You have to understand it in the context of when it was formed - the mid-1800ās.
The founder of the Mormon church, Joseph Smith, believed the native Americans were the lost tribe of Israel and that Jesus went to America some time between the resurrection and the ascension.
Joseph Smith wrote it all down in his Book of Mormon. Modern Mormons revere Smith as a prophet (like Moses, Samuel, et al) and consider his book to be Holy Scripture just iike the Bible.
The parody does a pretty good job explaining things from an atheist point of view, I found it pretty funny and liked the ending. The Wikipedia article is also nice, but it downplays the objections of orthodox Christians.
According to some orthodox Christians, Mormon belief in the Bible and about God and Jesus are so different that they are not Christian. According to their definitions of āChristianā, having beliefs that are too dissimilar means you donāt believe in the same Christ, which is ostensibly the reason to claim Mormons are not Christian.
However, this is an argument over details.and interpretation. I think the most accurate way to account for the differences is to say that Mormons are Christians, but not orthodox Christians. Catholics and Protestants should be grouped differently than Mormons, Jehovahs Witnesses, Christadelphians, and other groups with a different genesis (small āgā) and, not surprisingly, very different doctrines in some places.
They are as kind of like āsuper-christiansā. They have the 3rd bible, book or mormon as itās known. Oddly written in Jacobean English (odd because in 1800 no one, especially no one in NY spoke Jacobean English) With frequent mistakes over pronouns āye/thou/theeā. Of course, none of this would make a believer doubt the word of the lord.
Do you know where Mormons go when they die? Heaven? No donāt be absurdā¦thatās for those silly old fashioned christians! mormons go to 1 of 3 planets. Plant bronze, planet silver or planet goldā¦depending on how well they do at the olympā¦ermā¦at life. If youāre a good dude and you go gold, you can haul your mere bronze wifeās ass up to gold with you! Saddly, the reverse is not trueā¦who knew God was such a sexist?!
Mormons also pay 10% of their salary to the church (hence itās power) and wear special pants when they go to the ātempleā. Iām not sure what the pants look like though. mormons also believe that black people angered god and thus he punished them by blackening their skin. But then again, the also believe that native Americans are the lost tribe of Israel (a point that geneticists can readily contest) so I wouldnāt put too much stock by their opinions.
Tom Tomorrow called the Book of Mormon āChristian fan-fiction.ā
According to Mormon belief the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit are three different gods. So almost uniquely among Christians, they are not even trying to be monotheistic. Oh yeah, and at least two of these (Father and Son) are married. Plurally.
And yeahāLucifer and Jesus were brothers. I actually think that part is kind of cool. If I were writing Christian fan-fiction, Iād have Lucifer be the one who actually appeared before Mary and got her pregnant. And then appear to Jesus during the Temptation in the Wilderness and say (hiss) āNo, JesusāI am your fatherā¦ā
For those of you reading this thread and actually hoping to know whether or not Mormons are Christian or not, you should not take most posts here seriously. Several of those attempting to explain Mormon doctrine have gotten things wrong. Certainly some of it is right, but enough is wrong that youād want to check each and every fact before making any conclusions.
Actually, I have heard that some mormons, not sure which ones or how itās decided who does or doesnāt, wear those funny underware all the time. Theyāre like white long johns, Iāve heard, with the little flap for doing your business. The supposedly protect one from evil.
They also believe in 144000 saints. They take this number of saints from Bible scripture. They believe that thatās all of them ever. Itās a regular part of some services to ask if their are any of the 144000 in the congragation. Usually, of course, there are not. Sometimes, though, some guy stands up to be counted. Heās almost worshiped himself.
Letās see. I think I remember that Mormons think that Adam helped God and Jesus and Moses creat the universe, and that they feel greatful to Adam for commiting original sin because if he hadnāt, man kind would have missed out on so much!
To me, no, Moromonās are not Christians, though many Christians will call Mormonism a Christian Sect.
I know the witnesses have those 144000, too. Iām sure heās Mormon. Maybe heās confused, too. Heās non-practicing now, after all. He first left Taiwan to move to Utah to be in Mormon utopiaāthen found out that the guys there werenāt so legalistic after all. I mean, guys were drinking, dating, touching themselves when they couldnāt get girls to do it for themāthe whole shebang. He was pretty disillusioned.
There are some great critical sites out there, which Iām having trouble finding again. One of them used to reprint (and discuss philosophically) the six talks which the missionaries want to recite to you so much. The church made them take them downātheyāre copyrighted, and the church only wants you to hear it from missionaries. But the site itself had very good analysis. Iāll search and post it here if I find it.
Another site was full of stories from exmos (ex-Mormons) about their missionary days. Some uplifting, others scandalous.
And You-Tube is full of fun stuff, like the āAll About Mormonsā episode of South Park,
[quote]If I had the free time, Iād be right in with the mormons.
They must have some treasure/secret texts that need to be freed and sold to the highest bidder.[/quote]
Er, their big problem is that they DONāT have any treasure or secret texts. Somebody tried to forge some, but made the mistake of attempting to murder an expert who would have called shenanigans. That brought the FBI in. But the church had already paid the guy for several previously ādiscoveredā documents.
Iām fairly certain that this thread will develop into yet another invective-filled anti-religion spite fest. That is unfortunate, as the OP seemed to be asking a simple factual question. That question can be answered by a simple, objective look at any Mormon literature, or simply by looking at the formal name of the church.
I was a Mormon from birth to age 29. Served a mission, was a leader in my various organizations, learned the doctrine and culture well. I walked away, without bitterness or rancor, at the age of 29 because I realized that I no longer believed in many of the core tenets of the church. I have not been religious at all for the past 11 years, though I am spiritual enough to be classified somewhere between agnostic and new age.
I know the Mormon church from the inside. My ancestors are from Utah, and all joined early. I spent time with some of its top leaders, knew many local leaders. Steve Benson, the political cartoonist who was the grandson of the Mormon prophet Ezra Taft Benson, was my Sunday School teacher (Steve left the church around the same time I did). Nowadays, about half of my family members are in, about half are out. I can tell you that even though in my estimation many of the doctrines are flawed, there is no evil axis of power going on. The Mormon leadershipās teachings and directives may be founded on man-made writings, and you can certainly cherry-pick some weird ideas and practices (e.g. polygamy, which ended in the 19th century but is still a bit weird; African-Americans being unable to hold the priesthood until very late in the game; temple garments and their markings) but Mormon teachings are generally healthy and conducive to living a fulfilling life.
I think I have more reason to be anti-Mormon than most, but I see no logical reason for doing so. It would be like beating a friendly dog. Frankly, some of you who take every opportunity you can to slam Mormonism and Mormons are far more dogmatic than any Mormon I ever met. I seriously doubt that the most passionate of the Mormon haters have any real, objective experience with Mormonism. You really ought to focus your invective on something that might actually hurt you someday.