Hi all - what is the definition of an 'apostate' in the Mormon theocracy? Can a woman be an apostate? I was under the assumption that an apostate can only be a male/man. Someone in my family who knows that I no longer attend church called me an Apostate under their breathe. I thought I was just thought of as 'In-active' & I REALLY try to keep a low profile because I don't want to rock the boat and not be able to see my grandchildren. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Terrible joke, my sincere apologies...

A woman leaving the church is an apostit.


Again, sorry.

There are degrees of apostasy, of course. Is a Jack Mormon, one who still believes in LDS (sort of) but neither participates or conforms to the LDS standards of personal conduct? I would say most people on RfM are more than apostates, as they actively oppose LDS in both belief and practice.

In LDS, "apostate" is a pejorative term, worse than "inactive." in Protestant circles, "lapsed" seems to be the more common term.

Now, where's Happy Heretic when we need him?

In Mormonism, an apostate is someone who leaves the church. It usually takes resigning to be an apostate instead of not attending. It's entirely possible, if you didn't end your membership, that the family member who called you that is probably not someone you want to spend a lot of time around.

...or excommunication. They're quite happy to call ex'd folks "apostate" as well.

"Brigham Young, a president of the LDS Church, taught that members who openly disagree with church leaders are potentially cursed or condemned and that those who reject Mormon doctrine or authority outright are "apostate". An early Mormon epistle teaches that apostates have "fallen into the snares of the evil one.""

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex-Mormon

Then I am Elder Berry of The Quorum of The Selfish Apostates of The Church of Jesus Antichrists of Adder Preying Snakes.

Apostate has a different meaning in every ward and stake. Disagreeing with ward leadership over doctrine even if you are showing them the book can get you ex'd

apostate is derogatory, kind of a long the lines of how it is described in Harry Potter, joining Voldermorts team and becoming a death-eater.

The death eathers naturally become more interesting, less dorky looking, They never have to wear glasses again, they are the ones that get the snake tatooes on their forearms, and they get to drool a lot!

I think you are conflating "apostate" with "son of perdition"

Apostate comes from the same root as apostle. The root means to move away or travel. Apostles travel to spread whatever message they are apostling for. Apostates move away from whatever cause they were formerly associated with. I'm quite happy to be called an apostate from Mormonism, because I have in fact moved away from it. The root definition is spot on, IMHO. It doesn't imply that you are weak or evil. You have simply moved on.

Sons of perdition, OTOH, is a fraught term in the Mormon lexicon. I have heard that only priesthood bearers can be Sons of Perdition, and that very few people will actually qualify as Sons of Perdition. How much of that is Mormon folklore, and how much is Mormon theology is something I can't speak to. Hopefully someone else has a better handle on that.

My dad's name was Pete, so I'm not a son of Perdition...but of Pete.

:)

I am an apostate, like BoJ. And rather proud of it.

Unless your parents got divorced and one of them asked for custody, in which case you would be a Son of Petition.

It's common among cults that people who were once believers, but fall away, are held in more spiritual disdain than those who never affiliated with the group. Apostates are subject to shunning, especially so among Jehovah's Witnesses, Orthodox and ultra-conservative Jews, and the Amish. (Amish are regarded as quaint and harmless, but -- depending upon the group -- the demands for conformity can be intense.)

I gather, from various posts, that shunning in LDS varies, and is a fairly common practice, if not one dictated by doctrine.

I don't think it's common in Christian Science, but my uber-CS (late) mother and older sister, who each held the title of "Teacher" (training people to be practitioners) shunned me. However, I was not a casually lapsed ex-CS, but actively opposed it.

Your observation is true of early Christianity as well. Antisemitism grows more pronounced, and anti-Roman feeling less so, as one moves from Mark to the later gospels. That change parallels the transformation of Christianity from a Jewish sect, to a mixed Jewish-Gentile faith, and then toward what would become a generally Gentile religion.

A related phenomenon is the fact that civil wars are more extreme than most. When relatives and friends find themselves on opposite sides of a violent conflict, the sense of betrayal increases and the viciousness of the struggle intensifies. We humans reserve our greatest hatred for those whom we used to consider brothers and sisters.

Apostasy, by definition, is the renunciation of a religion or creed.

According the Oxford Dictionary (the one true dictionary) an apostate is defined as: "..a person who renounces a belief or principle, having abandoned a belief or principle" Apparently it does not have to apply only to those leaving a religion or religious principle.

If you are a baptized member, never or rarely attend church, and generally don't rock the boat, you would be considered inactive. Apostates can be male or female. They have either resigned or speak openly against the church.

In my opinion you fall into the inactive camp. Your relative is using the incorrect term for you.

Yup.

Maybe just hyperbole or an attempt at humor, but inactive isn't the same thing as apostate.

All converts TO the church are Apostates from their old church, and it is called repentance.
I repented of my Mormonism, but only the Mormons think I'm an Apostate.

As others have already pointed out, being less-active isn't apostasy until you actively preach against it, or formally join another church.

Whenever anyone tries to sugarcoat our wondrous gospel, whitewash history, or omit any information then IMO they are "apostate" as they have fallen away from the truth. For example, have you ever heard of FARMS at BYU? That place was crawling with such people. They have even influenced some Wards to not be as forthright and honest as they could be. For example, its shocking to hear that there actually are some Wards out there where the members don't know anything about poor Heavenly Father's 13 sacred LLC's with 32 billion of stocks. We're not going to be saved in ignorance. What's important is to remember the scripture that we should learn the truth because the truth will set us free :)

I remember when Mormons were taught that they should be offended if someone referred to them as a "Mormon." Mormons were taught to correct such labeling and instruct others to refer to them as "a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."

It irks me that many Mormons freely label others as "apostate" or "inactive" when they want to be the ones to tell others how to label them. I have a missionary nephew who capitalizes "inactive" in all his emails and attaches it to the names of the people he considers such. It isn't just "we stopped by John's house." It's "we stopped by Inactive John's house."

I don't know why this bothers me so much, it just does. Maybe being labeled an apostate doesn't bother you as much as it bothers me, but If I were you, I might say something next time. "No, my name isn't apostate. It's Annabelle."

TMC (The Mormon 'Church') is in [and out] apostasy.

They (a man) invented the hole thing [more man isms]. It was/ is meant as a joke.

He saw (called) others as "APOSTATE" so he could get his way/ away with shit-sin-murder.

M@t

Apostate is unisex.

That's a Mormon term.

We aren't apostates. We are enlightened. :)

Me.

ME. Never read a fucking line of scripture, never gave a rats ass about the cult's stupid rules and broke most of 'em, never gave them one red cent of my money, have told new converts they've made the biggest mistake of their life and badmouth the cult every chance I get.

Natural/ Normal/ Common Man

...I think it's whatever the management wants it to be at any given interview or "Court of Love" session. After all, they have discernment...we don't. If you cave and cry, they might allow for the offender to repent. It all depends how many shooters they had at lunch...………..

Apostates: My ancestors who left the established Christian religion of their heritage, and joined their con-man neighbor's polygamous cult, and forced their wives and children to join.

Thus, they brought a black curse upon the generations to follow.

My children and I are merely reversing that terrible apostasy, and bringing our family back to LOVE, and normal family values.

None of the BIC ex-Mormons are apostates, their ancestors were the apostates.