That are not really true.
I stumbled across this list of “Top 10 Most Weird Mormon Beliefs – Shocking Revelations” a few days ago on the Atheist Adam blog. As I am a Mormon I thought I would see just exactly what was so shocking. I have been participating in religious dialogue and debate online since I was in High School. I have come across all kinds of claims about what Mormons “believe”. So I am not unaccustomed to seeing outrageous claims about what I believe. This time it was no different, I was not surprised. The supposed “beliefs” were all either blown out of proportion/taken out of context, or just plain false. Here are few of the “shocking revelations”:
10. The earth is 7,000 years old. There is no official statement by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints about the age of the earth, but many Mormons (and many Christians of some sects) believe that the age of the earth is on the order of thousands of years rather than billions calculated by widely accepted scientific methods.I love how they introduce this one, “Here is the weird belief, but it isn’t really an official belief. But I bet a lot of them believe in it!”. Like the article says, there is no official doctrine about the age of the Earth. The Church is also neutral on the issue of evolution. Members may make up their own minds on issues like this. I accept evolution along with many other Mormons I know personally. I fail to see how letting people make up their own mind is a “weird belief”.
9. Mars and Venus have dry rivers. The dry rivers on Mars and Venus were the source of the flowing rivers on earth. The theory is that the dry rivers on Mars and Venus \”match\” the rivers on Earth and that proves that all three planets were organized from the same source.
8. Dinosaur bones come from other planets. LDS Church Institute instructors teach that fossilized dinosaur bones are from creatures that lived on other worlds that were destroyed in the creation of the earth.Ok, I will admit it, they got me on these two. By that I mean I have no fracking clue where they came from! I thought I had seen all of the off the wall, ridiculous, and blatantly false claims of what we, Mormons, believed. Seriously, I may have to shake this authors hand for coming up with some supposed beliefs held by Mormons that I have yet to come across. At least the guy is not lacking in the imagination department.
4. Also on the subject of Native Americans, the preface to the Book of Mormon from 1981 indicates that descendents of Lehi are a \”remnant of the House of Israel\” and were ancestors to American Indians. However, the DNA of Native Americans indicates an Asian origin.This is one of the claims that is taken out of context and out of proportion. It is true that LDS believe that a group of Israelites came to the Americas before the time of Christ and that they interbred among the local population, hence the reference to ancestors. But it is not official that they were the primary ancestors and the majority of LDS scholars believe they were not. The issue of DNA is one that has been debated a lot. There have been numerous responses to the claims that DNA evidence proves the Book of Mormon wrong. Going into any kind of detail here would take way too much time but anyone interested in reading more about it can look here, DNA and the Book of Mormon.
2. Mormons believe that after the resurrection, Jesus visited America and there he performed miracles and taught.Well, he actually got something right. We do believe this. Unfortunately, I fail to see what is so weird about it when looked at from a religious point of view. The only way I think someone could find it strange is from an atheist point of view where all religion is viewed as strange.
1. Kolub is a star mentioned in the Book of Abraham as being closest to the throne of God. The Book of Abraham is canonized by the LDS church, Mormon fundamentalist organizations, and other LDS sects. Kolub inspired \”Kobol\” in Mormon Glen A. Larson\’s Battlestar Galactica universe.First of all, it is “Kolob”, not “Kolub”. If you are going to publish of list of “supposed weird beliefs” some group holds, at least get your spelling right! Oh well, at least he got the Battlestar Galactica reference correct. Now to put this belief in context, usually Kolob is twisted to make the claim “Mormons believe God lives on a planet called Kolob”. Too bad Kolob is not referenced as a planet, but a star.
