I'm Mormon-I keep hearing about Secret Doctrines of my church- would someone like to tell me what Im missing?

Question

Here are some of the comments I've seen:
"LDS in Utah know more about the inner workings than those on the outside."

"They will take a grain of truth and twist it if they have been trained enough, or try to get you to their experts for brainwashing if they haven't been trained enough yet."

"However, while trying to convince you that your Church is wrong and the Mormon Church is right, there are several points they intentionally leave out."

"It hurts me to see people whom I love and care for be so "hoodwinked" by this false religion."

"Most mormons do not even know "what" they believe. A family has to be in a certain number of generations before they get to know the real doctrine!"

on and on....



I was a convert about 8 or 9 years ago, I go to the temple regularly and teach Sunday School. I didnt go on a mission, I have never been to any special training classes etc... I read many books and like to think of myself as well versed in the scriptures and doctrines of the church. Everything I know about the church can be found on LDS.org or in a bookstore. So would someone like to tell me what my church believes that I dont know about?
I dont mean to be argumentative, but I believe there has got to be quite a bit of misunderstanding for people to persist with these comments. Lets get them out in the open and discuss them.

Answer 1

I find it so incredibility amusing that some "non members" seem to feel that they are so much more knowledgeable than people who are members. Is that not incredibility arrogant to assume that you know more than others? I think so.



I have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for over 50 years, having studied it practically every day of those 50 years. I have read the scriptures, including the Bible cover to cover many times; have read the Book of Mormon many times, the D&C many times, and on and on.



I have attended the temple repeatedly, and in many countries of the world.



And I am never ceased to be amazed that I have had "non members" flatly tell me, "No, that is not what you believe, you believe this.........."



Excuse me? I do not assume to tell you what you believe. That would be arrogant and presumptive, not to be rather less than humble, which humility the Lord constant admonishes us to be in the scriptures.



If you want to know what I, as a Mormon believe, simply ask me and I will explain it to you. I am promise that I will never tell you what you believe, nor think that I know what others believe. That is between the person and Jesus Christ.



It is amusing to me.....and no, there is no secret, hidden doctrine waiting to pounce on you once you become a member. If you want to know, I will ask you. However, some things are considered sacred and those things are not discussed in intmate detail, but can be shared in general terms. Why, becasue they are sacred. Would you describe the intimate detail of your first sexual encounter with your wife? Most pure and humble follows of Christ would say that there do not sahre those details as it is....sacred...

Answer 2

Let's be charitable to our enemies.



I think the people who say these kinds of things are of two types. Those who have been told what Mormons believe by their religious leaders, and former members of the Church.



The first group naturally believes the words of their pastor or other religious leader. When he confronts a Mormon what he hears is a denial by the Mormon. Since the person trusts his own religious leader he is lead to the conclusion that either the Mormon is lying in order to cover up a secret or embarrassing doctrine, or the Mormon just doesn't know the truth. I can't fault them too much, as a missionary in Italy it was very easy for me to believe that the Catholics I taught didn't know their own religion, because I had been taught what Catholics really believe.



The second group, the former members, often come into the Church with very little understanding of the Church. This is understandable. How many decades did it take me to learn the basic doctrines, let alone historical facts which may be difficult to understand out of context? When these people are told of the new things, they are often told that the reason they weren't told before was because the Church didn't want them to know it. This isn't the case, but sometimes it does look that way to them. They then go off and learn a bunch of half truths or lies and assume that this also has been kept hidden from them for nefarious purposes. They start to loose their testimonies, and begin to accept without question or critical examination the falsehoods they are fed by those who have a hidden grudge against the Church.

Answer 3

I was a convert at 19 yrs. There is and always has been anti-Mormon stuff floating around since 1830's when the church was organized. There has always been information on both sides of this issue. I have studied it out and found that most of what they say are 1/2 truths. They take scripture and use only the part that will prove their point. The rest is out in out lies. Some churches even have classes on the "evil Mormons". They claim to know what we believe even when we tell them that it is not true. They would rather take the word of an excommunicated member that an active member that attends the temple.



