字幕列表 影片播放 列印英文字幕 Well, let's talk about being a part of a cult now whether or not you believe that Mormons belong to a cult, when you tell them that they do it kind of comes across as a four-letter word and it makes it seem like you're just ruling off their beliefs without wanting to discuss what they are or anything like that so Mormons don't believe that they're part of a cult, and here's why. And I took some notes to make sure that I get everything down. If you compile all of the dictionary definitions together about what a cult is, it has has these particular elements in common and they are, and I'll list these: Relatively small group, excessive devotion to a person or idea, unethical techniques, controlled by threats and isolation, powerful group pressures, fear of consequences for leaving, abnormal dependency on the group, and strange beliefs. So let's look at all of these different elements that are part of the definition of being in a cult and see how Mormons fit into them. The first one: Relatively small group. Mormons actually have fourteen million members in a hundred and thirty two countries and in America there are more mormons and there are Presbyterians or even than there are Jews, so it's definitely not a relatively small group. Chances are you probably know a Mormon whether you know it or not. Okay, the next one is excessive devotion to a person or idea. Well, Mormons are very devoted and pride themselves on being devoted to the Savior and they want to follow Him and His teachings, so in that way, they are very devoted to a being, but in a way that they feel, or that we feel, would be acceptable to Him, so I guess you could weigh that one either way depending on how you look at it. The next is unethical techniques. I can't think of a single one. I've been a part of this church for a long time and and there just aren't unethical techniques because if you follow the Savior, then it rules out doing anything unethical. You should be ethical. Now, people in the church of course aren't perfect but we definitely strive for ethics, so I don't think that one qualifies. Uh, the next one is control by threats and by isolation, and this is another one where there just isn't any evidence. In fact, Mormons are taught to love everybody and to not isolate people. Uh... if anybody feels isolated by Mormons, then those Mormons are making mistakes and they don't understand what the LDS Church is about in that regard, so we are taught to love everybody. So if people are actually following Mormon doctrine, then they won't use any kind of control by threats or by isolation. The next is powerful group pressures. Um, I guess if you consider charity, love, and kindness to be and kindness to be powerful group pressures then... maybe they qualify, but I don't think that's what these dictionary definitions are referring to. The next is fear of consequences for leaving, and this is an interesting one because other than the eternal consequences that would follow uh... somebody who leaves the church, when that person is leaving the church, they don't believe in those eternal consequences anyway so it means nothing to them, and that's really the only consequence that happens when somebody leaves the LDS Church is that their names are removed from the record books of the church, and that's it. We are still taught to love people who leave the Church. We may not agree with everything that they do or say, but we're not supposed isolate them. We should love them and there really shouldn't be any fear of consequence for leaving, other than the eternal ones which that person wouldn't believe in anyway, so tah dah! The next one is abnormal dependency on the group, and the LDS Church actually teaches the opposite. Self-reliance and independence are very important in LDS Church teachings which is why education and emergency preparedness and avoiding addiction and staying out of debt are common subjects that are discussed through the LDS Church and our leaders. And then the final one is strange beliefs. Uh... I guess we're busted there. We do believe in the Book of Mormon, we believe in angels, but we also believe that Moses parted the Red Sea and that Christ walked on water and all of the miracles that happened in the New Testament times so maybe were not the only one ones on this Earth with strange beliefs. And finally, when you think of a member of a cult, you probably don't think of somebody who is down to earth and can function in normal society with no issues, and this is how Mormons tend to live their lives. A lot of people I know, and the most down-to-earth people I know are members of the LDS Church. And, I mean, c'mon, if you think about the Mormons you know, do they really seem like somebody who would mindlessly follow a leader off a cliff into boiling hot lava? No.
B1 中級 美國腔 摩爾門教徒的信仰。邪教 (What Mormons Believe: Cult) 50 1 Pedroli Li 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日 更多分享 分享 收藏 回報 影片單字