Is Mormonism a Cult?
"Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24).
Recently, since one candidate who aspires to be president is a Mormon, the question arose, about whether or not Mormonism is a cult. This article does not take a position either for or against the man himself but simply seeks to answer the question. Historically, Mormonism has been classified as a cult. Many people react negatively to such a statement possibly because they are thinking of the Jim Jones' People's Temple cult who drank the Kool-Aid in Guyana or the Branch Davidians who were wiped out near Waco, Texas. If they have any Mormon friends, they do not see that kind of cultic behavior and thus conclude that such a charge is false. Some also listen to or watch Glenn Beck, who is a Mormon, and they hear no evidence of a cult in what he says, either. (Some of us wish he would devote half as much energy into investigating Joseph Smith as he has Woodrow Wilson.)
In the February 26, 2006 issue of Spiritual Perspectives, this same subject was dealt with—with respect to churches of Christ. Below are the same definitions of a cult that were used then from Josh McDowell and Don Stewart in their book Handbook of Today's Religions.
Characteristics of a Cult
1. A cult is a perversion, a distortion of biblical Christianity and/or a rejection of the historic teachings of the Christian Church (17).
2. …cults justify their existence by claiming they have something more than just the Bible and its "inadequate message" (20).
3. Some cults make no claim to new truth or extra-biblical revelation, but believe that they alone have the key to interpreting the mysteries in the Bible (20).
4. …a sure mark of a cult is that the final authority on spiritual matters rests on something other than the plain teaching of the Holy Scripture (21).
5. One characteristic that is found in all cults is false teaching about the person of Jesus Christ in the light of historical biblical Christianity (21). All cults ultimately deny the fact that Jesus Christ is God the Son, second Person of the Holy Trinity, and mankind's only hope (24).
6. Characteristic of many cultic groups is a frontal attack on orthodox Christianity. They argue that the church has departed from the true faith (22).
7. A feature of some cultic groups is that they say one thing publicly but internally believe something totally different (22).
8. Another characteristic of all non-Christian cults is either an inadequate view or outright denial of the Holy Trinity (23).
9. Cult doctrines are continually in a state of flux and have no sure foundation on which to anchor their hope. Adherents of a particular cult will learn a doctrine only to find that doctrine later changed or contradicted by further revelation (23).
10. Cults are characterized by central figures who consider themselves messengers of God with unique access to the Almighty. …he can dictate the theology and behavior of the cult (24).
11. Another feature of the cults is they often promulgate false prophecy. Cult leaders, who believe they have been divinely called by God, have made bold predictions of future events, supposedly revealed by the inspiration of God. …these predictions of future events do not come to pass (24-25).
12. One teaching that is totally absent from all the cults is the gospel of the grace of God. No one is taught in the cults that he can be saved from eternal damnation by simply placing his faith in Jesus Christ. It is always belief in Jesus Christ and 'do this' or 'follow that.' All cults attach something to the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. It might be baptism, obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel, or something else, but it is never taught that faith in Christ alone will save anyone (24).
Similar to the above definitions are: "What Are Some Characteristics of a Cult?" from Carol Giambalvo's Cult Information and Recovery website (carol2180@aol.com). She lists most of the preceding characteristics and a few additional ones (all emphasis is mine):
1. Authoritarian in their power structure
2. Totalitarian in their control
3. Deceptive in recruiting and/or fundraising
4. Exclusive and innovative in appearance
5. Dependent on others in the group
6. Led by a charismatic, self-appointed leader
7. Maintained by a fear of leaving the group
8. Skilled in thought reform techniques
9. Isolated physically or psychologically from society
10. Zealous in controlling the flow of information; many use mind-altering techniques (such as chanting, meditation, hypnosis, and other forms of repetitive actions) "to stop normal critical thinking."
Now that the definitions have been set forth, does Mormonism qualify? Looking at the first list, number one does because Mormonism does distort the fundamental teachings of the Bible. The deeper into their doctrines one becomes, the worse it gets, theologically. A few examples will suffice here, but many could be set forth. In Nauvoo, Illinois, Joseph Smith, the founding "prophet" of Mormonism, preached the following in a sermon:
We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and will take away and do away with the vail so that you may see. God himself, the Father of us all dwelt on earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did…. (Journal of Discourses 6:3).
And you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves (Journal of Discourses 6:4).
When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives with him… He is our father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do (1:50).
These doctrines certainly contradict mainstream Christianity, not to mention the first chapter of Genesis. Anyone who has ever talked to a Mormon knows that McDowell and Stewart's second principle applies to Mormonism. They have something more than the Bible—another covenant which renders just the Bible inadequate. In their case they do boast of additional revelations, thus contradicting 2 Peter 1:3.
The fourth point is also applicable. If there is any dispute on doctrine, the revelations of the Mormon Church are the final authority—not the Scriptures. When one of our brethren at South Seminole asked two Mormons why they called themselves "elders," when neither was married or had children, they were confused at first but came back later with an answer: "We got a new revelation that it was all right for us not to meet the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3." All anyone needs to do to set aside the Scriptures, therefore, is to have a new revelation from God. Thus, He is always changing His mind on what He previously revealed, which, if true, would throw everyone into chaos, since what is true today might be false tomorrow.
