Could the LDS Church be considered a type of secret society?

This is probably a simplistic topic, but I ant to put it out there. The LDS (Mormon) Church has several elements which are "secret" and members only. Examples include: marrage ceremonies, endowment rituals, blessing the dead, ect. ect., so ould this then make them a type of secret society?

In a way yes. The main purpose is to make the "Mormons" feel superior to other humans in such a way that it controls the "Mormons" without the "Mormons" even realizing they are being controlled. So they live their life in denial and in believing that they are superior and will be blessed by living "righteously". So they pay their tithing and believe that when they die they will be taken to one of the kingdoms after resurrection. Which makes them feel superior to others. It gives them hope that they will have a purpose in this life and in the next.

It all boils down to control, power, and money. It's too bad so many lives are affected by this "secret society". It really is a sad thing.

Originally posted by ladarl
In a way yes. The main purpose is to make the "Mormons" feel superior to other humans in such a way that it controls the "Mormons" without the "Mormons" even realizing they are being controlled. So they live their life in denial and in believing that they are superior and will be blessed by living "righteously". So they pay their tithing and believe that when they die they will be taken to one of the kingdoms after resurrection. Which makes them feel superior to others. It gives them hope that they will have a purpose in this life and in the next.

It all boils down to control, power, and money. It's too bad so many lives are affected by this "secret society". It really is a sad thing.

The really sad thing is that even after 150 years in existence that people read an anti-mormon website and they think they are experts on the Mormon faith. Equally sad is the ignorance that still exists out there about Mormons.
Mormons are regular people just like yourself and everyone else on this board. They work hard to make a living, they try to raise their families successfully in an increasingly evil world and they try to practice their religion to the best of their ability.
There is nothing "superior" in the way mormons think of themselves or anyone else.

I loved how you said that it is all about money, control and power. When have you EVER seen the mormon church exert power over others? I can leave tommorrow if I wanted to. I am an adult and can make decisions on my own. I choose to be a member of the mormon church because I believe its true.
It is true that the mormon church has alot of money, but when have they EVER used the money for other than righteous purposes? The general authorities are not driving around in Mercedes with bling blings and they don't use church money for anything other than helping others and administration of church affairs.

That's fine if you don't believe it's true, but at least get educated before you try to pass your opinion off as fact.

Originally posted by bigred1000
This is probably a simplistic topic, but I ant to put it out there. The LDS (Mormon) Church has several elements which are "secret" and members only. Examples include: marrage ceremonies, endowment rituals, blessing the dead, ect. ect., so ould this then make them a type of secret society?

Secret isn't a good way to describe it. Sacred is a better word. We believe that things done in the Temple are the most sacred that can be done between God and man on earth. We don't believe in casting pearls before swine, to borrow a passage out of the New Testament. I know it might be hard for some to understand, but it is what it is.

Think of the most sacred thing that means something very special to you that you have been asked to keep to yourself. Would you betray the trust placed in you and parade this sacred thing on your shoulder for the world to see?

There is nothing secret about Temples. We invite you and anyone else to come join us in the temple, provided you meet certain requirements first. Look for a new Temple being built somewhere in the United States and then find out when the open house is. Take a road trip and you can go inside and see what all the fuss is about.

And when we become "worthy" enough to enter and if we're lucky, marry, then we can make the "SACRED" oath to each other.

What is the sacred oath again? Oh yeah, it's TOP Secret cause it's sacred right? LOL. Why is such a sacred thing so wrong? Wrong by promising you will allow yourself to be murdered if you disobey your "sacred" commitments to your spouse and God. Shhh...it's too "sacred" to talk about.

How is this sacred? It's really sad to see people live such a misleading life. Mormons don't even know it's happening to them. Yes, this church has a large amount of money with money they have power to control the masses for more money and power. It a never ending cycle, similar to other religions.

You may want to read this thread:


Is this True about Mormons?

Originally posted by ladarl
And when we become "worthy" enough to enter and if we're lucky, marry, then we can make the "SACRED" oath to each other.

What is the sacred oath again? Oh yeah, it's TOP Secret cause it's sacred right? LOL. Why is such a sacred thing so wrong? Wrong by promising you will allow yourself to be murdered if you disobey your "sacred" commitments to your spouse and God. Shhh...it's too "sacred" to talk about.

How is this sacred? It's really sad to see people live such a misleading life. Mormons don't even know it's happening to them. Yes, this church has a large amount of money with money they have power to control the masses for more money and power. It a never ending cycle, similar to other religions.

