Mormon Stories Podcast

Recovering Agency - Examining Mormon Mind Control Pt. 1 (with Luna Lindsey Corbden) Luna Lindsey Corbden is the author of "Recovering Agency - Lifting the Veil of Mormon Mind Control." In this multi-part Mormon Stories Podcast series, Lindsey employs the tools of social psychology to identify ways in which the Mormon church uses various coercive techniques often associated with high demand religions (also referred to as cults). Throughout the series we will be asking, "In what ways does the Mormon church behave in ways similar to other high demand religions (or cults), and what can it do to become less cult-like?"

The primary goal of this series is to help people raised within the Mormon Church unpack and separate their own identity from church doctrine and policies. In their book. Luna explores 31 different mind control techniques used by high demand religions generally, and by the Mormon church specifically.

In Part 1, we explore the basics of how cognitive dissonance works, and we will cover the first six methods (of the 31 in total): Sacred Sciene, Demand for Purity, Doctrine Over Self, Black & White Thinking, Blame Reversal, and Guilt & Shame.

And, if you have not already, tune in to my most recent livestream (episode number 1442) for an introduction to this fascinating series!

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Luna Corbden (who also writes as Luna Lindsey) was born into the LDS Church and left the faith in 2001, at age 26. They now live in Washington state and write about topics of interest to them, including psychology, mind control, culture, and autism. They also write science fiction and fantasy novels, and write short stories for speculative fiction publications like the Journal of Unlikely Entomology, Crossed Genres, and the Recognize Fascism anthology. When they're not busy traveling to improbable worlds, they're thinking hard about this improbable world.

Luna's book can be found here: https://recoveringagency.com

Show Notes:

• Recovering Agency: Lifting the Veil of Mormon Mind Control by Luna Lindsey Corbden
• "Ideas on Singularity and Post-Human Intelligence," by Luna Lindsey Corbden
• "The Psychology of Religion with Dr. James Nagel," Mormon Stories
• "What the Mormon Church Can Learn from Cults to Do/Be Better," Steven Hassan on Mormon Stories
• "How to Help a Loved One Who Believes in QAnon," Steven Hassan on Mormon Stories
• Combating Cult Mind Control: The Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults by Steven Hassan
• Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A study of "brainwashing" in China by Robert Jay Lifton
• A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance by Leon Festinger
• Escaping Utopia: Growing Up in a Cult, Getting Out, and Starting Over by Janja Lalich
• Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships by Janja Lalich and Madeleine Tobias
• Captive Hearts, Captive Minds: Freedom and Recovery from Cults and Other Abusive Relationships by Janja Lalich and Madeleine Tobias
• Cults in Our Midst: The Continuing Fight Against Their Hidden Menace by Margaret Thaler Singer
• Recovery from Cults: Help for Victims of Psychological and Spiritual Abuse by Michael Langone
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
• International Cultic Studies Association
• When Prophecy Fails by Leon Festinger
• "Obedience Brings Blessings," Thomas S. Monson, General Conference April 2013
• "An Open Letter to Students: On Having Faith and Thinking for Yourself," by C. Terry Warner, New Era, November 1971
• "Using Our Free Agency," by Delbert L. Stapley, Ensign, May 1975
• Losing My Mind Bit by Bit: A Story of Mormon Motherhood by Pam Kazmaier
• "Be Not Deceived," Dallin H. Oaks, General Conference October 2004
• The Jonestown "Death Tape" (CW: Disturbing content)
• Mormon Stories interview with Mike Rinder
• John Dehlin on Scientology: Fair Game with Leah Remini and Mike Rinder
• The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer W. Kimball
• "The negative impact of perfectionism among Mormons," by Kristine Doty-Yells, Utah State University 2013
• "If Thou Art Faithful," Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference October 1984
• "Listening to Shame," Brené Brene Brown TEDTalk, March 2012
• "The Power of Vulnerability," Brené Brown, TEDTalk, June 2010
• "Social rejection shares somatosensory representations with physical pain," Ethan Kross, et. al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, April 2011
• "The pain of social rejection," by Kirsten Weir, Monitor on Psychology, 2012
• Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves by Steven Hassan
• Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs by Steven Hassan
• Thinker of Thoughts with Jonathan Streeter
• "Undue Influence in General Conference," with Jonathan Streeter and Luna Lindsey Corbden
• "Fellowshipping: A Priesthood Responsibility," Lesson 10, Duties and Blessing of the Priesthood Manual
• The Pattern of Double-Bind in Mormonism by Marion Stricker
• Coercive Persuasion: A Socio-psychological Analysis of the "Brainwashing" of American Civilian Prisoners by the Chinese Communists by E.H. Schein
• "Put Off the Natural Man and Come Off Conqueror," Neal A. Maxwell, General Conference October 1990
• "The Mantle is Far, Far Greater Than the Intellect," Boyd K. Packer address at BYU in 1981
• "The Rise and Fall of BH Roberts with Shannon Caldwell Montez," Mormon Stories
• "The Secret Mormon Meetings of 1912 with Shannon Caldwell  Montez," Mormon Stories
• No Man Knows My History by Fawn Brodie
• Influence: Science and Practice by Robert Cialdini
• "Full Conversion Brings Happiness," Richard G. Scott, General Conference April 2002
• "Trial of Your Faith," Neil L. Andersen, General Conference October 2012
• "Striving for Perfection," Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, Ch. 21
• "As Good As Our Bond," Sheldon F. Child, General Conference April 1997
• "LDS Church leaders cut mic when young girl talks about being gay"
• "Pure Testimony," M. Russell Ballard, General Conference October 2004
• "How Do I Help People Make and Keep Commitments?" Preach My Gospel, Ch. 11
• "The Atonement," Gospel Principles, Ch. 12
• The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt
• "Personal Revelation: The Gift, the Test, and the Promise," Boyd K. Packer, General Conference October 1994
• "The Lifespan of a Lie: The most famous psychology study of all time was a sham. Why can't we escape the Stanford Prison Experiment?" by Ben Blum
• Street Epistemology
• The Godmakers: A Shocking Expose of What the Mormon Church Really Believes by Ed Decker
  Film
  Book
• "Make Peer Pressure a Positive Experience," The Presidents of Church Teachers Manual Ch. 19
• Under the Influence by John Goldhammer
• Spiritual Perversion by Steve Sanchez
• "The How and Why of Faith-Promoting Stories," by Bruce R. McConkie, New Era, 1978
• "Obedience to Law is Libe

