Forum Post: Is Romney's Mormonism a Cult or Occult?
Posted 12 years ago on Jan. 28, 2012, 9:02 p.m. EST by arturo
(3169)
from Shanghai, Shanghai
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
In 1991, the Salt Lake Tribune urged the extension of an occult crimes investigation, based on a leaked memo from Glenn Pace, a Mormon official:
this is why the country is a mess people like this.it a reglion just cuse it's not the normal don't make it wrong this country was based on freedom of reglion so how care as long as they dont hurt anyone.let them be.I'm not much for reglion but i let people be who they are.you can call it what you want but do hate on people cuse you don't understand
Did you read the link? I have no desire to criticize Mormonism, but that memo from a Mormon official was quite disturbing to read. People were getting hurt, or so it said.
Q1 : "Is Romney's Mormonism a Cult or Occult ?"
A2 : I don't know & I don't care !
Q2 : Is Romney An Unconscionable Cunt ?!!
A2 : You Do Know and You Should Care !!!
ab absurdum, veritas ...
I have found www.rickross.com to be quite helpful about religions and cults. Just so you know, the late John F. Kennedy was a Catholic and many had similar concerns only the reservations of the public concerned whether or not J.F.K's loyalties were to the Pope/Vatican or the US
My main concern about all those Republican candidates, except Ron Paul, is how quick they want to jump on the warmonger band wagon. I think that bombing Iran could be disastrous, lead us to WW3 with Russia and China.
I agree. Anyone who would mock Ron Paul's knowledge of US foreign policy would be mocking his life experience with it along with his reasoning about same.
Mormons are cool
vote green party period
My issues with Romney have NOTHING to do with his religion. As for Satanists infiltrating the ranks of Mormon clergy, this does not mean that Mormonism itself is bad...it means what it says: Satanists infiltrated the ranks of Mormon clergy. That's sad, but it doesn't mean that all Mormons are Satanists any more than it would mean that all Occupiers were Satanists if Satanists infiltrated OWS.
That's true, the rumor though is that Joseph Smith brought occultism into Mormonism from the very beginning. That is, it didn't really infiltrate, but created Mormonism. Look up Joseph Smith and occult on google to know more.
I honestly don't know enough about it, but I'd wager a guess that it's fundamentalist Christians who would charge Joseph Smith with being "occult" and therefore "Satanic." But that doesn't mean he was really Satanic. They think that about almost every religion except their version of Christianity is Satanic. Heck, they'd think my liberal church is "Satanic." To them, the Pope is Satanic! Yoga is Satanic! That said, I'm curious now and will look into it...
Cool, tell us if you find anything interesting. You may be right about fundamentalist Christians arguing those points. Although a Christian, I would not consider myself fundamentalist.
[Removed]
It would be called a religion and please have some respect for other peoples religions. 13 million Mormons worldwide. This is a free country and you are allowed to go to the church of your choice or to decide they are cults and stay home. Occupy a seat in a classroom and learn about the world.
I've had Mormon friends and they've been very nice, and we were good friends. If I still new them now, I would not disrespect them. I don't disrespect the Mormons that I meet these days.
But if there are abuses in their religion, they should not be allowed to continue. For example, in the Catholic church. Although it is a very large and in many ways fine religion, there are abuses, and they should be stopped. You wouldn't want your kid abused by a priest would you?
Resepecting peoples freedom to choose what religion they practice. FREEDOM to protest, freedom to choose and freedom to speech. Sexual abuse of children can be found in schools, sports, homes and just about anyplace you look. To condone, cover up or ignore such a thing is wrong and makes one part of the crime. To say churches are a cult may or may not be correct however you can not disban something because it does not fit your idea of perfect. People have the right to choose which cult or church they join...
christianity is a cult, its not biblical and they are not one faith or one baptism as the bible says they should be.
Joe smith was a mason.Incorporated many masonic beliefs into mormonism it is an occult religion.
Yes, I've heard about this, but some of the Mormons I've known have been really nice people.
Correct very nice.
Have you known Mormons? I grew up in Hemet, California, about 2 hours from LA, where there was a temple and quite a few Mormons. Back then I didn't know anything about these things.
Have you ever discussed these issues with Mormons?
I'm an ex-mormon and most of my family are still mormon. I consider it cultish, but not occult.
Did you read the Tribune article? If so, what do you think about it? Why did you leave Mormonism?
