So, I saw a lot of threads such as "Ask a Muslim", "Ask a Jew", etc. and thought I'd make one of my own. As far as I can tell, Mormonism is one of the most widely misunderstood religions, so I thought I'd clear a few things up. Now, I'm not like a stake president or anything, but I'll do my best to answer your questions. I can't guarantee I have an answer to all of them. I would prefer it if this thread were not to turn into a religious debate. I've tried debating religion before. As far as I can tell, if you took a recording of a theist's arguments and a recording of an atheist's arguments, stuck them together and played them, you'd get approximately the same amount of actual thinking and listening as what goes into the actual debates. That's not to say atheists aren't allowed to ask questions, of course, just that I'm asking you not to turn this into a debate. I would also request that you keep this civil and polite. I will joke about my own religion sometimes, jokes are fine as long as humor, not malice, is the intent. But I will treat your beliefs with respect and expect you to do the same for mine. Thanks. So now...go ahead and ask.
is the story from south park Season-7 Episode-12 any true?
I'm afraid I don't watch South Park. I could if I wanted to, but I choose not to because it doesn't seem like the kind of thing I would like. However, I would be happy to answer your question if you would only summarize the episode for me, please?
iuf youve never watched south park you wont be able to know if you like it or not. anyway here is a direct link to the episode. (maybe you wont like this episode because it targets your believe but the thing whit south park is that they grab evry1 by the balls. so pleace look past it and let me know if they said some real facts about mormen =) direct link to episode
iuf youve never watched south park you wont be able to know if you like it or not
I never said I've never watched it, just that I don't watch it now because, to be frank, I don't like it. I saw the episode about the immigrants from the future, and I liked it okay right up until the part the rednecks stripped and started having a gay sex orgy to stop the future from happening.
anyway here is a direct link to the episode. (maybe you wont like this episode because it targets your believe but the thing whit south park is that they grab evry1 by the balls. so pleace look past it and let me know if they said some real facts about mormen =)
It's all right. If I got mad every time someone made fun of the Mor(m)on Church, I would...well, I'm not sure. I guess my head would explode or something. Thanks for the link. I guess I'll watch the episode, but it will take about half an hour. Are you sure it wouldn't be easier just to summarize what it says for me?
All right, I finished watching the South Park episode. In a moment, I will point out what they did right and what they did wrong from a Mormon perspective.
Answer my simple question. What's a Mormon?
That's a pretty vague question, if I do say so myself. But these are the Articles of Faith as stated in the Doctrine and Covenants. Basically, these are what define Mormons. 1) We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. 2) We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgressions. 3) We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. 4) We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. 5) We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof. 6) We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth. 7) We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelations, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth. 8) We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. 9) We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. 10) We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion, the New Jerusalem, will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the Earth; and, that the Earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. 11) We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. 12) We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. 13) We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul: we believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. -Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
It seems that obedience is featured even more heavily in Mormonism than in most other denominations of Christianity - do you think that edges it even closer to being a cult? Do you consider yourself part of a cult?
Okay, so on the subject of the South Park episode...
Firstly, they had a kid from Utah as the Mormon kid. That's not entirely inaccurate, since Salt Lake City, the capital of Utah, is the headquarters of the LDS Church. However, it does foster the stereotype that all Mormons are Utahns, or that all Utahns are Mormons, which is simply not true. Utah has about a 60% Mormon demographic, according to the U.S. Census. That's far from 100%. Just a little thing I wanted to point out. Second, and this is by far the most common misconception I have encountered: that the testimony of Joseph Smith about the angel Moroni, the Plates of Nephi/Ether/Etc., is actually the Book of Mormon. The testimony of Joseph Smith, the Eight Witnesses, the Three Witnesses, and how the Plates were translated, is not the Book of Mormon. I'll put it this way: the testimony of Joseph Smith is a lot like the publisher's note in a novel. It comes before the book to add some context, but in no way, shape, or form is it the actual book itself. And Joseph Smith did not write the Book of Mormon. He translated the plates, he did not write them. Look at it this way... The author of the Book of Mormon is the Lord God, and by extension His prophets. These primarily include, but are not limited, to Nephi, Moroni, and Mormon. The publisher of the Book of Mormon is Joseph Smith. He is also, well, the founder of the fan club. xP Family Home Evening: They've pretty much got it down pat. Family Home Evening is intended to foster a warm and loving family environment by getting people together, and disallowing television, video games, etc. for one night of the week. However, I would like to point out that not all Mormon families are as happy as the one depicted in the episode. We are, after all, normal people, and like normal people in a normal family, Mormons fight sometimes too. Lucy Harris and Martin Harris: It made it sound like Joseph Smith was lying with that part. The loss of the translations slowed down the translations of the Plates, but he did not switch everything around like it said in the episode. No One Ever Saw the Plates: That is just completely untrue. Joseph Smith showed the Plates to eleven people, and they swore as much, as detailed in the Testimony of the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses.
It seems that obedience is featured even more heavily in Mormonism than in most other denominations of Christianity - do you think that edges it even closer to being a cult? Do you consider yourself part of a cult?
Could you explain how the LDS Church demands more obedience from its members than any other religion, please? No, I do not consider myself part of a cult. I consider myself part of a religion. I would like to point out, however, that the extremist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints(not to be confused with the real Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) is a cult. It has been denounced by the real LDS Church.
There're a lot more specific rules and rituals than are found in many other areas of Christianity and there's a greater emphasis on Missionary work and great criticism, in some areas anyway, of those who fail to meet all the perceived responsibilities and duties of a Mormon - as well as that Mormonism seems to have a lot of 'cult-like' traits or, at least, traits that are very bad for a religion to have once you compare it to this checklist.
Well, I took a look at your checklist. âª
The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatarâ"or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity). ⪠The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.
Those are the only ones that might apply. Even so, as I have said before, I do not believe myself to be a member of a cult, and no amount of atheist internet sites are going to change my mind. Also, could you list some of those rules and rituals for me?
Isn't there already tons of threads based on the exact same subject?
Do you mean whether or not Mormonism is a cult, or answering questions about the religions? If it's the latter, then yes, but they're all different religions, so it's different. If it's the former, I haven't seen any, but the intent of this thread was not to debate the finer points of cult qualifications.
