This is an archived copy of a post written by Conflict Of Justice (conflictofjustice.com). Used with permission: Conflict Of Justice may not agree with any alterations made.
Despite Mormonisms rise as a major world religion, screams that it is a “cult” have only increased over the years. Why? While a Mormon missionary in Germany, I often heard: “You are a sect”–synonymous with being called a “cult.” Of course, I took great offense to this, but the best response I think of was to simply explain what a “sect” actually is and how the Mormon church did not splinter from any previous religious group and therefore is not a sect. They quickly became bored by this.
But definitions matter. ‘Cult’ is defined as an act of revering a god or performing religious worship as opposed to passive belief. In ancient times, this meant performing some kind of sacrifice, ritual, or prayer. So any kind of cultivation or culture of religious devotion makes you a cult. That’s where the words cultivate and culture come from; they have the root cult-. Of course, this is something everyone does, even atheists. We all perform some kind of action that reflects and reinforces moral or spiritual beliefs. The question is what kind of religion it is.
1. Exclusiveness
I would say the first sign of a dangerous cult is if it claims to be the exclusive possessor of truth or salvation. This can be tricky when it comes to religion, because all religions claim to have more truth and salvation than other religions. Otherwise why would you join that religion? Well, the danger is when you cross the line from “other religions have less salvation” to “other religions have no salvation.” That’s when it becomes dangerous.
I find it ironic that the Evangelicals and Antimormons who scream the loudest “Mormons are a cult” also scream “Mormons aren’t Christian.” Isn’t the exclusion of Mormonism from Christianity a trait of a cultist? Huffington Post lists “Denial of essential Christian teachings” such as “Trinity” as the number two trait of a cult. So everybody is a cult unless they agree with a modern prescribed interpretation based on the Nicene Creed? Why? Isn’t that a cult-like view? It is extremely troubling that half of Americans say Mormons aren’t Christian.
2. Intolerance
With the thick blanket of media rhetoric about Mormons in the West, I can see why an average person would think Mormons are exclusionary. The media all agrees we are intolerant.
All Churches Have Some Truth – This is why Antimormons incorrectly portray Mormons as thinking only we have truth. But Mormons don’t claim to have a monopoly on truth. Salvation is open to people who do not join the Mormon church. The celestial kingdom is for those who receive ordinances from the Mormon priesthood, yes, but those who don’t receive those ordinances are not condemned to outer darkness. People get what they merit. There is also possibilities for progression in the afterlife. Being a Mormon is not a free pass to heaven.
Intolerance Of Opinions? – Don’t Mormons exclude people from the church? Disagreement with a behavior is not intolerance for a person, and this is a very important distinction. I see many groups out there that castigate and eject people for having different opinions or speech. Pro-Mormons are frequently down-voted on Ex-mormon discussion boards until they have negative karma and are thus banned from speaking, for example. Ideologues shout down or censor speech rather than focusing on behavior, and this is what I believe is the biggest difference other groups and Mormons. Mormons do not castigate or demean people because of speech, and when it comes to apostate behavior it is about helping the sinful, and we are all sinful. You don’t go to a hospital to be told you are accepted for your sickness; you go there to be healed.
Well, what about that 12 year old girl that got asked to sit down during her testimony? The Bishop correctly let her stand up there and talk about her opinions (or rather read from her script) for quite a while. Giving an opinion isn’t the problem, it is when someone starts advocating directly for doctrine that directly opposes teachings of the church, such as calling for gay marriage. The church’s definition of marriage is fundamental doctrine–it is set in stone–and agitating to the entire congregation for the complete opposite of that is apostasy. Can I go to a pro-life group and stand up and tell everybody they are going to hell? What will happen then? Can I stand in front of the NRA and call for a gun ban, or stand in front of the Democratic National Committee and call for a Christian theocracy in America? Will they let me stand up there and go on and on about it? There is a difference between advocating for personal opinions and advocating for the direct opposite of a group’s core beliefs.
Ideologues encompass all opinions and all speech within the ideology, so that you are a sinner if your choice of breakfast cereals falls outside the group’s decision. With ideologues, all opinions must be the same. They hiss and scream at you for thinking differently. Nobody screamed or berated that 12 year old girl did they? What about the Antimormon protesters at temple square who scream at Mormons?
