by Found Sheep 23 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I was fascinated with this for a time and researched it. I came up with this chart to compare the 2 groups.
In summary, there are some Mormons who are barely involved with the mainstream church and for them it's just another brand of xianity. For others (most?) it is more, in varying degrees. It has some toxic features.
I asked if they shun those that leave.
She said no almost the opposite. They try to help back any that are "leaving". Then we talked about
excommunication and she said only the "real bad sinners" get that.
That is EXACTLY what a Jehovah's Witness would say if you asked them the same question.
Try it. Walk up to a table of JWs at the mall or where ever you see them and just ask them: "Do you shun those who leave?" They will ALWAYS say "No."
The Mormons are very similar to JWs culturally in many ways. Just hang out at ex-Mormon sites and you'll find many of the same stories are being told that we have. They have been fighting to become mainstream, and have been more successful at it than 7th Day Adventists and other similarly small and isolated groups. Mormons, like JWs, naturally don't see themselves as a cult. That doesn't mean they aren't one.
You have to agree with their leaders in all things, they do DF AND excommunicate (they're different things to Mormons) and they're about as honest regarding the dangers of caffeine as JWs are about blood transfusions. And then there's the weirdness on top of that. God lives on Kolob (it was called Kobol in the Battlestar Galactica series...the guy who created the original show was a Mormon) magical underwear and all. Some regard them as a mix of Scientology weirdness and JW evangelism.
Did anyone mention polygamy yet? (Actually, it's not polygamy since only men were supposed to have multiple wives. Mormons practice polygyny.)
I regard them as a cult. I had family that were Mormon wannabes but who couldn't uphold the standards about caffeine and alcohol.
I would say that they aren't, not because they don't have wierd beliefs and rules. They do. What changes it from a cult is that they have loosened up on the tight controls on the members. They have a lot more freedom that jws do. Also, they have a lot more fun, and are thus happier than are jws. Less damage to members results.
S
It seems like every religious group is a cult.
I think if you use the Holy bible and believe in Jesus, the Catholic church is the historical standard. If its not catholic its a cult.
Collective veneration or worship (e.g., the cult of the saints—meaning collective veneration of the saints—in Roman Catholicism). In the West, the term has come to be used for groups that are perceived to have deviated from normative religions in belief and practice. They typically have a charismatic leader and attract followers who are in some way disenfranchised from the mainstream of society. Cults as thus defined are often viewed as foreign or dangerous.
1 : formal religious veneration :worship 2 : a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also: its body of adherents 3 : a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also: its body of adherents 4 : a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <health cults> 5 a: great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially: such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b: the object of such devotion c: a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion
This is an oversimplification, but a good rough guide, IMO.
Put religions on a scale of cultyness from 1-10.
1= Unitarian universalists who allow ANYONE, who believes (or doesn't believe) ANYTHING to join them, atheists included.
10 = Jim Jones' Peoples Temple with literal poison Kool-Aid and one guy saying he is God.
On this scale I'd say cultyness starts to kick in from 5 on up.
Mormons & 7th Day Adventists: 6
Jehovah's Witnesses: 7
Scientologists: 8.5
David Koresh and the Branch Davidians: 9
Just my $.02. My numbers are completely subjective of course.
om
Women would not wear the secret underwear. Not all the men, either. I believe it is only elders. Like the JW's, leadership is reserved for men.
The same investigation should be done before joining the Mormons as is done with the JW's. Check out the ex-sites.
They do certainly show a great deal of "care and concern" for exited members. They "miss them at the meetings."
That said, I've met some very fine Mormon folk. The daily burden is not as severe as it is with the Witnesses, so they blend in with society better than the Witnesses. One of my favorite books of all time, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, is written by a Mormon. I would say there are no admonitions against financial success.
It depends on what definition of cult you are using. If your definition is a fanatic follower of an individual leader that isolates the individual from society, then no, they probably would not be considered in that definition. If you define it by Christian orthodoxy, anyone outside of the traditional, orthodox Christian belief system yet claiming to be Christian, is considered a cult.
Men and women wear temple garments. The only requirement is to be endowed in the temple ( a ritual ). Normally only people about 20 or older, new missionaries or newleyweds would be considered for the endowment.
I stand corrected, Qcmbr. Thank you.
