Mormons and Jehovah witnesses?

Question

I am curious if it bothers you that Christians think of you in the same way? Christians think of you both as cults that have been mislead and have interpreted scripture wrong. Also what do you think of each other. I do not need a list of your beliefs, I already know them {Please just stick to the question, Thanks! I thank you for your answers!

A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader. The followers of such a religion or sect.



Typically a cult is a group or sect that is considered outside the pale of Christian Orthodoxy. The tenets of Christian Orthodoxy are primarily:

1. There is One God in Three persons, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. These are three distinct persons yet one. (Known as the Trinity)

2. Man is born sinful and is separated from a Holy God because of that sin.

3. Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross and His subsequent Resurrection, the penalty for sin has been paid.

4. Salvation from Sin is through the Grace of God and by nothing else. To receive salvation a person must believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and accept the free gift of salvation understanding that man can't earn it

5. Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again on the Third day. He ascended into Heaven where He sits at the right hand of God the Father. He will physically return a second time.

Answer 1

As a Jehovah's Witness, I too feel that others have it wrong, but shouldn't EVERYONE think their religion is the right one? If you don't, then you should be thinking about your religion! I never mind someone coming to my door in the same way that we do. My thought on this is how could I expect anyone to listen to what I have to say if I don't listen to what THEY have to say? I recently was visited by two young Mormon men on their Mission, and we sat for nearly two hours discussing the Bible. I didn't 'win' them over, and they didn't 'win' me over, but we had a magnificent time exchanging ideas! No one got upset or abusive...we just talked. I enjoy Bible talks no matter who, what , when, or where!! And as for the cult thing, I figure the people who think it are just ignorant of my beliefs. ( Ignorant meaning untaught) It would be nice, though, for people to make an informed descision instead of listening to a friend of a friend of a friend...

Answer 2

Frankly, this questioner is disingenuous since he asks answerers to "stick to the question" and "do not need a list of your beliefs", while immediately appending paragraphs and paragraphs of unrelated material with a list of his beliefs! Now that's hypocrisy!

This answer, however, will now "stick to the question".

Latter-day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses generally have great respect for the reputations of each other, and for the obvious devotion of the other's adherents. The most important assignment Christ gave to the congregation is the preaching work, and really only Mormons and Witnesses are performing that assignment in a real way.

(Matthew 28:19) Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations


Rightly or wrongly, adherents of both religions have very strong faith in their beliefs (these are NOT "Christmas and Easter"-types). A few insults and name-callings are a drop in the bucket of attacks that faithful Christians overcome their entire lives.


In addition, both Mormons and Witnesses feel that Jesus prepared them for the hatred of the surrounding world; they are BOTH unsurprised by vitriolic attacks and slander (such as this question) because the Scriptures mention it as a certainty:

(Luke 6:22) “Happy are you whenever men hate you, and whenever they exclude you and reproach you and cast out your name as wicked for the sake of the Son of man.

(1 Peter 4:4) Because you do not continue running with them in this course to the same low sink of debauchery, they are puzzled and go on speaking abusively of you.

(2 Timothy 4:3-5) For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the healthful teaching, but, in accord with their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves to have their ears tickled; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, whereas they will be turned aside to false stories. You, though, keep your senses in all things, suffer evil, do the work of an evangelizer, fully accomplish your ministry.


The term "cult" is an insulting synonym for "religion". The term has no place in a polite conversation. To the ears of Jehovah's Witnesses and Latter-day Saints, the word "pops" and shocks like any profanity would; godly people expect profanity from Satan's world but it still disappoints.

Answer 3

I am mormon, and yes to an extent it bothers me that people think of us as a cult. But I think it is unfair to say that all Christian believe that way. Anyone who is actually familiar with the church, knows that Mormons are a Christian religion, and no where near a cult.

The word "cult" has usages that range from neutral to pejorative. A neutral usage of the word refers to the system of beliefs and rituals connected to the worship of a deity. By this definition, virtually all religions, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, exhibit some cultic aspects. However, the term "cult" more commonly refers to a minority religion that is regarded as unorthodox or spurious and that requires great or even excessive devotion. The mass media and anticult movement use this term as a negative label for many groups, including Mormonism. The most common social-scientific definition identifies a cult as the beginning phase of an entirely new religion. By this definition, Mormonism was a cult during the nineteenth century due to its break from the existing religious tradition. Social scientists use the word cult and other organizational classifications to describe the characteristics of religious groups at particular moments in their history. Most groups that start as cults fail to survive more than a single generation. However, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, organized in 1830, is now classified by many social scientists as a new religion instead of a cult.

abstracted from "Cult," in Encycopledia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow, 4 vols. (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 1:345

Answer 4

Here is what I think!! I think people shouldn't judge what they don't know, plus I thought freedom of religion is what the United States was established for. Me being a member of the LDS(Mormon) church it seriously bothers me when my beliefs as well as my church are held in regard as a cult, according to Webster's dictionary the definition of a cult is as follows: formal religious veneration : WORSHIP, if this definition is to be believed every religion and religious group is a cult. As for scripture being interpreted different I think every ones interpretation varies and is different to a degree. To answer your question about what I think of Jehovah's Witnesses, I feel they have the right to believe and worship the way they feel is correct, no disrespect for people believing in something that they feel is right.