Intolerance For Discussion Or Debate – Okay fine, but what about having some open discussion? Isn’t there room for debate? Well again, it would be nice if Antimormons and others would allow for open discussion in their spaces as well, and I think open discussion is important. But we need to be careful that the church not become dependent on the results of that discussion, because we don’t decide what the church’s articles of faith are. Dialectic does not run the church. We are not the “People’s Democratic Republic Of Latter-Day Saints”. Antimormons have exploited our value for open discussion and camouflaged themselves as open discussion. It appears that way to me, anyway, because I see only an apostate perspective represented or the faithful Mormon perspective is a hackneyed strawman caricature. By all means, let’s have a healthy debate, but let’s not misrepresent the other side, stifle their conversation, or debate dishonestly.
Socialism does not tolerate open discussion. It is all about purging anything that conflicts with the ideology, and this must not become the purpose of dialectic and debate, because this shuts down constructive discussion. There are many who have blocked me on social media because they couldn’t tolerate my opinions.
Stereotyping Outsiders – Another trait I’ve noticed of cults is that they paint a broad stroke of anyone not in their group. This is an easy trap to fall into for any group, and particularly a group with such unique differences as Mormons have. I guess I do it a little myself, we all do. But I don’t really see it as a problem among Mormons. Conversely, however, we are one of the most falsely-stereotyped groups in America.
3. Secretive
A third sign of a dangerous cult is secret beliefs that are not shared with nonmembers or given with a vow of silence. Now, this is where Antimormons quickly point to the Mormon temple ceremonies. Secret beliefs right? And then Antimormons go on about things Mormons “actually” believe but won’t admit.
The Mormon temple ceremonies are easily found on Youtube. Transcriptions have been easy to find for centuries. It’s hardly secret. The church could have copyrighted the material to make publishing it illegal, or installed metal detectors to make video-taping by trespassing Antimormons impossible. We do not talk about temple ceremonies due to the sacredness of the context, but the point is not to have a “secret belief.” Members are encouraged to share all beliefs with family members and friends in a honest and frank way. You never hear a Mormon leader say: “Don’t tell anyone about this.” I find it ironic that the Evangelicals and Antimormons who allege secret beliefs also complain that Mormon missionaries won’t stop showing up at their door talking about their Mormon beliefs.
Here’s how they make Mormons appear secretive: Antimormons dig up some early 19th century quote–probably fake–snip it out of context, and make it look like there is some crazy belief that Mormons “actually” have. “Adam-God” or “Blood-atonement.” This is a strawman tactic that bigots have used since the beginning of time. Extreme atheists today say ‘If Christians actually followed the bible, they would be sacrificing animals and burning witches.’ Same tactic. When it comes to Mormons, the big lie comes down to the insistence that church policies are equivalent with doctrine and never change. The truth is doctrine is unchanging but policies change all the time. We do not “actually” believe in polygamy or anything like that. And I have never feared to talk about something or felt a desire to keep anything secret about the church.
4. Authoritarian
One snippet of quote that Antimormons like to take completely out of context is: “When the prophet speaks the debate is over.” Eldon Tanner was talking about prophets settling age old theological questions, but Antimormons twist this to mean Mormon leaders demand rigid conformity in every way. Not true. This is an easy to mischaracterize Mormons because we are so unique and you see the same kind of church buildings and practices anywhere you go in the world.
Continued Revelation vs. Strict Dogma – A church with a hierarchical priesthood leadership based on continued revelation requires a high level of respect for its leaders. Otherwise a local leader could decide to do whatever he wants “from God” and everything falls apart. Mainstream Christians don’t have to worry about this so much because they have an unchanged canon that people can’t deviate from and no continued revelation. The “people” can’t change things because they stick by the bible and nothing more. Mainstream Christianity demands strict obedience to the bible as Mormonism demands obedience to priesthood offices. Without this respect for offices, local Mormon congregations splinter and you get polygamous cults and splinter groups, because everybody can say they receive authoritative revelation.
