Looking at his most recent mug shot, no one would guess that Warren Jeffs was once a prophet and leader to a church with nearly ten thousand members; without Warren’s dark brown hair and the suits he commonly wore, Warren could be passed off as any other hardened criminal. Despite the dramatic change in his appearance, it is speculated that the convicted sexual predator still manages to maintain control over his people. While the FLDS Church followers believe that Warren is the one and only mouthpiece of God today; the Jehovah’s Witnesses, on the other hand, have a governing body of seven men that lead their denomination. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society is “the oldest and most important of the corporations of the Jehovah's Witnesses”, and the President of the Society used to be part of the governing body. However in October 2000, the current president Don Alden Adams, resigned from the governing body to take on a purely administrative role which has no influence on the doctrine. (WatchTower.org) Adams is considered to be a 50-year veteran of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and like Warren, Adams grew up with his current religion. (Ostling) Don and Warren slightly resemble each other with their long faces, prominent noses and thin framed glasses, however without their shared belief in a god, their appearance is the extent of their likeness. Just as the FLDS Church and the Jehovah’s Witnesses both share a belief in a higher power, they differ greatly in their origin, doctrine, and practices. By comparing these denominations, it will become clear why one is more popular than the other.
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, commonly known as the FLDS Church, was officially formed in 1990 by Warren Jeffs. Ho...
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...e Witnesses door-to-door evangelism, the practices of these religions may be off-putting for some, however millions of people embrace these eccentricities open heartedly, all in the name of religion.
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The New Salem also believes that when they preach, the words come from God and not man. The other associations of the Old Regular Baptist also believe this to be true as well.
Roberts, B. H.. A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City; Bookcraft, 1957.
The FLDS is a breakaway sect from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and was established after a group of Mormons refused to renounce polygamy, which in their eyes, was the only way to reach salvation. According to the FLDS mindset, the only way a man could reach heaven and have status in the community is through having multiple wives. The FLDS community functions as a hierarchy, at which the prophet stands atop of the pyramid as the crowning jewel of God’s favored people. For the past few decades, Rulon and Warren Jeffs have ruled over the church as the prophets, taking unprecedented power over...
Tobler, Douglas F., and Nelson B. Wadsworth. The History of the Mormons. New York, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989. Print.
The Heaven’s Gate Cult was founded in the early 1970’s by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. Applewhite was recovering, under the care of his nurse Ms. Nettles, when he claimed to have has a near death experience. Applewhite claimed that he and Nettles were the two witnesses spoken of in the Book of Revelation. And they were to prepare the worlds inhabitants for recycling.
...e Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 30 May 2008. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.
Cults are becoming more and more of an issue for Jews every day. Many cults are beginning to target Jews. They say you can believe in Jesus yet remain a Jew, or many other things like that. It is important for people to educate themselves of these cults and their recruiting techniques so that they will not be taken advantage of by these cults. Cults now are very different than they were in ancient times though. The Jews, rather than being targeted by cults, were themselves a cult. In fact they were one of the first documented cults.
"Growth of the Church - LDS Newsroom." LDS News | Mormon News - Official Newsroom of the Church. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. .
...leased from prison, Mathews continued his quest for religion by seeking Joseph Smith of the Mormon society, under the alias Joshua the Jewish Minister. The two had a heated discussion of resurrection and reincarnation. On the other hand, Matthews claimed to be both God and the reincarnation of the apostle Matthias. However Matthews his meeting with Smith was unsuccessful because both prophets believed the other was of the devil. Matthews’ s religious journey albeit chaotic and aberrant now serves as subconscious guide for how new religious movements and cults in present day America.
The Heaven’s Gate Cult is one of thousands of millennial cults and UFO- based cults throughout the world. It has existed for over 22 years now. The cult was lead by a man named Marshall Applewhite and a woman named Bonnie Nettles. They were referred to as “Do” and “Ti” by the cult. These were said to be their spiritual names. Bonnie met Marshall as a patient in a psychiatric hospital where she worked as a nurse.
Smith, Joseph, junior. The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1981. 1830.
Singular, Stephen. When Men Become Gods: Mormon Polygamist Warren Jeffs, His cult of Fear, and the Women Who Fought Back. Macmillan, 2009.
The Baptists stands out as an interesting denomination. What attracts me to this particular denomination are their practice and their religious views. Unlike many Christian denominations, Baptists practice adult baptism; they believe that baptism should be for those who have made a conscience decision of accepting Jesus as Lord. As for their religious views, Baptists have an ever-changing view on various issues. In many ways the Baptists denomination is very traditional in their old ways but also they also evolve with the new times.
The Baptist Bible Fellowship International has done great things throughout the many years of its existence. The reason for the group’s success has been through missions, evangelism, Bible Colleges, and church planting. In the 1950’s the World Baptist Fellowship ruled the Baptist scene. During the era of the WBF there was a conflict that arose as J. Frank Norris attempted to overthrow G.B. Vick’s presidency at his Bible College. Norris desired to be president of the college that Vick established. Norris attempted to push Vick out by spreading rumors and causing dissension regarding Vick’s character among the students that attended the college. Jeffery D. Lavoie writes in, Segregation and the Baptist Bible Fellowship, that G.B. Vick aided a “movement” for a new fellowship after being removed from his presidency by J. Frank Norris. When about one hundred pastors decided leave the WBF and start a new fellowship. With the leadership of Vick and the other pastors, a brand new fellowship called the Baptist Bible Fellowship was created in May 1950 (Lavoie 2). The WBF was the most prominent fellowship among Baptist pastors, and slowly after the BBF was formed, the WBF faded away. To this day is still existing and running as a missions agency.
The boys’ pose appear as competition, “...while boys are seen by older men as competition for the girls”(Vere). As part of the polygamy beliefs, the young boys’ develop the idea that, they themselves are “Satan’s temptations”(Jessop). Many cases, young boys’ are abandoned and rejected from the compound. The FLDS serve as a community called The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a well known polygamous compound. This polygamous community is well known in North America, “Although the practice is widespread across cultures, we know it best in North America as characterized by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS)”(Mack). The FLDS in many cases, will find rather ridiculous offenses to banish the boys’. Clearly, the main goal here is to simply eliminate the competition, “FLDS leader Warren Jeffs 's insistence that parents expel their young male children from the community to eliminate competition for wives”(Billie 127). These youthful boys’ are forced into a society they are unaware of and with no family to guide them, a challenge young boys may