All my life I have questioned the Mormon church members being so offended by someone wearing a cross or any depiction of the cross
On anything representing the church. I've even, on occasion,
heard church members ridiculing Catholics who often bury their loved ones with Rosaries, bearing the cross, in their hands.

Yet I am completely mystified at a church that covers it's temple structures with questionable signs and symbols that
Not only conjure up possible links to Satanic symbols but have absolutely nothing to do with Christ. Sorry, I don't get it!

Once you recognize it as a cult instead of a religion, it gets easier to understand why its practices, rituals, tokens, and signs appear to be so strange to observers.

It only makes sense to the brainwashed and indoctrinated TBMs. To everyone else, it's crazy weird.

Because no one else has the "truth" except for them, to them all other religious practices are viewed as pagan and heathen. For Mormons, only their religion is "pure."

That's a sure sign of a cult for you, right there.

The offense taken at the cross is false and another example of the Mormon superiority complex.

They act offended to show they're better than those poor Catholic losers who worship idols because THEY have the Truth.

How is a guy trumpeting his horn any less of an idol than a cross?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Veterans_Affairs_emblems_for_headstones_and_markers

left4good Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The offense taken at the cross is false and
> another example of the Mormon superiority
> complex.

BINGO !!!

MORmONS are asses that attempt to exclusively reserve the right to be offended for themselves.

I never knew that there was an officially recognized symbol for "atheist." (There were a number of other ones I hadn't known about, either.)

Every religion has its "symbols" they consider sacred, and every religion considers the "symbols" of other religions either wacky or evil.

Mormons simply take that attitude to typical mormon extremes.

Notice, for example, that you questioned mormons ridiculing "mainstream" cross symbols, then you did the exact same thing with their temple symbols...

:)

I asked what was a reasonable question. The cross is rejected as
A symbol by the entire Mormon church. So why is the pentagram
On the temples. That is a question; not ridicule

"Yet I am completely mystified at a church that covers it's temple structures with questionable signs and symbols that
Not only conjure up possible links to Satanic symbols but have absolutely nothing to do with Christ."

Sounds like ridicule to me, calling mormon symbols "questionable" and "Satanic." If it wasn't, I apologize.

You might want to ask yourself, though:
- what makes mormon symbols "questionable," as opposed to a cross?

Then go read about the history of the "pentagram," which wasn't linked with "Satanic" anything until quite recently.

My point was that mormons are heavily biased by the "theological" teachings of their church. And so are people in other churches. For example, other than being what lots of people are used to, what isn't "questionable" about wearing symbols of an ancient Roman method of execution?

Just trying to get you to look at something from a different point of view. That's not such a bad thing, really.

They are questionable to me because with all the seminary, young
Women's,Sunday school, etc. I haven't got a clue about the symbols on the temple and what they stand for
and why they are there. I grew up in the church and never heard a word about them. I have grown very weary of Mormon secrecy and
Quite frankly if they are that important then one would think the church would be forthcoming about their existence and their
Purpose; especially since the pentagram does have meanings in
Reference to also being considered by some people to be a Satanic symbol

Agreed. Mormons want to be considered Christian ,but wont accept the symbol of Christianity. Seems kind of counterproductive.
There are pictures of BY's favorite wife wearing a cross. Someone wrote a book about the subject-maybe someone will remember the book or author-since I have forgotten. He said the dislike of the cross came from David O'Mckay who didnt like Catholics. Apparently he didnt get that other Christians use the cross too.

Your post about David O McKay not liking Catholics explains a lot to me about my growing up years with him as the President. I just remember continually hearing about the great and abominable church over the pulpit with reference to the Catholic Church. I never understood the origin of such hatred until now.

Thanks for your comment, Amyjo, I think back many years ago when I was growing up in the church and my behavior was ever in question, I remember the church leaders always "pontificating"
about "always avoid the very appearance of evil". if I had a nickel for the number of times I heard that condescending statement I'd be rich.

Talk about cognitive dissonance when it comes to pentagrams and all the other signs and symbols

As accepting as I was of everything as I was as a young thoroughly indoctrinated TBM, the upside down pentagrams on the temple walls when I went for the endowment really gave me a shock. What the . . . ?

But of course, cult brainwashing allows you to accept those things. And I did. I still went off on my mission looking down on Catholics because they had crosses all over everywhere. I was told that Mormons didn't use the cross because it focused on Christ's death rather than his resurrection. Which of course begs the question, "Why not use a tomb with stone rolled to side" as a symbol rather than a pentagram which most associate with the Devil?"

If Jesus were executed today in an electric chair, would people wear electric chair necklaces?

Your point??

You honestly don't get that?

The religions will make any symbols they want and make them mean whatever they want. Clearly Mormons don't think temples are about devil worship.

Ok I am not arguing why the church doesn't recognize the cross as a symbol. As far as I'm concerned that is a moot topic right now. If history serves, thousands died from crucifixion throughout the ages. It is,quite frankly, a sadistic and barbaric form of torture and subsequent death, not to mention
The public humiliation. As late as 1917 it was used extensively during the Genocide of nearly 2 million Armenians

Perhaps I didn't express myself correctly but my experience was very similar to done & done. I was shocked when I saw a pentagram on the Salt Lake Temple. Never mind all the other symbols. I had raised teenagers during
The eighties and we had rules for them not wearing tee shirts with pentagrams to school.

