The Mormon church and the media's 'cult' box

As part of the rhetorical warfare that has come to characterize modern American political discourse, it was only a matter of time before someone once again used the term “cult” to describe The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We saw it often during the 2008 presidential campaign. It surfaced more recently when Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) was fighting to retain his Nevada Senate seat (his opponent’s pastor accused him of belonging to a cult that “pretends to embrace Christianity”).

Few journalists use the term themselves, of course, as an adjective of choice. The usual method is to apportion the blame for the use of this highly pejorative label to “many evangelicals” or “some Christians” as a means of explaining how these groups might choose to vote, and to point out what a liability this is for any Latter-day Saint candidate.

To be sure, there’s some truth in this logic. But I have a message to political journalists who over the course of the current campaign may be tempted to throw out this nasty word with abandon. Expect to be challenged.

Continue reading at www.washingtonpost.com

« Previous Article

Posting Policy

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, vulgarity, profanity, all caps, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a courteous and useful public environment where we can engage in reasonable discourse. Read more.

Scott

Mormonism is a cult, because it embraces and promotes false teaching about Jesus Christ and therefore a false gospel.
- Jeff Dixon
  
  ALL religions are cults, Christianity included. They all teach absurd beliefs as factual information.
  - Scott
    
    Christianity isn't a religion, Jeff. Religion deceives and ultimately destroys people by causing them to believe that they can do something for God to earn His favor/blessing (be baptized, take communion, do penance, go to church, give money, do nice things for people, or — in the case of Islam — kill people in the name of "Allah) and thereby gain eternal life. Religion is for people, like the religious leaders of Jesus' day, "who trust in themselves that they're righteous" (Luke 18:9). It's all about what man can do for God, whereas Christianity is a relationship, not a religion. It's all about what you cannot and could never do for God, but rather what God has done for you — "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son — Jesus Christ — that whoever believes in Him shallo not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
    - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
      
      Of course it is a religion. As this description of religion clearly shows:
      
      Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and moral values.[1] Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and human nature.
      
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion
      
      And if Christianity is only a relationship and not a religion, then it needs to give up its tax exempt status.
      - Scott
        
        You're confusing Christianity with "church" (as society and the legal system defines it) — denominations, synods, buildings, 501 (c) (3) organizations, etc., most of which are nothing but religion.
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        Not at all. You could make the same silly comment about about any religion. Confusing a belief with Allah with its mosques and Islamic organizations. Christianity IS a religion. It is a misguided approach to life, as are all religions, but that does not change the reality that it is a religion.
  - Scott
    
    We're all sinners, Jeff — you, me, everyone who's ever lived and who will ever lived — "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Sin separates us from God, now and forever — "Your iniquities (sins) have separated you from your God" (Isaiah 59:2). "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a). Death is separation — physical death separates us from those we know and love, and it separates us from ourselves (body and spirit). Spiritual death separates us from God. Eternal death separates us from God forever. All these are the "wages" of sin. That's the bad news.
  - Scott
    
    The good news is that "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Jesus, the perfect Son of God, "had no sin. But God made Him become sin so that in Christ we could become right with God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). "Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us" (Romans 5:1). When we place our faith and trust in Jesus, God forgives all our sins, makes us right with Him, and promises us eternal life — "the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23b). "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). Jeff, I pray that you will accept God's free gift of salvation by trusting in Jesus Christ, and come to know the joy and peace that only He can give, both now and forever. God bless you.
    - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
      
      Your god of the bible also shows his love for us by allowing slavery, including selling your own daughter as a sex slave (Exodus 21:1-11), child abuse (Judges 11:29-40 and Isaiah 13:16), and bashing babies against rocks (Hosea 13:16 & Psalms 137:9).
      
      The fact that you begin to use the words that god loves us shows you have no idea what that word actually means.
      - Scott
        
        Exodus 21 – Slavery was a acommon practice in all countries of the ancient Near East, but the treatment of slaves differed considerably from one place to another. One thing that was unique about slavery in ancient Israel is that there was no such thing as permanent, involuntary enslavement of a Hebrew slave to a Hebrew master (Leviticus 25:25-55). It seems that slavery was not a desirable practice in Israelit society, although it was permitted by God who provided legislation to regulate it. A Hebrew slave was a considered a member of his or her master's family, and often loved the family and desired to remain a member indefinitely (Ex. 21:5).
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        Murder was not a desirable practice either, but that did not mean there were rules established for murder. It was simply prohibited. The fact that slavery was not prohibited completely shows that it was acceptable. Also, you gloss over the issue when you discuss that Hebrew slaves would not be a permanent situation. Since that indicates that non Hebrew slaves could be keep permanently, you are hardly making your argument.
      - Scott
        
        Well, someday we'll both know the truth, right?
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        Since we would be dead, no, we will actually never know.
      - Scott
        
