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“Is Mormonism a Cult?” – A FAIR Rebuttal

For many years, skeptics have accused The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints of being a cult. For accusers and defenders alike, this word has taken many vague definitions. Few of these definitions are correct. For some, it conjures images of weird ritual, torturous interrogations, hypnotic mind control, and drooling zombies. For others, …

Cognitive Dissonance and Consonance:
The Basics for Mormons & Former Mormons

Cognitive dissonance/consonance theory is basic to understanding human thought and behavior. It describes how our beliefs interact with each other, our resistance to new beliefs, and what dynamics are involved when we do change our beliefs. We experience cognitive dissonance and consonance on a day to day bases as we process all the new information …

List of LDS Commandments

Mormonism demands purity, a manipulation tactic to keep members busy, expand the totalism of the beliefs, and fuel inadequacy, shame, and self-blame (blame reversal). Usually, when you have important goals, it’s good to list them all in one place, yet I have never seen a list like this in an LDS publication. Perhaps because they …

Mormon Mind Control Bingo

As I watched Dallin H. Oaks’ October 2014 Conference Talk, it occurred to me that he used enough mind control techniques, just in the first five minutes, that I could probably win at Mind Control Bingo. Then I realized that Mind Control Bingo needs to be a thing! So here it is. It’s a Word …

Stages of Cult Recovery Applied to Mormonism

After leaving a high-demand group, there will be many possible symptoms, including depression, confusion, guilt, indecisiveness, phobias, loneliness, and anxiety. These feelings do not in any way prove the Church is true, that you’ve lost the Spirit, or any such thing. It is typical for anyone leaving any cult to have similar problems. They can’t …

The BITE Model and Mormon Control

A newer version of this article exists as a $2.99 ebook, available on Amazon Kindle. Introduction Nearly every cultist, no matter what cult they are a member of, completely and fully believes their group is the one and only true way. They believe they are elite, of better stuff than outsiders. They strive for near-impossible …

The Methods of Thought Reform

“Brainwashing…is an invisible social adaptation. When you are the subject of it, you are not aware of the intent of the influence processes that are going on, and especially, you are not aware of the changes taking place within you.” Cults in Our Midst, Margaret Thaler Singer, p 61 “And they all cried with one …

Thought-Reform Analysis of a Thomas S. Monson Talk

Analysis of The Prophet Joseph Smith: Teacher by Example by Thomas S. Monson, delivered at LDS General Conference, Sunday Morning, October 2005. Monson is one of the story-tellers, and he has a very nice, soft, calm, kind voice. It used to make him my favorite conference speaker. Now I know that the calm voice causes trust, and the …

What Does an Open, Ethical Group Look Like?

I often get asked, if Mormons use mind control, then don’t all religions use mind control? Don’t all groups manipulate? To some extent, yes. But to vastly varying degrees. As humans, we’re adapted to form social ties and to influence one another. We have physiological mechanisms that make us open to certain types of influence, and …

What is Mind Control?

There are many misunderstandings regarding the definitions of “cult” and “mind control”. What do these words mean and what is involved? How can we tell the difference between the conveyance of a good idea and being controlled into exploitation? Mind control is known by many names: brainwashing, coercive persuasion, thought reform, uninformed consent, manipulation, exploitive …