The Emergent Mormon Church

Ed Decker
I have been quietly spending a great deal of time lately on unofficial Mormon
websites, forums and blog sites, and communicating with so many
Mormons, [under a pseudonym, obviously].
I didnt do this to argue or debate. I wanted to listen, to feel the pulse of regular
Mormon people. What I have found is an astonishing discovery of something I
have already suspected for some time.
The LDS Brethren have been trying to align themselves with general Christianity
for the last decade or so. It was never clearer than when Mitt Romney ran for
President.
It rose up to a crashing crescendo when Glenn Beck gathered up groups of
Christian leaders and put on his We are All One party at the Lincoln Memorial
on the National Mall.
Mormonism can never align itself with Orthodox, biblically based Christianity for
many reasons, yet the Mormon people want to be known as true Christians.
What these Mormons are saying on their forums, blogs and FB pages is that most
of them generally pick and choose what they want to be the focus of their
religious experience in the Church.
They just junk the parts that make them feel uncomfortable. Sort of what
American Catholics and ala-carte Christians have been doing for years.
Now, this is also true across the general population within the LDS church. It
isnt a segment of the members; it is widespread among them.

On the part of the leadership, we see another anomaly. Rarely, if ever, are the
deviant doctrines preached from the pulpits anymore.
The preaching is a feel good set of messages meant to make the members and
their families happy to be there and smiling when they leave. In Mormonism,
they really do not preach. They share talks.
When we talk to recent converts about some of these strange doctrines, they look
at us like we are crazy. They havent been taught about their Mother in Heaven,
or the black skin curse, or Jesus and Lucifer being brothers, as examples.
The LDS Church leadership has recently made great strides in cuddling up to the
Christian body, but it isnt where you would think, understanding the
conservative DNA of Mormonism.
They are copying and using the same methods and techniques as the Seeker
Friendly and Emergent Church groups within liberal Christianity and finding
that they have strong compatibilities.
They also see that the leaders of these groups accept them at smiley face value
and would never think to challenge them doctrinally. A Tinker Bell and Peter
Pan relationship.
A Mormon could go to any one of such a church type and be openly welcomed,
accepted as a Mormon believer and be extremely comfortable while never
challenged spiritually. And leave church feeling really good.
Except for the weekly Wonder Bread and Water Sacrament, the Mormon can feel
right at homeat any Seeker Friendly or Emergent church gathering.
One recent forum thread was about which non-LDS churches they felt
comfortable attending.

This is what one of our Board members; Eric Barger had to say about the
Emergent Church:
The Errors of the Emergent Church
I know many Emergent sympathizers would object and say that I am
generalizing. However, that simply is not the case. Even without much space to
elaborate in this article, and even as difficult as "Emergent Speak" can be to
decipher, once one boils it down, just a partial outline of Emergent philosophies
indicates glaring flaws.
To Emergents, Christianity is:
* Experience over Reason
* Images over Words
* Spirituality over Doctrine
* Subjective Feelings over Absolute Truth
* Earthly Justice over Salvation
* Social Action over Eternity
Mormons are 100% in line with the first four characteristics and with a little
tweaking, can accept the last two, as well. They also have their own MormonSpeak vocabulary.
When then President Gordon B. Hinckley was interviewed by Larry King in 2004,
he was asked what happens when a person dies.
Here he had the opportunity to speak as a true prophet and declare the judgment
and the three degrees of Glory. Instead, Gods mouthpiece for the earth just
didnt know.
KING: What happens when you die?

HINCKLEY: When you die? Well, I'm not fully conversant with that. I
haven't passed through that yet.
Sort of reminded me of a recent interview on the Piers Morgan Tonight program
that replaced Larry King Live. I do like the more direct approach to issues that
Piers has, compared to the King approach.
Piers was interviewing Joel Osteen, Pastor of one of the largest Seeker Friendly
Churches in America. Piers worked hard to get him to reluctantly admit that
homosexuality was a sin, according to the Bible, but could not get him to define
what makes a person saved and going to heaven.
Pastor Osteen did not know or would not say who was going to heaven and how
to get there. Millions of people were watching and the pastor of tens of
thousands of Christian church members could not give the basic elements of
Salvation, lest someone be offended. This is the kind of Christianity the Mormon
leaders are becoming kissing cousins to, and it will get far worse as time goes on
and no one speaks out about it.
One LDS Blogger wrote that the church was suffering from a case of spiritual
schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder.
The Dictionary definitions of these two are,
First schizophrenia: Any of a group of psychotic disorders usually
characterized by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions,
and hallucinations, and accompanied in varying degrees by other emotional,
behavioral, or intellectual disturbances
And Second, multiple personality disorder: A situation, state of mind, in
which widely conflicting opinions, ideas, or practices coexist, often resulting in
indecision, vacillation, wavering, etc.

While one can smile and see the sad truth in what the blogger wrote, The
Emergent and Seeker Friendly Churches suffer the same maladies and they are
the Christianity the Mormons are now seeking fellowship with and getting
results.

Watch and be warned. The LDS Church will soon become another
branch of shattered Christianity.

Contactmeat:
ed@saintsalive.com
www.saintsalive.com