The Mormon PR Machine at Work

The Mormon PR machine is really cranking it out these days.  After the recent Huckabee/Romney dust-up over Mormon doctrine (doesn't Mormonism teach that Jesus and Satan were spirit brothers?), Fox News put a series of questions to LDS church officials about Mormon doctrine.  Planet Kolob . . .  The deity of Jesus. . .  Does God really have a body?  Temple marriage. . .  Temple garments . . .  The whole nine yards.

In answering these questions, LDS officials evaded, dodged, and obfuscated.  Read it for yourself.  Click here: FOXNews.com - 21 Questions Answered About Mormon Faith - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

Rob Bowman goes through these 21 questions and Mormon "answers" point by point with a helpful commentary.  Click here: Parchment and Pen » Straight Answers to Fox’s 21 Questions about the Mormon Church

Despite all LDS protests to the contrary, the Mormon Church is a heretical sect.  Far and away, the best book I have read on the topic is Richard Ostling's Mormon America. Click here: Amazon.com: Mormon America: The Power and the Promise: Books: Richard Ostling,Joan K. Ostling

Comments

[Zrim]

Dodging seems about right when faced with a religious bigotry that frames you in as being no different from whacko fringe groups with descriptors like "cult." It's one thing to unreservedly reject utterly false religion, another to over-realize the case by way of ham-fisted slander. Sorry, Walter Martin, but if PBS's "Jonestown" shows anything it's that your day has come and gone...

[Greg]

I cannot say I am surprised at the lack of frank answers by the Mormon church. But I have a question. Why wouldn't they in this day of post-modernism and philosophical tolerance just say what they believe?

[Zrim]

Greg,

Funny how it takes a false religion to show how the concept of "religious tolerance" in western Christendom is deeply flawed. When you are after cultural clout in a culture that really makes no distinction between church and state despite whatever popular truisms (read: silent theocracy) and is decidely non-Mormon about it, forthrightness probably shouldn't be expected.

Their problem is they are just as Evangelical as those Evangelicals who call them a cult, inasmuch as they want cultural clout. Well, that and a few other things(!). This is all very similar to how Evangelicals spit and curse about Roman Catholics but don't understand they have more in common they either would want to admit...and not the right things.

[Kim Riddlebarger]

Zrim:

While I agree with you that evangelicals don't understand the two kingdom model, the issue here is that the LDS church has masqueraded as a "Christian" church from its inception. Based upon its doctrine, it is a heretical sect. Do its members have a right to the public square? Absolutely. In fact, Romney did better on this than Huckabee, when he stated no official of the LDS church will ever dictate his presidential policies.

I do think you have missed the point about LDS doctrine however--it is not "evangelical" in any historic sense of the term. They do teach that Jesus is Lucifer's spirit-brother, and they still agree with Joseph Smith's line "as man is, God once was, and as God is, man may become."

I haven't seen the PBS document to which you refer, but as for me, I really miss Walter Martin who had the courage to call these false religions out for claiming to be "Christian." As Rod Rosenbladt says of Walter, he wasn't a great theologian, but "like Tertullian, he always had a full head of steam."

[Alberto]

Thank you Dr. Riddlebarger for responding. I am truly amazed at the things some people post. I am no supporter of Huckabee, but I wonder whether his very being a Southern Baptist would guarantee that the SBC would not yield authority over his decisions as president. I don't intend to insult Southern Baptist, but I do know some people and congregations don't walk hand-in-hand with their leadership on things like female ordination. Please don't be offended if you are a Baptist, I am a credo-baptist myself looking for a good Calvinistic and Baptist church in Los Angeles.

[Alberto]

I forgot to mention something else. I am glad you have brought this up Dr. Riddlebarger. I am so tired of people, especially political conservatives on the radio like Hugh Hewitt, defending Mormonism as a Christian religion. People are being fed lies in order to present Romney as a more acceptable candidate to voters. And while this is done, we Christians who critically analyze Mormonism are being portrayed as intolerant and mean-spirited people, and this when done even outside the context of politics. Americans, including many political pundits, lack the ability to comprehend that we don't hate Mormons. But I guess you can get the impression that Christians hate Mormons when a man refuses to shake hands with Romney; this is simply embarrassing.

[David]

Mitt Romney and Mormonism

http://ressourcement.blogspot.com/2007/12/mitt-romney-and-mormonism.html

[Alma]

I don't think Christians in general are considered to be intolerant or mean spirited because they criticize Mormonism. Many people (myself included) believe that the discussion in the venue of a political campaign is what makes it intolerant. I think Romney feels that there are plenty of avenues to criticize his faith, but his campaign isn't one of them.

Should Huckabee or other Protestant candidates be asked to explain their positions on the filioque, grace or total depravity? Those discussions in a political arena are like speaking in tongues--the general populace ends up thinking every one involved is mad.

