Mormonism is the original prosperity gospel. Example: “I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say..”

Dr. William Wyl wrote that Joseph Smith had a scribe whom he nicknamed, “The Lord.” He (Smith) could claim anything he wanted by his cutesy “... thus sayeth The Lord.”

“Joseph Smith, The Prophet, His Family And His Friends. A Study Based on Facts And Documents; Volume First.” By Dr. William Wyl. 1886.

Smith was a liar and a joker.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2018 04:05AM by kathleen.

Brad Free Wrote:
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> Mormonism is the original prosperity gospel.
> Example: “I the Lord am bound when ye do what I
> say..”

You would have to make a case for me to accept that Mormonism (begun: 1830) is "the original PROSPERITY gospel"...

...although, if Mormonism is placed within its American historical context, I think a case could very possibly be made that Mormonism was one of the several original "New Thought-type" movements of the 1800s. It would undoubtedly be considered an outlier, but probably the case could be made for its inclusion, in its original form, under the umbrella of the overall New Thought movement.

According to the Wikipedia "History of New Thought" article ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_New_Thought ): "The history of New Thought started in the 1830s, with roots in the United States and England."

Phineas Quimby (1802-1866) is generally acknowledged as "the" founder of New Thought...although, from our perspective today, the overall New Thought movement seems to have arisen in a kind of organic form, while simultaneously evolving as the somewhat different teachings of a number of, in general, like-minded Americans, at a kind of metaphorical "same moment" (which was actually several decades long, and which very much included essayists and thinkers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and the other Transcendentalists).

There was a rich cross-fertilization among philosophical thinkers during the 1800s---to such an extent that it is frequently difficult to parse out their individual contributions as they learned from, and studied the works of, each other---but it definitely within the realm of possibility that Joseph Smith could have been influenced by the other "new" (and often quite successful) New Thought off-shoots of that time.

[FYI: I was raised with (simultaneously) dual religions: the Vedanta school of Hinduism (founded in the U.S. in 1893)...and Unity School of Christianity, founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore in 1889, one of the several early New Thought denominations.]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2018 04:31AM by Tevai.

Only if your name started with Brigham or Joseph and ended with Young or Smith.

They were the first MLM cads aka fringe cult ringleaders of TSCC to make sure all the profits of the tithes and offerings of the early saints went directly to line their pockets. And line them they did.

Very well indeed. Brigham knew a good racket when he saw it. So once Joseph was out of the way he stepped in to fill the power vacuum, and for the rest of his life he lived like a king, with his harem. His 'serfdom' put him there on the backs of their labor ie, blood, sweat and tears. And kept him there because they were blinded to his folly.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2018 10:52AM by Amyjo.

I can think of dozens of popes, long before Smith, who very much loved that their "gospel" brought them prosperity...and bishops, pastors, etc., all the way back to the bible Jesus character -- who tells his followers that god will grant them anything they ask for if they just believe.

It was Jesus who told the wealthy man who came to him asking how he could be saved to give away everything he had to the poor.

The man went away with his head low, because he had much - he could not envision giving away what he had of his substance to the less fortunate.

The parable went it was easier for a camel to enter through the 'eye of a needle' than for a rich man to inherit the kingdom of heaven.

In Jesus' time the 'eye of a needle' was a small door opening to a village, not what we would commonly think of as an eye of a needle.

Yes, but that was accompanied by a sort of "prosperity gospel" promise...

Giving everything you have to others would insure that god would give you everything you need. And if you need anything that god hasn't already given you, just ask -- and you'll get it.

"Prosperity gospel" preachers (or should I just say scam artists?) do the same today. Send me $100 (give away your money), and god will give you much more, anything you need.

No, not really. Jesus promised persecution, not blessings of prosperity for anyone who followed him.

"Cross References
Matthew 10:22
You will be hated by everyone on account of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

Matthew 24:9
Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name.

Mark 13:13
You will be hated by everyone on account of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

Luke 21:12
But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. On account of My name, they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors.

Luke 21:17
And you will be hated by everyone because of My name.

"Study Bible
The Hatred of the World
…19If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. 20Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well. 21But they will treat you like this on account of My name, because they do not know the One who sent Me.…" http://biblehub.com/john/15-20.htm

Jesus was the opposite of a prosperity preacher.

The treasures he promised were not of this world, but the kingdom to come for those who would be saved. This world treasures are fleeting. Money has wings and flies away (proverbs.) We are told not to store up treasures on earth but in heaven. That was what Christ taught.

His wasn't a prosperity doctrine. Quite the opposite.

AmyJo, as an ex-Christian Scientist, I agree with you completely, but the issue is not, "is the prosperity gospel a valid Christian belief," but is LDS the original prosperity gospel? As I stated in my post, below, I'm inclined to think that even though it has reared its heretical head elsewhere, it took root more deeply in American than anywhere else, so yes, LDS *is* the original prosperity gospel.

Damn its evil, ugly soul!

I disagree with this only because Joseph hooked his wagon to other evangelical fringe cult leaders of his day to start his own fringe cult. He just took it to the extreme by concocting his own set of scriptures, making the extraordinary claims based on falsehoods he'd seen and spoken to God himself, and Jesus Christ, etc.

He wasn't the first or the last. There were others before him. His religious movement came during a religious upheaval of his day. He seized upon the opportunity as the charlatan that he was, ie, treasure seeker and pious con artist.

Many frontiersmen made their livelihoods by preaching. They were largely itinerant preachers. Joseph built an empire by bamboozling others. Religion was just a vehicle for him to get rich. But he wasn't the only one or the first of his day. He was a copy cat of nearly everything he got his hands on. Other than making the claims he saw God and other biblical figures. Only a heretic would take it to that level; which he absolutely was.

Mixing LDS and New Thought is an apples-and-oranges thing. Yes, they're both fruit (aberrant American religions), but quite different.

I would classify LDS as a quasi-pagan hybrid with apocalyptic Christianity. New Thought was a hybrid of Christian mysticism with Eastern concepts and vaguely occultic (mind control) elements.

This may seem like a lot of theological gobbledygook to people, so a little explanation may help. Both come out of American Protestantism, and utilize selective use of the Bible and Christian terminology. Both are esoteric, meaning that the believer must be initiated into higher, secret teachings (LDS: the temple; New Thought: metaphysics). But yes, both hold that the "right" spirituality will lead to material blessing, and the blessing everybody wants most is prosperity.

LDS grafted on "exaltation advancing to godhood." Multiplicity of gods is paganism, plain and simple.

New Thought teaches that through higher metaphysical wisdom, a person can advance to some kind of divine consciousness, an indirect way of calling it godhood.

HieToKolob: I just did a search for pre-American prosperity preachers, and came up with...nothing. You might be able to cite a few prosperity preachers earlier and elsewhere, but it really seems to be a distinctly, if not uniquely, American phenomenon. Thus, the OP's calling LDS "the original prosperity gospel" is arguably correct. Early Federal America offered new and exciting opportunities for self-advancement, so it is understandable that positivistic religious sentiments developed here that did not find fertile soil in Europe.