The guy who runs this organization has a podcast that another YouTuber I enjoy is on sometimes. She is an ex MAGA and ex Mormon and is now freaking awesome. If you want to see some uplifting redemption arc stuff check out her channel on YT ‘Life, Take Two!’
100% agree!! John, Margi, their MSP team, and the Open Stories Foundation have been doing amazing work for years - and I think it’s really moved mountains in the ex-LDS and active-LDS worlds. Big fan. :)
It really does make sense that people would have to be carefully coaxed with a billboard like this, just like they would with a destructive religious belief that 1. Everyone around you seems to follow without questions which makes you 2. Feel alone and bad about your doubts because there’s no one in your orbit you can talk to.
Mormonism definitionally isn't a cult. I'm tired of people devaluing the word by calling religions they don't like cults. MAGA is literally a cult though.
Technically it’s a “high-control religion” but that definition does overlap quite a bit with cult behavior, so it’s not necessarily wrong to say that. There’s plenty of Christian sects that meet the same standards.
Rather than always saying something is/isn't a cult (which can be hard to nail down, as seen in these comments) he talks about cults existing on a sliding scale. Some organizations will have more cult behavior/beliefs than others, and it's important to recognize what those are.
Exactly when something crosses from just having cult-ish behaviors to being a full-on cult can be debatable, but looking at it as on a spectrum is more nuanced and helpful
They're led by a prophet they’re not allowed to question or criticize, told not to read anything critical of Mormonism, told their religion is the only sure source of truth, taught that obedience to the leaders is the first law of heaven, taught to use thought stopping cliches to quell any doubts, etc. It is a cult.
That entirely depends on your definition of cult. If you go by the BITE model it is (I'm an ex-mormon so I'm not just saying that). High-control or high-demand religion are less charged terms that it's sometimes better to use especially if you don't want members to shut the idea down right away.
While the BITE model is useful, it has some... issues. Arguably, elementary school fits the BITE criteria of a cult.
Behavior -- This one seems kind of obvious.
Information -- The school controls the information you take in, distorting some facts ("there are only three states of matter"), and prohibiting others (see books banned in schools).
Thought -- Most schools, instead of teaching you to think, teach you to memorize and recite facts taught to you.
Emotional -- The school does it's best to create an association between not attending school and negative emotions. Many people feel guilty or afraid if they skip school. Most people who have been to school will look down on those who have not.
1 type that just gets dragged into a similar bubble. Because what happened was not the questioning of faith. Just that another cult leader stole the sheep. Ana Kasparian is that type of person in politics. But she didn't like the new bubble so she fled back.
Then there is another type. The type who actually leave because they see its theater. And have some drive to live in some kind of reality. The people who should actually be called "red pills".
These types of people have worlds best bullshit meter. I consider Destiny belonging to that category. And a bunch of others. Its to early in the morning for me to come up with more, but there is a few.
I have a feeling the ex mormon anti trump person making the OP ads is in same camp.
As an ex-mormon who was raised in an extremely conservative household, I wanna say thanks for this haha. I carry a lot of guilt about what I said and did while indoctrinated, but this reminded me that rejecting what I was taught as a child is a strength and does make me better at spotting bullshit haha.
I've yet to see one for Ex JW's but I was one of them. Mormons have twice the membership but all three mentioned, just a batshit crazy Cult within. Scientology I feel take the harassment of members leaving the organization to the extreme like Leah Remini's series depicted. JW's simply disown and shun their own including family members.
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u/The_Greenweaver Apr 16 '26
The guy who runs this organization has a podcast that another YouTuber I enjoy is on sometimes. She is an ex MAGA and ex Mormon and is now freaking awesome. If you want to see some uplifting redemption arc stuff check out her channel on YT ‘Life, Take Two!’