        And therein lies the difference between us, my friend.
      - Scott
        
        In ancient Israel, as in all patriarchal societies, the father had absolute control over his children, including the authority to sell his own children as slaves. Daughters were allowed to go free after six years if they chose to do so (Deut. 15:17). If they were displeasing in some way to their masters, they could be redeemed by another, but not by a foreigner. Young women could be purchased as wives for their sons, and in such cases the masters were to treat them like daughters. Again, not the ideal situation in any society, but the treatment of Israelite slaves was far more humane and benevolent than was the case in non-Israelite cultures.
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        However, the Hebrew system was supposedly based on some concept that come from a perfect deity. As such, he could have easily made the rules to permit the daughters to experience a completely humane existence.
      - Scott
        
        Judges 29 – most likely Jephthah did not offer his daughter as a burnt offering (a practice forbidden under Mosaic law, Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5; Deut. 12:31; 18:10); instead, he offered her to the Lord in another sense — "He did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she had no relations with a man…" (v. 39). The grief expressed by Jephthah, his daughter, and the daughters of Israel was appropriate because she was an only child, and her perpetual virginity meant that their would be no descendants within this family.
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        When you use the term most likely, what you are really saying is this sounds better so let’s pretend that is what occurred. For a group of people that claim the bible is the word of god and inerrant, you sure scurry away from the actual words whenever they are inconvenient.
      - Scott
        
        I said "most likely" because the text doesn't specify exactly what Jephthah did. Based on the laws forbidding human sacrifice, and the fact that God blessed Jephthah in his military campaigns on behalf of His people, it's highly unlikely that he slaughtered his daughter as a result of a rash vow.
      - Scott
        
        Isa. 13:16; Hos. 13:16; Ps. 137:9 — war is cruel. Sin causes men to use brutal, violent, horrible means to achieve their objectives. That doesn't mean that God approves of or sanctions such action, in most cases. There is such a thing as just war in defense of the innocent and helpless, to secure or maintain freedom from injustice and oppression. And too, there were times in Old Test. history when God acted in fierce judgment against His enemies, displaying His wrath and thereby acting in full accord with His justice. He is not only love, He is holy, and His holiness demands that sin and rebellion be punished. That's why Christ died — "the Righteous One for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18).
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        Since these sinners are going to burn for all eternity, it is unnecessary to kill them in a horrible fashion as well. He could simply turn them into salt, a quick and painless death. But he does not do that. He torments people and makes them experience intense pain. That is a not a just punishment, but the actions of a sadist.
      - Scott
        
        Again, the truth will be known by all one day. I choose to believe what the Bible says about God, man, sin, death, hell and eternal ife.
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        You can believe whatever you like. However, the bible says that heaven is a place of perfection. It also says that angels rebelled there and started a war in heaven. Anyplace where a war could break out is not perfection.
      - Scott
        
        And you can click "thumbs down" on my posts all you like. What you and I think about what we've been discussing is irrelevant. There is a God, He has spoken, and He will accomplish His purposes. Believe it or not.
      - jatheist
        
        Scott wrote: "There is a God, He has spoken, and He will accomplish His purposes."
        
        And yet there is no evidence whatsoever to support this claim. The majority of the almost 7 billion humans on earth believe in God(s)… but they believe in different God(s) with different rules and different manifestations. At the very least most of these religious people are wrong (the different Gods contradict each other) – I happen to believe that they are ~all~ wrong.
        
        Until there is evidence to support the God idea it will remain unbelievable…
      - Scott
        
        The fact that everyone dies is one of the best evidences of all. Death is not the end, however. By the way, God doesn't believe in atheists :-)
      - jatheist
        
        Scott wrote: "The fact that everyone dies is one of the best evidences of all."
        
        "evidence" for what? Death is evidence that everything that lives will someday die…
        
        BTW – God doesn't exist :-)
      - Scott
        
        Why do people die? That wasn't part of the original plan. I know, you don't believe in a "plan."
      - jatheist
        
        Scott asked: "Why do people die?"
        
        Because without certain life-giving substances life would be impossible. Mammals need oxygen, water and food – without one of those a mammal will die. There is no evidence that life has ever worked differently.
      - Scott
        
        Well, I've known lots of people who had plenty of oxygen, water and food their whole lives. But they died, anyway.
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        Exactly, because nothing lives forever and there is no evidence that anything ever could.
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        Genesis 3:
        22: And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
        23: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
        24: So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
        
        Since there was a tree of life which would grant immortality and Adam and Eve did not eat from it, but instead were banished from the garden, on what basis can you assume the plan meant they would not die? If they were not immortal, they would die, which is what the tree of life would have helped them with.
        
        Not only is there no evidence that there has been a period when things did not die, the bible itself clearly shows that Adam and Eve were created mortal.
        
