Category talk:Converts to Mormonism

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[edit] Redundant?

Aren't all LDS movement members "converts to Mormonism"? Are you trying to profile early members here? WBardwin 17:15, 29 June 2007 (UTC)

My initial intention was, for the most part, people who converted in the twentieth century or later. People like Glenn Beck, Gladys Knight, Andy Reid, Ricky Schroder, etc. Although I see I did have a few Mormon pioneers in at the start so maybe started a bad precedent.--T. Anthony 13:54, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

People can be "born into" the LDS Church and be "Mormon" their entire lives. Such people are not Mormon converts. The category should apply to people who once belonged to a church or religion or no church or religion and subsequently became Mormon later in life. You are right that this will apply to all of the "first generation" Mormons from ~170 years ago. That's the way life goes. I can't see a justification for including a convert in the 20th or 21st century but not including 19th century converts. SESmith 02:22, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

You make a valid point, I withdraw the idea that including pioneers or first-generation Mormons is in anyway a "bad" thing.--T. Anthony 04:21, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Converts

Mormons are indeed Christians - I am not disputing this. However Converts to Mormonism are not necessarily converts to Christianity because many were already Christians. See eg List of converts to Christianity. The only one listed who is also a convert to Mormonism is Chieko N. Okazaki. A convert to Christianity converts from something outside Christianity to Christianity. A convert from Catholicism to mormonism converts to Mormonism but not to Christianity as the person was already Christian. Carminis (talk) 11:47, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

See for instance Category:Religious converts and Category:Converts to Christianity. The latter has just 2 subcats at the moment: Category:Converts from Judaism to Christianity is correct but Category:Converts to Mormonism is incorrect. Carminis (talk) 13:43, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

It's classified as a subtype of Christianity in the Converts to Christianity category. Placement as a subcategory doesn't mean everyone in it "converted to Christianity", it means they converted to Mormonism, which is a subtype of Christianity. Categories don't always make total sense in every way of looking at parent-subs, but since Mormonism categories are placed in subs of all other Christianity categories throughout WP, it makes sense not to make this the one exception. Zoporific 22:15, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Anyone in Category:Converts to Christianity is by definition someone who converted to Christianity from outside Christianity, eg Judaism to Mormonism, atheism to mormonism, nothing to M; but not Methodism to Mormonism etc. Of course it is a subtype of christianity - the point is tht it is not the only subtype. Immigrants to the US are not all immigrants to North America - some will be canadians. Carminis (talk) 02:37, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

That's why immigrants to North America would be a parent and immigrants to Canada would be a sub. Similarly, converts to Christianity is the parent and converts to Mormonism is the sub. As long as the converts to Mormonism category makes its definition clear (i.e. that it doesn't imply that the person came from outside Christianity), there is no problem with it being of a sub within the Christianity category. Zoporific 03:48, 6 February 2008 (UTC)