Which Tribune article are you referring to?
I basically didn't believe it was true and I thought there were a lot of things that were harmful to people. In particular, I think the church is very sexist and women are second class. Back when I left, they would not let black men have the priesthood either. (In the mormon church, every male age 12 and over is given the priesthood.) There is extreme pressure to conform, not question and obey authority. I'm not too keen on any of those things.
This is a link to the tribune article:
http://www.watchman.org/lds/ocultlds.htm
It is supposed to be based on a memo from a Mormon official that was leaked to the newspaper, claiming that he, the official, had interviewed 60 people from the church who claim to have been satanically abused.
I've heard about the treatment of women that you mentioned. Some say it is even more severe, on a deeply hidden, occult level.
Oh, I didn't realize that was from the Tribune.
Well, I don't discount that such things take place and that some, or all of the allegations could be true. On the other hand, I would say that the mormon culture, (at least in the Jello Belt), is one where hysteria over satanism could flourish.
For example, my mother forbade us to play games with ordinary face cards claiming that they were satanic. Ouija boards were out of course. As kids, we would dare each other to go look in the windows of the catholic church because that was real scarey because mom said they were satanic too. That sort of thing.
Thanks for your comments, that's really interesting.
By the way, what is the "Jello Belt"?
The Jello belt is the region of the Western US which has the highest population of mormons. It is Utah, southern Idaho, parts of Nevada and Arizona.
It's called the jello belt because mormons just love jello. We have the highest per capita jello consumption in the world. I'm ex-mormon but I still love jello.
Yeah, I just read on Wikipedia that Bill Cosby, as a jello representative, visited Utah, and declared that it's residents liked jello so much because it is a family oriented snack.
Have known,do not discuss religion.Most people can never break value mind set that they have been given by parents,etc.Deeply Masonic But also different in that Smith just barowed from masonry what suited his purpose.
Do you think there is anything to these ritual abuse accusations?
I really don't know. I had a discussion (below) with GirlFriday about the recovered memory issue. I think every case requires objective investigation. I think it is a good sign, and a credit to the mormon church that they were investigating these allegations.
Nothing that I know about the mormon church indicates that it is satanic in any way.
Yes, its good that they investigated it, but often there are coverups in these sort of things. I used to be a member of a secret society, and was harassed by certain members, and thrown out when I complained about it. Abusive things happen and do get covered up.
Good for you for complaining about a coverup of abuse. Yes, sadly I know these things do happen. I think it is a good sign that law enforcement interviewed these people, even though the u.s. attorney did not find evidence to substantiate the claims.
The only thing is, is that I would wonder about that US attorney, or other coverups that may have been related to this.
I mean the leaked memo says that 60 people reported being victims of abuse. I suppose it could be mass hysteria, but there is too much of this that is getting out into public view, not just in this case, but others as well.
I actually have quite a bit of faith in that particular US attorney. There are a lot of scam artists working in Utah, usually mormons, because that helps them gain the trust of their victims. That never stopped Brent Ward from going after them.
It is possible it was mass hysteria. It has happened other places. It is really hard to say.
What kind of scams were they doing? I heard that in the old days, the Mormons, being first comers to the old west, used to charge exorbitant prices for supplies to new comers.
Mostly get rich quick, work at home scams.
The premiere scam-fighter of the blogosphere is Salty Droid who writes often about Utah operations. http://saltydroid.info/scamming-two-debbies/
Interesting, thanks.
Interesting.....can you elaborate on the secret society you were a part of? If not, I understand. I know that talking can come with certain risks. You can tell me to take a flying leap if you want.
I can tell you all you want to know. But let me say this, it was actually a very good organization. So I would not want to say anything bad about it. Its just that I was living in the LA area, and you have all kinds of people here.
Its a group called Cafh, you can look it up online if you want. It started up in Argentina. We practiced meditation and learned about spiritual things. It attracts, or develops people into, professionals such as doctors, psychologists, scientists, professors. Anything particular you want to know?
I have spent the last year educating myself on secret societies, most recently the Rosicrucians, and get very curious when someone here mentions it.
Cafh...that's a new one for me. You had mentioned your discontent and consequently leaving the group, which makes me think of Freemasonry, where it is divided into learning degrees up to 33. It is a group that also initially swears to its wholesomeness in the development of people's careers and cultivating positions within each community. Then when they reach the 32 and 33 degree, there is a complete 180 and some pretty creepy goings on occur. By then the majority of the members are so controlled by their connections and their handlers, they find it difficult and dangerous to leave.
