WORLDVIEW ANALYSIS
MORMONISM
BENNIE W. BAKER
APOL 500
September 30, 2012
Table of Contents Introduction 2 Summary 2 Critique 3 Conclusion 6 Bibliography 8
Introduction
Mormonism is a multilayered religious organization with many faces. The words “multilayered” and “organization” are carefully chosen as they represent the bulk of what we will discuss as we seek to unveil the true essence of the Mormon world as they see it. We will summarize this organization and in so doing we will discover that it was built on human fallacy and deception from its inception. We will then follow with a critical look the claims, doctrines, and documents that frame their beliefs.
Summary
Mormonism is one of the fastest and
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I’m not surprised since Biblical knowledge is so lacking in our country. Alarming stats found on barna.org reveal that while 84% of Americans believe that the Bible is sacred, 43% believe that it shares the same spiritual truths as does the Koran and the Book of Mormon, and only 26% believe that it’s the actual word of God.
Taking these stats into consideration you shouldn’t be surprised that so many have fallen for the lies of Joseph Smith. On the surface this religion looks Christian if you don’t look too hard. Even on the outer layer you should question why we can find the ruins of the ancient Aztec’s but can’t find any sign of the presence of Jesus on our continent as claimed by this church. There’s been no archeological validation of a single geographic reference found in the Mormon scriptures. One of the most obvious absurdities is right there on the surface. Joseph claims that he was blessed with a visit from the Father and Son while he was praying to find out which church was true, which he should join. As quoted above, he was told to join none of them because they’re “…all wrong…all their creeds are an abomination…those professors are all corrupt.” Yet this church is spending billions to appear to be as one of the very churches that its founder said that God condemned and forbade him from joining.
This research will address the self-proclaimed prophet of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, a sect of Mormonism based in Utah, Warren Jeffs and his cult of fear. Warren Jeffs had control over ten thousands of followers for nearly a decade. Warren Jeffs coerced young girls into polygamous marriages with older men. Jeffs is estimated to have over 70 wives. The media was shunned, and he created a hidden community where polygamy was prized above anything else. In 2007, after there was a two year FBI manhunt, Jeffs was convicted as an accomplice to rape. Warren Jeff's rise to power effort led to his fallout. Even after his conviction his followers believed that he was innocent and held onto his beliefs and practices.
The Utopian society of Mormon’s believed that the legacy, authority, and influence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for their perfect world, stems from the highest “reality” that the Church 's beginning was celestial: in other words, the Mormon history is not that of man 's reorganization but of God 's re-establishment of the truth within their perfect Utopian society. Thus, a restoration of the original church of Jesus Christ and the apostles was vital; improvement alone, was not enough. The Mormon members and followers believe that many truths had been lost over history and over time when the power to act in God’s name was taken from the earth. They believed it went with the executions of the apostles. The followers of this movement and community believe that restoration was and is still crucial as a prelude to the second coming of Christ. Today the church has a worldwide community of approximately 15 million members and faithful followers (Utopia and Dystopia).
With the advancements in the study of social sciences, there has been a somewhat parallel growth of cults which though have their foundations in the original Bible and the Christian teachings, yet one may observe that the majority of the present day cults not only deny the essential doctrines, they openly emphasize and present their own personal reinterpretations of the biblical scriptures. The following paper will present two such cases, those of Christian Science and the Mormons, and strive to present some of the comparative elements, their beliefs, customs, religious ceremonies and leadership aspects.
Would you like to worship self? Would you like to believe in a God that is almost exactly like humanity? Would you like to be your own savior one day? Then Mormonism is the religion for you! Through the study of Mormonism, I was able to see some stark contrasts with other major world religions. After observing the Mormon beliefs about God, humankind, and creation, I was able to see a related pattern of heretical statements that clearly contradict the doctrinal teachings of the Christian church.
