Why is mormonism so misunderstood?

Their theology is some of the dumbest shit ever put to pen in the English language and Joseph Smith was either an enormous con-man of an enormous crazy person, but the people are nice enough

I can get that but that doesn't make it a cult. It is easier to leave mormonism than islam

oh and sorry nig am not gonna watch a 90 min video for one point

yep, very traditional

checked

also wich country do you live in?

never seen a mormon with a quran, dumbest comment in the thread user

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you really think a 20 year old would write six hundred papers in an english wich he wasn't familiar with?

Hm thought I wrote it at some point, I'm from France.

Nothing bad about it, if you compare it to some perverted cult like Muhammadism, but it is fugly, having that old moisty church and Soviet embassy smell compared to current mainstream Christianity or (non-Orthodox) Judaism.

If you can leave it (you can) without losing your head, there is nothing wrong with it and previously your 'friends' and 'family' making you persona non grata is blessing in disguise.
I have left one such cult and my immidiate family cut ties to me (my younger sister - who eventually left too - has since restored them) and although it was pretty depressing at first, healing is swift.

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Nah one of my neighbors is Mormon and they do pester you a shitton. They only send women over now because he pulled his gun on the last guys that came by.

If it meant i could fuck a bunch of guys's wives then yes

the book of mormon is basically the koran

>dictated by an (((angel)))
>sex with minors and polygamy is ok
>no alcohol allowed

So, from the posts here it sounds like if you leave the Mormon church all of your former Mormon pals leave you and your family disowns you. Alright, that's pretty awful, not gonna lie.

But how is that different from normally religious people? I read a story awhile back about a guy who came out to his family as atheist (effectively leaving the religion), and they disowned him, kicked him out on the streets with no money, just to fend for himself. Now, was his family Christian or Muslim? Hard to tell. That reaction is pretty strong, but common for both groups. And whatever we think about Christianity or Islam, nobody doubts that those are religions.

So, is the excommunication you receive from leaving the Mormon church enough to qualify it as a cult? If it's a cult, then there must be more to it, because several mainstream religions react strongly to leaving the church. And if that's all there is, then it's not a cult.

Not defending Mormonism here, just wanting to make sure our arguments are as strong as they could be.

I found it cute in a retarded way until the fucking aliens

Like Naruto or DBZ

>doesn't a cult avoid growing to much and too much media attention, unlike mormonism
There's no academic definition separating a religion from a cult. The line is so murky and hard to draw clearly (partially because most religions have existed as cults at least at some point) that scholars don't even try. Anything you see explaining the difference come from pop culture and is subjective.

That being said, Mormons do have a lot of really weird social practices, even beyond what happens to a person who leaves. I grew up around a lot of Mormons, and the stories I would get from my friends about how their families worked could be kind of horrifying. The church dictates everything they do, and there's a tremendous amount of social pressure and fear behind people's actions. For example, one of my friends wanted to grow his hair a little bit and his family threatened to kick him out because men aren't supposed to have hair past a certain length. Another friend of mine was basically forced into going on a missionary trip (he has bad anxiety and didn't think he could handle it), and had to get sent back home early because he tried to kill himself. In general, it seemed like people would do anything to keep up social appearances and seem wholesome; a part of that is because they want to seem nice as a way to encourage people to convert.

The best definition is, that a cult is still lead by its founder, while a religion has survived its founders death and become self-sustaining.

This. Can confirm, also had a friend who I didn't get to see for 2 years because his parents were paying for his college and were going to cut him off of his degree that he was already working on if he didn't go on the mission trip. I assume they would've kicked him out too.

This here.

No it isn't. The only really accepted definition of a cult is that it's a religion organized or directed towards a central figure. That's how it arose historically (the cult of Mithras being a good example), and that's still the definition used academically. It was still used that way until fairly recently when a number of new religious movements led by central figures started popping up and engaging in certain kinds of behaviors. Now, those behaviors are what dictate the definition to most people, but it's not an accurate meaning of the word.

Mormons are like the Jews. A small, unusually well educated, closely knit, religious community whose traditions and practices sharply contrast with the general population.

Hell, they're the only religious group in the history of the United States to be targeted in a state sanctioned pogrom (Missouri Executive Order 44).

On an unrelated note, Turtledove made totally bombed Southern Victory by sidelining the Utah conflict and not making the Mormons the victims of the series' equivalent to the Holocaust.

there are easier ways to do that in the 1830's

if so, why did he add so much detail to it, and why offer to die for his church and his belief

>the book of mormon is basically the koran

except that it's not and you have no idea because obviously haven't read it. it talks about JC all the time

>dictated by an (((angel)))
not sure on this one, pretty sure mohammed got said he got it from Allah. Also angels came several times before in the bible and gave out knowledge, like gabriel for example

>sex with minors and polygamy is ok

The Book of mormon doesn't allow this and neither does the church

>no alcohol allowed

It's takes a good christian to stand away from drugs

You are making a good point pal

also, my parents will probably disown me if I join the church since they are pretty godless

you mean the english that the bible was written in and everyone would be familiar with? writing a long book is't challenging. writing a good one is. i recommend you look up the letter to a CES director. it goes into detail about several issues with the truth of mormonism, but specifically shows how Smith plagiarized novels popular at the time

>meaning isn't use: the post
If the word's commonly used in a certain way, then that's an alternate definition for the word, like it or not. When people say "X is a cult" where X=Mormonism, Scientology, the Twelve Tribes, or whathaveyou, it's more than clear what they mean.

