Being a "Mormon" means that you often get to hear a lot of jokes...mostly about polygamy. Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also means that at some time people will say you are part of a cult.
I read a great article by Michael Otterson in the Washington Post and it talks about how many people associate Mormons and Cults. In fact if you Google it "Mormons and Cults" you get 2.9 million hits, but as pointed out in this article if you Google "Poodles and Cults" you get 2.5 million hits. This cracks me up, because I can imagine a lot of goth french poodles out there combining forces to overthrow humanity.
So, it made me think what other cults do I need to be concerned with? I thought of some things that were on my mind and checked to see what level of cult affiliation they may have. Here are a few based on Google's hit returns:
Toyota Highlander (my new car) and Cults = 2.3 million hits
Harry Potter (I have not seen the new movie yet) and Cults = 41 million hits
U2 (the band who's CD is in my car at this time) and Cults = 9.7 million hits
iPhone (ok, I am coveting this since I just have my blackberry) and Cults = 2.7 million hits
NPR (the radio station I listen to) and Cults = 4.6 million hits
So based on this information, if people are concerned about Mormon's being "Cults"...which by the way we aren't...they should be actually more scared of just me driving my car and listening to the radio while going to the local movie place to see Harry Potter (those all add up to over 50 million Google hits and that excluded me talking on the iPhone I don't own yet while I drive).
...or we can continue to be concerned about those poodle cults.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Three key things you should know about Mormons
I was thinking what to post next and I was forwarded an article that came from a friend of mine about "The Mormon Moment". It dealt alot with the press that Mitt Romney and John Huntsman (both are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) are getting due to them being potential United States Presidential canidates.
The following is directly from Michael Otterson blog...so I give him all the credit, but the ideas I share with him 100 percent. He offers three key things you should know about Mormons.
1. Mormons follow Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God and at the center of our belief and – to the best of our ability – our behavior. Some people like to define “Christian” in very precise and narrow terms. To me, it’s quite simple. We try to reflect Jesus Christ’s teachings in our lives and rely on his love and mercy when we make mistakes.
2. Mormons are friends of the family. Many of those who know Latter-day Saints realize how important the family is to us. Ideally, that means a mother, father, and their children. Today’s reality, though, means that sometimes we have broken families, remarriages, and single parents. And a large proportion of our church membership is single adults. Still, the nuclear family lies deep at the core of our belief about the purpose of life and the nature of God. It is, we believe, the fundamental unit of our society and of the eternities. While the traditional family is increasingly under threat, Mormons continue to sustain it as part of the divine order and the ballast of society.
3.Mormons are big on incorporating their religious beliefs into their day-to-day actions. Service is a hugely important principle, whether serving in the church or out of it. For some, that means partnering with others to help the people of Haiti or Japan. For others, it’s cooking a meal for a sick neighbor. At whatever level, service is as much a part of our religious culture as going to church on Sunday.
The following is directly from Michael Otterson blog...so I give him all the credit, but the ideas I share with him 100 percent. He offers three key things you should know about Mormons.
1. Mormons follow Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God and at the center of our belief and – to the best of our ability – our behavior. Some people like to define “Christian” in very precise and narrow terms. To me, it’s quite simple. We try to reflect Jesus Christ’s teachings in our lives and rely on his love and mercy when we make mistakes.
2. Mormons are friends of the family. Many of those who know Latter-day Saints realize how important the family is to us. Ideally, that means a mother, father, and their children. Today’s reality, though, means that sometimes we have broken families, remarriages, and single parents. And a large proportion of our church membership is single adults. Still, the nuclear family lies deep at the core of our belief about the purpose of life and the nature of God. It is, we believe, the fundamental unit of our society and of the eternities. While the traditional family is increasingly under threat, Mormons continue to sustain it as part of the divine order and the ballast of society.
3.Mormons are big on incorporating their religious beliefs into their day-to-day actions. Service is a hugely important principle, whether serving in the church or out of it. For some, that means partnering with others to help the people of Haiti or Japan. For others, it’s cooking a meal for a sick neighbor. At whatever level, service is as much a part of our religious culture as going to church on Sunday.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Where to start...
First of all in the sake of transparency, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (yes, I am a Mormon if you want to use that nickname) and what you are about to read are just some of my thoughts as over the next couple of years the temple is built in Carmel, Indiana.
The other day I was on a flight back home to Indiana and the discussion of Carmel (the place we now call home) and religion came up with the person next to me. This discussion then moved toward the announcement of the Indianapolis Indiana Temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It was a great opportunity to talk about the temple and what it would mean to my family to have one so close to our home. It was also clear that the person I was talking to had some concerns, mainly because they did not know what a temple is about to member of the church and what it can do for the community. So, with that still lingering in my head and in my heart, I thought I would do this blog, so maybe someone, somewhere may see this and come to see what a great thing it is have a temple here in our area.
Again, this is just my personal thoughts and not an official Church site. If you would like to go to the official church site, please go to www.indianapolismormontemple.org.
More to come...Mike
The other day I was on a flight back home to Indiana and the discussion of Carmel (the place we now call home) and religion came up with the person next to me. This discussion then moved toward the announcement of the Indianapolis Indiana Temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It was a great opportunity to talk about the temple and what it would mean to my family to have one so close to our home. It was also clear that the person I was talking to had some concerns, mainly because they did not know what a temple is about to member of the church and what it can do for the community. So, with that still lingering in my head and in my heart, I thought I would do this blog, so maybe someone, somewhere may see this and come to see what a great thing it is have a temple here in our area.
Again, this is just my personal thoughts and not an official Church site. If you would like to go to the official church site, please go to www.indianapolismormontemple.org.
More to come...Mike
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