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Destructive Mind Control

Discover the insidious nature of mind control in Mormonism, from identity suppression to threatening prophecies and deceptive practices. Uncover the groupthink and survival biases at play in this social process.

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Destructive Mind Control

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  1. Destructive Mind Control In Evolutionary Mormonism By Lyndon Lamborn

  2. Destructive Mind Control • A Social Process (meme) that: • Encourages obedience • Champions conformity • Suppresses autonomy and independence • Disrupts and displaces authentic identity • End state: the individual feels completely dependent on the group for survival

  3. Mind Control Often Found In: • Religious cults • Military organizations • Pyramid sales schemes • Drug cartels • Feuding tribes

  4. Key Characteristics • Authentic Identity suppression • Threatening prophecies • Secrecy, Shrines for the elite • Deception • Isolation, Time monopolization • Confession, privacy infringement

  5. Key Characteristics (cont.) • Preoccupation with $$, $$ extraction • Demand for purity, hyper-vigilance • Top-down obedience • Information censorship • Fear, shunning of defectors • Circular reasoning, sacred science • Heavenly soldiers for God theme

  6. Key Characteristics (cont.) • Exploitation of cognitive human biases: • Groupthink bias • Authority bias • ‘Saying is believing’ bias • Escalation of commitment bias • Confirmation bias • Reciprocity bias • Survival bias • Hindsight Bias

  7. Identity Suppression Become as a little child doctrine Take upon self the name of Christ, natural man is an enemy to God doctrine Patriarchal blessings denote lineage and often ‘adoption’ into family blood lines 1800 1900 2000 Peculiar people doctrine emphasized – New Pride is found in group identity/traits. Temple rites include assignment of a ‘new name’, and ordinance work by proxy for the dead, which is identity substitution rehearsal. Aim: Groupthink replaces individual thinking….

  8. Threatening prophecies 1835: Smith predicts the 2nd coming NLT 1891. 1937: Church introduces 1-yr food supply. 1980’s: 72-hr emergency kits. Disaster is always imminent. New England Puritans are certain the end is near. 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 Puritan Mather predicts second coming in 1697, then 1716, then 1736 1662: M.Wigglesworth pens poem “The Day of Doom”

  9. Survival Bias 1833: Word of Wisdom given by Smith 1834, 1842, 1851, 1870 Word of Wisdom increases in importance & enforcement Threatening prophesies abound in early sermons given by Smith and Young and others 1800 1900 2000 1830: Lehi’s dream in the Book of Mormon – Hold to the Rod! 1880: Book of Abraham canonized, which includes 1/3 of the host of heaven are demons surrounding us.

  10. Secrecy, Shrines for the Elite 1959: Church releases financial holding information for the last time. Perfection of the ‘art of silence’ begins. 1833: Temple building begins in Kirtland, Ohio 1990s: Hinckley announces focus on temple building and temple worthiness. 1800 1900 2000 1820-1844: Smith’s life is shrouded with secrets. The golden plates, angels, how he did translations, the doctrine of polygamy and secret spiritual wifery… “no man knows my history” 1980s: Church officials purchase documents from Mark Hofmann, most are hidden. Hoffman is exposed as a forger and convicted of murder.

  11. Deception 1990’s: Dallin Oaks acknowledges deception by church leaders. “The whole experience with polygamy was a fertile field for deception… “If some of these Mormon leaders or members lied, therefore, what?” Trial of 1826. Joseph Smith admits deception for gain, and that he could discern nothing with peep stones. 1850: John Taylor continues tradition of lying about polygamy in an interview in Boulogne, France, even when he himself was a practicing polygamist. 1800 1900 2000 Hinckley & $$ 1843: Smith conjures an Egyptian ‘alphabet’. 1844: Smith lies about polygamy. Smith falls for the ‘Kinderhook plate’ trap, providing a quick ‘translation’ of gibberish.

  12. ‘Translation’ Technique Translation method as portrayed by LDS Church.

  13. Isolation, Time Monopolization[Groupthink Bias Reinforcement] 1961: McKay “Every member a missionary”. 1964: Monthly home teaching and visiting teaching 1968: ‘Family home evening’ program – every Monday night 1970s, 1980s: Daily personal and family prayer and scripture study emphasized, 3-hr block, temple attendance reports 1800 1900 2000 1953: McKay forms the Church Educational System ‘Gathering’ of the Saints is SOP Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, then Great Basin 1938: First temple records microfilmed. Genealogical research emphasized, consuming hobby for many.