The obvious danger here is when priesthood leaders step outside the bounds and start directing the breakfast cereal you eat in the morning. How far can they go? A Bishop is responsible for his congregation, a Stake President for his group of congregations, and the Prophet for everybody. This hierarchal structure allows for higher leaders to correct local leaders– much like in the Catholic church–and prevent domineering or inappropriate leadership.
Authoritarian Personalities – Something I’ve noticed about some Antimormons is that even though they accuse Mormons of being authoritarian, they themselves have an authoritarian mindset. An authoritarian personality revels in absolute submission to authority, and I see hints of this in Antimormon rhetoric of how things should be. They often sound like the Pharasees in the New Testament who measured everything by the letter of the law. They complain that the church doesn’t answer every single question definitively, with expectations of an “official answer” for every tiny thing instead of researching it themselves. They lift themselves as superior by tearing Mormons down, push a culture of fear, and they focus on narrative over truth because they are in constant attack mode. I have noticed that Mormons avoid doing this. We don’t push an all-encompassing ideology that answers all questions and pushes the same formula on each person. We don’t tear people down or seek to dominate them. We treat people on an individual basis and we seek to alleviate all fear.
Well, what about Mormons who won’t let their children consort with non-members? Isn’t that authoritarian? Sometimes. If the non-members are bad influences then they are just being protective parents. But if the children are being excluded from all non-members or arbitrarily or unfairly, then I agree that is cultlike behavior. A co-worker once told me that her son hung out with a Mormon friend until the friend’s mother saw my co-worker walking down the street smoking a cigarette, and then the mother wouldn’t let them hang out anymore. I find that disgraceful. Yes, that is cultlike and unacceptable. It is unreasonable to think a friend’s mother smoking a cigarette somewhere will lead to a bad influence on her son. But I haven’t seen the church promote this kind of behavior. There are some overprotective parents that do this, but not because of church teachings. If you consider the level of depravity in modern culture and the amount of persecution that Mormons receive from mainstream media, and how easy it is for a young person to be swayed against the church, it makes sense why some parents would be overprotective. There are so many children who turn against their family and culture because of a bad influence at school, because the parents weren’t paying attention enough. It is hard to find a right balance. A good parent pays attention to influences on their children.
Denying Human Needs? – The church has some very unusual teachings that demand self-control, such as abstinence from alcohol and no premarital sex. But does abstaining from alcohol make you a cult? It’s easy for a Hollywood script-writer to portray someone as a cultist because of demanding and unique beliefs, but from what I have seen mainstream culture’s beliefs can be very demanding as well. I think demanding and unique beliefs are a virtue, and they only cross the line into authoritarianism when they mortify a person’s basic human needs, such as extreme periods of fasting or lifelong abstinence from sexual relations. Cults can use self-torture as a method for control, but in no way does Mormonism do this. And I can definitely see this method at work in various social groups, not just religions; shaming racial groups because their ancestors owning slaves, for example.
5. Blind Faith
Unnecessary Complex Questions – Another common sign of a cult is simplistic solutions for complex questions, or vis-versa: complex solutions for simplistic problems. This is very common in many groups, in fact “complexity” itself has become a virtue in post-modernism. The reason it is so frequent is because it isn’t always easy to find a simple solution for a simple problem.
A great example of this is found at the beginning of the Book of Mormon, where Nephi explained the meaning of Moses’ brazen serpent. Antimormons complain that the brazen serpent story shows an angry and homicidal god who sends snakes to kill people for not sounding grateful enough. But Nephi explained the point was to provide a simple solution to a simple problem, and that God’s laws may be restrictive but they are strait, while false solutions may appear unrestrictive but are convoluted. I am reminded of this when skeptics accuse me of having “blind faith” yet they build a complicated narrative about Joseph Smith translating with seer stones based on extremely unreliable quotes–he started with a white stone, then used the Urim and Thummim, then used a chocolate-covered stone, then nobody said anything about it until forty years later, etc.
Universal Salvation – Universal salvation is an indicator of blind faith. It is easy to throw your hands in the air and declare yourself saved by the blood of Christ, but then how do you really know what you are putting your faith in? Evangelicals urge me to accept Christ into my life (as if I haven’t already done that, being a Mormon) and I picture in my head somebody going down to the river to be baptized without really knowing about what they are doing. Mormons don’t do this. We are very careful to know what we believe, and we believe salvation is through merit, not universal for just throwing your hands in the air. How many people are more knowledgeable about their beliefs than are Mormons?
