Cults

[Anonymous]

Yeah, in general and on a personal level, my own response is, “So what?”

On a broader level, however, when it is used as a bludgeon to stop someone from thinking about joining – and especially when it is wielded by (particularly) some evangelicals who make Mormonism look almost liberal (as I’ve seen first-hand) . . . then I get “very put-out” (as the great Prince Humperdink once said).

[Anonymous]

Re the Branch Davidian business – I think an important difference between Joseph Smith, and the likes of David Koresh and Jim Jones, is that he DIDN’T start a death cult. We can argue the whys and wherefores of what he did etc and historical violence but he didn’t have a Jonestown or a Waco. Persecution and trouble yes, but no horror like that.

When it comes to Roman Catholics and Baptists, some of them display open-mindedness, intellectual rigor and fairness, but there are others who have displayed homophobia, racism, closed-mindedness and bigotry, not to mention socially oppressive tendencies. Extreme Baptists seem to be more an American phenomenon, but I have come across RCs of both varieties.

And when it comes to intensive lifestyle, I think Orthodox Jewry have it over us – think of all the rules they have. But I wouldn’t call most of them (bar a few smaller groups) cults.

I don’t find what Thomas S. Monson says particularly cultish either, since his main emphasis seems to be service and kindness etc.

I was hesitant about starting this topic, since I don’t want it going off in the wrong direction, but I think it is something which keeps coming up. I’ve discussed this matter with a number of missionaries in the past.

[Anonymous]

Brian Johnston wrote:

Thanks for having a steel trap of a memory Ray. That really was an awesome point that Tom made back then. I really liked it — “Lord, is it I?”

As to how we respond — I usually catch people off guard by being frank and knowledgeable about problems. That tends to torpedo the label on me at least. I was riding in a car a couple weeks ago with someone originally from Jamaica. We got on the subject of religion, and that I was Mormon. They sort of poked around, mentioning they had seen missionaries in their country, but noticed not a lot of “colorful” faces when they watched videos of the MoTab choir.

I just flat out responded with the truth — the Church was founded in the U.S. in the 1800’s by European immigrants (mostly). They stayed pretty isolated in the Utah / Arizona mountains up until the 1940’s, and we really had some issues with racism for a while. The Church has actively tried to move away from those problems and correct them. The MoTab Choir people are generally from Utah, and there just isn’t as much diversity still in that part of the country. But we now have more members outside the U.S. than inside. We have missionaries in all countries stable enough and willing to let us in (Africa, South America, Asia, etc.).

So being comfortable and open … that’s what works for me. Being able to admit there were /are problems at times, that works against an accusation of personally being “brain-washed” by a cult.

I think with this issue, it’s probably worth mentioning the South Seas. The church is very popular amongst people in places like Fiji, where a lot of the population is dark skinned, and not very north European in appearance.

[Author]

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