Hi these are some signs of the Mormon cult,1. You must not look up anything anti Mormon. 2.no coffee, tea or anything that is not allowed in the lds church, 3.you must go to three hours of boring church, 4,only true Mormons can enter the temple and do baptism of the dead,5.only Mormons believe they are true and no one else, 6.you can't question anything at all,

I like Steven Hassan's BITE model for determining when a group tips into cult status as the model allows for a range of experiences. His basic model is how much control does the organization exert in the areas of:

Behavior
Information
Thought
Emotions

Here is the model applied to Mormonism:

http://old.freedomofmind.com/Info/infoDet.php?id=370

not logged in Wrote:
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> I like Steven Hassan's BITE model for determining
> when a group tips into cult status as the model
> allows for a range of experiences. His basic
> model is how much control does the organization
> exert in the areas of:
>
> Behavior
> Information
> Thought
> Emotions
>
> Here is the model applied to Mormonism:
>
> http://old.freedomofmind.com/Info/infoDet.php?id=3
> 70


Steven even referenced Mormons in something I recently watched or read.

All religions are, by definition, cults:

"cult noun
a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object."

Making christianity a Jesus cult, etc.

Our more recent, negative "cult" use essentially means:

"...a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister."

It's the "sinister" part that we do (and should) care about. Note though, that the very definition indicates that the whole thing is subjective -- "regarded by others as strange or sinister." To people raised as Muslims, "mainstream" christianity is considered strange or sinister. To people raised as "mainstream" christians, Buddhism is considered "strange or sinister."

So while I'm more than happy to call the mormons a "cult" (and I do regularly), doing so doesn't really specify what's harmful about their practices. It may satisfy us in a subjective sense as a demeaning term, but doesn't do much to publicize what's really "sinister" and harmful about it. And there's plenty of that.

I think there is a difference between the traditional definition of "cult", which you have listed here, and "mind-control cult", which would fit into Steve Hassan's definition. I have heard MANY mormons quote the dictionary definition of "cult" while rolling their eyes and not realize "mind-control"cults are a different beast altogether.

Oh, I agree.

Which is why simply pointing out they're a cult doesn't do much. Be sure to specify the "mind-control" or "sinister" part when you do so :)

sunnynomo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think there is a difference between the
> traditional definition of "cult", which you have
> listed here, and "mind-control cult", which would
> fit into Steve Hassan's definition. I have heard
> MANY mormons quote the dictionary definition of
> "cult" while rolling their eyes and not realize
> "mind-control"cults are a different beast
> altogether.


Steven distinguishes between "brain-washing" which is like keeping a person locked away in a room to totally put their minds out of whack, and "mind-control" using the BITE model. Mormonism uses the latter and does it so casually that you don't know it's happening. Thus the eye rolling response when they are accused of being a cult.

Having been inside it for the first half of my life I can say without pause it is most certainly a cult.

When I was a member I wouldn't have believed that, until I studied it out in my 30's. It has all the earmarks of a cult.

Some churches I've been to since leaving there operates and feels very much like a cult despite their going out of their way to preach against them.

One in particular gave lessons on how to save your "Lutheran friends," "Jehovah Witness friends," "Mormon friends," etc. It had the deadest spirit of any church I've been to before or since. Other people complained about it also. I believe the spirit of the Lord was withdrawn from that house of worship in proportion to the judgmentalism the pastor and his teachings endeavored to demonize other religions.

It wasn't even a little dead. It was really really really dead.

Whether it was a cult or not mattered not to me at that point. There was no spiritual life inside regardless.

The pastor fired the youth pastor when some of the youth complained about the dead spirit in that church. The youth pastor was fine. It wasn't him at all. It was the church itself, and the pastor who was steward over the church. He couldn't acknowledge that he was the problem, and his lackluster beliefs.

Survey SAID...!

...CULT!...doh...

"...the one and only true and living church on the face of the whole earth." Interesting how this declaration by JS who lied it was from the Lord was another lie. The cult was neither true nor living. It was false and dead to all things spiritual. The members become emotionally dead with magical thinking, i.e., denial, rationalizations, minimizing and magnifying things in JS's delusional, grandiose fantasies. Members are commanded to keep a lot of stuff secret because it's so criminal., not sacred. Lying, living and loving lies and living in the dark is spiritual death. The Holy Ghost is not present in the cult, but is when members see the light and leave. By leaving they are walking in light, seeking truth and facts, can discern between right from wrong, truth from error, good from evil, and love freedom from oppression and reality. It's liberating like being released from a prison.

"When the brethren have spoken, the thinking has been done". If ever there was a perfect phrase for mind control, this would be it.

And Mormons will never tell you about secret temple rites at all! I saw a video that someone recorded the baptism of the dead, it was creepy, you can't question anything at all, you can't read anything anti Mormon. And Joseph Smith even said I have done more than Jesus! Wow made up a cult of arrogant people!

The fact that you are discouraged from questioning screams cult. I am so happy to be out. Thank you to so many on this board that helped me get out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult

The LDS cult is listed several times in the article.

One that I find interesting is the section about Russia

Russia[edit]
In 2008 the Russian Interior Ministry prepared a list of "extremist groups." At the top of the list were Islamic groups outside of "traditional Islam," which is supervised by the Russian government. Next listed were "Pagan cults".[141] In 2009 the Russian Ministry of Justice created a council which it named "Council of Experts Conducting State Religious Studies Expert Analysis." The new council listed 80 large sects which it considered potentially dangerous to Russian society, and mentioned that there were thousands of smaller ones. Large sects listed included: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, and what were called "neo-Pentecostals."[142]