I know that the decade between 1826 and 1836 were troublesome years for the Masonic Order. There was much exposure of their secretive pagan behaviour and, as a result, there was a mass exodus of lower ranking members who thought they were part of something good, from the Lodges. To this day, most people that are recruited into masonry are not aware of the what awaits them as they get to the senior levels. I know that one can't be a 32 or 33 degree mason without seeing and being involved in some pretty twisted $hit.
I know nothing of Cafh yet, but I have yet to hear of a secret society that doesn't have the mentality of invariably growing in numbers to "take over" or control segments of society in order to further their version of what they want their world to look like. Their particular brand of a "New World Order". They usually use abuse of the "various kinds" to extort and bribe members who go off script, in order to ensure masonic people get into high ranking positions in communities, such as lawyers, judges, doctors, business people, etc., and they have to swear to cover for eachother no matter what. Hence the secretive nature of these societies. I know there are severe penalties for group members who don't cover for each other or try to expose what goes on within the group. Its a system of fear that has worked extremely well, taking advantage of human nature's weakest traits.
I'm sure I'm not teaching you anything here, as you sound like you may already know of the various secret societies, but others may see this and start to look into things, so its all good.
I'm so glad you had the forethought to leave when you did.
I am quite familiar with most of the things you have said here. But for the most part, I don't believe there was anything nefarious going on in Cafh, although I do now of one member, an economist, who went on to work for some globalist bank.
The problems I had there were more related to the personal orientation of certain members, and, I believe, the general corruption of society in our times. And by the way, I didn't leave the order, I was kicked out.
That's unusual. Most secret societies use extortion to 'keep' members as opposed to kicking them out.
Its probably just as well that you're not there. I'm sure its what's allowed you to be an independent thinker instead of the manipulated group mentality so common with secret societies.
By the way, this is Cafh's website:
http://www.cafh.org/english/index.htm
Cafh didn't discourage any independent thinking, I really can't say much against it as an organization. Most of the member raise fine families and contribute to society.
My problem was just with certain individuals, some in positions of authority, who abused their authority in minor ways. I complained about it, and refused to back down, so, I was asked to leave.
I do not know about that. Do know the Occult requires human sacrifice AKA Desert Storm Shock and awe ETC.
I've heard about that, yes, and it makes sense. Some suspect that the ultimate sacrifice would be a nuclear WW3, that would be triggered by the bombing of Iran. Both Russia and China have agreements to protect Iran, and would probably retaliate against us if we or Israel were to make such an attack.
Some say the satanists are trying to provoke such a thing because their banking system is crumbling, Asian nations are taking the lead, and groups like OWS are making trouble for them.
They want to trigger WW3 and sit in their bunkers until its over and reclaim what is left of the world, without having to deal with protestors.
Do not know of that,jntresting
There are a couple videos on the following page if you want to know more about it:
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_fulford135.htm
Thanks
Well, it is a cult. I give that but the following is a load of crap:
"The victims lead relatively normal lives, but the memories are locked up in a compartment in their minds and surface in various ways. [until] something triggers the memories of their early childhood an consequently flashbacks and/or nightmares occur. One day they will have been living a normal life and the next they will be in a mental hospital in a fetal position. When it [the memory] is tapped, it is as fresh as if it happened yesterday. The memories seem to come in layers. For example, the first memory might be of incest; then they remember robes and candles; next they realize that their father or mother or both were present when they were being abused. Another layer will be the memory of seeing other people hurt and even killed. Another layer is realizing that they participated in the sacrifices. On of the most painful memories may be that they even sacrificed their own baby"(Ibid.).
Right at this moment, everybody should step back and say.....really? Remember the number of cases for RMT and look at the dates given in the article. More information on RMT court cases below. People were falsely accused and imprisoned. I am neither a fan of Mormonism nor Romney but let's be careful. http://www.religioustolerance.org/rmt_cour.htm
I normally agree with you about a lot of things, but have my suspicions in cases like this. I've heard its mostly pedophiles behind the False Memory Syndrome foundation.
no, it was those falsely accused of being pedophiles, because there's no such thing as repressed memory syndrome
I knew a psychiatrist once, he claimed to have done quite a bit of work with multiple personality, or repressed memory cases.