The fifth principle also applies, since Jesus is not part of the eternal Godhead (they teach) but one of several gods. Furthermore, Brigham Young said that, when "the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father had begotten Him in His own likeness. He was NOT begotten by the Holy Ghost" (Journal of Discourses 1:50). The Mormons not only argue that the true church departed from the faith (#6); they advocate that it took Joseph Smith in 1830 to set everyone right. The Mormons do believe things privately that are not made known publicly (#7). How many of them have mentioned the doctrines of Adam and God or of the virgin birth recorded above? No, those are reserved for only Mormon consumption.
Do Mormons deny the Trinity? They would not do so publicly, but the quotes provided above certainly show that their view is not the same as others. Surely, the example of the rationale for calling unmarried youngsters "elders" shows that their doctrines are always in a state of flux (#9). They are always contradicting what the Scriptures teach as well. At the beginning, Joseph Smith was the central figure (#10), but the president of the Mormon Church now enjoys that role. Concerning false prophecies, Joseph Smith made many that have fallen flat.
Smith made several prophecies about Independence, Missouri, being the future home—even the so-called "lost ten tribes" would gather there. All of those failed. He stated several times that the second coming of the Lord was at hand, but all of those failed. He eventually pinpointed a date—that He would come in 56 years (1891). (Anyone reading this article knows that the latest prophecy—not from a Mormon—for the world ending on October 21 failed as well.) If a prophet fails even once, he is not from God (Deut. 18:20-22). Smith had dozens that failed.
The twelfth point is itself false if the authors seek to dismiss obedience to the gospel as taught in the New Testament (Acts 2:38) and argue "faith only" instead. But it is the case that most cults do stress works that are not defined in the Bible as obedience (Heb. 5:9).
The Ten Points
Almost every religious group is authoritarian—the Catholic Church, most denominations with their synods and councils, but the Mormon Church keeps a tight rein on what their people believe. One might say they are totalitarian. Their only deception in their "recruiting" is that they hide their most bizarre doctrines until after people are already hooked. Mormons are not particularly exclusive (#4), but almost all groups emphasize fellowship, which might be construed as dependence on others in the group.
The sixth precept clearly applies to Mormonism. Joseph Smith, the founder of the religion, must have been charismatic in order to have more than 50 wives. He championed monogamy in the Book of Mormon but then had a "revelation" that contradicted that one, and, voila, polygamy was suddenly acceptable. How a man would convince even two women to marry him is almost incomprehensible—let alone 54 (or however many it was). As for "self-appointed," no one else called for him to be a "prophet." He did it on his own and is still regarded as a great modern prophet—despite all of his failed prophecies.
The seventh principle is probably not as much in evidence today, but it was in the early days of Mormonism. Arthur Conan Doyle's, A Study in Scarlet, highlights some of the early situations in the Mormon Church; The Twenty-Seventh Wife by Irving Wallace describes how Anna Eliza Young had to escape in order to preserve her life. The early history of the Mormon Church is one of intimidation, threats, and even violence. The young girls and women often felt imprisoned.
The eighth and ninth principles are probably more applicable to the modern cults, although early on, it would be fair to apply the ninth one to the Mormons. The tenth one is still true. The Mormon hierarchy decides what information the adherents will have, as well as what is contained in it. The way they stop critical thinking is by appealing to Joseph Smith and the current president and apostles. They—not the Bible—are correct and the voice of authority. Someone might protest, "But when the Mormons come to the door, they always insist that they follow the Bible." Of course, they say that, but they do not really mean it. Below is a simple thing to do with them.
1. Ask if they believe the Bible. They will say yes.
2. Ask them if they also believe the Book of Mormon. They will reply that they do.
3. Ask them what they do when the Book of Mormon contradicts the Bible. They will affirm that there are no contradictions.
4. Ask them to read 2 Peter 1:3. Ask them what "all things" means? Can God have left anything out? They will start to get nervous. Affirm that the Bible teaches that we have everything we need that pertains to life and godliness.
5. Now point out that the Book of Mormon contradicts this verse. The following verses are from 2 Nephi 29:
And because my words shall hiss forth—many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible (verse 3).
"Thou, fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible and we need no more Bible… (verse 6a).
Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye to suppose that I have not caused more to be written (verse 10).
6. Now, the Bible teaches that it is complete, but the Book of Mormon says that it is not complete and that we are fools for believing otherwise. Whose word will the Mormons take—the inspired apostle Peter—or Joseph Smith? The answer is Joseph Smith.
7. They said there was no contradiction between the two—the Bible and the Book of Mormon, but there is. They choose to believe a man who said he was a prophet instead of Jesus and His true apostles.
Mormonism was a cult at its very inception (1830). It was a cult in 1938 when J. K. Van Baalen included it in his book, The Chaos of the Cults. It was a cult in 1981 when brethren Warren and Elkins included it in the Spiritual Sword lectureship book, Some Modern Cults, Sects, Movements And World Religions. It remains a cult, and it is built around the writings of Joseph Smith, its founder. Smith is one of the first things that Mormons discuss when they go to people's houses. The fact that Mormons are family-oriented and present themselves well does not negate their beliefs and the grievous errors to which they subscribe. The entire cult is founded upon a man who was a fraud—who used religion to exalt himself and multiply wives for his own satisfaction. The sincerity of the cult's adherents cannot negate the truth.