Zoroastrianism: A Religion So Much Like the LDS

Insight from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism:

• Derived from Greater Iran=Persia
• Their creator is the Ahura Mazda (meaning "light" and "wisdom")
• Zoroastrianism was one of the first historical religions to promote monotheism
• He is the upholder of Arta, which is truth
• He will eventually destroy evil
• He is God. He is omniscient, but not omnipotent
• *Personal Insight: We see God, our Father and the father of Christ as being omnipotent, but, surely, also omniscient*
• The Ahura Mazda is apart of a Triad
• Mithra--a judicial figure who is the protector of Truth. He is also seen as the guardian of cattle. Therefore, he is a shepherd of sorts.
• By some stories, he represents the sun.
• He is an exalted figure
• *PI: Jesus Christ, by LDS tradition, is a shepherd figure. He is also exalted and is compared to with the Sun.
• Apam Napat--He is the God of fresh water; however, he is sometimes depicted as a fire god who resides in water. 
• He is also seen as the creator of mankind
• *PI: Perhaps he is a mix between a Christ figure and a Holy Ghost figure. Water is representation of purity. Fire is representative of cleansing, light, knowledge, etc. Such "fire" cannot be found in that which is not of "water". To me, it would only make sense that Apam Napat would represent the Holy Ghost in that he is fire that can only be found in water*
• The Ahura Mazda is an uncreated God
• God is God for he has always been God and he will always been God
• *PI: This goes along with mainstream Christian doctrine; however, some LDS theory (I am personally unsure of its doctrine status) say that God was once a mortal being on an earth just like us*
• He is the supporter and guardian of justice
• He is the friend of the just man
• There is a rival to Ahura Mazda--one of the purposes of Ahura Mazda is to destroy this rival and to create a universe that is righteous. This could only be achieved by waging spiritual warfare.
• Angra Mainyu
• He is the destructive spirit
• He has daevas which are demons--his evil-spirited followers. They became his daevas by him convincing them of what is termed as "wrong thinking". There is no mention of Mainyu being the creator of the daevas or their father in any Zoroastrian texts.
• He created  Aži Dahaka who is a serpent that recoils from the sight of Mithra
• Azi comes in many forms but is typically viewed as a three-headed serpent/dragon. He has human qualities also and so he is never simply in animal form
• Traditionally, Mainyu will be defeated and Mazda will prevail
• In Ahriman, the 100th chapter of the Book of the Arda Viraf it reads "Evil spirit...whose religion is evil [and] who ever ridiculed and mocked the wicked in hell."
• In the Book of the Arda Viraf the narator is shown by Sarosh (Obedience) and Adar (Holy Fire) of the reality of God and the archangels. He is also shown the nonreality of Ahriman and the demons. 
• Ahriman is an evil character who will be destroyed at the resurrection alongside everything else that is evil, when good replaces everything
• Mainyu chose his life style. He is to have said in Zoroastrianism texts "It is not that I cannot create anything good, but that I will not."
• By tradition, we are caught up in a grand spiritual battle and the way for us to resist Mainyu is through good works, thoughts, and deeds
• **PI: Mainyu is almost obviously the Satan figure of this religion. He, like Satan, is even represented as a serpent. LDS doctrine is that Satan had his own plan that took away people's agency in order to bring them back with him. 1/3 of the host of heaven were convinced by him and followed him. There is a similarity to this story and that of Mainyu and his demons**

