Mormonism is the offspring of American evangelicalism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restorationism_(Christian_primitivism)
It’s the extreme of what happens when the private interpretation of scripture is taken to its logical extreme.
Welcome n00b
No, Mormonism is NOT Christianity...
Besides, Protestants (to whom your barb is aimed) didn't give up the idea of discussing Scripture in groups and praying together.
To a degree putting "interpretations down on paper" and then demanding they be used in every analysis as the only official answer is a bit extreme don't you think? Burning those who disagree at the stake is certainly beyond the pale.
The recognition that protestantism is the necessary predicate for the LDS, and that in fact LDS theology is not contradicted by protestant metaphysics is what made me a Catholic.
If universal apostasy were possible (if it did not contrasdict Christ’s promise), what’s the difference between 1500 years and 1800 years?
I've heard that song before.
It's amazing what one short sentence can tell you about a person's denominational affiliation.
Welcome n00b No, Mormonism is NOT Christianity... [Tennessee nana, post #12]
Well, I'm going to first give a shorter answer to this...but then wind this back onto a relevant topic: What Mitt Romney & other true-propagandized Mormons really think of Christianity.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints DOES NOT see itself as one Christian denomination among many, but rather as God's latter-day restoration of the fulness of Christian faith and practice. (Encyclopedia of Mormonism 1:270)
Lds "apostle" Bruce McConkie ("Brother Bruce") "affectionately" conveyed the following to all Christians in his 1979 version of "Mormon Doctrine":
"Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are not Protestants, and the Church itself is not a Protestant Church. The true Church is not a dead branch broken from a dead tree... (p. 610)
MORE on this idea of a "dead tree" in the next post.
Back in mid-Nov of last year, Trent Toone of the Lds-church owned Deseret News wrote a “hurl” projectile rag piece entitled: What caused Mitt's defeat? Projects look at key factors [Hurl Alert]
In the article Toone said: The paper...provided...background on...spiritual warfare waged by evangelicals against OTHER denominations that view themselves as Christian but are deemed cults...
In response, here's what I wrote then:
Boy...these Mormons can't seem to keep their story straight...here, they imply lumping themselves into a "denominational" structure under the banner of Christianity...yet the Encyclopedia of Mormonism claimed:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints DOES NOT see itself as one Christian denomination among many, but rather as God's latter-day restoration of the fulness of Christian faith and practice. (Encyclopedia of Mormonism 1:270)
Lds "apostle" Bruce McConkie ("Brother Bruce") "affectionately" conveyed the following to all Christians in his 1979 version of "Mormon Doctrine":
"Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are not Protestants, and the Church itself is not a Protestant Church. The true Church is not a dead branch broken from a dead tree... (p. 610)
I'd say among all the horrific and horrendous titles Mormon leaders have given of the worldwide historic Christian church for these past 180 years, I actually prefer this as the lone unoffensive title assigned to us by Mormons...for what is the cross but a "dead tree?"
I mean...consider the alternative titles given to us by Mormon leaders:
* The Abominable Whore of All the Earth Christian Church: Source: "abominable church...whore of all the earth" (2 Nephi 28:18, Book of Mormon);
* The Great Mother of Abominations Christian Church: Source: "that great church, the mother of abominations" (LDS "Scripture"—Doctrine & Covenants, 88:94).
* The Abominable Mother of Harlots Christian Church: Source: "...the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mothers of harlots..." (1 Nephi 13:34, Book of Mormon)
* The Mother of Harlots Great Abominable Christian Church of All the Earth (found, the devil): Source: "...the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil (1 Nephi 14:17, Book of Mormon)
* The Christian Church of the Devil [My, how almost "tame" and "plain" compared to the other Mormon doosies!] Source: "And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth. (1 Nephi 14:10, Book of Mormon)
Now those were just the options available from Joseph Smith...but boy, once he set loose Lds "prophets," "apostles," first counselors, and the, they really uncorked some titles upon Christianity:
* Nothing Less Than the Whore of Babylon Catholic and Protestant Branches: Source: "Both Catholics and Protestants are nothing less than the 'whore of Babylon' (Courtesy of Mitt Romney's great-great grandfather, Orson Pratt, an "apostle" within the Mormon church: The Seer, p. 255).
* Hatched in Hell Universal Christian Fellowship: Source: ..."a perfect pack of nonsense...the devil could not invest a better engine to spread his work" [than Christianity...Lds "apostle-turned-'prophet'" John Taylor, JoD, vol. 6, p. 167]
* The Christian Church of the Mormon Devil: Source: "...the Christian God is the Mormon's Devil..." (Brigham Young, JoD, Vol. 5, p. 331)
* Christian Mystery of Babylon the Great Mother of Harlot and Abominations of the Earth Church
and Lewd Daughter Protestant Church:
Source: 'The present Christian world exists and continues by division. The MYSTERY of Babylon the great, is mother of harlots and abominations of the earth, and it needs no prophetic vision, to unravel such mysteries. The old church is the mother, and the protestants are the lewd daughters (Lds "Apostle" John Taylor, Times and Seasons, Vol.6, No.1, p.811, Feb. 15, 1845...Taylor followed Brigham Young as "prophet" of the Lds church)
[You can text for your "fave" Lds leader title of Christians and their church @...!]
Hey, as long as y'all "nice" Mormons continue to call us by any of these labels w/a "smiley" face, we won't be offended...and we'll continue to think of you as "nice" Mormon neighbors :)
Back to McConkie's Church of the Dead Tree:
So: if you think any of these actual titles that your leaders have had for our church hurts the overall LDS "PR" image, I suggest you simply "tone it down."
Just follow Brother Bruce's lead and reference us as "The Evangelical Church of the Dead Tree."
"For the preaching of the cross [the dead tree] is to them that perish, foolishness; but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God." (1 Cor. 1:18)
"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross [the dead tree] of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Gal. 6:14)
Therefore, I am not ashamed to be associated with The Worldwide Church of the Dead Tree--for it is the gospel (the "good news"). The "good news" is not an elaborate "system" of every belief under the Mormon sun that a 12-year-old LDS "deacon" is supposed to know before he dies. It's not every law, commandment, ordinance, precept, etc. in the LDS "scriptures;" it is simple trusting in/knowing the true God and the true Jesus Christ (John 17:3).
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth [LDS note: It doesn't say to "everyone that worketh" or "everyone that obeyeth"]..." (Rom. 1:16)
Crazy is, as crazy does..........
I would say, rather, that it is taking to extreme the neglect/disdain of the Church fathers. The Reformer never did this, but modern Fundmentalists do. The Mormon claim about the Great Apostasy is quite like the Baptist claim of a “secret” Church that persisted during the thousand years before coming into the open again at the time of the Reformation. One can surmise, that this is where Smith got his notions from, that and the freemasonic ceremonies that his liturgies resemble. Even today, one suspects that beyond the public faith is a secret one, one known just to the select few. This may not be the case, but a more public stance would help dispel the rumors.