Okay I know that many people believe that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints aka The Mormons aka the LDS Church is a cult.
Some say that it's members are brain washed and some say we worship Satan and things like that.
First we much differentiate between the occult and a cult.
According to Wikipedia:
The word occult comes from Latin occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to the 'knowledge of the secret' or 'knowledge of the hidden' and often meaning 'knowledge of the supernatural', as opposed to 'knowledge of the visible' or 'knowledge of the measurable', usually referred to as science. The modern term's meaning is often imprecisely translated and used as a term for 'secret knowledge' or 'hidden knowledge', in the sense of meaning 'knowledge meant only for certain people' or 'knowledge that must be kept hidden'. For most practicing occultists, however, it is simply the study of a deeper spiritual reality that cannot be understood using pure reason or material science.
Occultism
Occultism is the study of supposed occult or hidden wisdom. To the Occultist it is the study of Truth, or rather the deeper truth that exists beyond the surface: 'The Truth Is Always Hidden In Plain Sight'. It may be considered by some to be a 'grey' area, perhaps larger than any other in the realm of religion. It can deal with subjects ranging from talismans, magic (alternatively spelled and defined as magick), sorcery, and voodoo, to ESP (Extra-sensory perception), astrology, numerology, lucid dreams, or even religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. It is all encompassing in that most everything that isn't claimed by any of the major religions (and many things that are) is included in the realm of the occult. Even Kabbalah has been considered an occult study, perhaps because of its popularity amongst magi and Thelemites. The 'Wise Men' in the bible who visited the Infant Jesus are said to have been Magi of the Kabbalah. It was later adopted by the Golden Dawn and brought out into the open by Aleister Crowley and his protégé Israel Regardie. Since that time many authors have added insight to the study of the Occult by drawing parallels between different disciplines.
Direct insight into or perception of the occult is said not to consist of access to physically measurable facts, but to be arrived at through the mind or the spirit. The term can refer to mental, psychological or spiritual training. It is important to note however, that many occultists will also study science (perceiving science as a branch of Alchemy) to add validity to occult knowledge in a day and age where the mystical can easily be undermined as flights-of-fancy. An oft-cited means of gaining insight into the occult is the use of a focus. A focus may be a physical object, a ritualistic action (for example, meditation or chanting), or a medium in which one becomes wholly immersed. The previous examples are but a mere sample of the vast and numerous avenues that can be explored.
The beliefs and practices of those who consider their activities "occult" or part of "the occult" in the more usual western interpretation 'hidden knowledge' (ceremonial magicians, and so on) are generally far from being secret or hidden, being found very easily in print or on the Internet. This ready availability is historically recent and corresponds to a reduced interest in traditional religion and the promulgation by occultists of the perception of the occult as a broad term for a radical alternative to orthodoxy. As there are huge amounts of authors of the occult in the modern age, it is important for the student to question the validity of all books and to cross reference numerous times with other authors on the same subject. 'Beware False Prophets'. Most mass printed Occult knowledge is however, only for beginners. The sourcing of the more in-depth and advanced work can be a 'trial-of-spirit' in itself.
In all of this and the rest of the search on Wikipedia there is not a mention of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints aka the Mormons aka the LDS Church. There are references to Judaism and Kabbalah and other rituals from other non-Christ based religions.
So we can glean from this definition that what occultist believe is not the same as what the LDS Church aka the Mormons aka the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes.
So where does the idea of the LDS Church aka the Mormons aka The Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints get the reputation of being a cult.
That is a great question. I wish I had an answer however I will define what a cult is according to Wikipedia:
This article does not discuss "cult" in its original sense of "religious practice"; for that usage see Cult (religion). See Cult (disambiguation) for more meanings of the term "cult".
In religion and sociology, a cult is a cohesive group of people (often a relatively small and recently founded religious movement) devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture or society considers to be far outside the mainstream. Its separate status may come about either due to its novel belief system, because of its idiosyncratic practices or because it opposes the interests of the mainstream culture. Other non-religious groups may also display cult-like characteristics.
