How can people say that Mormons are a secret society?

How can they say it? Like this: "Mormons are a secret society."

Come now dear even the African Americans weren't allowed into the temple to do their temple work, without this how were they suppose to get to heaven? Prey-tell?

You misinterpret Jesus telling his disaples or those he healed not to tell anyone, you forget the Jewish Saducess and other leaders in the Jewish church at that time wanted him dead, if people told that Jesus was in town before he finished his ministry, he would have died on the cross sooner.

The point is there is no record of handshakes or special cloths that Jesus teaches his disaples in the temple, no record anywhere in the bible. Yes your D & C talks about eternal marriage, but the BofM does not talk about secret handshakes and special temple cloths...from what I can remember and Jesus had disaples supposedly in the US.

there is rather no reason to associate the gadianton robbers with the knight templars (assuming of course that that's @all "real")...they have been divided by centuries to boot as continents. the BoM 'secret mixtures' take place in connection with the jaredites, then disappear. reappear some years only before the appearance of the Savior interior the hot worldwide, and then disappear for 2 hundred years+ and then reappear to play a place interior the only stunning denouement of the nephites. they compose the main adverse conflicts of the BoM (specially the gadianton robbers). a million. not unavoidably. a individual would be in contact with or perhaps found diverse companies with diverse involvements and agendas. 2. not unavoidably. oaths and covenants should not be perplexed with symbolic representations whilst the meanings assigned to symbols are open to those utilising them. 3. not unavoidably. together as a hassle-free enemy would make allies it would not mandate it, nor does it exchange the backside of id. 4. back nope. you would be heavily achieving to declare those. edit: in basic terms non-LDS declare that the LDS plan to "take over the worldwide". the LDS particularly do not and by no potential have. (LDS 40 3 years)

Mormon_4, if Jesus taught His disciples "secret" things and commanded them not to tell anyone...why are they included in the Bible for everyone to read? I think you may have misinterpreted Jesus' intent...or His disciples did.

People say that Mormonism is a secret society because there are many Mormon teachings that outsiders are not told. That is the definition of a secret society.

EDIT: Ah, that explains it. You are using a different definition of "secret society" than everyone else is.

When people are left with a lack of proof, its natural to insert their own ideas. Your fault. But for the most part, we don't really much care that your ceremonies are only for mormons. Keep them if they give you some sort of "special" religion charge. Why don't you ever get that?

Every person besides mormons realize Jesus was never an inclusive kinda guy. HE did everything out in the open, for all to see, which glorified GOD. The whole purpose of this thing called life. He didn't die for some yahoo whirling their arms around thinking it means something, while playing dress-up in wearing crazy costumes to make them feel a false sense of superiority (only they won't admit that, not even to themselves). You don't want to exclude anyone?---BUT, by the church's very nature, it does. Jesus never did. So people naturally tend to gravitate to HIM. Face the facts.

Come on. Who's kidding who here, M-4. Please. You wasted 10 points.... on this?? Sheesh. I'd have thought much better of you. Seriously.

The opposite of a secret society is on open society. Can you explain why parents are excluded from their children's weddings if they don't pay tithing to LDS Inc? Those weddings are held in secret.

Secret doesn't mean nefarious. You can do good or bad in secret. It's still secret if people who should be there are excluded.

And I can't see Jesus approving of secret marriage ceremonies where parents and children are excluded because they don't pay up.

You bombarded me with emails and acknowledged that the temple does not allow even mormons in unless they have been accepted for it!

What are you protecting?!

oh the magic garment.... the talks about your private life with the elders. it seems full of little gimmicks .. no disrespect intended... the entire "misplaced" solid gold tablets... you don't put that out there... looking into a hat improves mr smiths memory... I'm sorry but it seems full of little bits of nonsense.

just sayin'

They may not be as secret as they used to be, but they are sneaky. For example, why do Mormons still insist that they are Christians? They don't believe what Christians beliefs, but use the same lingo and that makes them SNEAKY.

Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) beliefs are so different and contradictory to Christian beliefs that they cannot be classified as Christians. The belief that Jesus existed (or someone named Jesus) does not make you a Christian. I’m going to focus my answer on Mormon beliefs that are so different from Christian beliefs that they cannot rationally be considered Christians.

Mormons believe that God was once mortal just as we are.

Mormons, believe that God and his wife first existed as mortals on a different earth, overseen by a different god. This mortal couple died, received resurrected bodies, and eventually achieved godhood. They then procreated the millions of spirit children that are on this earth. Thus God is part of an eternal chain of gods populating different worlds. Mormons believe that they too can become a God.

Source: (History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 305)

Mormons believe that Jesus is the literal first born son of god.

They believe that we are all the sons and daughters of god because we were spirit babies created by god having sex with goddesses. To Mormons, what makes Jesus special is that he was the first born spirit baby who rose to the status of godhood just as the Mormons believe they can do. Mormons believe that Jesus was the only son that was created (sent to earth) by god coming to earth in a physical body and having a physical sex with Mary.

Source: (Improvement Era, vol. 19, pp. 941-942, June 30, 1916)

Mormons believe that men, gods, angels and devils are all the same species. Thus both Jesus and Lucifer are literally our elder brothers. Men are viewed as being the same species as God and Jesus and they have the same potential to achieve godhood.

Source: “Journal of Discourses, vol. 13, pp. 235-256, February 20, 1870”

As mentioned above Mormons believe that god literally sired Jesus in the same physical sense that any other man begets a child. Consequently "the virgin birth" is redefined for Mormons to mean Mary had physical intercourse with a god, not a mortal, in order to literally conceive the baby Jesus.

Source: “Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 4, pp. 1670-1671” OR Google “Mormon Doctrine, by Bruce McConkie, p. 742”

Conclusion: Considering the above, I don’t understand why Mormons insist on calling themselves Christians, it’s obvious to see that their god is different from ours and their Jesus is different than ours.

Just because you call your Mom “Mom” as I call mine doesn’t make my Mom your Mom…Just because you call your god “God” doesn’t make him my God who was never mortal and never created. Just because you call someone in your religion Jesus, doesn’t make him the Jesus that Christians follow who was never mortal and never created.

Any organision that has secret handshakes and meetings behind closed doors is a secret society. And any secret society has no reason for being on the earth.