"Kolob" is the name given to the star closest to the throne of God in Abra. 3:3. It is introduced in an effort to teach Abraham that there is a hierarchy in all things. There are many stars, and one star is "closest" to God. In a similar way, there are many intelligences, or moral agents, some greater than others. The greatest of these is God.From: http://en.fairmormon.org/Kolob
Thus, "Kolob" is introduced in a rather peripheral way in an effort to teach about the supremacy of God:
Howbeit that he made the greater star; as, also, if there be two spirits, and one shall be more intelligent than the other...And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all. (Abra. 3:18-19, italics added)In an effort to make the Church look bizarre, many critics mock the idea of "God living on the planet Kolob." This is false as God does not live on Kolob. Kolob plays no real role in LDS doctrine or discourse. The only other mention comes from a 19th century hymn, which uses Kolob in its first line to describe the glorious life of those who return to God:[1]
It seems the person who posted this got the entire article from another website as this same post has turned up in Google at multiple sites all linking back to the same location, a site called The Secrets of Mormons. I assume who ever took the article and reposted it on the blog I found did so because of confirmation bias. If you wish to criticize a set of religious beliefs, this is the worst way to go about it. One look at the source site, The Secrets of Mormons, should have been the first clue that the information is most likely faulty. The site reads like a bad infomercial. Nearly every other line is in a different font size, random sections are bolded and underlined while others are in random colors, even the cliché “But Wait! There’s Even More…” phrase appears.
If you want a good laugh, go check out that site. If you want to know what we, Mormons, actually do believe then just ask us. If you fall for the scam of The Secrets of Mormons, then not only will you be out 37 dollars, but you will be laughed out of the room the first time you confront a Mormon about their “weird beliefs”.
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I am a mormon also. Thanks for the awesome website.
ReplyDeleteJoseph Felding Smith in his three book series "the Doctrines of Salvation" observes that one possiblity for dinosaurs was that they could have come from donated pieces of other worlds who wanted to participate in the building(creation)of this world because this is the world that the savior would be born on. Another theory is that they(dinosaur bones) are planted by satan to decieve the children of men. I personnally believe that they (dinosaurs)were merely part of the vast preparatory sequence for terraforming the earth in preparation for being inhabited by man in his fallen state. I do not believe in evolution, period. Didn't happen that way. I do believe the earth is very old and that systematic preperations took place, animals and fauna were placed here in sequence to accomplished certain nessesary functions to bring the earth to the point of being a habitable globe for God's children.I do not believe it was 7 days (7000 years)of God's time in creation, but that it was seven creative epochs of creation during which a barren and lifeless earth became a suitable abode for men.
ReplyDeleteI notice that you skipped number 7. "Mormon scripture teaches that Cain, who killed his brother Abel, was so evil that God \”cursed\” him with black skin, thus creating the African race. In a related belief, though the LDS church has deemed any worthy male to be part of the priesthood, black males were not recognized in this capacity until 1978." Is this one untrue as well. I ask because I truly do not know.
ReplyDeleteIt's true. I am no longer Mormon, and I view all religions as having "weird" beliefs, so I'm not saying that LDS are any less valid than any other religious group. That being said, one of the reasons I left the church was because of the "mark of Cain".
Deletewasn't the seed of Cain destroyed in the flood?
DeleteThat is true. But it is not just Mormons that believe that. I have been to several churches of several denominations. Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Jehovah's witnesses, etc. Every denomination referenced the mark of Cain at some point. They justify it because it says it in the Bible. Just another bogus story made up to go with the rest of the bogus stories, for the purpose of keeping the white man in power, and all of those deemed inferior in check.
DeleteAre they really lies? I grew up a Mormon and was taught every single one of these. These teachings have become very uncomfortable for modern Mormons, so they have become downplayed or treated as fiction. I will just address one for brevity. The Mormons have long believed that the native Americans and populations of the countries from Mexico south were descendants from the Lamanites. Where did these teachings come from? Joseph Smith. He claimed that the American Indians were a remnant of the Lamanites and that as they learned the true gospel their skin would return to its original whiteness. I served a mission in Chile where many members had been taught that they were descendants of the Lamanites. This stuff is not made up. Go read the history of your own church. It just might surprise you.
ReplyDeleteIndeed!
DeleteI am shocked & bewildered at what the LDS Church teaches NOW, that varies widely in some big ways from a) things that I was taught AS DOCTRINE when I was growing up as a devout Mormon, in a very devout Mormon family (such as the doctrine that all perfected, heterosexual, Temple-married couples who reach the Celestial Kingdom WILL become Gods & the [plural] wives will become Goddesses Who have their OWN planets--which seems to be disavowed NOW [well--two things about that are now publicly disavowed; the idea that each exalted person will become God/Goddes of his/her own planet with his/her spouse[s] AND the idea that plural marriage is a CELESTIAL LAW--which WILL be restored on EARTH after the Second Coming of Christ, as well as being practiced in the Eternities [which made me secretly fear the Second Coming, as a kid, since I didn't want to have to share my future husband!]) and b) which vary from things that were taught as Doctrine in EARLIER times, that were NO LONGER taught when I was growing up (for example--boy howdy, was I surprised to find out about Blood Atonement!...[AND The Mountain Meadows Massacre!...& many other things!]...only AFTER I had left the LDS Church & was finding out all KINDS of things about Church history, & old doctrines & common teachings that were NEVER SPOKEN OF...or maybe whispered about by apostates, or future-apostates...but never OWNED by the Church that I was raised in, & were [IMO] actively covered-up by sanitized publications & the ban on reading anything about Mormonism that came from "unapproved" sources).