        As an aside, you would have thought that someone wandering around before the flood might have noticed this flaming sword and made comment on it.
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        In fact, when Christians ask what would be compelling evidence of god, actual visible Cherubims and an eternal flaming sword would be a good start.
      - Scott
        
        They weren't allowed to take and eat from the tree of life because they had already taken and eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in direct disobedience to God's command (Gen. 2:17; 3:6). God had said that in the day that they ate from that tree they would surely die. And they did die, spiritually. The intimate relationship they had with God was severed, as illustrated by their banishment from the garden. And they began to die, physically. God and sin cannot coexist, which is why Adam and Eve were denied access to the tree of life. Thus the need for another way of access to God, accomplished by the seed of the woman (Christ) who would, "in the fullness of time" (Galatians 4:4-5) deal a death-blow to the serpent (Satan) as predicted in Gen. 3:15. As for signs, they don't produce saving faith. Moses gave Pharaoh plenty of signs; he hardened his heart in response. Jesus gave the religious leaders of His day plenty of signs, even raising the dead (I know you don't believe that); they had Him killed. "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6) or even know God.
      - Jeff Dixon
        
        However, if they would not die, then there was no need for a tree of life. They were already immortal. The fact that the story has a tree of life in the garden shows that they were not made immortal.
      - Scott
        
        Whether actually eating of the tree of life was what accomplished their immortatlity, or the tree of life was merely a visible symbol of their immortality, the point is — God created man to live in His presence forever. Death was not part of that original plan; it is the result of sin.
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        The tree of life could not be a symbol of of their immorality. The verse is very clear.
        
        22: And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
        
        You can dance around it all you like. Christians have been changing the meaning of the bible since it was written, but the passage is clear. God made sure they would not eat of the tree to make sure they would not live forever.
        
        "No public man in these islands ever believes that the Bible means what it says: he is always convinced that it says what he means. " – George Bernard Shaw
      - Scott
        
        I'm perfectly okay with the literal interpretation of that verse — that man had to eat of the tree of life in order to live forever. But don't you see, the INTENT BY GOD FROM THE BEGINNING (by putting the tree of life in the garden in the first place) was for man to LIVE FOREVER and NOT DIE. He wasn't denied access to the tree of life until he sinned, at which point he became subject to death — he died spiritually and began to die physically.
      - Scott
        
        BTW – neither to atheists. Everyone has a god. In the case of most atheists, it's themselves.
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        Certainly not going to click thumbs up. However, since one can only vote once, and you have posts with more than one thumbs down vote, obviously others disagree with you as well.
        
        When there is ever actual evidence for this god, I will be happy to consider it. However, I do not base my life on myths.
      - Scott
        
        Actually, you can vote every time you refresh the page. But no matter. Evidence? Look up at the stars, sun, moon. Look around at the beauty and wonder of this earth. Look inside at the complexity and sheer genius of the human body. It takes more faith to believe that everything just "happened" via a Big Bang or evolutionary process or whatever than it does to believe in a personal Creator. "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies prclaim the work of His hands" (Psalm 19:1) for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. "What may be known of God is plan to men, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities — His eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, bing understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse" (Romans 1:19-20). The problem is that despite the evidence, "men suppress the truth" (v. 18).
      - jatheist
        
        Scott wrote: "Evidence? Look up at the stars, sun, moon."
        
        Your examples are all easily explained by science…
        
        Scott cont'd: "Look inside at the complexity and sheer genius of the human body."
        
        While the human body is an amazing thing – it also contains many things which, if actually designed, could have (should have) been designed better.
        
        Cephalopod's have way better eyes for example – they don't have the blind spot mammals do. Why give these aquatic animals better eyes than humans? Evolution explains this – a creator does not.
        
        Scott cont'd: "It takes more faith to believe that everything just 'happened'"
        
        If you are ignorant about the science involved I suppose that might be true… but understand the science and you'll realize that scientists don't posit things "just happened", they explain ~how~ it happened.
        
        And your use of bible verses as evidence is rather typical and unconvincing…
      - Scott
        
        And relying solely on science, which is often based on theory (which Darwin readily admitted regarding his views on natural selection) and consensus rather than empirical evidience, is rather typical of humanists and is unconvincing as well. Who or what came up with the realities science has merely discovered, not produced? At some point there has to be an "uncaused cause"; otherwise, you have nothing but an intellectual straw man. No one can "prove" God in the way you'd like, because God is Spirit (John 4:24). You can't take Him into a lab and do blood work, run all sorts of diagnostic tests on Him, dissect Him, or do whatever would be necessary for you to believe in Him. It's a matter of faith. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things NOT SEEN…And without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he who comes to God must BELIEVE that HE IS and that He is a Rewarder of those who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:1, 6). You either believe what the Bible says, or you don't.
      - Scott
        
        I would say God created Cephalopods with better eyes than humans in order to better "fit" them for their particular environment and unique needs. Same with eagles and lots of other animals, I'm sure. Just one of millions of examples that could be given, I'm sure. All intended to bring praise, honor and glory to God, not man.
      - jatheist
        
        Scott wrote: "I would say God created Cephalopods with better eyes than humans in order to better "fit" them for their particular environment and unique needs."
        
