Mormons. A cult or religion?

Yes, I am a "Mormon." Now, I do not belong to the Church of Mormon. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. What does that mean?

When Jesus was on the earth, He organized His church and told his apostles to call it the Church of Jesus Christ. For if it was name after Moses, it would be Moses's church, etc. After Jesus and all of His apostles were killed the church became disorganized. Many tried to continue in the Faith and have done a wonderful job holding it together, but it is not the same organization that was established by Christ. In these "latter days" Christ has appeared, has called a prophet and has re-organized His church as it was in ancient times. And, once again, has commanded that it be called after His name, for it is His church.

So, why then, do people call us Mormons?

Mormon was a prophet who lived on the American continent about 200 years after the birth of Christ. He was called by God to collect the records and testimonies of Christ that had been kept by those people over the previous 800 years. Because of the work he did on this record, we call it The Book of Mormon. It contains the prophesies and revelations of a righteous branch of the House of Israel who had been broken off and led away. It records Christ's visitation to the inhabitants of the America's after His death and resurrection.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) believe the Bible to be the word of God; we study both the Old Testament and the New Testament. We also study and believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

Just as unbelievers in ancient days called those who believed in Christ, Christians, the name stuck and has become a term of endearment to those believers; so has the term Mormon stuck to those of us who believe the Book of Mormon to be a Testament of Jesus Christ.

Do you get the feeling our beliefs center around Jesus Christ? They do!

We believe Jesus Christ to be the only begotten Son of God. He lived a perfect life so that he could atone for us. He suffered in Gethsemane, died on the cross, and was resurrected all so that I could repent and return to my Father in Heaven (and you too!). He is my Savior, and Redeemer and I love Him more than I can express. I am not perfect, but I strive to live my life in a manner pleasing to Him.

I don't watch a lot of TV, but who hasn't heard about some religious leader or another accusing the LDS faith of being a cult and, more offensive to me, being not Christian.

I wanted to ramble about the definition of the word, cult*. The number one definition in any dictionary I looked in says it just means religion. It's true. By definition, every religion is a cult. However, cult also has a negative connotation as being unorthodox and no one likes their religion to be referred to as a cult. Neither do I. Every Christian faith has it's differences from every other one. That's why there are so many. Is there any such thing as "orthodox" when it comes to comparing different denominations? We are different, but we strive to live as any other true Christian would. So why do so many try to apply a term to us that they wouldn't apply to any other Christian Church?

As for not being Christian, well, I've already expressed my conviction and love for my Savior. I just felt like rambling about how silly it is that people get so upset about the word cult. Cult means religion. My religion teaches me about Christ and how to be a good person and how to care for my family. So why is it so often the topic of negative conversation among those who have no idea who we are or what we believe? If you would like to know what "Mormons" believe, ask a "Mormon." I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have. Or you can visit Mormon.org to see what we really believe, not what others think we believe.

*My religion does not define the word cult for me. I thought about the term and how it gets tossed around like leaves in the wind. I wondered if people are using the word correctly. I looked it up in a public, online, dictionary. I talked about it with others who often disagreed with me. My definition and opinion of the word cult do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of the LDS Church or other members of the church or members of any other church. We are encouraged to think for ourselves; to study and learn all that we can. These are my random ramblings and my testimony of Jesus Christ. No one else can claim them or blame them on someone else.