Just beyond the Hill Cumorah grounds fence, a few feet from hundreds of acres devoted to the story of Joseph Smith and the Mormon religion, a few faithful confront the doubtless masses and preach their own brand of piety. “What Mormons Don’t Tell” is writ large on a bright yellow tent. Armed with a variety of pamphlets and binder of newspaper clippings from the 1970s featuring uncomplimentary stories about Mormons, a group of evangelical Christians reach out to anyone who will visit them – intent on explaining how LDS doctrine differs from the teachings of mainstream Protestant denominations. Most of all they emphasize the half-truths and concealments that missionaries peddle on their door to door journeys. Regardless, "Ruth," the woman who spoke to us, refused to identify which church she attended.
What are the apostasies? For one, the Mormon church (according to WhatMormonsDon’tTell.org) believe that Lucifer was not only a fallen angel (traditional scripture interpretation); instead he was originally Jesus’ brother.
What about that most sacred of Christian tenets, the virgin birth? While Christian denominations traditionally teach that Mary became pregnant with Jesus when the Holy Spirit visited and “filled” her, spiritually. Ruth leaned in closer to us, and whispered, “They believe God inseminated her.”
Our interaction with Ruth was cut short when someone apparently representing the press started asking questions. He was allegedly from Rolling Stone, a claim possibly legitimized by his Graceland tee-shirt. At least we are sure he was not Mormon; most LDS teens sported shirts with slogans such as "Air Mormon" and "I'm a Mormon girl -- worth waiting for."
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