        If that is your position then I'd love to hear why you think God gave us eyes with blind spots? Why not give us the same design as cephalopods (without the blind spot)?
      - Scott
        
        Probably because not having blind spots isn't as critical to our survival as it is for those other critters. In fact, I do just fine with the two eyes that God gave me, which allow me to see everything I need to see in order to live and work and play and love and enjoy the beauty and goodness of His creation. I don't need Cephalopod eyes to do that. That their eyes are unique only serves to underscore the wisdom and goodness of God in His providential care of His creation. And wouldn't it be rather boring if everyone and everything were just alike?
      - jatheist
        
        Scott wrote: "Probably because not having blind spots isn't as critical to our survival as it is for those other critters."
        
        But why create eyes with blind spots in the first place? Cephalapods had blind-spot-free eyes long before humans existed – why not just give humans the same blind-spot-free eyes?
        
        Scott cont'd: "wouldn't it be rather boring if everyone and everything were just alike?"
        
        Not really. Having better "designed" eyes would just make sense – the eyes themselves could still vary in how they looked, they just wouldn't have blind-spots.
        
        Of course the blind-spot humans have is easily explained through evolution – but with creationism it makes the creator look flawed.
        
        Evolution of the eye: http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CB/CB301.html
      - Scott
        
        If evolution explains everything and results in a perfect world (or perfect eyes, at least), then why don't Cephalapods have brains and bodies that enable them to reason, solve math problems, design and build and drive cars, fix a leaky faucet, hug their offspring, produce their own food and their own medicine to make them better when they're sick, love and laugh and cry and enjoy all the good things life has to offer? All in all, I'd rather be me, blind spots and all. Not all blind spots are physical, by the way.
      - jatheist
        
        Scott wrote: "If evolution explains everything and results in a perfect world…"
        
        Ah – that's where you get it wrong. Evolution does ~NOT~ predict a "perfect world"… which is why we don't live in a "perfect world". The world, imperfect as it is, is explained by evolution… and all of those imperfections make the idea of a perfect creator impossible.
      - Scott
        
        Then why do Cephalapods have perfect eyes? Why didn't evolution result in you and me having perfect eyes, too? That doesn't seem very fair. Makes evolution look flawed to me. (I'm just using your own argument, substituting evolution for God).
      - jatheist
        
        Scott wrote: "Then why do Cephalapods have perfect eyes? <snip snip>… That doesn't seem very fair."
        
        Evolution is a natural process – it doesn't claim to be "fair". It is undirected, driven by natural selection – not "fairness".
        
        Scott wrote: "Makes evolution look flawed to me."
        
        It's a natural process, not some "perfect being" molding life at it's whim (like your God is supposed to be doing).
        
        Saying evolution looks flawed to you is like saying: I don't like getting wet – it sure seems like "rain" is flawed to me…
      - Scott
        
        I looked at the website you posted. Interesting terminology: "…might have evolved…" "Natural selection 'should' under 'many circumstances' favor the increments…" "We do not know that the development of the eye followed exactly that path…" "…the origin of the eye 'appears to be'…"…the evolution of the eye 'could happen' in 364,000 generations." Might have? Should? We do not know? Appears to be? Could happen? I would not want to bet my eternal destiny on mabeys, shoulds and coulds. As I said before, it takes more faith to believe in the astronomical improbabilities associated with evolutionary theory than it does to believe in an eternal, all-wise, all-powerful Creator. Why are you so anti-God, anyway?
      - jatheist
        
        Scott wrote: "Might have? Should? We do not know? Appears to be? Could happen?"
        
        Yes. These aren't "facts" and nobody claims they are. They are "probable" natural processes which would result in the evolution of the eye. Hmmmm… natural process or God? Which should I choose?
        
        Your counter to that is that "God" just created stuff that way, well, just because. No natural, observable processes – hell, no idea ~how~ He did it whatsoever!!
        No, you're just sure that He did do it – science be damned.
      - Scott
        
        Well, I wish you the best.
      - jatheist
        
        Scott cont'd: "Why are you so anti-God, anyway?"
        
        I'm not "anti-God", I think God(s) are a wonderful invention which resulted in many wonderful (fictional) stories. When people start actually believing the fairy tales it gets us into trouble though.
        
