![\"Islamic](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/05\/227768_485771438135352_1068372481_n.jpg\")
<\/a>Yet again this morning I encountered the claim online that Islam isn\u2019t really a religion. \u00a0It\u2019s actually, so today\u2019s anonymous commenter said, a political ideology that seeks world domination.<\/p>\n
This is mere depressing nonsense, of course \u2014 although, it seems to me, there is method in the madness (at least in some iterations). \u00a0The goal for some seems to be to prepare the ground for either stripping Muslims of the First Amendment rights that are constitutionally assigned to the freedom of religion or, even more aggressively, for barring and expelling Muslims from the United States completely.<\/p>\n
And it seems to me that Latter-day Saints, of all people, ought to resist such idiocy, not least because precisely the same claim has been asserted about our<\/em> faith. \u00a0Not only historically, in the nineteenth century, but now<\/em>. \u00a0It took me perhaps ten seconds to locate a current online illustration of the claim. \u00a0Here\u2019s the example that I found, but further illustrations could be multiplied all day long:<\/p>\n Just so we\u2019re clear: Mormonism<\/a> is just not religious. It never was.<\/p>\n Mormonism has coasted along for two hundred years on the assumption by society at large that if an institution says it is religious, then it must actually be religious. This is especially true for those ones that ground themselves in the Bible. The assumption is that all those entities have as their fundamental goal bringing people closer to some sort of an encounter with the divine. And the rank and file membership believe that following the Mormon way will indeed expose them to divinity. All those testimonies are really assurances to each other that somewhere, buried deep within Mormonism, one can actually get God to respond to their prayers.<\/p>\n In 2025, the curtain has been pulled aside and we see Mormonism for what it really is. It is an organization designed deliberately to be in charge of everybody else in the world. We all know the history. Their biggest draw is to prepare the world for the second coming of Jesus. But in the Mormon theology<\/a>, the whole reason for Jesus\u2019 return is to install Mormons<\/a> as the undisputed- and totally secular- rulers of the world. That\u2019s why it is so hard for posters here to stick to religion- because the \u201creligion\u201d itself does not stick to religion. Thank you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n That was posted approximately a year ago. \u00a0And here are a few of the responses to it:<\/p>\n The unfortunate reality, at least in Mormonism, is that god is money\u2013which provides power and influence. It\u2019s what they worship, it\u2019s what they prioritize, and it\u2019s what they desire above all else. Mormonism is a Fortune500 international masquerading as a religion.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n Nearly identical to the Jewish and Muslim narrative.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n And the Christian one too. It\u2019s all garbage.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n They all trace themselves back to Abraham. And Abraham\u2019s great reward, after demonstrating his fidelity, was pure and simple real estate.<\/p>\n One suspects that the gods of other groups around that region were also really, really into conveyancing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n Mormonism is just a real estate and stock exchange corporation that sells some \u201cchurch\u201d on the side. When I learned the legal, official name of the organization is \u201cThe Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints\u201d, that was all I needed to know.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n Oh honey, that\u2019s what religion has always been.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n And plenty of them are arrogant enough to believe that they should and one day will be in charge of the world<\/p><\/blockquote>\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n You know it\u2019s not religious when you listen to 1 sacrament meeting. How many times do they mention God or Jesus? Uh\u2026never. Bible study? Nope. Book of Mormon mainly or only. Commandments posted anywhere? Nope. Beatitudes posted anywhere? Nope. Nowhere. But they will walk up to you and hit you up for tithing and setting you up in the computer to pay that tithing. For this anti-Jesus, no God belief system? Pay you to commit fraud and deception? No thanks.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n My wife and I watched Project Hail Mary<\/em><\/a> last night. \u00a0We enjoyed it. \u00a0And, as Rocky and Ryland Grace were dangerously skimming the atmosphere of Tau Ceti e<\/em> (aka Adrian<\/em>), the thought crossed my mind that it was entirely appropriate to be seeing that particular scene in the movie on that particular night. \u00a0It was just three or four hours before that the Orion-class command module Integrity<\/em> had reentered Earth\u2019s atmosphere and touched down in the Pacific off the California coast, bringing NASA\u2019s Artemis II mission to a successful conclusion.<\/p>\n And, by the way, the Interpreter Foundation didn\u2019t purchase our tickets for us. \u00a0Nor was any donor duped into paying for them.<\/p>\n The teaser for the twelfth installment of Becoming Brigham<\/em> is now out. \u00a0It\u2019s only thirty-eight seconds long. \u00a0You can do this. \u00a0That\u2019s what makes you you<\/em>: \u00a0You do difficult things: \u00a0\u201cTRAILER\u2014Deep Waters, Brigham Young, Joseph and Emma Smith Episode 12\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n And there\u2019s still more<\/em> that\u2019s new from the somnolent, completely inert, and unproductive Interpreter Foundation: \u00a0Up today on the Foundation\u2019s website is Conversations with Interpreter<\/em>: John Cochran II and Joseph Cochran, \u201cCovenant Thresholds: Looking at Religious Readiness in the Book of Mormon\u201d<\/a>:<\/p>\n In this episode of Conversations with Interpreter<\/em>, John E. Cochran II and Joseph Cochran explore the societal and cultural changes that seem to have allowed the Lamanites to be receptive to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Cochrans lay out their argument in an article entitled, \u201cFrom Wilderness to Covenant Threshold: Land, Literacy, and Religious Readiness in the Book of Mormon,\u201d published in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. In this episode, they observe that the descriptions of Lamanites in early parts of the Book of Mormon do not always coincide with what the sons of Mosiah find in their missionary journey. They argue that it is the language and culture brought by Amulon and the wicked priests actually helped prepare the Lamanites for the gospel of Jesus Christ, showing how God prepares people in ways that are sometimes different from what we expect. God wants all of his people to return to him and he is constantly finding ways to prepare people, including cultural and societal changes.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom Wilderness to Covenant Threshold: Land, Literacy, and Religious Readiness in the Book of Mormon\u201d is available for reading at https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/journal\/from-wilderness-to-covenant-threshold-land-literacy-and-religious-readiness-in-the-book-of-mormon<\/a>.<\/p>\n As these examples, drawn from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial \u201cHow Religion Poisons Everything\u201d File<\/em>\u2122, demonstrate with alarming clarity, religious people continue to try to inflict their poisonous beliefs on the innocent people around them:<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Johnson speaks on the importance of daily acts of kindness \u2014 both global and personal \u2014 in address to global leaders:\u00a0\u2018The challenges are big, but our opportunities are even bigger,\u2019 Relief Society general president says\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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