Often the mainstream changes channels leaving a small branch behind in the original.
I would respect them a lot more if their missionaries made it more clear they were distinct from [Pauline][Trinitarian] Christianity. I had a foreign friend who went to one of their churches for months and didn’t realise they weren’t typical followers of Christ
“Come for the fundamentalism; stay for the child-brides”. 
Here is a link to a Mormon website that contains their position about whether Mormons are Christians.
But there are several varieties of Mormons-the Mormon Chuch split apart in the 1850’s-there is the “Reformed” Church of Latter Day Saints-these folk reject the post Smith church (polygamy) totally.
The outfit headed up in Salt Lake City is seen as apostate and corrupt by these folks.
Real research by anthropologists has established that polygamy causes or aggravates all kinds of soial problems, ranging from violent crime to gender inequality to income inequality. Here’s a summary:
Let’s see:
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Mormons: I’ve known a bunch of them IRL. Liked practically all of them a great deal. More mixed experience with those I’ve encountered online.
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Mormon ‘history’: everything their scriptures say about what happened in the New World (and related events in the Old World) before 500 A.D. is bunk, of course.
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The wackiness of Mormon beliefs: depends on your baseline, I suppose. Using mainstream Christian beliefs as a baseline, they’re quite nutty. But comparing both LDS beliefs and mainstream Christian beliefs to a baseline of no religious beliefs at all, I agree that it’s a bit harder to say whose beliefs are wackier.
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Secret shit: this is a rather big point on which Mormons differ from the rest of Christendom. We kicked the Gnostics out back in the days of the early Church, and didn’t invite them back in. If you want to know about the ecclesiastical practices of any non-Mormon denomination, it’s all right out in the open. The same obviously cannot be said for the LDS.
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Converting other Christians: until you get out to the fringes, the attitude among non-Mormon Christians is, “why would you need to do that?” If an Episcopalian decides she prefers the Southern Baptist style of worship, or vice versa, they’re more than welcome in their new church home. But essentially nobody regards it as a conversion event, nor do any denominations send out missionaries to win people over from other denominations. (Even Roman Catholics, who are a bit more adamant about being the One True Church and all that, acknowledge that we Protestants don’t have to convert to Catholicism in order to go to heaven when we die.)
Mormons, of course, do try to convert other Christians, and that’s how they regard it.
- General thoughts: I don’t feel that God is calling me to give up coffee or alcohol, so I’m not at all interested in joining a faith or denomination that would expect me to give up either one, let alone both. So Mormon missionaries might as well put me on their “do not call” list. They are what they are, I am what I am, they’re not for me.
I think there’s a good argument for treating them as a separate faith, rather than a denomination of Christianity. I’ve made that argument in other places and other times; right now, I don’t really care enough to argue it again. Other people can and do make that argument now. I’ll just note that nobody’s making that argument about, say, Methodists.
I suspect some of what you see in polls and news coverage is an effort by the mainstream media to suppress GOP voter turnover. They hope/believe/have talked themselves into thinking that evangelicals won’t vote for Romney if they can stress how he is a Mormon.
Regards,
Shodan
I am a Christian, though not exactly mainstream now, I was raised Episcopalian and can give my thoughts on it. I was certainly raised with the notion that Mormonism isn’t really Christianity, that they were all duped into this big deception and went along with that for a while until I got older and met some Mormons. The funny thing is, of all the people I’ve met who I knew were Mormon, they were all exceptionally smart; in fact, the smartest person I ever met was Mormon. Also, of all of them, every single one has been among the nicest and most moral people I know.
Even as a Christian myself, I’m not so much concerned about what people actually believe. I’m happy to share my thoughts and beliefs with people, but its ultimately between them and God. I’m more concerned with how it affects people, and when I see good examples of moral, compassionate, friendly people, then that’s all that really matters.
So, as far as someone like Romney goes, I don’t really know how devout he is and how much of those characteristics he actually has, and I don’t really care.
While this is a belief for which there is little or no evidence, I’m not sure it qualifies as a religion.
Having rejected the Catholic church at an early age over the whole cannibalism thing, I still have to say that Mormonism is out-there loony.
If I look at the way Mormons live their lives, and teach their children, I have to say that it is probably extremely good for society. My only problem with it is that women seem to be really treated like work-horses rather than as full people and worthy souls. I woryr that the intellecual tallents of 51% of the population are being wasted.
I don’t really know enough about the religion to have a strong opinion on this, but my sense is that Mormons are more likely to correct the gender inequalities in their religion in the next 50 years than Catholics are. A lot of people criticise them specifically for the changes in teachings over the years. But from what I can see those changes have moved them along toward the more enlightened societal beliefs, and I think that mechanism for self-correction is an excellent trait in a religion. Catholicism supposedly has it as well, but one seldom sees it enacted.
Overall though, I have to agree that while I can certainly understand how it would be quite attractive to men especially, I wouldn’t want a Morman believer as a political leader. I just think the capacity for donning the intellectual blinders has to be too great. We need leaders with their eyes wide open, willing to face hard truths and unwilling to hide from difficult choices.
Thanks Dog Australian Scouts are not faith specific…
That is a good point. Most Christians when they talk about a conversion experience they are talking about an emotional experience where they were drawn more deeply into their current tradition, not leaving one for another. I have served on the governing boards of both the Presbyterian church I once belonged to and the Friends’ meeting I am a part of now. In both I have talked about the need to evangelize and the rich supply of the unchurched in the community. In neither church did anybody say, ‘‘The Methodists would be an easier target.’’ About 20 years ago my son brought home the book Reaching Secular People. It was not about converting Baptists. More recently I read the book Unchristian. It to was about reaching out to what I think it called outsiders. Very scary book. Where Secular said many people don’t have a clue about Christians, it said outsiders know Christians and the church and hate us for our Unchristian ways. (Fit anybody here?) We want converts? Start living like Christians. I am getting off topic here, but need to talk about I see Christians doing to bolster the claim Christians don’t try to convert other Christians. Yes, we do welcome members from other churches but it is considered bad form to pursue them.
The Boy Scouts of America aren’t supposed to be faith specific. Our troop isn’t.
In Utah it’s probably a whole different matter.
That is true. I think the requirements for the God and Country award include many faiths.
I think religions that tell you you can handle multiple wives and not drink are particularly absurd.
Wouldn’t that just mean that such voters would just vote for a different candidate, rather than no candidate?
religion is like a penis . its ok to have one, its ok to be proud of it, just don’t wave it in my face.
I think it’s unfair to equate polygamy with modern Mormonism. That’s like equating snake-handling with modern protestantism. Are there people who do that? Yes. Do they like to use part of our name? Yes. Are they part of this church? No.
Every religion has it’s fundamentalist sects, and some are really absurd to even the most faithful of the mainstream churches.
I was raised Russian Orthodox, but am Atheist in practice.
I’ve met lots of Mormons, and like most everybody else in the thread, they have been the nicest, most hardworking, pleasant, and surprisingly intelligent people I’ve encountered. From the perspective of the church, they are not Christians, something more like Jews… It was never really discussed though. Politically, I distrust anyone who allows religion to dominate their everyday lives to the point of irrationality, but if I had to choose to live near one of the Jesusy cults, I’d probably pick the Mormons for neighbors.
As to polygamy, do we have any information that the consensual practice in the first world is as damaging as in other less affluent and educated cultures?