  14. Confession, privacy infringement 1976: Public awareness of transgressions limited to announcements to adults 1860-1934: Church slowly moves away from detailed public confessions – bishops more involved 1956: Private confession deemed adequate except in case of public scandal 1800 1900 2000 1830-1900: Confession of sins was routinely done in public in the early church and often reqd after church court conviction… Sabbath day obligation: “offer thy sacraments confessing thy sins unto thy brethren and before the Lord.” D&C 59:12 1856-57, “The Mormon Reformation”, (Revival) Teachers hear confession, ask 27 questions: everything from murder to bathing. 1972: Spencer W Kimball publishes “The Miracle of Forgiveness”, a repentance & confession cookbook 1913: Instructions for private confession 1970s: Youth interviews are made an annual event – and get personal

  15. Preoccupation with Money 1825: Smith is an accomplished money digger, learning how to prey on human superstitions for $ 1830: Smith attempts to sell copy write for the Book of Mormon in Canada 2000-2008: In order to avoid disclosing financials, church settles misconduct lawsuits 1800 1900 2000 2004: Church buys 88,000 acres in Nebraska, making it the 2nd largest landowner in that state with 228,000 acres. Church assets are ~40 billion, with 925,000 acres in N. America, and the largest foreign landowner in Great Britain. The church is rumored to be the largest beef producer in the USA, and easily the richest per capita religion in the world. 1899: Lorenzo Snow institutes tithing 1838: Smith’s speculative bank in Kirtland, Ohio fails. Smith and Rigdon flee from angry investors, finding refuge with members in Missouri. Temple ceremony includes consecration of all worldly goods to the church. Appeal to wealth….

  16. Demand for purity, hyper-vigilance Memorization of hymns, scriptures, and slogans to be used as ‘thought-stoppers’ to displace evil thoughts. Always work in pairs. Purity of thought: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” “No unclean thing can enter the Kingdom of God.” Moral purity: Sexual relations outside marriage are sins “like unto murder”. 1800 1900 2000 “he that looketh upon a woman with lust hath already committed adultery in his heart” 1921: Purity of body: No alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea [Word of Wisdom] enforced 1989: Masturbation is a deplorable sin. Young men with a masturbation habit are not allowed to serve missions. 2000+ Utah #1 for porn….

  17. Top-down obedience(Reinforcing Authority Bias) ~1845: Brigham Young institutes blood oaths of obedience to church law in the temple endowment ceremony, “in preference to the laws of the USA”. 1830: Smith reveals that the Lord considers words spoken by Smith to be “as if from my own mouth”. D&C 21:4,5 1980: Ezra Benson delivers landmark “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following a Prophet” speech. 1800 1900 2000 1890: Wilford Woodruff announces “The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands at the head of this Church to lead you astray….  If I were to attempt that, the Lordwould remove me out of my place… 1919: Policy change: pass sacrament to highest authority first. 6/19/1838: ‘Salt’ sermon is delivered, calling for unquestioning obedience to the prophet, for right or wrong, on penalty of death. 1945: ‘Once the prophet speaks, the thinking has been done’ article is published in Church media.

  18. Information censorship 1844: Joseph Smith leads a raid on and illegally destroys the “Nauvoo Expositor”, setting off a series of events that would culminate in his death 1998, 1999: FAIR and FARMS websites step up to ‘combat’ true history and other doctrinal critiques. 1980: Church archives are closed. 1800 1900 2000 1981: Signature Books is founded, in direct response to the cancellation of Leonard Arrington's 16 volume "History of the Church" project Censorship through dilution is perfected. Teachings of past prophets are whitewashed in new lesson manuals. Member inundated with new materials annually. 1981: Boyd K Packer gives famous “we are one-sided” speech

  19. Fear, shunning of defectors 1830s & 40s: Any daring to challenge the authority of Smith are expelled: Examples: Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, William Law Sept 1993: six prominent scholars who were deemed too liberal are expelled. 1800 1900 2000 1844: Death penalties become the consequence for divulging temple secrets. 2004: Grant Palmer, 34-yr CES instructor, is expelled for publishing ‘Insiders View of Mormon Origins’, a purely factual book. 1873, 1904: Bill Hickman publishes “Brigham’s Destroying Angel”, his involvement in crimes and murders ordered by bloody Brigham. 2007: Lamborn expelled for distributing true history information.