  In cooperation with author Luna Lindsey Corbden (Recovering Agency) and Youtuber Jonathan Streeter (Thoughts on Things and Stuff), I have developed a short self assessment to help people:

1. Determine if they were raised in a cult or high-demand religion, and/or
2. Learn to more quickly identify the techniques used by unhealthy people and organizations to wield undue influence over family, friends, employees, or members.

This self assessment should take no longer than 30 minutes to complete.  A PDF of the assessment can be found here.   We also highly encourage you to learn and study these principles to avoid being taken advantage of by unhealthy individuals and organization (including family members, businesses, corporations, governments, etc) .   Finally, if you enjoyed this episode, please check out our in-depth, 17+ hour exploration of the book "Recovering Agency: Lifting the Veil of Mormon Mind Control" with author Luna Lindsey Corbden on Mormon Stories Podcast. These episodes will be released starting Monday, June 28th.

This week we celebrate the birthday of faithful Mormon historian and scholar Richard Bushman – author of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, and former Mormon church stake president and patriarch.

Some of you will remember that I had the privilege of interviewing Richard back in 2007. Most of you probably don’t know that Richard agreed to discuss 10 topics on the series, but quit the interview after only addressing 3 of the 10 topics, which was very disappointing to me at the time. But of course that was his prerogative.

Since our original interview, Richard has declined to appear on Mormon Stories Podcast again – especially after my excommunication from the Mormon Church in 2015. Still, there are many questions that I would like to ask Richard (or any believing Mormon scholar), if he (they) would allow it. Unfortunately most faithful Mormon scholars avoid any forums where they are asked candid, difficult questions. This is not their fault, of course. It’s the price of doing business with a church that silences and punishes its truth-tellers.

Consequently, I am recording a personal episode where I go ahead and ask the questions I’ve been wanting to ask Richard, along with expressing a few concerns with some of Richard’s public statements over the years.

I hope you enjoy! If you enjoy this episode, I may do something similar a few other faithful scholars/historians/apologists.

Join us for Part 2 of our interview with Gerardo who is a dear friend of the podcast! Growing up in an orthodox Mormon home, his story gives a unique perspective on the church in Mexico and the “Laminate ancestry” that plays into the testimony of many of the members in Latin America. After realizing his attraction to men in his youth, Gerardo worked to keep up with expectations as the son of a prominent LDS family hoping God would “turn his weakness into strengths.”

Through stories about Evergreen, conversion therapy, Mexican EFY, and serving a faithful mission, we hear how strongly Gerardo tried to pursue the covenant path and deny his gay identity. Gerardo went to BYU-I where he met his husband, a wild story filled with intense highs and lows. Eventually questioning his faith, losing his connection to being a descendant of the Laminates and working through disagreements with LDS family, Gerardo put his whole heart out there in this interview. Listen along for some life-changing insights from Gerardo on this epic episode of a Mexican Mormon Story!

Join us for Part 1 of our interview with Gerardo who is a dear friend of the podcast! Growing up in an orthodox Mormon home, his story gives a unique perspective on the church in Mexico and the “Lamanite ancestry” that plays into the testimony of many of the members in Latin America. After realizing his attraction to men in his youth, Gerardo worked to keep up with expectations as the son of a prominent LDS family hoping God would “turn his weakness into strengths.”