Answer 5

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (a Mormon) and our description of them could sound as ugly.

At the best they are good people being decieved and at the worst some are telling people what they want to hear for their own gain and profit.

(added)
I also like the answer of achtung_heiss

Answer 6

Well, to be quite honest, as a Jehovah's Witness I think most other "Christian" denominations are whack. I've been in catholic, lutheran and other churches where there doesn't seem to be any free thought or interchange of ideas. Just a priest or minister reading from a transcript and all the congregation reading back to them from their transcripts in unison. that's just scary...

I guess my question back to you is...does it bother "you" that Jehovah's Witnesses think you have been misled and interpret scripture wrong?

Most all Latter-Day-Saints I've met have been nice, I just don't subscribe to their beliefs.

Answer 7

2 Timothy 2:24 says, "But a slave of the Lord does not need to fight, but needs to be gentle toward all, qualified to teach, keeping himself [herself] restrained under evil..."

to answer that question - no. i don't. why? for me, no other religion offers the promise of an end to the wicked conditions that afflict us all, including death, sorrow, hunger & pain. no other religion offers the promise of a resurrection into a Paradise earth, or the promise of everlasting life. (Ps. 37:10, 11)

for me, it is comforting to know that i stand in solidarity with an international family that is 6.5 million strong & growing all in the same accord & the same message regardless of language barriers. Standing in obedience to Jehovah & his principles is liberating for me - i don't deal with half of the drama that other people deal with in other faiths. things like an unfaithful mate, disease from having pre-marital/ extra-marital sex, etc.

as far as Mormons are concerned - or any other faith for that matter - i have met some beautiful people from all faiths, so i carry no judgement as to what they believe or what they think of me, as Jehovah gave us all free will. my mission on the planet THIS day is to stand firm in MY obedience to God as i understand God.

thanks for asking.

Answer 8

First of all, I would like to quote this known fact: Education SHOWS us how to think; Propaganda TELLS you what to think.

Now, are Jehovah’s Witnesses a cult? (Please view the secular comments below and see for yourself. This base on a world wide view. At present Jehovah's Witnesses are in 235 lands. )

Some define sect to mean a group that has broken away from an established religion. Others apply the term to a group that follows a particular human leader or teacher. The term is usually used in a derogatory way. Jehovah’s Witnesses are not an offshoot of some church but include persons from all walks of life and from many religious backgrounds. They do not look to any human, but rather to Jesus Christ, as their leader.

A cult is a religion that is said to be unorthodox or that emphasizes devotion according to prescribed ritual. Many cults follow a living human leader, and often their adherents live in groups apart from the rest of society. The standard for what is orthodox, however, should be God’s Word, and Jehovah’s Witnesses strictly adhere to the Bible. Their worship is a way of life, not a ritual devotion. They neither follow a human nor isolate themselves from the rest of society. They live and work in the midst of other people.

In the Italian church magazine Andare alle genti a Roman Catholic nun wrote the following about Jehovah’s Witnesses: “They are worthy of our admiration for the way they refuse any form of violence and without rebelling put up with the many trials inflicted on them because of their beliefs . . . How different the world would be if we all woke up one morning firmly decided not to take up arms again, whatever the cost or the reason, just like Jehovah’s Witnesses!”

Note this report from the London Daily Telegraph regarding hundreds of thousands of persons on the African continent: “Jehovah’s Witnesses have shown themselves, through Africa, to be decent, orderly citizens living up to a high moral code. . . . The promiscuity and polygamy characteristic of African society is simply inconceivable among Witnesses. The sect inculcates habits of thrift, punctuality, honesty and obedience.”—October 26, 1972.

How old is the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses?

According to the Bible, the line of witnesses of Jehovah reaches back to faithful Abel. Hebrews 11:4–12:1 says: “By faith Abel offered God a sacrifice of greater worth than Cain . . . By faith Noah, after being given divine warning of things not yet beheld, showed godly fear . . . By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed in going out into a place he was destined to receive as an inheritance . . . By faith Moses, when grown up, refused to be called the son of the daughter of Pharaoh, choosing to be ill-treated with the people of God rather than to have the temporary enjoyment of sin . . . So, then, because we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also put off every weight and the sin that easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

With reference to Jesus Christ, the Bible states: “These are the things that the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God.” Of whom was he a witness? He himself said that he made his Father’s name manifest. He was the foremost witness of Jehovah.—Rev. 3:14; John 17:6.