It is not my intention to sound stupid but is there someone who knows what the various symbols on the Salt Lake Temple mean

Anon4 asked:

> It is not my intention to sound stupid but is
> there someone who knows what the various symbols
> on the Salt Lake Temple mean?

Several on this here forum know that the symbols are clear footprints of the rebungnified atheist Freemasons who invented the Mormonite heresy.

Most of the founding apostles back then were simply puppet Joseph's brothers on the square

Thus, the Craft's inverted pentagrams, clasped hands, beehives, and so forth, on and on... got carved on their temple walls.

Yes I have known Christians who are against the death penalty to wear them. I don't know who manufactured them but they were small silver charm size electric chairs on a chain necklace.

That's pretty cool.
I'd heard of that.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/2017 02:44PM by readwrite.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/2017 02:55PM by readwrite.

There are NO "satanic symbols" on Mormon Temples. Masonic symbols, such as the all-seeing eye, the sun, moon, stars, clasped hands, Eastern Star (pentagram). The architect of the Nauvoo Temple, I believe, was a Freemason, and would have studied Masonic architecture.

The Pentagram in a circle was used as far back as the middle ages, but practitioners of ritual magic, and actually represented the five wounds of Jesus (side, two hands, two feet). Placing the Pentagram in a circle, the Magician stood inside the circle when he called up Elementals, as protection. The Elementals, or nature spirits, would be used to get information. The Pentegram, of five pointed star, is also called the "Seal of Solomon" and was allegedly used by Solomon to control the Elementals who built the Temple of Solomon.

Freemasons CANNOT BE "atheists" as you claim. To be a Freemason one must believe in God and the immortality of the soul. The exception to this is the Grand Orient of France.

Thank you for that information. I spent fifty years in the church before I left. I will add that it was not I who labeled the free masons atheists.

I grew up in a family where all were members but always living with one foot in and one foot out. We did not have family home evening and the only prayers uttered in our home were the prayers
On the food at supper time.
My father was unspeakably abusive and a closet alcoholic.

When I married, I had heard all the lies about the Temple and bought it hook, line, and sinker. We were married in the temple
In the sixties. It was a horrible experience. Neither one of us had any family with us. It was a first time for both of us. If I had known ahead of time what was going to happen I would have chosen a ceremony where we could have had family and friends.

Most of the things I have learned from this board are new to me as they were never talked about in our home

I guess I would call myself a "social Mormon" as I survived because of Relief Society, homemaking meeting and monthly luncheons, the acceptance and comarodery of the sisters etc.

If Mormons choose not to share the use of the cross as a symbol of Christianity, I think that's fine. But IMO it's both silly and disrespectful to demonize its use by other denominations. The cross was around long, long before Mormonism came along.

First, regarding the pentagram: its symbolic meaning varies from culture to culture, and belief system to belief system. It's hardly as absolute and clear-cut as "666" for Satanism. There are a number of people who participate on this board with strong scholarship credentials. Perhaps one of them can weigh in on what the pentagram meant to the 19th Century Mormons when they designed and built the Salt Lake temple.

Second, what your average Mormon says about a symbol and what its real spiritual meaning is to LDS may vary. Most Mormons (as reported on this board) decry the Cross saying, "We worship the resurrected Christ, not the dead one." OTOH, Mormonism, until recently, carefully differentiated itself from "Christian" churches, even eschewing (like the Cross) the term "Christian." Apparently, one does not hear that so much with mainstreaming.

Third, Anon4This, bear in mind that LDS, like many aberrant sects, is comprised of improvised doctrine, concocted by JS, BY, and other president-prophets. Consciously or not, an idea hit one of these men ("Hey, that's a cool idea, I like it!") and wove it into previous "revelation," doctrine, and church practice. I think this happened to a lot of LDS' symbolism and iconography. Things that had spiritual, aesthetic, or propaganda appeal were simply appropriated. Now they're doing it with mainstream Christian references.

Last, they are sometimes careless and don't think things through. This may explain why Masonic symbols are on the SLC temple: they didn't realize that two systems which shared secret rituals would some day become public.

Thank you Caffiend. Of course now I have to ask if the fact that the church basically borrowed extensively from the Free Mason's,was Common knowledge or was it a big deep dark secret until the advent of the internet.

I know that I always heard it took 40 years to build the SLC Temple. That is a whole generation. Surely enough time for even a Bonafide new religion to establish it's own unique identifiable symbols.

When I see a cross, I immediately think Christianity. When it is the Star of David I think Jewish. The Star and crescent is Muslim.

Does the average TBM today know to what extent their temple worship is tied in with the Free Masons?

Mormonism is Afraid of Christ (so it uses him to scare and browbeat its followers) - and the "devil" (itself) - so it puts 'Jesus' in it's name [only], and brief mentions JC in its "talks", prayers and blessings, as a form of [cross] protection (and hopeful self-assurance).

Is the most superstitious and sacrilegious 'church' on the face - or ass - of the earth