        I'm against people who, with no evidence whatsoever, attempt to effect change on society based on ~their~ interpretation of an ancient ,flawed text.
        I'm against the anti-science crowd that can't even be bothered to learn what the actual science says but are still CERTIAN the science is wrong because it conflicts with their beliefs.
      - Scott
        
        I have all the evidence I need.
      - jatheist
        
        I'm happy for ~you~. Live your life however you feel you need to, but please don't try and influence the lives of others with your (IMO misguided) beliefs.
      - Scott
        
        Wow..and Christians are always the ones who are accused of being intolerant. So much for the First Amendment.
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        Actually, you cannot vote more than once. I tried to see if you were right and once you have voted you get a pop-up stating you have already posted, even after refreshing.
      - Scott
        
        You're right. The number changes, but reverts back after refreshing. Well, happy voting.
MGM46

Cult is an appropriate name since their teaching about Jesus is not Scriptural.
Jack

The only way someone could think the Mormons aren't a cult outfit is if they did not do any research.
Mandatory tithing? Mandatory slave labor expected weekly, missions done on your own money with tithing expected on top of that?

All financial dealings kept secret from those that tithe?

Ridiculous rituals stolen from the Masons?

"Prophet" was a convicted con man (convicted 1826) ?

Was a statutory rapist (32 wives, some as young as 14) ?

Mormons are nothing but a cult that attempt to use a fake veneer of pseudo Christianity in order to be accepted into the mainstream.
- tbone
  
  Amen to that. Tell it like it is, thats what I believe.
Winston

Who writes this babble? The mormons are what they are. They preach "another Jesus"… as the brother of Lucifer. They should be required to remove "Jesus Christ" from their name.
- http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
  
  By whom exactly?
charles LaFoe

hmm sounds like the cults are rising up.. Mormons, Roman Cathalocism, 7 day adventist, jehovah witness, muslims, and all are coming out and being exposed. about time and you can now include just about every mainline denominational church in this group as they arecasting away scriptural principals. REMEMBER a PERSONAL relationship with Jesu Christ is the thing of value, church membership and participation in their programs means nothing.
karen

Mormonism DO preach another Jesus. They believe jesus started out being just a man and then evolved in God after good works-this isn't biblical at all. Also, their mormon book contradicts the bible about 60 times directly- http://equip.org/articles/the-book-of-mormon-vs-t… http://equip.org/perspectives/what-is-the-differe…
karen

In addition, the term cult needs to be looked at again it seems-mormons are qualified here.
tbone

Ladies and Gentleman, we now have a new 4 letter word in the PC lexicon.
tbone

some denominations should be categorized as just "sects" not cults. Mormonism however, is defined correctly as a cult.
Vegas Bear

In their defense, be they a cult or not. I lived in Las Vegas NV for 27 years. Vegas was a LDS settlement way before Bugs Segal. Vegas has it's own Morman Tabernacle & a large LDS population. I had Mormon neighbors & non-Mormon neighbors. I choose the Mormon as the best. They are loving caring family people. They are never found on welfare. They show caring for everyone. No loud partying. Hard working. Danm good people. The only Mormon I know that I do not trust is Harry Reid. I am a Christian
- Marilyn
  
  I too have neighbors who are Mormon. I also have distant relatives who embrace this religion. As you said, they are caring hardworking family oriented people. I do not agree with their theology, but there beliefs are not a challenge to me. It is their choice. I am also a Christian.
- Scott
  
  "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Eph. 2:8-9)
Prism

I can not trust anyone who is so gullible as to fall for the Mormon line. Impeccable in their legalism, they work hard to remove any 'moral' flaws and thus appear to be 'righteous' in their behavior. A lie is still a lie no matter how you dress it up. Beware of great deception. You have been warned.
Bill

What about Islam? They are afraid to call that a cult because they may get their throat cut.
Grandpa Tom

Mt. 24:24: "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets. . . they shall deceive the very elect."

Mormonism is built of a false Jesus Christ. Hinckley, the president of the mormon 'church' in 1996, said to a group of people that the Jesus of Nazerath is not the Jesus of the Book of Mormon, or the Jesus who appeared to Joseph Smith.

The Mormon cult invented by Joseph Smith regarded polygamy as the central theme and is required to get into heaven. Joe Smith was a drinker, a gambler, and a fraud who practiced majic to dig for treasures like the alleged 'golden tablets.' If Joseph Smith were alive today, he could not get into his own church unless he renounced polygamy, and drinking, and womanizing or stealing other mens wives. Nope, old Joe would not even recognize the cult he started.

I live in Utah. I am not a mormon. I have read the Book of Mormom, and found it to be a great hoax.
Steven

Wow , so many of you have been very misguided and mislead. And many of the things you guys have posted here are false and untrue. I am a Mormon (a true Mormon) not from a broken off sect. that went they're different ways and claim to be Mormons whom you may be referring too. But the true Mormon church believes in the Holy Bible just like every one else. The Book of Mormon is just an extension of biblical text. The book of Mormon just documents what happened over here in Americas during the time that the bible was documented in the middle east.
- Scott
  
  Two questions for you, then: (1) Who is Jesus Christ? (2) What must a Mormon (or anyone for that matter) do to inherit eternal life? Or, as the Philippian jailer said, "What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30)
  - Steven
    