LDS that live in Utah are no different than the ones that live any where else. I have been to to other wards and the Gospel is the same. I have had friends that have been to Europe, Africa, and South America and still the Gospel is the same. Mcshughe refured to Streanthing the member ship. I have heard of it way out hear in CA. Remember the three fould plan of the church, is to preach the gosple, to redeem the dead, and to streanthin the members.



Some of the ones I hear are that God doesn't answer prayers, That we worship either Moroni or Joseph Smith. That the book of Mormon was stolen from another source, (but they will not say what source).

They think that we have no choice and are a bunch of brainwashed cultist.



Remember that Jesus Chris was persecuted by those that did not understand his mission. I like to refer people to Matt 5:11-12. It helps me to know that the persecuted will be blessed.



I hope this helps.

Answer 4

edit.Ohh pinkadot..still obsessed with Satan, I see.( I had ex SIL, kids like that, kept my kids away)

(that does not help your case) end edit.



As a former member..I will give each topic my opinion.

But remember, this is the same types of things the mormons say to former mormons too.



1. LDS in Utah know more about the inner workings than those on the outside."



Perhaps the second endowment? With An apostle and Seventy involved at certain temples on Sunday. The washing of the feet done at a home cerimony.The vault in the mountain.Pre1990 temple, pre 2005 temple too.



2. "They will take a grain of truth and twist it if they have been trained enough, or try to get you to their experts for brainwashing if they haven't been trained enough yet."



Milk before meat. Young mormons and potential and recent converts are left in the dark about certain subjects. (personal expeirance) Topics that would have made me never become a member.



3."However, while trying to convince you that your Church is wrong and the Mormon Church is right, there are several points they intentionally leave out."



answer...things like polygamy of the past, polygamy in the CK, Translation of the BOM, Kolob, Gods and Goddess's ever your own planet perhaps, Also more milk before meat...



4. "It hurts me to see people whom I love and care for be so "hoodwinked" by this false religion."



It is sickening the spiritual and emotional abuse the leadership hands out in its effort to maintain control and power, over families "eternal happiness" when someone is "ruining it" What about temple wedding and SECLUDING loving family members, like moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas. EVEN younger mormon siblings..



5."Most mormons do not even know "what" they believe. A family has to be in a certain number of generations before they get to know the real doctrine!"

YA should be one example...lol.

Like I said young mormons and recent converts are not told everything right away..or at least only when asked about. Usually covered by a parent. Converts may not have this option. I married into the religion, so my ex parents feed me all the deception, I was young and nieve. I trusted and believed them until things NEVER added up! I put two and two together and got 4...... not 5.



.Brigham Young was painted as monogamous in the Sunday school manual was one of the last straws.



Comparing feeding steak to a 6 month old! LOL!! How about the full truth (steak)to (potential converts)adults!

Answer 5

The missionaries always teach the milk before the meat, they never tell you what goes on in the temple, you learn about it the day you are stabding int he temple surrounded by your family, even the temple prep classes are vage.

The burning int he bosom did nto work for other things, only for the BofM.

I have ran into a couple of mormons that beleive sifferent things on here, from the mormons in UT.

As for secret doctrines, the temple has a second theology all temple goers learn about that nontemple goers have no idea about.

As a UT mormon I have seent he MIB's that guard the president of the LDS church.

Yes I like all the excuses the church as used for things like why they don;t wear crosses and why they don;t explain what goes on in temples and the members blindly except the excuses. (I just had a conversation with a member about angels and he believe Joseph smith version that angel are still our brothers and sisters instead of God's servants or created beings, even though its been proven that they have sinned ((demons)) and so have we and they can do thigns we can;t do, still he believes they are still his bothers and sisters)

Knowing what goes on in the temple, I can;t see how my mother who is deceased could have went thru the temple and excepted that that was the way to get to heaven!!!

Answer 6

There are probably a couple of things that happen only with the Prophet and Apostles. They do receive all the keys. I have heard there is or was a second anointing reserved to a limited number of couples.



