Mormonism In Disguise: A Pig Is Still A Pig No Matter How You Dress It Up
Rebranding Mormonism As Christianity Is Yet Another Scam
In the UK recently, a fifty-year-old well-known soft drink, Lilt, "the totally tropical taste," was rebranded as a new type of Fanta. Why? Because the old brand was less famous now and needed to make the hefty profit it used to make back in the 1980s and 1990s. It had lost vast swathes of customers/followers as each younger generation had more choices. The image of tropical Lilt no longer swayed them. So now it was to be part of the worldwide brand of Fanta. A more acceptable and popular brand that made a profit. The taste? Yes, you guessed it, it tastes of Lilt. No matter how you rebrand it, it's still Lilt. No matter the name, adverts, or color scheme, it's still Lilt.
Likewise, with Mormonism. No matter how often the Mormon church attempts to rebrand and rename its product, it's still Mormonism. Since the Americanization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints between 1890–1930, the church has consistently rebranded itself to move away from early Mormonism. For an eye-opening read of this period in Mormon history, see Tom Alexanders' book, Mormonism in Transition, 1986. In more recent times, for example, even the cover of The Book of Mormon was rebranded to make it more palatable for new converts and the Christian world at large.
And since the new Mormon Prophet, Russell M. Nelson, took the Mormon leadership reins in 2018, the intention has been to completely eradicate the word 'Mormon' from all conversation and publications, except for The Book of Mormon itself. And woe betides you if you use the word Mormon. As I have found out, what was once a badge of honor is now seen as an insult, and I have been angrily and verbally assailed by Mormons who feel it necessary to take away the free speech of those who disobey their Prophet by using the word Mormon.
So why is this such a contentious topic? Just as Fanta wishes to eradicate the Lilt name to move away from the past and gain new purchasers of their 'new' product to fill their coffers, likewise with the Mormon church. Is this latest move coincidental, or is it more to do with a significant membership decline? Fewer members, including evergrowing numbers quitting and leaving Mormonism is, a worrying thought to Mormon leadership. Although happy to be known as a 'peculiar people' until the 21st century, a rebrand to be a wholly Christian faith is the road the Mormons wish to travel from now on. How bad must things be to change your whole religious and corporate image?
"I mean, can you imagine the Jewish people announcing one day that they will no longer be called Jews, and instead, you can call them some generic Protestant name? How bad would things have to be to see something like that from a religion?" (Griffin Jones)
There was a time when Mormon leadership (Gordon B. Hinckley) stated the church was not Christian, and most Christian faiths would have agreed. The so-called saving ordinances of Mormonism, the rites and tenets, were and still are incredibly different, even weird, from any Christian cults, sects, and churches.
As reported in the Salt Lake Tribune, "In recent years, the global faith of 16.8 million has grown by less than 1% annually and is shrinking in several regions. For instance, in the United States over the past two years, 21 states saw Latter-day Saint membership decline." (January 4th 2023)
The most astonishing thing in that article:
”Utah’s growth of about 34,000 members represents the majority of the church’s 42,000-member growth in America overall over the past two years.”
Did you get that? US membership growth outside of Utah has been just 4,000 members per year for the past two years. With 6 million US Mormons, that annual growth rate is about .06%. That's a MISERABLE growth rate. (Great point grove-doubter/Reddit!)
Less membership means less money. Less active membership means even less money. Anyone who isn't wholly brainwashed would have noticed that local churches/ward houses, and even Stake centers, have been consistently sold off over the last few years. Local ward and Stake boundaries worldwide have been consistently reduced and redrawn.
Maybe diminishing membership was one of the many reasons the Mormon church illegally stockpiled over $150 BILLION, as pointed out in a recent CBS News 60 Minutes TV program. "In February, the SEC fined the Mormon church and Ensign Peak a total of $5 million for using shell companies to obscure the size of its investment portfolio. SEC investigators found the church "went to great lengths" to hide $32 billion in securities over nearly 20 years. It created 13 shell companies that were "assigned a local phone number that would go directly to voicemail" in case regulators checked in.
A Pig Is Still A Pig No Matter How You Dress It Up.
You may call your pig an American eagle, but it’s still a pig! Looking carefully under the fine feathers, you will see the pig. Take a closer look at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Mormons, and you will discover an organization that bears no resemblance to mainline Christianity, no matter what the PR team says.
© Stephen G. Arrowsmith 2023
To see more of my work, please check out the following articles. Please feel free to share, give me a clap, and follow me for up-to-date writing. If you feel like being a writer, join Medium through my link above; it helps me!