The LDS Church, & its Teachings, as I knew them, growing up in the 1970s & 80s, looks very different--in some jarring ways--from the Church & its Teachings that I encounter when I delve into the world of Mormonism today!
And to be clear--I was not raised in a fundamentalist group, or some highly sheltered, cloistered, remote, teeny-tiny-town in Utah.
I grew up outside of Utah & the whole "Intermountain West", in a very normal (by Mormon standards) family; my Dad has been a Bishop, I come from pioneers & old-school 19th century polygamists (a very respectable Mormon pedigree--albeit one without any General Authorities), & I trekked out to Provo at 18, to get my BA & MRS degrees at BYU.
I had a very normal, non-Utah, conventional Mormon upbringing.
If anything it was probably a more "liberal" Mormon upbringing than some--as we were in the Midwest/on the East Coast, & grew up in a mostly-non-LDS environment, in which our religious views, & culture, & lifestyle were not the norm, & I was surrounded by people of widely varying beliefs, lifestyles, & experiences.
My Dad was a college professor & military officer, & both of my parents university-educated, & intellectual, & widely-experienced people; so we were well-educated & encouraged to think deeply & widely & explore all kinds of ideas & experiences (within appropriate Mormon standards, of course).
It shocks me that my still-Mormon family & friends don't find these changes as strange & disconcerting as I do, but I guess that things look different in many ways to someone who leaves, than they do to someone who stays, in general, & I wasn't there during the PROCESS of these changes & the Church's explanations for them.
It looks very strange from my position!
Some of the changes seem quite positive, some much less so...but it is always a shock to me to find out how much has changed just in my (substantial, yes; but not THAT LONG of a) lifetime.
I have good friends that are Mormons and share these beliefs. My parents are protestant Christians and believe some pretty scary things. Good people believe what they are taught by their religion, in spite of scientific facts. It is a fact that the earth is well over 7000 or 7 million years; and biological evolution is a fact; dinosaur bones came from dinosaurs - yes on this planet. Facts, yet they present no conflict whatsoever with the basic tenets of loving God, seeking him, and endeavoring to be as god-like as possible!
ReplyDeleteWhat about the basic tenant in the Book of Mormom, that Jesus was born of God Elohim and The Holy Goddess.. not via immaculate conception and the Virgin Mary?
ReplyDeleteI've been a mormon for 22 years (I'm 33), I'm from Chile and am also a returned missionary. I'm a lecturer at SEK university in Santiago, Chile and an LDS religious institute graduate. I've served as a teacher of religion in my stake for many years. This is not LDS doctrine but my personal points of view. I'd like to share them with you:
ReplyDelete1) I believe dinosaurs really existed here on earth and they were extint at the universal flood (Noah's ark and all that stuff). The bones are older than they really are because they were under water, ERGO fossilization and the loss of C14 get faster.
2) The creation lasted seven periods (not 7 earthly days). Nobody knows how long Adam and Eve lived in the garden of Eden till their fall. The fall was APPROXIMATELY 4000 years BC. There were many REALLY different races of human beings, ALL of them descendants of Adam and Eve, among them the Neanderthals, Cro-Magnon, Java, etc. The bones are older because they loss a great deal of C14 as a consequence of the flood. We need to understand that C14 in the air and the plants is directly related to sun radiation. Radiation is NEVER constant. It has never been constant, together with the magnetic fields of the earth. Any geologist and physicist may confirm this info. Therefore nobody EXACTLY knows how old the fossils are. C14 must be calibrated with dendrochronology, otherwise the dating is completely wrong.
SSSSShhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiisssssshhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJoseph Smith was not a prophet. He was an idiot who lied constantly. Any person that recognizes him a prophet is wrong. Not debatable.
ReplyDeleteAnd your proof for this is....what? Exactly. If you don't believe he is a prophet, then that is fine. Believe what you want. But I know that he WAS a prophet. I believe that he saw God and Jesus Christ. Don't put down other people and their beliefs just because you don't believe the same thing.
DeleteFalse beliefs deserve ridicule.
DeleteAnonymous--
DeleteThat is a very arrogant & ugly attitude.
I was raised Mormon & ultimately left that faith--but that does not mean that 1) either you, or I, or ANYONE ELSE can objectively claim that Mormon beliefs are patently false; the TRUTH is that we are all just making our best guesses--hopefully grounded in reason, & intuitive understanding, experience, good-intention, & sincerity--but still JUST our OWN best guesses, & 2) to ridicule other peoples' sincere beliefs--particularly when they aren't attacking you in any way--does not render your conflicting beliefs superior or more correct; it just renders YOU an ass.
You are free to reject Mormonism.
You are free to hate Mormonism.
You are free to ridicule Mormonism, too.
You are free to be as condescending, rude, & nasty as you choose to be.
But why?
What is accomplished by being a dick?
And why feed the perception that non-Mormons & ex-Mormons are angry people out to oppress Mormons?
But, most of all, just why be a dick?
Garbage In Garbage Out.
ReplyDeleteMost People Don't know where religious thought fits into the puzzle of existence or the real point of it all. Here's a concept: Science deals with explaining the physical universe, religion deals with explaining the spiritual universe. Some people think they have to pick a side, so they do. However, what if the physical and the spiritual actually co-exist,they are really two parts of a whole, the physical providing a vessel for the spiritual, so that together they provide the life in the universe with a way to reason, experience, become enlightened and grow. Do you reason and experience? Are you enlightened and growing? Garbage In, Garbage Out.
I noticed that in addition to 7, you also skipped numbers 6, 5 and 3.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous statement that science and spirituality coinside. I just have a problem with science and technology REPLACING GOD. It just like the tower of Babel all over again. The God of the universe the Creator of all things wants a relationship with us. He wants for yes to get to known Him and to PUT OUR TRUST IN HIM AND TO FOLLOW HIM. Why would we need God to heal us when we can just 'heal' ourselves through various medicines therapies and surgeries? Science and technology are just becoming modern day idols.
ReplyDeleteI think the second belief (Mormons believe Jesus visited America after the resurrection) is "shocking" because it shows both a disregard for world history and archaeology, and a deviation from the Biblical account of the brief life of Christ after the resurrection. There is no physical evidence to suggest Jesus visited America: no writings from the time, no cave drawings, no currently held belief systems of Native tribes prior to the arrival of Mormon missionaries. (Just like there is no physical evidence that Jaredites sailed around the world in a time before Christ to reach the Americas). And no mention of this in the Bible. There may be room to suppose Jesus could have gone to another position on the globe when he ascended, but the Bible doesn't suggest it. It seems to suggest Christ witnessed to perhaps as many as several hundred, then ascended directly into heaven.
ReplyDeleteIn the Bible, Jesus spoke to the Jews in Jerusalem of "other sheep" who would hear his voice. The Book of Mormon claims this meant that the Nephites and other remnants of the lost tribes of Israel throughout the world were to be visited by Jesus after his resurrection.
Deletewow weird beliefs and weird people...
ReplyDeletewhy debate nonsense? if people want to be weird let them! just take everything with a big pinch of salt and believe what you want...
I believe that I am the supreme leader of the universe and all hail the mighty swerve!!!
to donate to this worthy cause please send money to me.
Better be careful what you trick yourself into believing. I came out of religion years ago. I definitely wasn't a Mormon but dating one made me realize how pathetic certain if not all religious beliefs are made up folk tales. Believe in yourself and you will eventually find hope. Just because a scripture sounds believable doesn't mean it is. I've found certain scientific beliefs to be false as well. Be careful, analyze the hell out of everything before you let it into your soul.
ReplyDeleteMan is not a creation of God... God and gods are the creation man to fill in gaps in knowledge. Belief in a supreme being is as primitive today as it was when cave dwellers first saw an eclipse or a comet. Good luck to you all
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ReplyDelete