The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints corner

[Lord Gregorio he/him]

3 minutes ago, Matrim's Dice said:

They would be wrong  

While a technical definition is "a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object", the connotation it is always used in is "a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister".

So, yeah, definitely doesn't fit any major religions. And most small ones.

There ya go. I definitely don't think of any religions as cults. At first at least. There may be some downright evil 'cults' out there that call themselves religions, but The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a Christian religion (or should be considered so) as we believe in Jesus Christ.

[NameIess]

2 hours ago, EmulatonStromenkiin said:

I want to know what essential Christian Doctrines we are violating

As a Protestant Christian (not a very theologically studied one) what comes to mind is the belief in a gospel beyond that of the Bible, as @Morningtide said the belief that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are three separate beings, that God has a physical body. Jesus does, as he became fully human while remaining fully God, but God the Father, to my understanding, does not, and possibly your beliefs on salvation.

those are the big things that separate the CoJCoLDS from my denomination at least, not sure whether other denominations would stand on those things. I do think that most would disagree with the first one, however.

[InfiniteInsanity she/her]

But the essential Christian doctrine is belief and faith in Christ. Or it should be. There are things we disagree on sure but it the same with the rest of the christian churches. We shouldn't let little differences divide us. Instead the fact that we all believe in Christ should bring us together.

Edited January 26, 2023 by InfiniteInsanity

[Lord Gregorio he/him]

23 minutes ago, InfiniteInsanity said:

But the essential Christian doctrine is belief and faith in Christ. Or it should be. There are things we disagree on sure but it the same with the rest of the christian churches. We shouldn't let little differences divide us. Instead the fact that we all believe in Christ should bring us together.

Exactly.

[NameIess]

2 hours ago, InfiniteInsanity said:

But the essential Christian doctrine is belief and faith in Christ. Or it should be. There are things we disagree on sure but it the same with the rest of the christian churches. We shouldn't let little differences divide us. Instead the fact that we all believe in Christ should bring us together.

I don't think unity between CoJCoLDS and most other Christian denominations is possible, at least not without one or both sides compromising their beliefs.

[Shining Silhouette he/him]

2 hours ago, InfiniteInsanity said:

But the essential Christian doctrine is belief and faith in Christ. Or it should be. There are things we disagree on sure but it the same with the rest of the christian churches. We shouldn't let little differences divide us. Instead the fact that we all believe in Christ should bring us together.

A part of this is that Christianity doesn't literally mean "belief in christ", weirdly enough. It encompasses a wide variety of beliefs that have been held onto for centuries and foundational parts of the CoJCoLDS's restored gospel contradict a couple core beliefs of this Christianity. I don't necessarily agree with it, but I do understand.

But you're right, we do share important faith in Christ, and personally I feel we share many more beliefs than differences. 

8 minutes ago, UnfortunatelyNamed said:

I don't think unity between CoJCoLDS and most other Christian denominations is possible, at least not without one or both sides compromising their beliefs.

Well, maybe not unity, exactly.

But we can find solidarity in some of the beliefs we do share, like helping others and the belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ. We don't really have to have unity to have mutual respect for the other side's beliefs and virtues (not that I'm saying that's what you're saying). It's just cool to find things in common while still respecting the differences. 

Edited January 27, 2023 by Shining Silhouette

[NameIess]

12 minutes ago, Shining Silhouette said:

Well, maybe not unity, exactly.

But we can find solidarity in some of the beliefs we do share, like helping others and the belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ. We don't really have to have unity to have mutual respect for the other side's beliefs and virtues (not that I'm saying that's what you're saying). It's just cool to find things in common while still respecting the differences. 

We can have mutual respect, I agree.

[Shining Silhouette he/him]

Just now, UnfortunatelyNamed said:

We can have mutual respect, I agree.

I think that's important. We don't have to agree on anything at all, but respect helps civility, courtesy, and compassion

[Eran of Arcadia]

In practice the word "cult" inevitably means "any religion I, personally, don't like" and has been used to describe every religion that has ever existed as well as any kind of lack of religion you can imagine.

[Lord Gregorio he/him]

I'm pretty sure I totally agree with everything that's been said. . The definition for cult is a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object. But then it also says, a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.

I think people use it mainly as the second definition. I normally think of it as a group worshiping either something most agree is evil or where they worship like a mortal human or something. Idk. I'm glad most people here think we should respect each other though.

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

This is a good cult to be in. Now I’m in two!  

[Mat he/him]

I can requote myself if you want :eyes:

[Shining Silhouette he/him]

1 minute ago, Matrim's Dice said:

I can requote myself if you want :eyes:

I got you.

6 hours ago, Matrim's Dice said:

It’s not one though.

Not to burst the joke or anything, but it’s not.

[...]

While a technical definition is "a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object", the connotation it is always used in is "a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister".

So, yeah, definitely doesn't fit any major religions. And most small ones.

I get that it's just a joke, but labeling beliefs "strange or sinister" isn't really what we want to be doing here. I get that's probably not what was meant, but still

 

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

2 minutes ago, Shining Silhouette said:

I got you.

I get that it's just a joke, but labeling beliefs "strange or sinister" isn't really what we want to be doing here. I get that's probably not what was meant, but still

 

In my experience, cults can be fun. Like the chicken strip cult! The best part was the handshake XD 

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

The best cult ever is The Cult of the Salmon Meerkat!

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

Is it an onlinable thing? Can I be in?

[Mat he/him]

4 minutes ago, The Halcyon Girl said:

In my experience, cults can be fun. Like the chicken strip cult! The best part was the handshake XD 

There’s a difference between club group things and actual cults, and there’s a difference between cults and actual religions. I’d just be careful throwing around that term in places where it might be taken seriously, because there’s enough misinformation as it is.

Edit: Ah, being privy to inside jokes is just :chefskiss:

Edited January 27, 2023 by Matrim's Dice

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

1 minute ago, The Halcyon Girl said:

Is it an onlinable thing? Can I be in?

It's an SE thing =P

1 minute ago, Matrim's Dice said:

Edit: Ah, being privy to inside jokes is just :chef’s kiss:

Ed1t:

It makes you face crack from laughter, that's what

Edited January 27, 2023 by The Wandering Wizard

[Shining Silhouette he/him]

3 minutes ago, The Wandering Wizard said:

The best cult ever is The Cult of the Salmon Meerkat!

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

1 minute ago, Matrim's Dice said:

There’s a difference between club group things and actual cults, and there’s a difference between cults and actual religions. I’d just be careful throwing around that term in places where it might be taken seriously, because there’s enough misinformation as it is.

Edit: Ah, being privy to inside jokes is just :chef’s kiss:

Of course, of course. I may be incompetent, but I’m not illiterate. *cough cough completely*

Just now, The Wandering Wizard said:

It's an SE thing =P

My favorite—cults I can pretend to be in!

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

1 minute ago, The Halcyon Girl said:

My favorite—cults I can pretend to be in!

Join SE sometime, we'll be glad to murder induct you into the cult.

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

I don’t think I have time for SE… I have maybe an hour a night, more if I can wrangle it. Someday, maybe. *sighs sadly*

[Wittles he/him]

4 hours ago, The Wandering Wizard said:

Join SE sometime, we'll be glad to murder induct you into the cult.

what's SE?

I'd say my favorite cult I'm a part of is marching band. 

[The Wandering Wizard he/him]

6 hours ago, Witless of Shinovar said:

what's SE?

 

Sanderson Elimination. It's a subforum in roleplaying where people play online Mafia games. It is quite fun

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him]

So the church is a cult?

We did it boys.