Psychological tactics cults will use to pull you in.

There are a few tactics I've seen repeated in churches that teach false doctrine and or cults that are used psychologically to deceive and pull people in that I would like to point out. While I lived in Washington state I spent six months living in a town that was about 50 percent Mormon. It is not my aim to make them look like worse sinners than any other lost soul or stir up hatred towards them but after spending hundreds of hours of sharing the gospel with these people and observing what they teach I will use them to point out some specifics which I have seen repeated in other groups as well.

1. When first meeting the Mormons they will tell you that if you sincerely read the book of Mormon and pray and ask God to tell you if its true that you will feel a "burning in the bosom" which is the holy spirit testifying to you that it is true.
To put it bluntly you can easily want something to be true so badly that you allow your emotions to override reason therefore mistaking them for the actual voice of God. I have no doubt that some of the people who prayed this really felt a "burning of the bosom." But that does not mean it in fact has come from God. The same feelings of excitement I've felt from a great night of praise and worship I've also experienced from doing non-spiritual related things while in the army such as going on a 5 mile run or flying over the mountains in northern Iraq in a helicopter. I'm not saying the Holy spirit can not or does not speak to us, however do not mistake emotion for the voice of God.

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" -Jeremiah 17:9

2. In Mormon Circles you will often hear the phrase repeated "I know my church is true." Every time they come together as a group you will hear this repeated. It is something that is expected by the church.
Joseph Goebbels (Hitlers propaganda guy) once said ... "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."

In many cults things that don't always even make sense are often strongly emphasized to the point that nobody will dare question them. When exposed to such a group it is good to ask "What are the things strongly pointed out by them that everyone agrees to without question?"

3. You will be told "The Bible had been corrupted but Gods true word was restored by Joseph smith." In order to establish their own agenda and teachings they must first discredit Gods true word (The Bible.)
When in fact the Bible teaches clearly that God does not lie, change or contradict himself.
It is also extremely important to know that a word from God will never contradict a previous word from God. Right down to even the smallest point Gods word does not change. For example...

Ephesians 2:8-9 says... "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:Not of works, lest any man should boast."

The Book of Mormon says... "We know that it is by grace that we are saved after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23)

God is not a God of disorder therefore both statements can not and do not coexist. We must ask the questions "What does this group do with Gods written word? Do they believe it is what it is backed by Gods authority or do they amend or nullify it?"

4. There are also two methods of appeasement that I've seen commonly used. First they may something like "You believe in the Bible? That's great! We do too! Did you know there is more?"
To a bran knew Christian who is hungry to learn as much about God as possible this may sound great. Don't fall for it. The Bible is sufficient in itself. There is no additional add on book (See the warning in Proverbs 30:5-6.)

Second if they see you are already grounded in the word of God they may pull up Acts 28:24-26 Where Paul meets a man named Apollos who is a man that is "mighty in the scriptures" but Paul had to explain to him "the way of God more accurately." This is simply their way of saying you are on the right track but you still need to fall in line with their teachings.
Not only is this taking the story of Apollos out of context but is just another ploy to pull you in.

Finally, there are many other points beyond this I could bring up. But these are the main four I will point out for now. Feel free to e-mail me if you are struggling in any of these areas and need help or have questions. My e-mail address is jim.kaminski2@gmail.com