The story of its creation and Joseph Smith is an example myth. The history of the religion is mythic, Mormons believe that the hebrew societies of the Lamanites and Nephites lived in North America(Lamanites). The Lamanites rejected the teachings of the gospel until the birth of Jesus Christ, however, two hundred years after Christ visited North America the two factions became wicked and the Nephites wiped out the Lamanites in war(Lamanites). The angel Moroni is believed to be the last Nephite, he wrote the plates of Mormon in the hopes someone would find them and preach Nephite values(Moroni, Son of Mormon). The faith is heavily influenced by
With 14 million followers, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a very interesting religion for many different reasons. Mormons, as they are commonly known, have an interesting origin, different traditions, and a fascinating founder. Mormonism is the term used for describing the practice and beliefs of followers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The core belief is that a prophet named Joseph Smith restored doctrines of the church to earth. Smith became the founder of what is now considered The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and widely followed. One of the ideas most central to the Mormons is their love for Jesus Christ, the savior. That idea is stated very well when Joseph Smith said, “The fundamental
Growing up I was raised in the Mormon religion as was a large majority of the people I grew up
First of all, we must explore the origin of Mormonism. In 1820, a 14 year old boy named, Joseph Smith, Jr., had a vision of what he thought was the
The typical Mormon lifestyle today consists of attending Sunday services of worship and Sunday School at a local ward made up of around 200-400 members. Belonging to the church community, Mormons grow closer together in order to help one another. Explaining why many Mormon families are generally larger in size, Mormons place a large emphasis on family life and believe both the family and society benefit from church communities. Praying together as a family, as well as many other at home practices are performed to create a family bond. Many Mormons educate themselves on genealogical research in order to save deceased non-Mormon relatives through baptism. In following the revelation given to Joseph Smith, Mormons follow a dietary restriction
The religious group known as the Mormons cannot be investigated very long until the name Joseph Smith rises to the surface and is seen as one held in high regard. In order for one to examine the doctrines, practices, and views of the Mormon faith one must become acquainted with Joseph Smith, and who he is, who he claimed to be, and how the Mormon views him as it relates to his or her faith. However, just who is Joseph Smith? Who is Joseph Smith as it relates to the Mormon? We will examine who Joseph Smith is, his early childhood and religious affiliation, his founding the religion of the Mormons, how the Mormon views him, and how Joseph Smith and the views his followers hold of him contradicts the Bible.
Mormonism fits the definition of a religion because they cover all the “bases” in terms of what it needs to have to be considered a religion. The black and white definition for religion is “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power” If you apply Mormonism to that it already fits the definition because they don’t just believe in one superhuman being or in this case a God, they believe in multiple ones. But it goes way beyond just a simple definition, Mormonism also helps people deal with their mortality by offering the promise of an afterlife, it also allows opportunities for healing and companionship along with it also explaining where we came
Mormons are well known for the missionaries that come door to door to proselyte non-believers, this is done in efforts to share the love of God and the mercy for His people. They want to unify the community in God because they are commanded to by their scripture and they believe this with better sustain society spiritually. I have known many Mormons in my life and while I never converted to Mormonism I do believe that their strong conviction to the family principals would definitely benefit society. We as a secular community have stayed from our traditions not only in faith & religion but with our funeral traditions that are dying out with cremation, “green burial”, and water resonation become increasingly more popular. Mormons place their traditions very high in the Mormon life.
The LDS (Later Day Saints) religion is a large religion and it is growing with every day that passes by based on my research they have missionaries that our out in almost all countries teaching people about the LDS religion and converting people.
The Latter-day Saint faith, or Mormonism, is a fairly new religion. In fact, it only dates back to the early 1800s, making it a “new religious movement”. Mormonism was founded by a man named Joseph Smith. This religion teaches that beginning in 1820, Smith began to receive visions and prophecies from god himself. These revelations continued to come Smith. In fact, an angel by the name of Moroni, came to him and told him of ancient golden stones that contained God’s written word. Smith later found these stones and translated them into what is now the Book of Mormon. As Smith recruited followers and began preaching about his accounts, the Mormon faith was born.
Inevitably, some key similarities which the LDS and Orthodox Christianity share is the Holy Bible and the God of the Bible. Next, we view salvation in light of what transpired over 2000 years ago, with the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We share the same belief in a form of a triune deity. Next, we can agree with the LDS church that Jesus was the Old Testament Jehovah who became incarnate in the form of a man, Jesus Christ. Next, we agree on the doctrine of sin and the fall of grace from a divine relationship with God. Finally, to a certain extent we can also agree on many aspects of soteriology.