http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100169512/where-mormonism-meets-scientology/

Now, unlike the Daily Mail, the Telegraph is one of UK's more respected newspapers. It's only a commentary piece, but was linked from their main news page under 'News most viewed'.

My favourite comment attached to this article included:

The deluded Mormon trolls are out in force here taking offence at being compared to Scientologists. But where are the Scientologists? I'd frankly be more offended being compared to a Mormon.

:)

Thanks for posting this T.S.,

One more nail in the coffin for both cults. Good to see the truth getting out to the public, and the comparison of Scientology to Mormonism is completely appropriate. There are many similarities.

Do you think the Mormons are catching on to the fact that a Mormon candidate is not helping them?

I think it would be much more appropriate to compare the Seventh Day Adventists to Mormonism. Those two religions are hugely similar.

There are some similarities with Scientology, but they aren't the same beast. They aren't even really all that close.

I agree, but I think the comparison is not with their theologies, but with their cultiness.

I think they both have cult aspects to them, but neither really go as far as most organizations that we tend to give the name "cult" to. I guess we could say that they both exhibit some of the same intensity of cultiness, but neither one is anything but a quasi-cult, or "cult light."

I hate the term "cult light" though, haha.

The big difference here is that Mormonism is much better at brainwashing than Scientology. Scientology is much stricter and much less prone to change, so when people change around Scientology, the organization sticks to its guns. Scientology won't be around for long.

Mormonism, on the other hand, changes with the population, and makes the population think that they never changed at all. Because of this, Mormonism will be around for a lot longer.

This article even attempts to make Joseph Smith look like LR Hubbard. Neither one of these people are anything like the other. Joseph Smith was a very good confidence man and charismatic leader who never wrote the book of Mormon. Hubbard wrote the books that he sold, but wasn't particularly charismatic nor a leader.

Take this quote:

"The two prophets were heartily interested in the opposite sex: Smith acquired some 33 wives, while Hubbard encouraged teenage girl “officers” to wear hot pants."

Making women marry you is not even close to the same as making women wear hot pants. How they pretend that this is the same thing is a mystery.

There aren't a lot of things we really can compare between the two groups. The article attempts to do this, but does not succeed.

Complete fabrications. Con artist at the top. Lying to the members. Taking their money. Hiding their beliefs.

It's like comparing two monkey's rear ends. Are they different. Ya, I suppose so. You want to dicker over what comes out?

"Complete fabrications. Con artist at the top. Lying to the members. Taking their money. Hiding their beliefs."

Except for the last part, you are describing every single religion and con that has ever been on this earth. The only difference is that some religions don't hide their core beliefs.

It is fine with me if you aren't interested in the differences between two widely different groups. I don't share your lack of interest. :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2012 07:01PM by snb.

I'm interested in hearing how they are different in the same way I'm interested in hearing how they are similar.

Throw another one in the mix. Methodists.

You can draw distinctions between all three. But two of the three have three eyes and two heads. It's the difference between a freak show and afternoon tea.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2012 08:18PM by thingsithink.

You are too kind to the Methodists. The belief in virgin birth is no less crazy or ridiculous than the belief in magical underwear or dianetics.

They are all part of the freak show. In the circus tent the bearded lady might think she is completely normal, but anybody on the outside with a critical mind will put her in the same category as the other freaks.

Now you're seeing the similarities. See, Scientology and Mormonism are not so different after all. Sorry for the little mind trick, but I wanted you to switch gears.

I sensed a little defend mormonism against scientology in your post. You bit by wanting to show methodists are as nutty as mormons. Why equate mormons and methodists but not mormons and scientologists? I think I did in fact smell a bit of mormon defensiveness. I just wanted to flesh it out. Dig?

"Now you're seeing the similarities. See, Scientology and Mormonism are not so different after all. Sorry for the little mind trick, but I wanted you to switch gears."

Haha...interesting. I'm actually very happy being out-thought, but I'm not sure that happened.

"I sensed a little defend mormonism against scientology in your post."

Nope, sorry.

I think the difference in thinking is that I am fine both realizing that they are different freak show attractions while understand that they are under the same freak show tent.

Mormons and Scientologists are different under the umbrella of something like American religions, but when analyzed more closely, they are very different in many ways. It really depends on how you want to look at it. However, specifically the OP and the article wanted to equate them as the same freak show. That is an opinion that is wrong, in my own view at least.

Either way, well played sir.

Ours is the one true cult!!!!!


We're completely different -- in the ways we pressure, control, police and brain wash our members, so there!

I liked this quote from the article -- "The Latter-day Saints cleaned up their act. But they were the Scientologists of their day – and they’re still evasive enough for the public to make the subliminal connection."

Mormonism is still clinging on to is secrecy. Why not show the public a temple wedding or the endowment ceremony? The church could put its own spin on it and then it becomes no big deal. The church defines the issue, not its detractors. If you have nothing to hide, then stop hiding things. The same is true of its finances.

The reason why they would never want to show a temple wedding to the public is because that would mean their members would see it, too. They attempt to hide the weirdness of the temple from their own members until they actually go through the doors. Their membership numbers would be much lower if honesty was their policy

Scientology is a dangerous cult. Mormonism definitely has cultish characteristics, but it's not dangerous like Scientology. Mormonism doesn't lock members in guarded, barbed-wire fence compounds, eating beans and rice for ALL meals, working them for 100 hours per week of hard labor, sleeping on ant and cockroach infested garage floors. This punishment goes on for YEARS -- until the member is completely broken.

Learn about Scientology before you make such a comparison. They only vaguely compare.

Scientology is is PURE EVIL. It's incredible that they are allowed to exist. It's organized crime and it needs to be taken down.

One more thing ... If a member leaves Scientology, their family members still in the cult are ABSOLUTELY NOT ALLOWED to communicate with the defector again, or they will be thrown in the "hole" (RPF) which is the prison compound I wrote about above. It's a literal prison, and they CANNOT LEAVE IT. They are guarded 24/7.

Enslavement in America ... UNBELIEVABLE !!!

Do YOU know about early Mormonism? There were many vicious, dangerous practices! TSCC has learned the art of subterfuge. Pay no attention to the man behind the Morg Curtain and just keep reading their slick, glossy PR attempts.

If the Internet had existed when Mormonism was younger, those atrocities would be much more well-known, much like Scientology issues are now.

Today, mormonism's bond are mental, not physical. But they are bonds none the less.

Early mormonism sent missionaries who lied about polygamy. So if you were a woman, who trekked across the country to Utah, and then found out you were to be someone's 10th wife, what could you do? You were trapped.

A Reader Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Scientology is a dangerous cult. Mormonism
> definitely has cultish characteristics, but it's
> not dangerous like Scientology.

Part of the point of the article was that Mormonism was dangerous like Scientology, maybe even more so. AFAIK Scientology hasn't attacked and killed a group of immigrants, stolen their stuff and tried to steal their kids. Or maybe they just cover it up better, I don't know.

It has been dangerous enough to drive people to suicide...

My two favorite cults in one place!