Apostate Christians of the Dark Ages promoted blind faith so that the masses would be profitable economic producers for them. Salvation was universal for all feudal serfs who plowed their masters’ fields and had holy water poured on their foreheads as babies. In much the same way as those feudal Lords, modern-day Socialists promote blind faith and attack meritocracy. Their fanatical focus on equality of outcome looks to me like a big controlling central power that retaisn all responsibility and all fitness, and all we have to do is wave our hands in the air and put our trust in them–be dutiful serfs on their fields. You don’t get there because you worked hard to be a strong and virtuous person.
So we Mormons don’t believe in going to heaven based entirely on simple rituals, and we don’t believe in crazy convoluted paths either. You don’t have to climb a mountain, pick a certain flower, memorize and repeat these lines of scripture, and pray for this many hours of the day. I think the biggest reason apostates and fake Mormons complain about the three-hour church schedule on Sundays is to give an impression of unnecessary complexity. But really, three hours is too much to ask? The yoke is easy and the burden is light, but it doesn’t just ignore the problems either.
Focus On Optics – Many cults are so image-crazed that they throw anyone under the bus who reveals the dark underside, such as a whistle-blower or even a true believer who accidentally lets the mask slip. Lenin famously killed anyone who informed him of bad results from his Soviet policies. He didn’t want any bad news. Cultists try to convince themselves and everyone else that everything is swell by maintaining a flawless image.
It is easy to accuse anyone of doing this, as it is important for any group to have a favorable image. But what about that MTC director that erupted in scandal not long ago for sexual abuse? Was he thrown under the bus? Or what about Ammon Bundy and his people who so many people were complaining about? I saw endless ridicule against the church because Ammon was a Mormon, yet he didn’t get excommunicated by the church. The same skeptics and Antimormons who accuse the Mormon church of being image-obsessed also called for the MTC director to be crucified by the church for what he did. It’s one or the other, you can’t have both.
Separating Families? – I think the tell-tale sign of a cult is if it separates people from their family who aren’t members of the cult. Dangerous cults alienate people from their personal support group so that it is easier to indoctrinate them. As a missionary, I recall being frustrated when people in the church talked to Antimormon friends and family and then lost interest in the church. But I didn’t ever seek to split them from their friends and family. Family is one of the most important things we have in life and it would be foolish to throw it away because of some religious differences.
Why Are Mormons Called A Cult?
So when I look at the traits of a dangerous cult I don’t see Mormonism. In fact, I see quite the opposite. So why the heavy media rhetoric? Why the opposition and disdain? Is it because Mormonism indoctrinates deep-set beliefs to control the masses? Or is actually because Mormonism disrupts mass indoctrination? I find those who label us a cult tend to display the most extreme cult-like behavior themselves.
Many atheists say religion follows a mimetic pattern, where things we think we know and think we have faith in are just what has been passed down by parents and society, like an urban legend. But then I see secular and “progressive” media doing just that, the same headlines, the same narrative, the same ideas. Cultists blindly mimic the narrative and repeat media hysteria, and it isn’t fair to accuse someone of this just because they hold a certain set of articles of faith. But it is fair to accuse someone of this if they mimic the narrative for all issues and all opinions, and this is what I often see skeptics and Antimormons do.
So again, why are Mormons called cultists?
When I looked at religion books in local bookstores, they agreed Mormonism is a “sect” but didn’t explain why. When I looked at Antimormon websites, I saw the typical drivel about polygamy history and blood-atonement hoaxes. When I asked students of theology, they told me Mormonism’s origins were cultish, and I suppose some aspects do sound cultish. For example, polygamy and the United Order, which redistributed everybody’s income evenly across church membership. But aren’t these things we read about in the bible?Abraham was a polygamist and Jesus told the rich man to sell everything he owns. When I ask hard-core atheists, they typically say Mormonism is not worse than any other religion; all religions are bad. When I ask social justice proponents, they are upset that we don’t follow the latest “equality” cause or “progressive” trend. We are a cult to the extent that we unrelentingly cling to the doctrine that they are so offended by.