Beliefs

• Daena
• means religion, faith, law
• It is duty: social order, right conduct, and virtue
• The path of Daena/The Holy Path is represented in their sacred undershirts made from muslin
• *PI: In LDS, after one goes through the temple they wear sacred garments. As with the LDS religion there are certain symbolisms that the garment represents with each religion*
• Asha vs. Druj
• All mortals were created; thus, they are also apart of the conflict of good vs evil. It is their duty to defend order
• *PI: We were created by God. We are literal sons and daughters of Him. We still fight the war that began long ago in our pre-life of good verses evil. *
• Not fleeing from experiences in life which our souls were sent here to collect
• *PI: We came here with a divine purpose. We came here to not only gain an earthly body, but to experience all things: to experience joy; to gain relationships; to learn of God and Jesus Christ; to accept Christ and His grace; to learn repentance; to conquer sin and carnal desires; and to do many other things. These experiences, we came to "collect" because these are things that we will be able to take with us in the afterlife.*
• Rejection of Predestination
• *PI: LDS do not believe that we were already predestined for Heaven or Hell. It would be contrary to the plan of salvation. Why else we be here on Earth if we were going to Hell anyways--no matter how good of a person we were? Why should we even try to be good people if we are going to heaven no matter what? Predestination makes no sense when thinking about our life's purposes and His divine plan*
• Free Will is a major concept of the faith
• *PI: This compares to the LDS beliefs surrounding Free Agency
• Reject Monasticism
• In the end of times there will be a major cosmic renovation. All will be reunited in Ahura Mazda in the undead form. A savior figure will come, bringing a final renovation, and all the dead will rise. 
• Saoshyant
• Name means "One who brings benefit"
• It is also used as a term for a religious leader who follows the Mazda's teachings when inspired by asha which is another term for Arta (truth)
• He will make the world perfect and immortal. All evil will disappear as he will use a weapon against all that is evil.
• There are three saviors--one at the end of each 1000 years that comprises the last 3000 years of the world. All three will be born of virgins who bathe in a lake which preserved the seed of the prophet Zoroaster and were, therefore, impregnated. 
• Zoroaster is also seen as Ahura Mazda
• There is no real knowledge of when exactly Zoroaster resided on earth
• estimations range broadly from 6000 BCE to 600 BCE
• The Three Saviors are as follows:
• Hushedar
• Hushedarmah
• Saoshyant
• *PI: I am unsure of how exactly how this can be related to anything LDS, or even Christian. However, in scripture Jesus Christ has been referred to by many names. Although, I am sure that Zoroastrianism believes in 3 literal saviors, I think that if taken in a radical sense the three could be representative of different dispensations mixed up in other theories, confused original doctrines, etc etc etc...*
• Practice of proselyting and actively encourage missionary activities
• Towers of Silence
• This is a practice whereby in places (India) where it is legal bodies are put on towers and eaten up by vultures. In places where this practice is illegal bodies are encased in graves of lime mortar or are cremated. 
• *PI: This, by my knowledge, has just about zero comparison with that of the LDS and related Christian faiths*
• Bridge of Judgment
• Your actions determine the outcome
• Based off your actions you are greeted by either a representative who will lead you to paradise or a representative who will lead you to hell
• A final battle will occur. The righteous will not be harmed. Mazda will triumph, Saoshyant will resurrect the dead, souls will be reunited with God, truth/righteousness/immortality will be eternal
• Sins don't stay with you forever. You can confess them and get rid of them being on your record via the transfer of supererogatory merits
• http://www.religionfacts.com/zoroastrianism/index.htm
• Similar to the Roman Catholic idea of "Treasury of Merits"
• This is the basis of Zoroastrian prayers and ceremonies for the dead
• Belief in Angels

Practices

• Initiation
• India=age 7; Persia=10
• They recieve the shirt and girdle which they wear for the rest of their life
• Purification
• Padyab/Ablution, nahn/bath, bareshnum/--not sure how to explain this one
• Penance
• recitation of the patet, willing to not commit the sin again, and to confess the sin to an authoritative figure (priest or dastur)
• Sacred Fire
• Must be kept burning 24/7, being fed at least five times a day
• It is symbolic of the battle against evil
• Prayers
• Recited 5 times a day. 

****Personal Insight: I do not see this religion as being the same as the LDS religion or even as having any direct relation to it. I, however, do see it as being interesting that there are some major similarities between the two faiths. Also, I do see it as being somewhat possible for Zoroastrianism to having been the original religion that has gone astray and corrupt and has lost just about all remnant of original truth that can be seen within that of the LDS faith. Like an apostate religion that has lost its real history. As there is little to no evidence on this it would be a waste of time to seriously speculate on this subject. However, it should be seriously respected as having been a very influential religion on Islamic, Jewish, and Christian religions, sharing many commonalities with the three Abrahamic faiths.****