Mormons recognize that they're perceived as heretics and many are more than willing to address those perceptions--but not in the political arena. As a Mormon, I voted for Jimmy Carter and didn't think his ideas on salvation ever entered into his governing policies. Would a Mormon's or a Deist's views on terrorism or taxes be any more problematic?

[Alberto]

It seems that Mormon beliefs are an acceptable issue within political discussions at this time. I remember being more persuaded of this when I heard a professor from Biola mention how Mormons attempt to enter positions of pover, like the CIA and the government, due to their beliefs, particulary their end time beliefs. Also, I think Romney is closely associated with the LDS leadership, and he may have even held a certain position or positions within the LDS. Also, the presentation of his faith, like in his religion speech, seems to be an example of deceiptfulness. Check out aomin.org to find out why.

[Robin]

"As a Mormon, I voted for Jimmy Carter and didn't think his ideas on salvation ever entered into his governing policies. Would a Mormon's or a Deist's views on terrorism or taxes be any more problematic?" Alma

Of course Jimmy's views about salvation wouldn't apply to national policy. They were Biblical.

At the core, the Mormon religion desires power.

[Zrim]

Kim,

When I say they are "Evangelical" I don't mean "evangelical" the way you and I do (read: strictly the solas); for that matter, most Evangelicals are not really any more evangelical than Rome. My point really was about how Mormons generally ape Evangelicals in many ways, and specifically in the quest for cultural clout. Evangelicals have so re-defined the very term itself beyond the sola's it seems to also includes something closer to a theology of glory over the Cross.

If I wasn't clear when I used the term "false religion" to decribe a thing like Mormonism I am not sure what else I could say, besides "cult," but then I'd be contradicting my larger point. But confessional Reformed orthodoxy needs no extra help from loaded and supremely unhelpful language to make the point about what is true and what is false.

That help at all, Alberto?

Zrim

[Chris Sherman]

This all reminds me, somewhat, of what I read about when Roman Catholic JFK ran for president.

If I were Romney, I wouldn't ride in any open convertibles, at least not in Texas.


The Mormons can call themselves "Christian" of course, but they follow a different Christ.

[max]

"But confessional Reformed orthodoxy needs no extra help from loaded and supremely unhelpful language to make the point about what is true and what is false."- zrim

It sure worked for Luther!

[Zrim]

Max,

When I tell my Evangelical family and friends they "stand in as much need of evangelizing" as the Roman Catholics and Mormons they easily disparage I get called a Fundamentalist. I like to think I quite understand "hard talk." I am not so sure my hard talk is as much Fundamentalist as it is confessionalist. But my guess is that the use of the F-word is intended to more slur my hard talk, because, as we all know, this age is supposed to emphasize the invisible church so we can all sing koombaya (not).

In other words, I don't like being called a Fundie anymore than Mitt likes to be called a cultist...and we both have good reason for it.

Zrim

[Zrim]

For those who ostensibly make no distinction between “cult” and “false religion,” what would you say to not using the former? I mean, if “it doesn’t matter,” which is what one hears all the time, then why get so worked up over the plea to dump “cult”?

Also, are the same ones who make such a fuss over the word “alone” the same ones who honestly say there is no appreciable difference between Jonestown and your local Mormon church? If good confessional Protestantism and “exacting Calvinism” is about anything it seems to be about making needful distinctions where most would scoff. Along these lines, and speaking of Luther, Max, I think he wrote “one little word shall fell him.”

[Joe]

I suspect that the idea of promoting the "gospel" in the Mormon mind is one of recruiting church members, just as the JW's do. I have always been amazed at those who seem to have the most to hide, are the ones least willing to answer questions about their faith. It's pretty easy to see, however, the side stepping and one line answers that are prevalent in cult groups' responses to inquiry.

The neutral ground for their doctrine comes from the Book of Morman, which only they accept and only they understand. It is at best the most anti-intellectual basis of apologetics of any religious group. I believe that any group which has as its foundation, a book of writings by a single individual, which cannot be verified or endorsed by any other writing, gives one pause as either to their authenticity, or reliability as a firm basis for a belief system.

[plw]

Just a quick funny note here. In the 70's when I lived in southern Calif. the newspaper did an article on this organization and the title was 'The LSD Church'.......... As we saw it, they wern't to far off!!

[gil]

Gee Zrim! My little tongue in cheek comment about Luther seems to have struck a nerve. If Luther had no problem telling the folks who asked what God was doing before the creation of the world "he was building hell for the likes of you!" I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind referring to a Mormon as a cultist. In fact, "cultist" would probably be the nicest term I would expect from the good st. martin.

It's strange to me Zrim that you're so quick to rush in to defend the Mormons yet you reserve your harshest (and it gets pretty harsh at time) criticism for evangelical Christians. Come out of the cage Zrim!

[gil]

fyi - gil is max

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