Using the 13 criteria, no, Mormonism is no more a cult than any other Christian church:
1. "The group focuses on a living leader to whom its members appear to be extraordinarily committed."
Based on this, Christianity is a cult, because CHRIST LIVES. However, Mormons are not committed to any Earthly leader. We respect our Prophet and are grateful to have a prophet living among us, but are not committed to him.
2. "The group focuses heavily on recruiting new members."
Any church which isn't involved with recruiting new members is disobeying Christ.
3. "The group focuses heavily on making money"
Unlike the peer-pressure plate-passing of many other Christian churches, members of the Church of Jesus Christ make their offerings privately, and the money doesn't go to pay men to preach.
4. "Members who question, doubt, or dissent with the group's beliefs are discouraged or punished."
Please show me any church which doesn't "discourage or punish" public dissent with its doctrines by membership. If you don't hold with the doctrines of your church, can you truly consider yourself a member?
5. "The group uses techniques that numb the mind to suppress doubts about the group and its leaders. These include long work routines, denunciation sessions, meditating, chanting, or speaking in tongues."
None of these are part of Mormonism, though they are part of a number of other Christian churches, which use repetitive scripts to direct their meetings and activities.
6. "The group's leaders tell members how they should act, think, and feel. For example, members must get their love life and jobs okayed. Leaders may tell them what kind of clothes to wear, where to live, how to raise their children, etc."
Christ told us how we should act, think and feel all through the New Testament. Where is the Christian church which doesn't teach against adultery and other sexual sins (thus "okaying" the love life) or that children are to be raised in loving homes and without brutality and abuse? Beyond that, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints doesn't control the lives of members.
7. "The group sees itself as especially and uniquely blessed; for example, the leader is believed to be a Messiah or avatar, or the leader and the group have special orders to save the world."
Christ IS the Messiah.
8. "The group has an us-versus-them outlook, which puts it in conflict with mainstream culture."
"Mainstream culture" prizes and rewards fornication, adultery, divorce, abortion, drunkeness, drug abuse, lies and bigotry. True Christianity opposes all of these things.
9. "The group's leaders are accountable only to themselves and are not guided by or disciplined by any higher authorities as are, for example, military officers, and the ministers, priests, and rabbis of mainstream religions. The group believes its goals justify methods that members would have considered unethical before joining, such as raising money for fake charities."
The first part of this describes every organization in the world -- go up the chain and eventually you reach someone who has nobody to pass the buck to.
The last part in no way reflects any facet of Mormonism, and in fact such activities would result in excommunication.
10. "The leaders manipulate the members into feeling guilty in order to maintain control."
This doesn't describe Mormonism in any way.
11. "Because members become subservient to the group, they cut ties to friends, families and the personal goals and activities they had before joining."
This doesn't describe Mormonism in any way, except that activities such as gang membership or wine-tasting societies are left behind when someone becomes active as a Latter-day Saint because the lifestyles are mutually exclusive.
12. "The group expects its members to devote inordinate amounts of time to it."
You've got me there. One poem goes "Mary had a little lamb, it grew to be a sheep; then it joined the Mormon Church and died from lack of sleep!" Being an active Latter-day Saint involves meetings on Sunday, plus Family Home Evening on Monday, youth group meetings and seminary studies during the week, singles or youth dances, fireside meetings, periodic conferences, Scouting, youth camp and a few things that I haven't remembered.
Far better, from the "mainstream" point of view, to waste the days playing video games, indulging in teen sex, boozing and hanging out on streetcorners. I think I like our way better.
13. "The group encourages or requires its members to live or socialize only with each other."
The closest that Mormonism comes to this is advising us to seek our friends among good people rather than those who would lead us into sin. Unlike many Protestants, Mormons don't pick our friends based on religion.
So, as you see, we stack up pretty much the same as the rest of Christianity, maybe a little better in some ways than other churches.
Comments
#7, Didn't Jesus give His followers a commandment to "save the world" by preaching the gospel?
by Glenn Blaylock on December 10th, 2005
The whole answer lack supports. It is an argument pure built on other arguments yet lacks the links to make it formal.
by pareto on December 10th, 2005
Nice try but you failed because a cult is a cult is a cult. You can dress it up but it's still a cult.
by Alatea on December 13th, 2005
Well explained. Christianity is not a cult. The LDS church is not a cult. And any argument saying it is, is poorly written and has no foundation in truth.
by Aaron Cloward on October 19th, 2006