Every now and then, the question of whether Mormons can be considered Christians pops up. If you ask them, they’ll just point to the name they have given themselves: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“See? It says it right there.”
Well, yes, but lots of the names people take are deceiving. The German Democratic Republic was neither democratic nor a republic but instead a client dictatorship under Soviet control.
First Things has waded into the debate, and of course the Catholic Church made its opinion known back in 2001. The Church document is not a long read, and I had to chuckle at the author explaining that the Church took so long to look into it because they figured it was just another of those American Protestant sects that multiplied in the 19th Century. I’m reminded of Thulsa Doom leading what was assumed to be “just another snake cult” in Conan the Barbarian.
Anyhow, given the legion of flaws and defects with Mormon beliefs, one has to wonder: why did Joseph Smith, Jr. go so far? As we have seen, heresy is no obstacle to building a thriving religious empire. Indeed, it’s a sound business move. Smith, of course, went much, much farther than putting a new gloss on old heresy – he set himself up as a Biblical prophet, and in the process declared all “creedal” (which is to say Nicene Creed) Christianity false. Talk about a bold strategy! It’s one thing to slag on the Catholic Church – indeed creating your own church requires it – but dumping on everyone from the Episcopalians to Evangelicals is breathtaking. Smith’s theology (expanded upon by his successors) has provided the one belief system this side of witchcraft and Islam that can make Baptists line up with Catholics.
I’ve not made a detailed study of Smith’s life, though I am aware of the broad trajectory and it’s clear that much of his inspiration came from contemporary cultural elements along with a healthy helping of Freemasonry.
From a game theory/psychological perspective, I think the development and subsequent (relative) success of Mormonism comes down to the fact that in order to succeed a new cult requires extraordinary claims, not just a mild refinement of existing stock.
They might present themselves that way, and may even start out meaning to go no further, but just as with L. Ron Hubbard’s bizarre sci-fi “final form” for Scientology, I think (as Tolkien might put it), Mormonism grew in the telling. Based on the accounts of ex-Mormons, the volume of information (and its incredible details) likely overwhelming. For the “creedal” Christians, one has the Bible (of varying lengths) and then supplemental texts providing instruction and interpretation. One of the many things I love about the Church is that it can be as deep as you want to be. Merely going to Mass gives you access to Bible reading, reflections on them, and if you want to dig deeper, there is an ocean of material to swim through.
The Mormons have their custom-translated Bible (translated from good English into bad with embellishments) as well as the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price and then Doctrines and Covenants plus various writings and musings by the president-prophets, who have the power to (for example) reverse the condemnation pertaining to dark-skinned people and redefine which beverages it is licit to consume.
There is also the phenomenal unity and degree of engagement, which keeps one busy. The beehive is the Mormon mascot for a reason. On the surface, it’s a happy, friendly and kind bunch that does everything together. Indeed, watching the back and forth, I see a lot of Mormon apologists use that as argument for the validity of their theology – it must be true because we’re happy and doing well. Well sure, but lots of societies produced happy people doing well that were founded on paganism or Islam or Confucianism. Prosperity can fall on good and evil alike.
If one combines the gloss of Jesus Christ (and not troubling too much over the nature of God or Christology) with a chummy environment and lots of social activity, why bother over some of the founders’ flaws or lose sleep over the denial of Original Sin? The Masonic elements doubtless feel historic and authentic, and the whole Great Apostasy thing is basically an easy way to handwave away 1,800 years of history without explaining the mechanism by which it happened. Protestant salvation history pales by comparison.
And that leads me to the most cultish part of Mormonism, which is the idea that faith can happily stand in opposition to reason. Indeed, faith in defiance of reason and evidence is a good thing.
It’s the exact opposite of how I came to faith, and perhaps that’s why I find it so fascinating.
Chateau Lloyd 
Leave a comment