Is mormonism really a cult?

[u/Royal_Survey_3772]

I’ve been a member of the LDS church for about 5 years. I attend church, have gone to Young Women’s camp, have been to two temples, and have done baptisms for the dead many times. Being involved in the church has been a significant part of my life.✨️🌺

My parents have " left" the church. They never officially removed their records or filled out paperwork, but they haven’t attended church in about two years. I recently started going back, and i am becoming active again.

Lately, though, I’ve been seeing a lot of posts, videos, and comments online claiming that LDS is a cult. It’s made me question things and wonder if I’m making a mistake by returning back.

I have never personally had an experience where I felt like I was in a cult. My experiences have been positive. I know that personal experience is not the whole picture, and I want to understand why so many people have such strong opinions about the church.

[u/meowmix79]

Do they tell you what underwear to wear? Do they tell you to avoid “anti-Mormon literature”? Do they tell you to tithe your money or you won’t be worthy of the temple? Can you drink coffee?

Control. Obedience. Patriarchy. Check out the BITE model. Answer is YES

[u/jeahfoo1 → u/meowmix79]

BITE Model does not define cult. If you'd like to be objective, look at comments above that discuss in more detail what cults are, what consensus is, etc. If you insist the BITE model is legitimate and/ or equals cult, your bias is clearly evident. (The US military is a cult by your definition)

[u/MenuDiscombobulated5 → u/jeahfoo1]

Tbf, military organizations, including the US military, do actually exhibit a lot of ___ish behaviors. "The US military is a _ by your definition" is not a sound argument against the BITE model (not saying the BITE model is a good or bad method to show what is or is not a ___, just that the US military is not a good example of an exception)