You would have to look at the cases. It was hysteria.
Ted Gunderson, former head of the Los Angeles FBI seemed pretty convinced about it.
Janet Reno was a believer. The only reason that the Waco siege occurred was based on this hysteria.
Having directly observed cases of harassment that were covered up by higher ups and turned into attacks against the victim, my sympathies tend to rest with the victims.
Oh, of course.
However, the damage that was done to the many people that were sent to prison is incredible. These are peoples lives. We as a society have to say that is evidence is something that someone has or they do not have.
Sure, that's true, I don't know the details of the case, and if those people were really innocent, that would be terrible. Overall though, there seems to be to much information out there about satanism, that I think there must be something to it.
You know, a couple of centuries ago, there was a historically real organization called the Hellfire Club, whose member were English aristocrats that participated in dark rituals for fun.
And for so many thousands of years, there were groups like the Aztecs or Babylonians that did human sacrifice, that I wouldn't be surprised if it still goes on today.
There's far more to Waco than the masses are aware of. This link gives a good overview of what was going on behind the scenes and headlines.
"Two of the Branch Davidian village members had been able to hack into the Pentagon/CIA/FBI Black Ops databases, and discovered that the CIA with the utilization of the CIA's Buffalo Airlines, were daily transferring Cocaine, laundered money, special operations agents, kidnaped children for CIA pedophile programs, and arms at the World War Two runway that bordered the Branch Davidian Village."
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/elites.htm
Some of the cases may have been hysteria certainly, usually with the involvement of an incompetent therapist. It would be a mistake to dismiss all cases of recovered memories as false however because there are legitimate instances of this happening, (although not necessarily 'satanic' abuse).
In any event, I give the mormons cred for taking it seriously enough to investigate. The catholics probably would have tried to bury it.
Are you familiar with Elizabeth Loftus?
No, I'm not.
http://faculty.washington.edu/eloftus/
She has some articles in the above link that you might be interested in. If you ever, ever get the opportunity to read that book Eyewitness Testimony, do it.
I am familiar with the work on false memories and I agree that it can, and has, happened. Nonetheless, there are also cases in which accurate memories of abuse have been recalled.This happened to someone close to me so I know it is true. This person had never been in therapy and his recollection was amply corroborated.
This site has a lot of resources related to the issue, including a critique of Loftus's work. http://www.jimhopper.com/memory/
It is a terrible thing for someone to be falsely accused of abuse. It is also terrible for an abuse victim to not be believed. I think each case must be evaluated and not be summarily dismissed nor unquestioningly accepted as true without further inquiry.
Good point. I love it when you actually think, GirlFried
I cannot stand you at all.
I think you have a crush on me.
I had a number of Mormon friends as a kid, and they and their families seemed extraordinarily normal. So it was with surprise that I read this article years ago, and remembered it as Romney was running, and other people here mentioned "Svali".
I don't know how old you are or if you would even remember but there were a lot of cases in the 1980s and 1990s where people in the US were convicted left and right for ritual satanic abuse.
It seems totally insane to think about it now but it did occur. Unbelievable stuff like the McMartin Preschool case. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMartin_preschool_trial
This was a post early on in OWS about exposing the elite at the root of the problem. It is important to understand the staggering degree of callousness with the elite, so we know what we're dealing with.
This is the elite's biggest secret they don't want revealed. If you watch even the top video, you get a pretty good idea that the elite and the government don't give a damn about us if they can do what is shown here.
Forum Post: The children that were never officially missed Posted 4 days ago on Dec. 5, 2011, 1:33 p.m. EST by Danaan This content is user submitted and not an official statement
It is amazing that still now after all this time no one wonders about the missed children. On average one in 1000. GONE! And everybody is asking where the money went. No one acts on the perpetrators. Well you should know that the same bankers and top rich that stole the money also are involved in the disappearance of children. Money means nothing, it is not worth anything in the end, Childs lives is. Do not let the elite kidnap and kill more of our children. They can now because the press is in their hands. Occupy DO something NOW! Spread these links and lift the thugs! Keep this link on top. Thank you from us and Im sure you get a thank you also from the millions of kids who cannot speak anymore as they lost their lives to these thugs.