This isn't anything that the church or the faith does. Again, the culture of the beliver shall not be grouped together with a religion

yep, power like the jews. but values like white patriots.

they have a bunch of babies, don't get divorced, very conservative

>it talks about JC all the time
Jesus is the most mentioned person in the Quran
>pretty sure mohammed got said he got it from Allah
Muslims believe that the Quran was verbally revealed by God to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel

>Jesus is the most mentioned person in the Quran

does that mean that the gospel is the same as the quran, no idiot

>Muslims believe that the Quran was verbally revealed by God to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel

mormons belive that the boook of mormon was shown to Joseph SMith by Moroni

and also, mormons belive christ is the messiah muslims don't

The primary problem is that they are not Christians. They'll totally tell you they are, but they are not. Someone already posted Dr. Whites video on it, and it's pretty clear to respected christian theologians that the Mormons are just kidding themselves thinking they are in any way 'Christians'.

>“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

great text but not reallly relevant to this

The Mormon Church has been plotting a takover of the United States (the White Horse Prophecy) and the establishment of a fascist theocracy since the 19th century. They came closest in 2012, but thankfully Obama vanquished the Mormen hordes.

Their scheme in 2016 was a bit weaker, but their hope was that McMullin would win Utah and that Trump and Clinton would both be short of an electoral majority, and then the House would select McMullin as a compromise pick.

At that point, the word "cult" basically means "any religion I don't like." If you're okay with letting the definition be that, okay. But most people seem to want to know what the difference is supposed to be.

>fascism being bad for america

also, stop your conspiracies

user, the world's longest series is a super smash bros fan fiction.

not an argument.

It was written on an computer

>an english wich he wasn't familiar with?
The language Smith used wasn't that obscure. He was basically just copying the kind of language used in the King James Bible. As someone who grew up in the Burned Over district, he would have been familiar with how the language of the Bible sounded, and it makes sense he would have tried to emulate it. He even made a bunch of grammatical mistakes because he tried too hard to make the language sound archaic. A fair amount of the content was also plagiarized from other popular books of the time.

It becomes illigal when the religion powers that be tell the family to disown a person who left, if the family does it on their own its not a crime. As far as im aware Mormons dont really have anything about disowning a person who leaves, they are told to try to reconvert him though. Jehovas Witnesses are the ones who are pretty hardcore on making family members disown a person who left.

>I mean we know it's not a cult because you can leave it freely.

Depends. Not if you live in SLC and had a position in the cult. You'll be exiled, cut off, persona non grata, and maybe disappear.

>That reaction is pretty strong, but common for both groups
It is not common for current mainstream Christianity, but it is for Muhammadism.

Really great values.

>there are mormons in south america, lots of them in Peru

Holy shit, those guys even have a church in the peruvian capital. Lots of non-whites are converting. I wonder how they manage to explain pre-columbian history to them, since the mormons believe some weird shit. Last time I read they thought the Incas are descendants of the Mound People, so white.

>paying for porn
they don't use porn more than anyone else, they're just idiots

>gays get government marriage acceptance before polygamists

Fucked up, Mormons were persecuted all the way to Utah and then the government forced them to change their marriage doctrines.

Mormons deserve to return to their multiple wives roots.

Gud post. I know plenty of people from other sects, your comment is 100% accurate.

>the government forced them to change their marriage doctrines
no, they chose to end the practice in order for Utah to be allowed to become a state

>I mean we know it's not a cult because you can leave it freely.
Have you ever tried? They stalk you, ostracized you, threaten your brainwashed Mormon family, etc.
It is a cult, it's paganism/polytheism and the ultimate heresy in denying Christ.
>Thanks Protestantism for this valuable gift

Are far as theological genesis, yes, it is the same beginnings.

Nah, I mean Joseph 'translated' some tablets while Mohammed had an epileptic attack while being rolled in a carpet

In Russia Mormons are seen as evil due to Sherlock Holmes short story - popular here - where they are portrayed as criminal omnipresent sect killing all who don't obey their Elders.

So basically the same as they used to see Jews?

the most detestable thing about mormonism and other American "new religious movements" is all these fucking online apologists trying to defend their shitty cult in a really hamfisted fashion
This is basically an outreach thread, don't forget to sage.