There is nothing top secret about it, genious. It is something we have be asked not to talk about. If you work in a classified environment and trust has been placed in you to keep something to yourself, are you the kind of moron that would parade your knowlege before the world and betray the trust placed in you? Sure sounds like it and that is pretty sad.

There is no talk nor reference to murder at all in the Temple.

I know exactly what is happening to me and I am where I am by my own free will and choice.

Please give me just ONE example of how the church has a lust for more money and more money and how they use it for worldly gain. Just ONE example will do. We believe that our church is the same church that Jesus Christ himself organized while he was on the earth and it has been restored in the latter-days to prepare the earth for the second coming of the Saviour. We believe that all money that the church has actually belongs to God which means we treat it as sacred. We don't waste the money. Leaders in the church are NOT paid even one penny for their service. So I fail to see why they would even want more money if they aren't using it for their personal gain.

I am not a Mormon, but it disheartens me when I see them getting picked on. Mormons do deserve a bit more fairness. While it is true that the Mormons do things that are silly or bizarre, all religions do silly and bizarre things. Moromon sillyness is just more apparrent because it is newer, unlike Catholic, Jewish, or Muslim sillyness which is centuries old.

As far as Mormons being secret, all religions have elements of secrecy. For example, Judaism has the kaballah, arcane knowledge only certain people are privy to. Christianity has many monastic orders that are quasi-secret. The Roman Catholic church has Opus dei.

Byubronco, you may want to read this article:

"Even the prophet likes bling. He's into building a huge Conference Center that cost as much as the Belagio Hotel/Casino in Vegas. He's into building brightly lit temples in highly visible areas. The buildings may be tacky but who can miss the San Diego temple on I-5? It looks like it belongs in Vegas. In a way, the Mormon church is like a boring casino. Lots of gimmicks used to get you in and they try and keep you there until you're broke."

This site has more than just ONE example as you put it earlier.

www.mormoncurtain.com...

Open your eyes.

By the way, have you been married in the temple? Until you are married you won't have to make the blood oath punishable by death(murder) in the temple. Though you may have been to the temple numerous times, until you have been married, you will not hear of this blood oath. They don't want to scare you away. They want you to keep paying your tithe....all 10% of it, LOL.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is definitely not a secret society. The messages and doctrines of Jesus Christ are given to anyone who is willing to believe in him and Heavenly Father.

Ladarl, why are you so upset with the LDS Church? If you actually sat down with an LDS member you would probably enjoy the conversation and get a new best friend.

There is no such thing as a blood oath so I can honestly say that what you are claiming is nothing more than a hitpiece put on the internet by disgruntled folks who receive satisfaction in demonizing others.

My suggestion to you would be to do an honest investigation. Visit a local ward and watch the sacrament meeting and attend the classes afterwards. If you have more questions regarding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I would suggest you schedule an appointment with a pair of Elders.

I don't know about it being a secret society but according to my mormon wife I am headed for outer darkness. Her mother will live in the highest heaven and can visit her father in a lower heaven but he can't visit her and can actually have a second husband. Go figure. I told her it was a bunch of male bovine manure. However, I considered converting when I found out I could become a god and in my universe I could free my creation from having to believe in mormonism. Ha ha ha ha.

One of my very good friends back in the day was an LDS. Smartest guy i ever knew... could sell a ice maker to an eskimo...

Could never understand why he followed such a weak factually religion... think most of it had to do with him being born into it.

Many Mormons are successful at what they do. (Disclaimer: Yes I know this is a generalization, yes this makes me a racist/sexist/ -ist pig, and yes there are exceptions to this rule.) I am not inclined to say this is because there is some vast Mormon conspiracy to unfairly promote Mormons to the top of their trades, but because of a culture of discipline the Church instills in its members.

The Mormon Church thrives because ot the tithes it gets off its members, and it knows the better off financially its members are, the greater the tithes it gets. To give the Mormon Church credit, they know it is in everyone's best interest if their members think and behave like forward thinking, successful people. To accomplish their goals, theyinstill values of success in their members by requiring them to learn important life skills. For example, young members of the church are required to join groups like the Boy Scouts and apply themselves in school. This leads to more Mormons going on to become leaders in business and society, which in turn means greater tithes and influence for the Church.

A secret society? Nope. A zealot-machine religious sect that will commit modern murder to keep it's bizzarre religion "sacred"? Absolutely.

Mormon Forgery Murders

1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre

I personally believe the Mormon faith, which is swelling at alarming speed, shows unprecedented signs of cult-activity for a religion of it's size.

