Can anyone explain Mormonism to me

[NAO]

Do Mormons consider themselves to be Christians?

Do "regular" (whatever that means) Christians consider Mormons to be Christians?

Do Mormons believe that the Bible is inerrant? Plus the Book of Mormon? Plus "Doctrines and Covenants"?

Do Mormons believe in Eternal Damnation (Hell)?

What else is significant about Mormons?

[Erika]

1. Oh, this is so long

Yes, Mormons think of themselves as Xians. The Mormons believe the Bible to be the word of God "only as far as it is translated correctly" They believe the Book of Mormon also to be the word of God.

Mormons believe the really bad guys will be cast out to outer darkness where they will be in the dark and alone for eternity.

Mormons(men) believe they also can become Gods of their own planets.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

10. Okay, I just now realized what "Xians" means.

I am SOOOOO dumb. I saw that in the post and though "Why is the poster saying "Yes," then referring to "Xians."

Every time I've seen "Xian" I thought "Oh, those space aliens from Scientology." Suddenly "Xmas" popped into my head and I feel incredibly stupid.

[salvorhardin]

2. Well...

Do Mormons consider themselves Christians? Absolutely.

Do "regular" Christians consider Mormons to be Christians? Mostly, yes, but heretics.

Do Mormons believe that the Bible is inerrant? Plus the Book of Mormon? Plus "Doctrines and Covenants"? I don't know. They believe that Joseph Smith threw a couple of gold tablets into a hat and stuck his face in after them, thus transcribing the word of God into the Book of Mormon. I think they're pretty fundie.

Do Mormons believe in Eternal Damnation (Hell)? Yep, all the nonbelievers and sinners are gonna burn forever. On edit: The above psoter is correct. Hell is sensory depreivation for Mormons.

What else is significant about Mormons? Donny and Marie Osmond? Well, they're not so much significant as just plain creepy.

BTW: This is a handy reference.
http://www.beliefnet.com/features/mormonism.html

[Erika]

3. Mormons also believe that women do not belong in the

kingdom of God unless their husband "calls" them up. Probably the most sexual discrimatory cults now in existence.

[DELUSIONAL]

7. yes -- their prophet Joseph Smith -- was probably a con-man

he supposedly discovered a metal plate -- and somehow he was able to translate this. His translations were the foundations for the Later Day Saints belief system.

Because of their belief that someone must be baptized before they can enter heaven -- Mormons are very much into Genealogy research. As family lines are traced -- living mormons stand in for the dead -- so that the dead can be baptized. A friend of mine was a stand-in for a "John F. Kennedy" -- but he doesn't know if the person who's name he baptized for was the President JFK. Jews are most pissed with the Mormons -- because the Mormons want to give everyone (probably all males) a chance to go to their version of heaven. So Jews are being baptized -- with stand-ins.

There's an excellent book by a ex-Mormon -- a woman. She tells about the special underwear that Mormons wear in her book. I don't remember the title of her book -- but she gives deep background to what makes the Mormon culture/believe/religion tick.

I'm sort of half Mormon -- through my genealogy research I've discovered that both of my father's parents were Mormons -- of the Pioneer variety who's grandparents trekked across the US from the East Coast to Illinois and then to Utah. I always knew that my grandfather was born in Utah and rejected his parents religion and he hated the Mormon religion. I was surprised to discover that he married a Mormon with a long Mormon pedigree.

There are some good websites about Mormons -- both by and for the Mormon church -- and some websites by former Mormons. The former Mormons are the ones who found the documentation about Joseph Smith's con artist days in Connecticut.

[NAO]

9. Was Smith killed by a regular mob, Freemasonic assassins, or Xtians?

I have heard these three stories of Smith's death:

1. That an angry mob just killed him just for the heck of it;

2. That Freemasonic Assassin Hit Squads ritualistically murdered him for disclosing secret handshakes and such, and performed his murder to accomplish occult rituals;

3. That narrow-minded bigoted Xtians killed him for being a heretic.

[DELUSIONAL]

11. He was in jail --

citizens (militia) broke into the jail and killed him -- this is one story.

Another is that a gun was smuggled to him in jail.

What I do know is that the Mormon's practice of having many wives -- or polygamy was so abhorrent to the mainstream population that one of the questions asked of immigrants (on on the forms of the Ellis Island website) was if the immigrant was a polygamist.

Joseph Smith has several wives -- and the huge Mormon crowd that converged in Illinois scared the heck out of the non Mormon population. Genealogy is interesting -- because I had ancestors on both side during that time period in Illinois.

The reason he was jail was because he ordered the destruction of a printing press and for treason. The real reason and the fact that the militia mob wanted to make sure he was really dead is probably due to the fact that polygamy was part of the LDS early religion. The mob not only shot him (execution style) but also stabbed him several times to make sure he was really dead. That's a whole lot of violence for the destruction of a printing press.