I have heard things in the temple that the Prophet mentioned to the Temple President. Since this isn't mentioned in Sunday School, I guess that is "Secret" stuff.



None of this has any impact on doctrine or personal salvation.

Answer 7

Well, I would, but then they wouldn't be secret anymore would they!



I love how people think milk before meat is so wrong. I mean lets face it, my 6 year old would do great in calculus and my son who's almost 1 would thrive on nothing but steak.



But I think my favorite part about these arguments are, when I'm told that I don't know what my religion teaches. I grew up very active, had read the book of mormon a dozen times before my mission, studied hard my entire mission, taught seminary for the church after it (full-time), gospel doctrine teacher over and over again, (volunteer) seminary teacher again now, not to mention my family study or the fact that we literally read for at least an hour every day out of the scriptures growing up.



If someone who doesn't believe in the church spends that much time reading about it, they should be institutionalized!

Answer 8

I look at anti-lds arguments as a venereal disease:

It has been around a LONG time, it infects people, makes their life unpleasant, is the same old thing that's been around forever being passed from person to person, and you only get it from other people who are infected with it, and in some cases...there's no cure...



This is why prayer is so important a PROTECTION from being infected.



Also - there are the tactics they use that come under the guise of teaching but are fallacies of logic: Appeals to pride, appeals to 'reason', appeals to the masses, appeals to ridicule, ad-hominem, leaps of logic - and interestingly - the anti's are not at all united in a "straight and narrow gate" where 'christ is not divided" - so if they can't agree on what's right, how would they ever agree on what's wrong?

Answer 9

All this bologna stems from the early days of the church, the early persecution, early fear, misconceptions and out right lies that were spread and interestingly enough that continue unchanged to this day.

Did you know mormons have horns? YEs some actually believe or once believed this We still have plural wives although that must be a huge secret too right? We do secret sexual things in our temples ya know? but of course you and I know that we've been there and THIS doesn't happen ANYWHERE but people can claim somethng and it suddenly becomes a truth to someone! Joseph Smith was a criminal and a child molester - another secret that NO ONE quite knows wherre this comes from but boy do they love saying it!



SO many outrageous things and the more outrageous the more HOOD WINKED those who listen become and grab onto such crap!

I tend to just IGNORE the more outrageous crap that is said and spread because of the degree of its obviously ignorance.



It would be laughable if it wasn't so dangerous, sad and pathetic......

Oh the tangled web we weave.... remember that old saying? Well deceit that is spread about this church is huge and far reaching and MANY gullible people who refuse to research the TRUTH will swallow anything they are fed by deceitful, misled, sorrow sometimes wicked people....

Answer 10

The interesting thing I've found is that when you ask these same people specifically what those "secret doctrines" are, they have nothing. "Oh, I've just heard stuff..."



The number of generations your family has been LDS means nothing. A person's spiritual growth is exactly that- one person's. That person determines how much and when he/she learns.



Yes, there are things we leave out.. just like there are things any wise parent "leaves out" of an infant's diet. Who feeds steak to a 6-month old??



Some feel that their family is hoodwinked by a false religion simply because it's not what they believe. It's different, and to them, that means it's false. Their loss.



When it comes to praying about the truth of something, many Christians forget that God has commanded His children many times IN THE BIBLE to pray to Him constantly. They don't realize that the Bible itself contains errors and contradictions, and therefore a person HAS to ask God for guidance to correctly understand what is written.





For an interesting take on anti-Mormon technique, go to allaboutmormons.com. and go to the link at the top about anti-Mormons- he builds quite a case against kittens using their technniques.

Answer 11

The secrets are in the history. Your average mormon is clueless about the actual history of the church--I know, because I certainly was. I see mormons on here who deny that polygamy ever happened, that Joseph Smith married teen girls and other men's wives, that he hid plural marriages from Emma, that he translated the BOM by looking at a rock in a hat. They don't know how blatantly racist Brigham Young was, and that racist remarks from leaders continued as late as the 1960's and 70's. They don't know about the several versions of the "first vision," and many, many other things. You get the sanitized, perfect version of the church's history. Things that were in the past considered the "mind and will of god" are now brushed off. As for current doctrine, I doubt many know that polygamy is still considered doctrine, just not practiced in this life.