You can leave whenever you want, byubronco, with no ramifications? I guess Martha Beck isn't as lucky as you are.

Finally, at the core of the religion, you have joseph smith. Sounds like a pretty stable guy, right? It's mind-boggling to me what some people can accept as fact simply to sate their own need to belong and believe. To each their own, I suppose. Just don't bother knocking on my door.

First of all:
-Any belief system is a good thing.
-Nothing wrong with any belief system until they start calling names.
-Secrecy is usually used to cover up an activity that is not permitted or socially acceptable.

Wow. I was going to start in on this. But it looks like you guys have this one covered. I do however have a problem with this particular passage which I believe has been taken out of context:

Secret isn't a good way to describe it. Sacred is a better word. We believe that things done in the Temple are the most sacred that can be done between God and man on earth. We don't believe in casting pearls before swine, to borrow a passage out of the New Testament. I know it might be hard for some to understand, but it is what it is.

A little history on myself:
Ok. Now I live in Utah. My father was a Mormon missionary. My mother is Catholic. And, I am Catholic. I attended both churches until the age of seven when my parents asked me to decide which I would prefer. I rather liked this approach as I was able to "choose" which I preferred. The hard part was I chose Catholic and had to live a life of exile "Or so it seemed" after that as a child at least on a social level. I was no longer invited to functions, or at least not as much. And "us" non-mormons seemed to be grouped aside from the "regular" kids. Anyway, I have since grown up and have many friends who are mormon and they accept me for who I am and the positive actions I take in my life. I only get excited on issues when people start believing one group of people is better than another. Or "Swine" for that matter. I do believe that Quote from the New testament was taken out of context. Especially since Catholics as well as many other Christian religions were using the bible long before the book of Mormon was published. So, It is odd to use qoutes from a book that precedented one's religion to target and name outsiders as "swine". Especially when other religions were using the book long before the aforementioned religion came to pass. Or so it seems to myself. Forgive me if I have misunderstood the way "swine" was referred to. I hope I am in fact wrong and over-reactive.
I really do hate talking about religion and politics, some arguments are never meant to be won. Only discussed.
Just for the record I am glad to live in SLC, UT and think Mormons are great people. I just have problems with ANY form of name-calling if that is what in fact has been manifested by the use of this qoute out-of-context. If not, I do apologize.

[edit on 29-5-2007 by theutahbigfoothunter]

I really don't buy into the Whole " Beware the evil Mormons " idea.

I know the LDS religion is guilty of setting up non-Mormons to be killed by Native Americans. And I'm sure they have done other unsavory things. But I just don't see them as great force of evil in the land.

Like any type of organization that has been around for any period of time, there is bound to be skeletons in the closet.

Interesting that after all these years, the "punishable by death" clause is still remembered. Once upon a time, in the "old" temple ceremony, members used to swear that they would die rather than not keep the promises they were making. The entire temple ceremony was "revamped" in the 90s, removing this line and others like it. (see www.lds-mormon.com/compare.shtml">)

Line likes "The execution of the Penalty is represented by placing the thumb under the left ear, the palm of the hand down, and by drawing the thumb quickly across the throat to the right ear, and dropping the hand to the side" have been completely removed from the ceremony. Mormons are asked to say "I will never reveal the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood, with its accompanying name, and sign." but the following has been removed "and penalty. Rather than do so, I would suffer my life to be taken."

Entire sections of the endowment ceremony have been removed or rewritten. So, yes, once upon a time, Mormons did swear a blood oath, but not any more.

Thank you Crissxk for your comment.

Something for the Mormons to think about. If the Mormon religion were the only true church, then why would God(the never changing) God change the marriage ceremony? Something is to be the most sacred. God would have known that this blood oath scared so many members that it should have never existed, yet it did. The Mormon religion is an ever changing structure when faced with real life influence.

I never stated I was angry with the Mormon people, as they cannot see how controlled they truly are. I don't fault those that I love because they are Mormon. It does sadden me to see so many people live life chained and prisoned by this religion. I just hope the Mormon's reading this will open their eyes to what the facts are and think for themselves.

Im from Utah, the most mormon rampant place on Earth, and though my opinion of them is not a fond one, the mormons are far from being a "secret society" some of their practices are strange, but by no means are they trying to rule the world. Many people have ridiculous false notions about them. Mormons are regular people just like me or you.

Im from Utah, the most mormon rampant place on Earth, and though my opinion of them is not a fond one, the mormons are far from being a "secret society" some of their practices are strange, but by no means are they trying to rule the world. Many people have ridiculous false notions about them. Mormons are regular people just like me or you.