-Paedos in one big ring across the whole western world!
http://www.youtube.com/user/Iamnotanumbernr1?feature=mhee#p/u/10/UAbK9F7SzM8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uCoqldzLJs&list=FL2-jOypFGljPO8zxNibVKgg&index=8&feature=plpp_video
-Paedophiles in England who are of the highest in society go free.
http://pbepr.wordpress.com/
-The queens and kings of Europe have a hunting ground in Afrika, this can be used to hunt people as well.
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/biggestsecret/biggestsecretbook/biggestsecret18.htm
-Children from USA and Europe end in slavery.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Child_labour#Involved_Countries http://childslaves.blogspot.com/
USA and Europe even allow whole etnicities to be deleted so do not think they care about children one bit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=779qk8ZbCKY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpvtTI3w-h8&feature=related
-US police refuse to report file
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs8JT984muc&list=FL2-jOypFGljPO8zxNibVKgg&index=17&feature=plpp_video
-baby raped in CPS, state protects them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unYGlVeLzcA&list=FL2-jOypFGljPO8zxNibVKgg&index=13&feature=plpp_video
-Holly Greig is a link to the western world big pedophile ring that killed Maddy Mc Cann, yet she is silenced.
http://mccannexposure.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/holly-greig-loses-campaign/
-Canadian kids killed by the elite for thrills.
http://banishedbabies-canada.blogspot.com/2011/10/canada-church-stole-native-land-by.html
http://www.examiner.com/exopolitics-in-seattle/mass-genocide-of-mohawk-children-by-uk-queen-and-vatican-uncovered-canada
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWnK_bQBLP0
The donation of Constantine is a document that can be used against you as a landowner as well if you buy land. also look at the links on the right there.
-Spains stolen babies
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15335899
-Vatican childabuse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfTVAdgV-9w&feature=related
-Senator speaks up on CPS Child Trafficking
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkt5zeYQ7-A
-Holland Dutch cps steal children
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16nfJOWY0cA&list=FL2-jOypFGljPO8zxNibVKgg&index=33&feature=plpp_video
-Childservices across the world are turned into corporations, what is a corporation?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pin8fbdGV9Y&list=FL2-jOypFGljPO8zxNibVKgg&index=27&feature=plpp_video
plenty better than the Rev. Wright cult Obama joined
Why are you capping on his religion? Was the "church" that Obama went to for 20 years that spouted anti white and anti American garbage a cult? Do people that subscribe to Black Nationalism members of the occult?
A Mormon bishop's memo was leaked to the press, its content was very strange.
The 'one party-two party system' where all the players have been bought and paid for have already given us their 'a' or 'b' choice for President: 'Barack the magic Negro' as Rush Limbaugh calls him or Mitt Romney, the man with the magic Underwear.
Most of the voting population realizes and is coming to realize that there's nowhere in the Constitution that says they have to be or vote 'R' or 'D' and many will be writing in their votes this time around because the system is Broken and practically F.U.B.A.R. ( f&@Ked Up Beyond All Recognition) and we all know we need to get back to basics:Dust off the Constitution, get away from the fractional reserve banking system, bring American manufacturing/industries back, save the middle class and let America come back to economic sanity! PS: Used to be an American could be trained on the job and be self supporting with no reliance on public or private subsidies and with American industries coming back to the US as the saying went for Rosie the Riveter in WWII:'We Can Do It' if we'd all have the chance as our great grandparents and grandparents did who are also known as 'The Greatest Generation.'
I really liked and agree with the last few sentences of your second paragraph.
Thanks. I'm glad you liked it.
Maybe together we can be the Second Greatest Generation if we can pull together more closely in the effort to bring the U.S.A. back to its prior greatness.
One other important project you might want to include is NAWAPA, the North American Water and Power Authority. First conceived under the JFK administration, by the Army Corp of Engineers.
50% of the fresh water that falls in the US comes down in Alaska, where it mostly runs off into the sea. NAWAPA would bring this water through the largest aqueduct system ever built into the central American desert where it would be used to create farm land.
The water, once used for agriculture, would then evaporate and be distributed around the country as rainfall, greening both wild and agricultural land nationwide, and replenishing our diminishing underground water supplies.
Check this page to learn more about NAWAPA:
http://www.larouchepac.com/infrastructure
That is interesting. Thanks for sharing it!
Mormons are nuts like most 2nd or 1st coming idiots.