The history is what most of you are clueless about. I still hear mormons on here state that polygamy was intended to support poor women widowed by persecution and the migration to Utah, which is laughably false.



Added for Doc: I had plenty of understanding of the church, or at least what the church wants you to know. I was born and raised in it, and immersed in it from day one.

For others on here, comparing adults to infants is beyond silly. Adults are fully capable of being told everything about a religion they're considering joining.

Answer 12

When I hear people say that, they're usually referring to something from the JofD or "The Seer". The critic usually (though admittedly not always) quotes something out of context, and then when the Mormons disagree with their interpretation of that out-of-context quote, the critic declares that the Mormons don't know their own doctrine. It's fallacious reasoning because those books don't provide OFFICIAL LDS doctrine to begin with. Disagreement with a particular quote from an UNOFFICIAL source doesn't equal disagreement with OFFICIAL sources.

Answer 13

I wish "they" would start including sources instead of telling me "what" I believe.



If there are secret meetings, or doctrines I would like to know about them.



The Book of Mormon describes this as “the power of the devil, to lead away and deceive the hearts of the people … to believe that the doctrine of Christ was a foolish and a vain thing” (3 Ne. 2:2).



Then there are those that claim Joseph Smith to be a fraud, telling me so by word of mouth, never providing one speck of proof or evidence;



“Cursed are all those that shall lift up the heel against mine anointed, saith the Lord, and cry they have sinned when they have not sinned before me, saith the Lord, but have done that which was meet in mine eyes, and which I commanded them.



“But those who cry transgression do it because they are the servants of sin, and are the children of disobedience themselves.” (D&C 121:16–17.)



“Be not deceived,” the Apostle Paul taught. “God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Gal. 6:7–8).

Answer 14

What a tragic oversight! report immediately to your bishop for instruction! [jk]



Actually, I think many in Utah don't bother reading the SOP and just carry as they think is best when entering a calling. From personal experience, converts often know more than Saints from pioneer stock - because they read and educate themselves.



As to the rest - it's a simple case of misinformation, disinformation, falsehoods accepted as truth [or doctrine], false assumptions, misdirection and redirection with an attempt to deceive.

Answer 15

If you've been to the temple and been endowed, there isn't much you are missing. Nothing is secret in the church. Sacred, yes. Secret, no. Specifics of the endowment ceremony can be found in the Library of Congress, that doesn't sound secret to me. Ignore those that would deliberately cause contention, they aren't worth it.

Answer 16

It's just satan's way of trying to get people away from the true gospel. He lives to confuse, lie, misconceive and have others do his dirty work. That's all that's happening.



People claim we don't "know" all the doctrine. That's true, I don't know everything about the gospel, no one does. But I know enough to know that it is true.

Answer 17

I think those people may be referring to the "milk before meat" style of teaching that a lot of Mormons practice.

Answer 18

I think your answer could be well summed up in what you yourself have written.



"Everything I know about the church can be found on LDS.org or in a bookstore."



Some LDS history has been scrubbed or even rewritten. Sanitized for the sake of the membership. It's often better to find sources for that outside of the "official" channels. The internet is a great resource for that as a lot of research is now available privately, without anyone having to know one's reading it. Used bookstores and purchases online are great ways to get references that you might enjoy for yourself to get a deeper and more comprehensive view of historical Mormonism.



I have an LDS friend from Utah that tells me few members know about the "Strengthening the Member(ship?)" committee. Perhaps that's one reference of something that some know that most don't.



Another similar type of thing might be the Church Handbook for example, something that's not readily available through "official" sources, but readily available to read outside of approved sources.



Good Luck!

Answer 19

Shoot, Pard. You ought to hear what they say about atheists.

Answer 20

I can't tell you, it's secret. After you sacrifice and consume your firstborn can you know.

Answer 21

This is an interesting article to read.

Reasoning from the Scriptures with Mormons by Ron Rhodes.



http://www.gotquestions.org/book-of-Mormon.html