    Jesus is Gods only begotten son who died for our sins on the cross and is our savior to eternal life, for one cannot enter the kingdom of heaven with out faith in Christ (2) To inherit eternal life one must believe in and have faith in God and Jesus Christ , then live the teachings of Jesus and follow his example the best they can.
    - bighoss
      
      And Mormon doctrine also asserts this heretical and blasphemous pronouncement: "..and he that confesseth not that Jesus has come in the flesh and sent Joseph Smith with the fullness of the Gospel to this generation, is not of God, but is Antichrist," (Journal of Discourses, vol. 9, p. 312). Brigham Young, as "Prophet, Seer and Revelator" of the LDS Church, came up with that absurd business.
- http://youtu.be/dZezBXcIyGI Despeville
  
  "Mormon church believes in the Holy Bible just like every one else. "
  
  @Steven
  
  There is a saying that the devil is buried in details Steven… And in this case and the "believing" of Mormon "church" and yours literally…
Gail Cohen

Early in its history the Mormon church did want to carve out its own country, but when the Federal government prohibited that they obeyed the law — it is a cult, and issues regarding salavation can be debated, but it is strictly an American cult – and from a secular view would rather have a Mormon in the White House over a Muslim any day. The only reason I am not crazy about Mitt Romney is that he is too liberal on some issues..(do not know if true in all cases) but knowing about Reid, Romney and (I forget the other Senator) they tend to be either progressive or Rinos…????
bighoss

The Mormon CULT was founded by a false prophet using bogus scriptures to propagate a patently NON-Christian belief system. The essential Christian concept of monotheism is supplanted in Mormonism by the corrupt and blasphemous notion that God was once a man as we are and that a human male can "progress" to become a god with a world of his own over which to preside and a bevy of wives with whom he can physically copulate to produce children that will inhabit his personal world. If that kind of belief is not CULTIC, then I have to wonder what is!!

tbone, above said it well: "Ladies and Gentleman, we now have a new 4 letter word in the PC lexicon. "
- Jeff Dixon
  
  Christianity is not monotheistic. It claims to be, but the Trinity shows that it is nothing of the sort.
  - Scott
    
    Monotheism does not conflict with Trinitarianism. "The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!" (Deuteronomy 6:4). "There is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him" ( 1 Corinthians 8:6). There is only one God, but that one God exists and has revealed Himself in three eternal and coequal Persons — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father is God — "There is…one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:4, 6). The Son is God — "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30); Jesus "is the image of the invisible God" and "in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (Colossians 1:15; 2:9). The Holy Spirit is God — "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?…You have not lied to men but to God" (Acts 5:3-4).
http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon

One can claim that square has three sides, but the claim does not make the statement true. The Trinity is not a monotheistic concept. Christians claim it is, because they need to believe that somehow three is one. But as Ingersoll stated with the following comments in Ingersoll's Works, Vol. 4, p. 266-67:

— "So it is declared that the Father is God, and the Son and the Holy Ghost God, and these three Gods make one God. According to the celestial multiplication table, once one is three, and three time one is one, and according to heavenly subtraction if we take two from three, three are left. The addition is equally peculiar: if we add two to one we have but one. Each one equal to himself and to the other two. Nothing ever was, nothing ever can be more perfectly idiotic and absurd than the dogma of the Trinity"

http://www.angelfire.com/pa/greywlf/trinity.html
- Grandpa Tom
  
  3=1. The Father, the Mother, and the child, together although they are three seperate individuals do represent ONE single family unit.
  - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
    
    And 5 lions can be one pride of lions. That does not mean that each of the lions are the same. The child is not the same as a parent. In fact, the child was produced by the parents. Was Jesus produced by his Father? No, they are both the same age or ageless. One can say absurdities make sense all they like, it does not change the fact that it is an absurdity.
    - http://youtu.be/fF-EMtOg0o8 Despeville
      
      Dixon,
      
      Figure out your sin FIRST before you venture out to analyzing who true and Holy God is…
      - jatheist
        
        "Sin" is a religious invention… it doesn't exist in my world – hense I don't "sin".
      - http://youtu.be/fF-EMtOg0o8 Despeville
        
        Your world is not definitional on reality which you do not understand nor can even define…
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        There is no need for me to figure out what non-existent sins you think I am committing. The issue is you need to understand what reality is.
      - http://youtu.be/dZezBXcIyGI Despeville
        
        No logic again… If there is no need for you to figure out your "non-existent" sin then even more there is no need for you to figure out the nature of "non-existent" God yet this is precisely what you do. No consistency and lack of consistency is always a sign of falsehood.
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        More nonsense. Whether there are actual sins I am committing have no relevance to the world. However, given the number of people who believe in delusion and are trying to impact the world on a daily basis, there is a definite need to find out the reality of the god they believe in.
- http://youtu.be/fF-EMtOg0o8 Despeville
  