Some Mormons that I've know were really nice, normal people. I will admit though that if you do look at the religion in detail, it is rather strange.
I don't care how nice someone is when their fundamental belief says they are chosen by god and I am not unless I think like them.
I understand, but people can learn to live with their differences. In the middle east, before modern Israel, Christians, Muslims and Jews were able to get along quite well, from what I've heard.
However, I can understand how one might take personal offense at being considered "damned" because of not holding religious beliefs.
not only a kick in the face with a smile but they are self fulfilling prophets trying making an Armageddon so my children can't enjoy the planet. Their religions are pathological and fundamentally hatefully towards the success of humanity. The 3 religions you mention are the worst thing for this planet and must be eradicated because they will literally eradicate the planet if their evil books comes true. Thanks for taking the time to understand my point of view. I dislike those 3 religions greatly because they are based on lies and are evil pretending to be good.
Interesting, are you a gnostic? Gnostics believe that the god of Christianity is actually the devil.
My opinion would be that the three religions are not all bad, and have contributed some great positives in history.
But you do have good points about Armageddon
This is what you really need to be concerned about:
A jury on Sunday found three members of an Afghan family guilty of killing three teenage sisters and another woman in what the judge described as "cold-blooded, shameful murders" resulting from a "twisted concept of honor," ending a case that shocked and riveted Canadians.
Prosecutors said the defendants allegedly killed the three teenage sisters because they dishonored the family by defying its disciplinarian rules on dress, dating, socializing and using the Internet.
The jury took 15 hours to find Mohammad Shafia, 58; his wife Tooba Yahya, 42; and their son Hamed, 21, each guilty of four counts of first-degree murder. First-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
After the verdict was read, the three defendants again declared their innocence in the killings of sisters Zainab, 19, Sahar 17, and Geeti, 13, as well as Rona Amir Mohammad, 52, Shafia's childless first wife in a polygamous marriage.
It has happened here in the US. This is more concerning then being Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, Jewish or Athiest or other religions for that matter.
I think that violence is of concern in any religion that perpetrates it. Our country has been perpetrating tremendous violence against Muslims in our wars against middle eastern countries over the past decade. And now they want to cap it off with a war against Iran to trigger WW3.
Of course, what that Afghan family did was wrong as well.
Well, I haven't heard of any Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, Jewish or Athiest kill any recently in the name of their religion - have you?
Now that is not to say there are some strange people out there who worship snakes and die from getting bitten or others who use natural cures and as a result childeren die but those are purely accidental - not deliberate acts murder because of what they believe in.
They haven't personally killed any.
However, my sister in law, while looking for a church in her community, recently found that too many churches advocated war in the middle east. The votes and other political activities of Christian and Jewish Zionists add up to wars, killing millions.
But do they actually "kill" someone because they disagree with what they are doing here in the US of A?
You see you can use that as an excuse but it won't work. At present there is only one religion that advocates killing todays society and that's the "radical muslims".
Again I did not say "all muslims" just the radicals but they are muslim and that is their foundation and basis for their beliefs.
Perhaps so, but all and all, who is doing the most killing in the world today? I'd say it would have to be the US, being manipulated by global finance that is.
That's a different subject for a different day
All religion is a cult...Sorry, and before you say it....I know there is a Creator...
Mormon's rock!
Yes, it certainly is the first and possibly the second, as well
Mormonism wins my prize for the most absurd line of shit in religious history. Is it a cult? All religions begin as a cult. What transforms a cult into a religion is merely a matter of the environment it was born & grew up in.
Scientology wins my prize for most absurd line of shit.
I used to think Tibetan Buddhism was cool, but have since learned that it involved worshiping humans. Originally, westerners called it Lamaism because it seemed to be about worshiping high lamas.
It used to brutally enforce a caste system, in which most of the population were serfs or slaves for life to lamas or aristocrats
I think the Panchen Lama's reforms, under the Chinese, are tuning Tibetan Buddhism into something more positive, socially.
You do know that there are many different schools of Buddhism?
Yes, I do, I was speaking of Tibetan Buddhism, of which I know there are different kinds as well.
However, generally speaking, the idea of reincarnation, which I believe exists in all forms of Buddhism, and Hinduism as well, seems oppressive. It implies that the elites have their privileged positions because of good deeds they did in a previous lifetime, while the poor face their sorry fate because of sins they had committed in previous lives.