RFM'ers seem to be trying to grasp whether the LDS church is becoming more "mainstream" or more of a "cult."

Well, I think they are kind of doing both. They are mainstreaming in the sense that they are going away from the weirder doctrines and history. They will slowly stop talking about things like the return to Jackson county, Lamanites, or Kolob. They will change more of the endowment and allow gays to get married in the temple. They may talk more about Jesus and the Bible.

But on the other hand they are turning into more of a corporate cult masquerading as a church. The organization is run by a bunch of businessmen and so they are less interested in theology and history, than they are in growth, numbers and image. They are reviewing numbers and charts and looking for ways to make the organization more effective and productive. As such, they are becoming more and more controlling and wish to correlate and monitor everything. They are putting more emphasis on obedience as well as employing more and more scare tactics such as preaching to avoid the dangerous "influences" of Satan. They will try to control every minute of the lives of its members. They are demanding more and more conformity. They spend billions on superficial projects to project a certain image and pride such as marketing and commercials, an upscale mall on temple square, big ornate temples for the world to see, monuments to themselves, and so on.

What I see is the potential to gradually "mainstream" everything except the authority (and position) of the prophets/apostles, obedience to such leaders, and tithing. Everything else is expendable. As the saying goes,"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

The Church will NEVER seal gays in an eternal marriage. EVER.

I would shave to concur with A Scoper. they will never allow gays to marry in the temple.

Maybe one day gays will have a place in the church, but not at the alter in the temple.

And I, for one, am SO VERY GLAD about that.

It's a disservice to ANYone, including gay people, to be included in a fraudulent church.

Why not? They've changed plenty of other things. It will be just like with polygamy and blacks.

A Scoper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Church will NEVER seal gays in an eternal
> marriage. EVER.

"I don't know we ever taught that."
---Wilford Woodruff IV, April 14, 2050. In an interview with 60 Minutes correspondent Anderson Cooper.

I think there are three faces to the morg. To those at the top, it is a corporation with vast holdings. To the sheep it is still the good 'ol religion with the weirdness archived as 'deep doctrine' or 'mormon folklore.' To the non morg public it is mainstreaming as 'just another church.'

More cult than mainsreeam!!

I think they are becoming more mainstream in order to tighten their grip as a cult, so both I suppose.

I have noticed, even in my short 33 years, that everything seems to be dumbing down and normalizing. It's pretty rare to hear an interesting discussion in sunday school or priesthood anymore, mostly everybody is bored to tears b/c the manuals suck and so do most of the teachers. I remember as a new Elder getting annoyed b/c people were arguing about whether princess Di was a saint or a whore (this was shortly after she died). Now, you're lucky to get any response, even if it's just a grunt.

A lot of the hardcore doctrine is still floating around, but it is rarely discussed anymore. I think in a few years it will be just a memory. Just like polygamy, blacks and the priesthood, the whole slitting your throat thing in the temple, and any of the other forgotten doctrines. "I don't know that we teach that" seems to be the rallying call these days.

They won't change their stance on Jesus/God/Holy Ghost. They will never be mainstream. And as long as they need to keep repeating....I know this church is true....it will always be a cult. Mainstream churches do not -and never will- do this. Mormons live by the church....others live by a personal relationship with JC.

The election has taken all their fun out of suppressing women, hating gays, and picking off perceived non alpha males...no fun when you're in the spotlight. As soon as the election is over they'll go back to tightening down, they'll probably invite the likes of Judy Dushku, Joanna Brooks to courts of love. 'How dare women speak about us and ruin our chances, I mean Mitt's chances.' For power. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. I am always wary of those who seek positions of power.

So they're pretending for now to mainstream. As soon as the election is over, so will be the likes of Mormon feminists (what an oxymoron). We can be sure the long arm of the cult will come clamping down.

However, with the internet around these days, it must be hard to retain members let alone missionaries. Lowering the missionary age is an act of desparation. I wouldn't be surprised if they are already consolidating the morg's assets and looking to new ventures with the squandered billions. Too bad they'll have to give up their tax exempt status.

Could be...Mom and Dad are all nice when company comes over, then revert back to normal after they leave.

The mainstream they become, the more they have to compromise their core beliefs. The church will morph to where in fifty years from now, you would barely recognize it. One thing that is true, the church will still be making money because they care about that more than anything else. You'll notice that the statue of Brigham young in front of Temple Square has his hand out toward the bank with his hind end facing the temple.

Repeat after me:
It's not a cult. It's not a cult. It's not a cult.

If you want to know all there is to know about Mormonism you won't learn it at church or from the mishey's.

The internet is the place to do your research. There you will find the good, the bad, and the ugly. You can then make a decision.

If you think the church is going to tell you everything you need to know about them you will be taken advantage of. They will lie to you about at every turn. There isn't any concept that the church teaches that they don't also lie about.

They make things up as they go along. Whatever brings in the most money. That's what they will teach you. They have no problem stealing your family and your life. You're small potatoes to them.