In common usage, "cult" has a negative connotation, and is generally applied to a group by its opponents, for a variety of possible reasons.
So using this definition we could say that at the inception of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints aka the LDS Church aka the Mormons the term "cult" could have been applied, as the practices and teachings of the church are outside the normal parts of Christianity, but only in a limited way.
That way is in a belief in eternal marriage and family relationships, a pre-existance with a war in which Satan was cast out of Heaven with his followers and redemption for the dead.
All of these "outside the normal mainstream" beliefs of the LDS Church aka the Mormons aka The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can be substantiated with the biblical scriptures; however the scriptures supporting the LDS stance is discounted as either a misinterpretation of scripture or just left unanswered, as you can see in several posts on the several blogs regarding religion on which I have posted. As well as my own.
Going back to Wikipedia:
The literal and traditional meanings of the word cult is derived from the Latin cultus, meaning "care" or "adoration", as "a system of religious belief or ritual; or: the body of adherents to same"32. In English, it remains neutral and a technical term within this context to refer to the "cult of Artemis at Ephesus" and the "cult figures" that accompanied it, or to "the importance of the Ave Maria in the cult of the Virgin." This usage is more fully explored in the entry Cult (religion).
In non-English European terms, the cognates of the English word "cult" are neutral, and refer mainly to divisions within a single faith, a case where English speakers might use the word "sect", as in "Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism are sects (or denominations) within Christianity". In French or Spanish, culte or culto simply means "worship" or "religious attendance"; thus an association cultuelle is an association whose goal is to organize religious worship and practices.
The word for "cult" in the popular English meaning is secte (French) or secta (Spanish). In German the usual word used for the english cult is Sekte, which also has other definitions. A similar case is the Russian word sekta.
So essentially any religion with religious rites and rituals is a cult or sect according to the aforementioned definition.
I continued on in Wikipedia and found:
Societal and governmental pressures on cults
American novelist and critic Tom Wolfe gave the definition of cult as a religion which has no political power, inferring that there is no functional difference between religions and cults except their acceptance within the general community and the way they are perceived by others. Many majoritarian religions generally have their doctrinal tenets legitimized by society in one way or another (and by the state in some countries although not in most modern democracies), while groups with non-mainstream beliefs may experience social and media disapproval either permanently (if their beliefs and practices are just too unorthodox) or until either the group, or society, or both, evolve in a converging way resulting in a higher level of social acceptance.
The question of social acceptance should not be confused, however, with that of governmental acceptance. Most governmental clashes with cult-like groups in the United States in recent years have been the result of real or perceived violations of the law by the groups in question. There have been no well documented recent cases of the U.S. government persecuting a supposedly cult-like group simply because of its religious or political beliefs (as opposed to its alleged illegal acts), although several groups have claimed such persecution. (Of course, it is possible that negative perceptions of a group by prosecutors could make them more quick to prosecute than they might otherwise be; for instance, in the income tax case against Reverend Moon.)
In addition, the United States has never had an established church and groups widely regarded as cults or as having non-mainstream beliefs have often found it easy to gain political clout; for instance, the Unification Church with the Republicans, Scientology with the Clinton administration, Hassidic groups with the New York City government, and the Dalai Lama with just about everyone. (Needs references)
In the 19th century the Mormons were singled out by the U.S. government, which even sent the U.S. Army against them in 1857. This military action has been referred to as the Utah War although no battles occurred. The US Army's charge was to depose Brigham Young as Governor of the Utah Territory and install a more acceptable, non-Mormon individual, Alfred Cumming. The motivation for this unilateral action by the Federal government was the Mormon practice of polygamy. In 1862 Congress formally declared polygamy illegal in all US Territories. In 1890 the LDS Church formally ordered the discontinuation of polygamy within the church. Statehood for Utah was then granted in 1896.
This is the only entry I found regarding the LDS Church aka the Mormons aka The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I did find some additional information regarding people who leave such "cult" labeled religions, others include Jehovah Witness, Seventh Day Adventist and Scientologist, this also includes really wacko people like David Koresh, Jim Jones et al:
Leaving a cult
There are at least three ways people leave a cult: 18,37
* by intervention (Exit counseling, deprogramming);
* on their own decision (walkaways); or
* through expulsion (castaways).