Interestingly, some of the Jews asked whether the activity of Jesus Christ represented “a new teaching.” (Mark 1:27) Later, some Greeks thought the apostle Paul was introducing a “new teaching.” (Acts 17:19, 20) It was new to the ears of those who were hearing it, but the important thing was that it was the truth, in full harmony with God’s Word.

The modern-day history of Jehovah’s Witnesses began with the forming of a group for Bible study in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., in the early 1870’s. At first they were known only as Bible Students, but in 1931 they adopted the Scriptural name Jehovah’s Witnesses. (Isa. 43:10-12) Their beliefs and practices are not new but are a restoration of first-century Christianity.
Do Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that their religion is the only right one?

The Bible does not agree with the modern view that there are many acceptable ways to worship God. Ephesians 4:5 says there is “one Lord, one faith.” Jesus stated: “Narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it. . . . Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will.”—Matt. 7:13, 14, 21; see also 1 Corinthians 1:10.

Repeatedly the Scriptures refer to the body of true Christian teachings as “the truth,” and Christianity is spoken of as “the way of the truth.” (1 Tim. 3:15; 2 John 1; 2 Pet. 2:2) Because Jehovah’s Witnesses base all of their beliefs, their standards for conduct, and organizational procedures on the Bible, their faith in the Bible itself as God’s Word gives them the conviction that what they have is indeed the truth. So their position is not egotistical but demonstrates their confidence that the Bible is the right standard against which to measure one’s religion. They are not self-centered but are eager to share their beliefs with others.
Why have there been changes over the years in the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses?

The Bible shows that Jehovah enables his servants to understand his purpose in a progressive manner. (Prov. 4:18; John 16:12) Thus, the prophets who were divinely inspired to write portions of the Bible did not understand the meaning of everything that they wrote. (Dan. 12:8, 9; 1 Pet. 1:10-12) The apostles of Jesus Christ realized that there was much they did not understand in their time. (Acts 1:6, 7; 1 Cor. 13:9-12) The Bible shows that there would be a great increase in knowledge of the truth during “the time of the end.” (Dan. 12:4) Increased knowledge often requires adjustments in one’s thinking. Jehovah’s Witnesses are willing humbly to make such adjustments.

Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses preach from house to house?

Jesus foretold for our day this work: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.” He also instructed his followers: “Go . . . and make disciples of people of all the nations.”—Matt. 24:14; 28:19.

When Jesus sent out his early disciples, he directed them to go to the homes of the people. (Matt. 10:7, 11-13) The apostle Paul said regarding his ministry: “I did not hold back from telling you any of the things that were profitable nor from teaching you publicly and from house to house.”—Acts 20:20, 21; see also Acts 5:42.

The message that the Witnesses proclaim involves the lives of people; they want to be careful to miss no one. (Zeph. 2:2, 3) Their calls are motivated by love—first for God, also for their neighbor.

The British magazine New Society noted: “The [Jehovah’s] Witnesses are perhaps more successful than any other group in the speed with which they eliminate tribal discrimination among their own recruits.”

A conference of religious leaders in Spain noted this: “Perhaps [the churches] are excessively neglectful about that which precisely constitutes the greatest preoccupation of the Witnesses—the home visit, which comes within the apostolic methodology of the primitive church. While the churches, on not a few occasions, limit themselves to constructing their temples, ringing their bells to attract the people and to preaching inside their places of worship, [the Witnesses] follow the apostolic tactic of going from house to house and of taking advantage of every occasion to witness.”—El Catolicismo, Bogotá, Colombia, September 14, 1975, p. 14.

Dr. Azikiwe, the governor-general of Nigeria in 1960, said: “(Mr. & Mrs. Brown), they have added greatly to the spiritual upbuilding of our people in Nigeria . . . If all the religious denominations were like Jehovah’s Witnesses, we would have no murders, burglaries, delinquencies, prisoners and atomic bombs. Doors would not be locked day in and day out.”

From State Church to Pluralism (1971), by F. H. Littell, says: “However incredible and literal-minded the J[ehovah’s] W[itnesses]’s peculiar doctrine of the Kingdom may seem, we should not forget that in biblical religion the advent of the Kingdom is a moment of dramatic penetration and reversal of the normal course of human expectation.”—P. 212.

Answer 9

go to ww.watchtower.org