  20. Circular reasoning, sacred science Oops… change of plan… “When confronted with evidence from the rocks below, rely on the witness of the heavens above.” – Packer, 2005 1830: Book of Mormon ‘promise’ – a study in circular reasoning 1800 1900 2000 1842: Smith expounds on physics, time, space ether, etc in the Book of Abraham, all popular theories in his day. 1970s: Scientific progress is advancing because Gods work must go forward… but wait…. Absolute power is granted to feelings, which then become capable of displacing reality.

  21. Heavenly soldiers for God theme 1838: Danite band formed, also referred to as “Armies of Israel” by Smith "You and each of you do covenant and promise that you will pray and never cease to pray to Almighty God to avenge the blood of the prophets upon this nation, and that you will teach the same to your children and to your children's children unto the third and fourth generation." The oath remained a part of the temple rituals until February 15, 1927. 1800 1900 2000 1857: Mountain Meadows Massacre ~120 innocents murdered. "Vengeance is mine saith the Lord, and I have taken a little of it." - Brigham Young 1834: Zions camp militia is formed to liberate the Saints in Missouri. 1846: The Mormon Battalion is only religious military unit in US history

  22. ‘Saying is believing’ bias 1974: Kimball – “Every able, worthy young man should serve a mission.” 1806-1825: Smith grows up in an environment of testimony bearing (Pentecostals) 3/27/1836: Kirtland temple dedicated, early testimony bearing free-for-all. 1800 1900 2000 1896: Church institutes “Fast and Testimony” meeting once a month on Sunday 1830: Smith recruits witnesses for the Book of Mormon & initiates missionary work, calling his brother, Samuel Smith to serve. Not only does this add converts, it made loyalists. 1900-present: Lesson manuals routinely request that the instructor “bear testimony of the principles as the spirit dictates” at the end of each lesson.

  23. Escalation of commitment bias 1846: Brigham Young feigns persecution to muster men for the Mormon Battalion - then Saints cross plains 1826: Smith perfects EOC in money digging business. Smith sees the EOC effects of ‘gathering the saints’ and consecration doctrines 1800 1900 2000 1834: Zion's camp participants become stalwarts, reinforcing the power of the EOC bias. ~1990: Handcart treks instituted, a short pioneer experience for ages 14-18. 1828: Smith woos Martin Harris into heavy investment in the Book of Mormon ‘translation’. Money and time investment in the church makes every member a beast of burden.

  24. Confirmation bias Church encourages large families. It is the duty of Mormons to give millions of spirits a body through birth. Heber C. Kimball ~1865 Holy Ghost gift doctrine ties life experiences to the myth 1962: Gospel to be taught 3X in lifetime; child, youth, adult 1800 1900 2000 1830: Many Book of Mormon stories parallel Bible stories – which then ring true to Christians August 1878, the first Primary meeting held in Farmington, Utah. Children who were not part of the pioneering experience of the Church were thought to need additional indoctrination.

  25. Reciprocity bias 2001: Hinckley establishes the “Perpetual Education Fund” 1990s: Apostolic blessings become popular. 1849: Smith establishes the “Perpetual Emigration Fund” 1800 1900 2000 Tangible gifts: Wedding & funeral Nice buildings Social network Youth programs Employment services Illusory gifts: Salvation Ordinances Revelation Holy Ghost Patriarchal blessings 1936: Church formally organizes a welfare program for struggling Saints.

  26. Hindsight bias (Appeal to Success) 1880 New York: Fertile environment & Joseph Smith collide. Smith answers ALL front page issues and becomes a hero. 1842: Polygamy brings key ingredients: Persecution Monopolization 1995-2005: Hinckley attempts to mainstream “We need to discuss my emotional needs” 1800 1900 2000 ~1990: US Govt enforces anti-polygamy laws, Church is forced to evolve 1844: Smith is killed in a gunfight, touted as a martyrdom 1978: Kimball announces Blacks can hold Priesthood Isolation & monopoly = appeal to the masses

  27. Summary • Mormonism, an complex adaptive organism, has evolved into an effective mind control entity • Momentum and emphasis moving away from ‘truth’ toward ‘survival through feelings’ through mind control techniques • Mind control victims are generally impervious to facts and evidence, due to cognitive biases. • The tie between survival and belief must be broken first, but how? (thought question)

  28. Conclusion Enlightenment is man's release from his self-incurred tutelage. Immanuel Kant

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