  Dixon,
  
  It does not get more cabaret like than for you who a priori denies any metaphysical reality and God to attempt to say anything of substance and value as to the highest revelation of truth – the Triune Nature of One God. "angelfire" is a brute cultist pamphlet presenting nothing else but a brute isogesis and lack of understanding of the revelation rooted in arianism. It is old and rotten cutlet reheated by Jehovah Witnesses and all others who are not Christians. Why don't you try to realize that you are a lost sinner in the need of Grace and intervention by Holy God before you venture to what is impossible even more for you now… i.e. understanding the true nature of God and you quoting cultist in this just further proves your utter and complete lostness.
Steven

cult –noun
1.
a particular system of religious worship, especially with reference to its rites and ceremonies.

For those who continue to call it a cult , then i guess that would make the catholic religion a cult as well since they perform religious ceremonies such as Holy communion or any religion for that matter that has a symbolic ritual.
- http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
  
  Yes it is a cult. As are Protestant religions as well.
  - http://youtu.be/dZezBXcIyGI Despeville
    
    Then naturalistic materialism is a cult as well…
    - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
      
      What religious ceremonies do you see occurring with natural materialism?
- http://youtu.be/dZezBXcIyGI Despeville
  
  Yes Roman Catholicism IS the cult for it perverted the true Gospel and true salvation just like Mormons did.
  Read here: http://www.leaderu.com/offices/michaeldavis/docs/…
  And more resources for you: http://aomin.org/Mormonism.html
  
  True Historic and Orthodox Protestant faith is a faithful representation of the Apostolic teaching. The problem is that many have no first clue what Protestantism truly is, what it teaches and how it differs from Roman Catholicism and theretofore for gullible like that anyone who is not a Roman Catholic automatically is a "Protestant." :)
liz

Daily Devotional

How does the member of a satanic cult get to speak at a Christian event?

DAILY DEVOTIONAL THURSDAY JULY 21, 2011 (2 Corinthians 6:14-18, Galatians 6:1-12)

"Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,' says the Lord. 'And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you. And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,' Says the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel- which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse! Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:6-12)

How does the member of a satanic cult give the keynote address at an event for "Christians United for Israel?" Do you think Paul would invite a cult member of his day speak to the people of his church? The answer is simple, it is called MONEY!!! Sadly, John Hagee is the latest high profile Christian to sell-out the faith for the financial gain he can amass by being associated with cult member Glenn Beck.

When I think of these modern day Judas' like David Barton, Kames Robison, Hagee, and other high profile Christians Beck has bought and paid for to give himself undeserved credibility within the Christian community that makes up over 70% of his audience, enabling him to make tens of millions annually (that according to him, he than generously tithes to his cult to help lead souls to hell), helping him to further the lie from hell that members of his satanic Mormon cult are Christians, it makes me sick!

I think about how the Christian church 200 years ago responded to the founder of Beck's cult, the racist, polygamist, pedophile, murderer Joseph Smith. The Christian church in this nation 200 years ago was not fooled by a heretic like Smith. In every town he tried to build his cult, Smith was run out like any con artist, blasphemer should be! You see, 200 years ago, most people in this nation were Biblically literate. The average lay person knew the Bible better than most preachers do today. A satanically inspired cult like Smith's stood out like a sore thumb.

How sad that in just 200 years, we now have a nation where the better percentage of two full generations have never even been to church, and the vast majority of those who do go to a church, are Biblically illiterate with zero discernment, making it easy for tools of satan like a Glenn Beck, the other cults and false religions, and the new age gurus of our day, to prey upon the masses with their lies designed to lead souls to hell for all eternity.

THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 200 YEARS AGO UNDERSTOOD THAT THE DOCTRINES SMITH ESPOUSED WERE NON-BIBLICAL AND FROM THE PITS OF HELL! THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT MORMON DOCTRINE IS IN 100% CONTRADICTION TO BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY AND A MORMON IS NO MORE A CHRISTIAN THAN A MUSLIM IS!!!

That is why it is disgusting supposed Christian leaders like Hagee give the member of a satanic cult like Beck a visible platform of honor to aid him in his mission for satan!!! Allowing a cult member like Beck to give the keynote address at a group called, "Christians United for Israel," would be like me being allowed to preach at the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City! Unlike Christian sell-outs such as Hagee, that would NEVER happen because the Mormon cult is not foolish enough to allow someone to tell their followers the Truth!

John 8:44 tells us that satan is the "father of lies." Beck, like all Mormons are perfected liars. In a recent speech to the Israeli Knesset, Beck said, "Your God is my God." LIAR! The God of the Jewish people is the God of the Bible. However, the god of Beck's satanic Mormon cult is a mythical creation of that cult's founder, the con-artist, polygamist, racist, pedophile, murderer, Joseph Smith. The god of the satanic Mormon cult is NOT the God of the Bible. Their "god" is named Elohim and was once a man like you and I who came from another planet. Mormon theology teaches that men can eventually become a god and have their own planet. Beck, as a member of this cult, believes that he too will one day become a god. When he talks about "god," he is talking about this fictitious god of Mormonism and NOT the God of the Bible!

