DiscussMormonism.com

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7001 ... ation.html

SALT LAKE CITY — Mike Otterson, head of the LDS Church's Public Affairs Department, has a message for those in the media who persist in referring to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a "cult": "expect to be challenged." (emphasis mine)

Writing in the Washington Post's "On Faith" blog, Otterson asserts that the word continues to crop up in news stories about Mormonism because "it's a neat, shorthand and rather lazy way of putting a whole group into a box."

Mike Otterson contributes to the Washington Post's "On Faith" blog. "Once labeled as a cult," Otterson continues, "there is not much need to explain all of the baggage that comes with it - the implicit ideas of extremism, mind control, authoritarianism and secrecy that play perfectly into the kind of rigid stereotypes beloved of the ignorant and bigoted. Journalists could and should do better than perpetuate this kind of shallowness when referring to the fourth largest church in the United States. Rather than continuing to parrot it, it's time they pushed back against those who choose to use it."

copyright thief

I see you still don't understand the concept of copyright and 'fair use'.

Aren't you reading any of the links to the articles I have posted. They are by knowledgeable people, including the US Copyright office... not by some Mormon wing-nut who claims he can guarantee the outcome of a legal action.

Yeah...

Just because they have secret rituals, which you have to pay money in order to obtain the highest degree of glory...
Just because they give you a new secret name...
Just because they foster an us vs them, persecution complex...
Just because they ask the members to wear special clothing that has magical protective powers...
Just because they believe themselves to be the elite, chosen ones...
Just because they believe that they hold special powers to heal...
Just because they send tens of thousands of missionaries to recruit...
Just because they teach that members should have strict obedience to one man who claims to talk to God, even to the giving of your own life...

Why on EARTH would anyone consider them a cult??

Joseph wrote:I see you still don't understand the concept of copyright and 'fair use'.

Aren't you reading any of the links to the articles I have posted. They are by knowledgeable people, including the US Copyright office... .

I understand your position on copyright quite well as you have made your position very clear.

your position is that to violate copyright is to be a thief, thus you are a thief because you have violated a copyright.

Yes, [Mod Scottie: removed attack], violating copyright makes one a thief. What I posted is 'fair use'. Read some of the information on the links I have kindly provided in efforts to educate the rabble.

Fair Use is relatively simple - so I am puzzled that a simpleton like you cannot grasp the concept.

Joseph wrote:Yes, [personal attack deleted], violating copyright makes one a thief. What I posted is 'fair use'.

Fair Use is relatively simple - so I am puzzled that a simpleton like you cannot grasp the concept.

you mean fair use like making a parody of someone in a photograph?

its quite alright that you have a double standard, its just a terrible shame you are unwilling to admit you have double standard.

you can steal but no one else can....yes, it is that simple when you are involved.

sheety, learn a bit about 'fair use' and you won't be quites as stupid.

Most all of the photos posted on this site would never fall under 'fair use'.
You will notice I don't post photos. If and when I do you can rest assured I will have copyright, the permission of copyright owners or the image is in public domain. I do not assume that since it is on the internet it is free to take.


http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_a ... 9/9-b.html


A short bit from the Stanford site.


In a parody, for example, the parodist transforms the original by holding it up to ridicule. At the same time, a work does not become a parody simply because the author models characters after those found in a famous work. For example, in a case involving the author J.D. Salinger, an author wrote a book in which a character known as Mr. C was allegedly modeled after the character of Holden Caulfield, from Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. After Salinger sued, the sequel’s author claimed that his work was a parody, an argument rejected by the district court primarily because the work was not transformative. Aging the character and placing him in present day does not add something new, particularly since the character’s personality remains intact as derived from the original work. (Salinger v. Colting, 641 F. Supp. 2d 250 (S.D. N.Y. 2009).)

Cult really isn't a helpful term when talking about existing religions, and the Church should challenge any journalist who uses it to describe them.

Scottie wrote:Yeah...

Just because they have secret rituals, which you have to pay money in order to obtain the highest degree of glory...
Just because they give you a new secret name...
Just because they foster an us vs them, persecution complex...
Just because they ask the members to wear special clothing that has magical protective powers...
Just because they believe themselves to be the elite, chosen ones...
Just because they believe that they hold special powers to heal...
Just because they send tens of thousands of missionaries to recruit...
Just because they teach that members should have strict obedience to one man who claims to talk to God, even to the giving of your own life...

Why on EARTH would anyone consider them a cult??

And the list of cultish things is actually much longer.

Look I agree that the word "cult" carries negative connotations that are not necessarily part of the strict meaning of the word. I also agree that there is a big distinction between the Mormon church and Branch Davidians and all that. I also hate to see uninformed people come to conclusions about Mormons just based on that label being thrown around.

But lets be honest; there is indeed something very cultish about Mormonism and this goes double for the early church.