Through stories about Evergreen, conversion therapy, Mexican EFY, and serving a faithful mission, we hear how strongly Gerardo tried to pursue the covenant path and deny his gay identity. Gerardo went to BYU-I where he met his husband, a wild story filled with intense highs and lows. Eventually questioning his faith, losing his connection to being a descendant of the Lamanites and working through disagreements with LDS family, Gerardo put his whole heart out there in this interview. Listen along for some life-changing insights from Gerardo on this epic episode of a Mexican Mormon Story!

Kelly and Kayla Mikesell are a dynamic step-mother/daughter pair. Only recently did Kelly start to investigate the troubling issues with Mormon history that had been eating away at her children. In an effort to learn, love, and empathize with her children, she investigated the church and grew in ways that surprised her and her family.

As Kelly chose love and understanding over dogma and compliance, she was able to open her heart to the members of her family in the LGBTQ community, including her step-daughter Kayla. Teenage years filled with the unimaginable amounts of shame and guilt, Kayla was able to grow into her own independent, confident adult, even winning Miss Salt Lake City and making her platform one of advocacy for the Utah Pride Center.

We are honored to interview two thoughtful, articulate women putting a lot on the line to speak out while Kelly’s husband still currently serves as her bishop!

Warning: This episode contains discussions of self-harm.

Show Notes:

• Last Podcast on the Left Mormonism episode 
• "Ghost of Eternal Polygamy" by Carolyn Pearson
•  Gift of the Mormon Faith Crisis podcast 
• Jennifer Fife
• Donna Showalter Mormon Stories Podcast Episode
• Leah and Cody Young Mormon Stories Podcast Episode
• "Listen, Learn and Love" by Richard Ostler
•  Follow Kayla on Instagram

Happy Utah Pride Week everyone! To celebrate Utah Pride week, I am sharing one of the most important interviews in the history of Mormon Stories Podcast. It is the story of Kyle Ashworth - a dear, brilliant, talented friend, and the host of Latter Gay Stories podcast.

This interview is important for at least 3 reasons:

1. Kyle is a truly brilliant, caring human. That should be enough.
2. It conveys super powerfully the myriad of ways in which the Mormon Church harms its LGBTQ members AND its straight members - including a deep dive into the serious problems of mixed-orientation marriages within Mormonism, along with the deep ineffectiveness and deceptiveness of organizations like North Star International.
3. Finally, It is ultimately a story of "love winning out" as Kyle, his ex-wife, and her family fulfill their mantra, "One Family, Two homes."

Join us today to hear the conclusion of Kyle's truly inspiring story.

Please watch and enjoy, and please spread the word!!!

Happy Utah Pride Week everyone! To celebrate Utah Pride week, I am sharing one of the most important interviews in the history of Mormon Stories Podcast. It is the story of Kyle Ashworth – a dear, brilliant, talented friend, and the host of Latter Gay Stories podcast.

This interview is important for at least 3 reasons:

1. Kyle is a truly brilliant, caring human. That should be enough.
2. It conveys super powerfully the myriad of ways in which the Mormon Church harms its LGBTQ members AND its straight members – including a deep dive into the serious problems of mixed-orientation marriages within Mormonism, along with the deep ineffectiveness and deceptiveness of organizations like North Star International.
3. Finally, It is ultimately a story of “love winning out” as Kyle, his ex-wife, and her family fulfill their mantra, “One Family, Two homes.”

Today we will show Part 1 of the interview, and tomorrow we will share Part 2.

Please watch and enjoy, and please spread the word!!!

Every year I try to provide donors and listeners with a "State of the Union" address for the Open Stories Foundation (the 501c3 non-profit that I lead which houses Mormon Stories Podcast), along with the overall success of Mormon Stories Podcast and the other OSF podcasts (Gift of the Mormon Faith Crisis Podcast, A Thoughtful Faith Podcast, and Mormon Mental Health Podcast).

The topics for today will be:

• OSF / Mormon Stories Podcast Mission & What we are about
• Fiduciary stuff, governance
• Board status
• Effectiveness/reach of Mormon Stories Podcast
• OSF Finances
• OSF Strategy for 2021 and beyond
• OSF staff changes, including the addition of Carah Burrell to the staff for a trial period
• Plan for events and community
• OSF challenges/needs

After converting to Mormonism as a teen and attending BYU, Haleigh Evert’s relationship with the Mormon church grew unfulfilling and complicated. After leaving the church for a time, Haleigh came back to the Mormon church, married in the temple, and started making videos and writing about her Mormon journey.

Haleigh eventually published the book “Why I Left the Mormon Church and Came Back,” which is still sold at Deseret Book today. Then, after years of promoting and defending the Mormon church, Haleigh read the CES Letter for the first time (just a month and a half ago).

In this episode we discuss Haleigh's conversion, her reach on social media as a Mormon influencer, and her life now after reading the CES letter.

Show Notes:

• Haleigh’s YouTube Channel 
• Haleigh's Instagram
• The CES Letter by Jeremy Runnells
• Unveiling Grace by Lynn Wilder