-based and if the elders I spoke to were correct, each married Mormon man will be able to start
Related Questions
- Like all of us ive made mistakes but this lead to negative experiences with my Church Leader that I thought should have been faith promoting (they defiantly weren that). I feel ive lost my faith in Christ, what can I do to get it back?
- Are certain parts in the Book of Mormon open to personal interpretation?
- Why are Mormon people so nice?