Lalich in Bounded Choice (2004) describes a fourth way of leaving--rebellion against the cult leader or cult majority. Although in the atypical case she describes, the entire cult membership quit, more often rebellion is a combination of the walkaway and castaway patterns in that the rebellion may trigger the expulsion--essentially, the rebels provoke the cult leadership into being the agency of their break with an over-committed lifestyle. Tourish and Wohlforth (2000) and Dennis King (1989) provide several examples in the history of political cults. The rebellion response in such groups appears to follow a longstanding behavior pattern among Trotskyist and other political sects which began long before the emergence of the contemporary political cult.
The majority of authors agree that there are some people who experience problems after leaving a cult. There are, though, disagreements regarding the frequency of such problems and regarding the cause.
According to Barker (1989), the biggest worry about possible harm concerns the relatively few dedicated followers of a new religious movement (NRM). Barker also mentions that some former members may not take new initatives for quite a long time after disaffiliation from the NRM. This generally does not concern the many superficial, short-lived, or peripheral supporters of a NRM. Membership in a cult usually does not last forever: 90% or more of cult members ultimately leave their group2,4.
According to Carol Giambalvo, most people leaving a cult do have associated psychological problems, such as feelings of guilt or shame, depression, feeling of inadequacy, or fear, that are independent of their manner of leaving the cult. Feelings of guilt, shame, or anger are by her observation worst with castaways, but walkaways can also have serious problems with feeling inadequate or guilty. People who had interventions or a rehabilitation therapy do have similar problems but are usually better prepared to deal with them.37
Bromley and Hadden say that there is lack of empirical support for alleged consequences of having been a member of a cult or sect, and that there is substantial empirical evidence against it such as: the fact that the overwhelming proportion of people who get involved in NRMs do leave, most short of two years; the overwhelming proportion of people leave of their own volition; and that two-thirds (67%) felt "wiser for the experience"14.
Flo and Conway in Snapping described a survey regarding after-cult effects and deprogramming and concluded that people deprogrammed had less problems than people not deprogrammed. "...Our last block of findings concerned the controversial issue of deprogramming. The numbers confirmed that deprogramming was indeed a vital first step on the road back from cult control. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of the people in our survey were deprogrammed, about half voluntarily and half involuntarily. As a group, they reported a third less, and in many cases only half as many, post-cult effects than those who weren’t deprogrammed. Average rehabilitation time was one-third longer--more than a year and a half--for those who weren’t deprogrammed compared to just over a year for those who were. Overall, deprogrammees reported a third fewer months of depression, forty percent less disorientation, half as many sleepless nights--clearly, something in the process worked! ..." 38
The BBC writes that in a survey done by Jill Mytton on 200 former cult members most of them reported problems adjusting to society and about a third would benefit from some counseling. 36
Burks (2002), in a study comparing Group Psychological Abuse Scale (GPA9 and Neurological Impairment Scale (NIS) scores in 132 former members of cults and cultic relationships, found a positive correlation between intensity of thought reform environment as measured by the GPA and cognitive impairment as measured by the NIS. Additional findings were a reduced earning potential in view of the education level that corroborates earlier studies of cult critics ( (Martin 1993; Singer & Ofshe, 1990; West & Martin, 1994) and significant levels of depression and dissociation agreeing with Conway & Siegelman, (1982), Lewis & Bromley, (1987) and Martin, et al. (1992). 39
According to Barret, in many cases the problems do not happen while in a movement, but when leaving a movement which can be difficult for some members and may include a lot of trauma. Reasons for this trauma may include: conditioning by the religious movement; avoidance of uncertainties about life and its meaning; having had powerful religious experiences; love for the founder of the religion; emotional investment; fear of losing salvation; bonding with other members; anticipation of the realization that time, money, and efforts donated to the group were a waste; and the new freedom with its corresponding responsibilities, especially for people who lived in a community. Those reasons may prevent a member from leaving even if the member realizes that some things in the NRM are wrong. According to Kranenborg, in some religious groups, like the Jehovah's Witnesses, members have all their social contacts within the group, which makes disaffection and disaffiliation very traumatic.15 According to F. Derks and J. van der Lans, there is no uniform post-cult trauma. While psychological and social problems upon resignation are not rare, their character and intensity are greatly dependent on the personal history and on the traits of the ex-member, and on the reasons for and way of resignation.16
See also Shunning
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Criticism by former members of purported cults
The public generally hears criticism of an alleged cult from the mass media, which often quotes law enforcement sources, public interest researchers, lawyers involved in civil litigation involving the group in question, and anti-cult spokespersons as well as persons with spontaneous direct experience. Those with direct experience provide the foundation for most criticisms of the quality of life within the alleged cult and for much of the description of controversial types of member behavior.
