Anthropology Of Mormonism

The Theology and Anthropology of Mormonism
Raley Ivester
Murrell-A4
24 February, 2016

Mormonism is a modern day cult based loosely on Christianity. While the teachings of Mormonism claim to be Biblical,they are actually very far from it. It’s almost as if they are from an alternate universe. They have the same people, but often with a completely different background or role in the story. For example, Mormons believe that Jesus is the “ literal spirit-brother of Lucifer, a creation” . (Slick, “A Comparison…”). Mormonism was founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith Jr., the fourth child of Lucy and Joseph Smith. His mother was a very superstitious woman, and his father was known as a money digger. Smith was disconcerted by all of the different
Their beliefs about God and man are vastly different than those of Christianity. Mormon Theology teaches that God used to be a man on another planet, but through good works and following his own God, he became to be how we know him today. This means that God is not eternal, and that he had his own creator. The Mormon doctrine also teaches that The Biblical view of God is that there is one God, three persons, and one essence. This means that all three attributes of the Trinity, which are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are all together and exist as one God. The Bible confirms this with verses such as John 10:30, which says “I and the Father are one”. The Mormon view of the Trinity is quite different. Mormons believe that each member of the Godhead is its own separate God, and that they do not exist as one. The instead believe "That these three are separate individuals, physically distinct from each other [...]” (Slick, “A Comparison...”). Mormons also believe that God used to be a man on another planet, with flesh and bones. They believe that God had a father, and that he resides “near a star called Kolob” (Slick, “What does Mormonism Teach?”). They also believe that God has a wife, who is called the Mother Goddess. God and his wife both possess physical bodies and are exalted. They produce spirit children, the first of which was Jesus, and eventually lucifer and all human beings. This means that Jesus
They believe that "As god once was, man is. As God is, man may become”(Slick, “Mormonism in a Nutshell”) which means that they too, have the potential to become gods as they say that God once did. To reach such a high position, they must first become a good mormon, pay a ten percent tithe, follow all of the laws, and be considered worthy. Then they have to go through a number of secret rituals. If they do all of these things they may reach the highest level of heaven where they will become a god or goddess. They do not believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, but rather they believe that God came down and had relations with Mary. According to the theory that every human is a child of God and his wife, this relation should be considered incest. Many Mormons do not agree with this message, but it has yet to be denied by the Church. These ideas about Christ’s birth were not taught by Smith, but by Brigham Young. Young is considered to be the second prophet of Mormonism, and succeeded Smith after his death in 1844 (Early History of the Mormon Church). Mormons also believe that baptism is necessary, and that there is a way for those who have died without baptism to be saved. They believe that a living person can be baptised by proxy for a dead person. This gives someone who was not baptised a second chance essentially, and is a relief for many Mormons