[k5wTvu9f]

Yes, I'm an ignorant shithead

ignorance

But where is the banana option

[Gozmand]

Someone please tell me how an organization who requires young men to spend two years converting others, one that bans caffeine for the most ridiculous reasons imaginable, one that has their own magic underwear to literally protect you from the evils of the world, is built upon the gospel of a "prophet", Joseph Smith...is not a cult?

Seriously, it's cult. There's no arguing it.

As a side note, the mormon families I know give 10% of their income to the church. I don't know if this is mandated, but it's ****ing common and even more cultlike.

[ionitiesk]

That doesn't sound terribly different from Catholicism. Can't eat meat on Fridays for basically no reason. Go into a confessional and tell a priest you masturbate and you'll go to heaven. They aren't a cult.

Or Judaism--wear a special hat on your head, don't eat bacon or shrimp, do a community service project and have a bar mitzvah. Temple can cost hundreds of dollars. Not a cult.

xpost

[ThisIsOK]

cult
–noun
1. a particular system of religious worship, especially with reference to its rites and ceremonies.
2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, especially as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.
3. the object of such devotion.
4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.
5. Sociology . a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols. All religions are cults. Own up to this fact and admit it.

/me holds his rosary beads and crosses his heart

[MaickiP]

Indeed. Which doesn't mean Mormonism isn't a cult, it means the others are cults as well.

[SkatrySkith]

That's kind of like the catholics aren't allowed to get divorces rule, i.e., no one cares about it.

[theonsushv]

That's kind of like the catholics aren't allowed to get divorces rule, i.e., no one cares about it.

Yeah! Except, it's not.

The rule is designed to stop people from leaving the church because it means leaving your family. It's textbook cult manipulation.

[molaunterbizone]

It's not manipulative if no one cares about or follows the rule.

What on Earth makes you think most mormons do not follow that rule? LDS members are not Catholics -- many of them actually care about their religion and follow its tenets.

I know at least one person who has been excommunicated and shunned by his family, and that's a small sample set. I've not heard of anyone excommunicated who still had regular contact with their family...

[Blellurgews]

All religions are nonsense. The difference with Mormonism (and Jehovah's Witness-ism and Scientology) is that they are such recent creations so their BS is so much more obvious. In 1000 years, Mormonism will be as respected as Catholicism is today. Unless humans wise up and stop believing this nonsense.

I am intrigued why the answer "Yes" in the poll is followed by "I'm an ignorant shithead". What's that about?

[Roxanjbra]

IIRC Mormonism got its start when Joseph Smith saw some stones, in which he "saw" words from God that no one else could see, then "transcribed" these into a manifesto manuscript that became the Book of Mormon. Jesus Christ himself appeared to him.

Once he assembled a large group of followers, he fled to the remote areas of Utah where he could exert more control and have less outside influence over his followers.

Does this kind of MO sound familiar?

No, he prayed about it and the angel Moroni, told him about the "golden plates" that no one ever got to see, except a lucky few.

He never made it to Utah, he was murdered by a mob in Carthage, Illinois.

Brigham Young led them to Utah.

ACK!

[Centurnion]

No, he prayed about it and the angel Moroni, told him about the "golden plates" that no one ever got to see, except a lucky few.

He never made it to Utah, he was murdered by a mob in Carthage, Illinois.

Brigham Young led them to Utah.

ACK!

Thanks for the clarification.

[dgdhgjjgj]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excommunication

[Kokomoxcv]

I was not aware that the Jews have a version of excommunication themselves, called the Cherem.

Interesting.

[clitlyphype]

Some fact checking:

Homophobia. You got one right.

Excommunication doesn't cut anyone off. The only difference is if you go to church (you can still go to church) you can't take the sacrament. If someone shunned their own family member, that would be against LDS doctrine. Exactly opposite of it in fact.

Mormons aren't required to serve missions.

Garments (the underwear) is not meant to literally protect a person from harm. There are some stories where it is claimed it did protect a person. It's not doctrine. They are simply to remind the wearer to follow the teachings of Christ without being obvious (like a nun's habit or priest's robe).

Caffeine... true. You aren't supposed to drink caffeinated beverages. Almost everyone does.

The stones were set into glasses to help with reading/translating. The actual content of the BoM was supposedly written on metal plates.

[Aleksis]

Some fact checking:

Homophobia. You got one right.

Excommunication doesn't cut anyone off. The only difference is if you go to church (you can still go to church) you can't take the sacrament. If someone shunned their own family member, that would be against LDS doctrine. Exactly opposite of it in fact.

I'm well aware of what the official church policy is on it. You'll note that they always shove the "blame" for excommunications to the local churches, not the LDS itself. The local church handles all aspects of it. I know of one boy personally who was excommunicated and told not to be in touch with his family or anyone from his church. One of the official reasons for excommunication is to protect family from sin -- they thought his homosexuality was a sin, and accordingly they "protected" the family from the sin with excommunication and made it clear to the family that he is to be cut off from all contact until he repents, etc.

Mormons aren't required to serve missions. Yes, they're "not required".

If they're not required, how come every single mormon I've ever met has done them? They're technically "not required", I know, but you're leaving out the ramifications of not doing it.

Garments (the underwear) is not meant to literally protect a person from harm. There are some stories where it is claimed it did protect a person. It's not doctrine. They are simply to remind the wearer to follow the teachings of Christ without being obvious (like a nun's habit or priest's robe). I've heard both, which to me implies it's left for the interpretation of the cultee. FWIW, Wiki says both.

[maxuilg]

I never did the mission thing.

By 19, I only went to church twice a month so I could play on the church basketball team. Each "ward" of the city I lived in, there were 8 wards, had their own teams. Each church, 3 of them, had it's own basketball court inside the church.

ACK!

[southernplayer99]

I grew up Mormon. I was still going to church in my late teens when a good share of my friends were going on their missions. I didn't serve a mission. I know (personally as life long friends and family) hundreds of Mormons (who are still in the church) who didn't serve missions, and many who were excommunicated as well (a good share of which are back in the Church... it's a temporary thing in most cases).

It's not some sort of shunning thing. Quite the opposite in fact. The vast majority of Mormons are going to end up trying to reconvert you by being sickeningly nice to you if you go apostate or stop attending Church. If you want to call that cult-like, then at least it's applicable, rather than factually incorrect nonsense derived from your amazingly in-depth research about one guy you met one time who's family (and Bishop) sound like douchebags who don't know what their religion teaches.

[ValdisSeroff]

Some people don't want to serve anything. Not their country, not their religion, not anything. They're here for themselves. It's always been that way and will always be that way. That doesn't make it right.

[soajerwaradaY]

This happens because the USA has no institution for crushing new heresies

[Keendwainge]

FWIW, it wasn't one guy I met one time. I went to Jr High and up through 11th grade with him. He moved to Provo in the 12th grade, where all the fun happened.

The other gay mormon I knew opted to "convert" to heterosexuality because he was told he'd be excommunicated unless he did so. And the faith meant everything to him and his family.

I have a gay cousin, who, obviously, is Mormon. I don't know if he's been excommunicated or not, but the family, at least, has accepted him being gay and still support him.

ACK!