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Roy wrote:Old-Timer wrote:
I understand why the Church leaders don’t want the FLDS to be called Mormon
And I think that those same reasons (which I feel can be summarized under the title “preserving/maintaining the brand” [whether one believes that preserving the brand is about not muddying the path to heaven or merely keeping a consistent PR message]) are why some Christians strongly object to Mormons being lumped in with greater Christianity.
Not quite sure about that… I think some Christians object to Mormons being lumped in with them, because they think we are heretics and do not qualify as Christians on a doctrinal basis (the Trinity being a big one).
Sam, how is that different than LDS saying FLDS aren’t Mormon? The basis for that view is that the FLDS are believed to be doctrinal heretics who wouldn’t give up polygamy – both as a doctrine and as a practice. SamBee wrote:I think some Christians object to Mormons being lumped in with them, because they think we are heretics and do not qualify as Christians on a doctrinal basis (the Trinity being a big one).
Old-Timer wrote:Sam, how is that different than LDS saying FLDS aren’t Mormon? The basis for that view is that the FLDS are believed to be doctrinal heretics who wouldn’t give up polygamy – both as a doctrine and as a practice.
I think I get what you are saying Sam. Some mainstream Christians object to us on a doctrinal basis where we object to the FLDS principally based on the authoritative issue (I believe that we still doctrinally acknowledge polyandry when God commands but draw the line with the FLDS over who has the proper authority to speak for God in this matter). Yet I still believe that all of these objections will fit under the umbrella of “maintaining the brand.”
Having spent so much time studying our history, I can’t personally keep the label “Mormon” exclusive to the LDS Church. I also no longer try to explain that we have nothing to do with any of the other sects that came from our common source. We have a TON of common history and theology. We all came from the same root sources: Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. That’s an historical fact. We obviously don’t agree on everything, otherwise there wouldn’t have been 400 offshoots of Mormonism. We disagree on some pretty significant items: authority, polygamy, scriptural canon, etc. But there’s no denying our common ancestry.
To me, “Mormon” is an umbrella term for any belief system that claims the Book of Mormon and/or Joseph Smith as a source.
The LDS Church is the Brighamite branch of Mormonism — the organization that followed Brigham Young as the their new leader during the succession crisis in Nauvoo after Joseph Smith’s death. “Latter-day Saint” or “LDS” to me refers to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which just so happens to be the largest and most influential sect of Mormonism.
As far as I know, many/most of the other offshoots consider themselves “Mormon.” In fact, their main beef is that the LDS sect abandoned key doctrines or changed over time. That’s actually quite correct. So who are the “real” Mormons?
😈 (I’m just asking that to make a point. Personally, I’m glad my sect changed and abandoned many concepts).Old-Timer wrote:Sam, how is that different than LDS saying FLDS aren’t Mormon? The basis for that view is that the FLDS are believed to be doctrinal heretics who wouldn’t give up polygamy – both as a doctrine and as a practice.
I think it’s different in that the LDS believe things that “Christians” think have never been part of the Christian faith. Most LDS would admit we had some involvement with polygamy once upon a time. It’s more like the Protestant-Catholic relationship than the Mormon/”Christian” one.
[Edit to add: Yes, Roy, that’s partly what I’m getting at. There are subtle differences here, but there is a parallel.]
Quote:otherwise there wouldn’t have been 400 offshoots of Mormonism.
Just to muddy the water further, some of these groups refuse to call
themselvesMormon.
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