This holds true for Jesus. The jesus of Mormon theology is not God incarnate as the Bible teaches. The Mormon jesus was not supernaturally conceived by the Holy Ghost, but the natural offspring of their "god" Elohim who had sex with Mary, meaning he is a created being no different than you and I. Mormons also teach that their jesus had several wives and children, again, in compete contradiction to what the Bible teaches. The jesus of Beck and the Mormon cult is also the brother of Lucifer and will return not to the Mt. Of Olives as the Bible teaches, but to Independence, Missouri to set up his earthly Kingdom. When Beck talks about "jesus," he is NOT talking about the true Jesus of the Bible!

What about the Bible and true Christian churches? Mormons like Beck love to use the Bible and quote from the Bible to support their deception that they are Christians. The trademark of all cults and false religions, even those who use the Bible, is that it is NOT their final authority. In the Mormon cult, their authority does not come from the Bible which they view as incomplete and not reliable, but the writings of Smith, the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenants. These are the writings that form the false theology of this cult.

Beck and all Mormons believe that non-Mormons are "abominations." While they don't have the guts the Muslims do to publicly call a non-Muslim an infidel who should be put to death, a Mormon views a Biblical Christian as part of a "false religion" and void of all authority. Glenn Beck believes a Bible-believing Christian, the very people he counts on for his millions, are an abomination!

I love you and care about you so much. Pray for Beck's salvation. Pray for these Christian leaders who rather than try to save Beck's soul, lock arms with him for financial gain. Pray also for the millions of lost souls Beck reaches, that God will protect them from falling into the lies of the Mormon cult and having their soul lost for all eternity.

Glenn Beck and those in this cult can believe whatever they want. God gave us free will, and men who live in rebellion to God since the very beginning have dreamed up the wildest and most ridiculous things, and sadly people who were spiritually void chose to believe their lies and will be lost for all eternity because of it. All I have ever asked is that they be honest and truthful about what they believe, and quit lying to people they are Christians. Sadly, it is sell-outs like Hagee that help Beck perpetuate and profit off of that lie, while helping to lead unsuspecting souls to the flames of hell!

***As we go into the last 10 days of July, please be in prayer with me for the operational finances we need to bring in right away. We finally covered the balance of our June operations, and we have received $120,000 of the $150,000 in donations and pledges I asked the Lord to deliver by the end of April. I am still walking by faith that we will bring in the final $30,000 before the end of this month, along with the $40,000 we need for our July operational budget. That is $70,000 needed in the next 10 days to have all of our basic operational costs covered. As we prepare to take advantage of new doors the Lord is opening for us to have a highly visible place in the marketplace to help lead the remnant and call this nation back to God and His Truth, I'm simply asking you to pray today and seek the Lord what He is calling you to do to help me to cover this $$70,00 balance to insure all of our basic operational needs are met. Never forget that God will honor your heart as you obey His voice. Will you help me today? Will you please take a minute today, and pray, seek the Lord what He is asking you to sacrifce.

TO GIVE A GIFT TO LIVEPRAYER, you can use your major credit card on our secure server at: http://www.liveprayer.com under the "Donation" link, you can give using your PayPal account using my email address: bkeller@liveprayer.com,or you can mail your gift to: Liveprayer, 6660 46th Ave. North, St.Petersburg, FL 33709. All gifts to Liveprayer are 100% tax deductible.

Know that you and your family are in my prayers each day. Thank you for your love, prayers, and support as we take our stand in these last days. The time is very short, our time is now!

In His love and service,

Your friend and brother in Christ,

Bill Keller

This email was sent to: fhowe@dadeschools.net

To unsubscribe from the Daily Devotional, click here. To switch to plain text emails only, click here.
- bighoss
  
  THANK YOU for exposing the machinations of the abominable, lying little pudgy weasel, Glenn Beck!
  - liz
    
    The Truth shall set you free, even if sometimes the Truth hurts. Beck has a winning sense of humor, and he's not stupid, but he is seriously misguided. He was raised a Catholic. (Why does that not surprise me?) He and his wife CHOSE the Mormon religion. Why choose such a crackpot cult? Why do rich people choose Scientology, thinking they can buy their way into Heaven?
    
    The Holy Bible is the inerrant Word of God, the Last Word. Do not add or detract from It. People, your eternity depends on it.
    
    God save Glenn Beck. God save is all. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.
bighoss

CULT" Yes, indeed. Any belief system that follows charlatans such as Brigham Young is a CULT, plain and simple. Here are some examples of the egotistical claims and absurd pronouncements of this false prophet:
http://carm.org/brigham-young-quotes