Such primary sources of criticism may include: parents, relatives, and close friends of cult members (who often have carefully observed personality changes in their loved one which they rightly or wrongly interpret as changes for the worse); victims of scams perpetrated by some cults; people who go to meetings and then back away out of fear; persons raised in cults who left after coming of age; and former adult members.
Usually, the most dramatic allegations, as well as the most systematic and detailed ones, will come from adult former members and to a lesser extent from persons who were raised in the cult, although a fair percentage of former members in these categories are not strongly critical of their former spiritual or ideological home. The former members who voice strong criticisms are termed "apostates" by some scholars. But this term is regarded as pejorative by other scholars--and also as misleading because the term's religious connotation doesn't apply readily to non-religious cults. One scholar who uses the term "apostate" frequently is Gordon Melton, who in turn has been labelled a cult apologist by scholars strongly critical of cults.
The allegations of former members include: sexual abuse by the leader; failed promises and failed prophecy; causing suicides through neglect or abuse; leaders who neither admit nor apologize for mistakes; false, irrational, or even contradictory teachings; exclusivism; deception in recruitment (by using "front groups"); demands of total immersion in the religious mission or ideological cause at the expense of career, education, family, and friends; and more.
The role of former members in the controversy surrounding cults has been widely studied by social scientists. Former members in this context are those individuals who become public opponents against their former movement. The former members' motivations, the roles they play in the anti-cult movement, the validity of their testimony, and the kinds of narratives they construct, are controversial with some scholars who suspect that at least some of the narratives are strongly influenced by the exit-counseling (or formerly of the deprogramming) process, while other scholars conclude that testimonies of former members are at least as accurate as testimonies of current members.
See also Apostasy in new religious movements.
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Allegations made by scholars and skeptics
* False, irrational or even contradictory teaching, made by David C. Lane with regards to Paul Twitchell;
* False miracles performed or endorsed by the leadership, made by the skeptics Abraham Kovoor, H. Narasimhaiah, and Basava Premanand for a variety of gurus and fakirs;
* Discouraging regular medical care but instead relying on faith healing, made by the magazine salon.com with regards to Christian Science;
* Plagiarism, allegations made by David C. Lane;
* Incitement to anti-Semitism and other forms of hate, as documented in the writings of Dennis King;
* Child abuse, for example subjecting blindfolded children to many hours of meditation, as documented by Dr. David C. Lane with regards to Thakar Singh29; and
* Forced labour and confinement of members, made by Stephen A. Kent regarding Scientology 40.
Now not one word is mentioned in this article from Wikipedia regarding the LDS Church aka the Mormons aka The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the excepting paragraph about the Utah War.
It is very clear that the people who define the occult and cults do not now consider, nor have they considered the Mormons aka the LDS Church aka The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be a cult or an occult.
Many outside the mainstream religions are mentioned in this article, but the most recent outside the mainstream religious article or reference to the Mormons aka the LDS Church aka The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was in 1896 when Utah gained statehood.
So cult, occult. You decide. I am of the belief that it is no more a cult than any other Christian church attended on any given Sunday in the world. However the choice is up to you to choose for yourself and believe what you will.
I say the facts support the not a cult and not an occult position. What say you?