In my research I discovered that some sister-wives (which is what the wives called each other) didn't mind being one of several in the early days of the church. In fact the women in Utah could vote but had to give up their right to vote in order for Utah to become a state. The sister-wives marched on the capital to protest the fact that they were losing their right to vote.

http://www.algonet.se/~daba/lds/nauvoo.htm

As an account of his jailing and his murder. Evidently the official Mormon/LDS version doesn't mention that he had a gun.

The LDS were very racist -- they convinced the Ute Indians if they were baptized that they would turn white.

Of course the LDS belief (through Smith's writing) was that the Americans Indians were a lost tribe of Israel.

http://www.algonet.se/~daba/lds/cdc275.htm

More background on Joesph Smith at above link.

According to the book I read by an ex-Mormon -- there is a lot of Freemason ritual in the Mormon's ceremony or religious services. During the wedding ceremony the husband stands behind sheets or a curtain and symbolically pulls his new wife through the curtains -- sort of representing that she can't get to heaven without his help. They also wear ceremonial garb which is very similar to Freemasons. There is speculation that Joseph Smith borrowed heavily from the Freemason's ritual when he was creating the LDS religion.

The Mormons are very much a part of US history -- in fact the history of religion should probably be taught as part of US history. All the different religious sects have shaped the America we know today. So when today's fundamentalists want religion in the schools -- find bring it in as history -- and teach about ALL religions -- not just the warped brand of fundamentalism.

O.K. I found the book -- that give an insider's view of LDS

Deborah Laake: Secret Ceremonies: A Mormon Woman's Intimate Diary of Marriage and Beyond

http://www.algonet.se/~daba/lds/tgarment.htm

I heard an interview with Deborah Laake years ago -- and the audience was filled with hostile Mormon women -- the church was very unhappy that she wrote this book.

If anyone is interested in some of the deep dark secrets (and not so dark secrets) -- find this book.

[kestrel91316]

15. The book you refer to is "No Man Knows My History" by Fawn Brodie

I know LOTS about the Mormons' dubious past. My g-g-g-grandfather was William Adams Hickman, the Chief of the Danites. He was essentially a paid assassin, though his cover was as head of the Mormon church's "police force" in the early days. he served as Joseph Smith's bodyguard, then as Brigham Young's. In the early days, there was only one way to leave the Mormon church if you decided you weren't happy: 6 feet under. So my ancestor was asked many times to "solve problems" for the church; he gladly complied and was richly rewarded (including 9 plural wives - though I am descended from his FIRST wife, the only legal one). Eventually he developed a conscience of sorts and went to the Feds to tell all, and all the church higher ups (including Brigham Young himself) were indicted for multiple murders and Bill H. had to be in protective custody (the locals were not amused). Unfortunately a Supreme Court decision of that period regarding the way federal grand juries were empaneled resulted in the case being thrown out, and they never could get a local grand jury to indict them (big surprise). So all his Mormon plural wives left him, but my g-g-g-grandmother, my g-g-grandmother and HER husband stayed loyal. He spent the rest of his life on the run from angry Mormons, snd died in Wyoming in the 1880s after a short bout of the "bloody flux", an undignified end to a wild life. He wrote and published his autobiography which was extremely scandalous at the time.

All true. An amazing man.

[kestrel91316]

16. His autobiog: "Brigham's Destroying Angel: William Adams Hickman"

[skids]

4. A full explanation is here.

http://www.rickross.com/reference/mormon/mormon134.html

:evilgrin:

[grumpy old fart]

12. That was excellent! Thanks....South Park rocks......n/t

[CatholicEdHead]

13. Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb

I loved that episode. I am not sure how accurate it is, but I was ROFL through most of it.

[applegrove]

5. A christian sect who broke off from the world & allowed the laws of

religion to highlight masogynistic needs as it made the male leaders feels good... down there.

Wait a second. That is neocons & GOP.

Mormons cleaned up their act and just became a fine christian sept pretty soon.

Except for a few weirdos.

[wake.up.america]

6. I see a few Mormons from the States, once in a blue moon...

I don't ask them about religion, I ask them why they support Bush, then, of course, they start talking about religion.

[NAO]

8. That's how I got started on this. Asked one why supported *, got into

religion.

The person I talked to is a very intelligent, highly successful female attorney that is employed by the US Gov.

[Zhade]

14. Quick version: cult founded by a man known to be a fraud in his own time.

Take it from this ex-Mormon, it's just as factually-based as most faiths, which is to say not at all.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

17. Posters above have commented on connections to Freemasonry

According to a fascinating American Experience presentation I saw a few years back, upstate New York in the pre-Civil War era was not particularly Christian, and the most influential institution in the typical town was the Masonic lodge.

However, some uniquely American religious movements grew out of that environment: Mormonism, Spiritualism, and Seventh-Day Adventism. It is not surprising that Mormonism has similarities to Freemasonry.