Posted by:
rodolfo
(
)
Date: February 01, 2011 08:13PM
I really like Mak, Derrida's and Cheryl's observations here on this point.
Another well-respected source referred to often on this Board is Psychologist and noted cult-expert for the APA Steven Hassan.
Hassan has described distinct existential patterns that tend to prevail in definitional CULT organizations where extreme double messaging and psychological coercion is commonly found:
I. Organizational Behavior Management Characteristics
1. Regulation of individual's physical reality
a. Where, how and with whom the member lives and associates with
b. What clothes, colors, hairstyles the person wears
c. What food the person eats, drinks, adopts, and rejects
d. How much sleep the person is able to have
e. If the person has independent financial dependence
f. Little or no time spent on leisure, entertainment, vacations
2. Major time commitment required for organizational sessions and group rituals
3. The need to ask permission for major decisions
4. The need to report thoughts, feelings and activities to superiors
5. Rewards and punishments (behavior modification techniques- positive and negative).
6. Individualism discouraged; group think prevails
7. Rigid rules and regulations
8. Need for obedience and dependency
II. Organizational Information Management Characteristics
1. The use of deception
a. Deliberately holding back information, especially to newcomers
b. Distorting information to make it acceptable
c. Outright lying
2. Access to non-organizational contrarian sources of information is minimized or discouraged
a. Books, articles, newspapers, magazines, TV, radio
b. Information critical of the organization
c. Former members
d. Keep members so busy they don't have time to think
3. Compartmentalization of information; Outsider vs. Insider doctrines
a. Information is not freely accessible
b. Information varies at different levels and missions within group
c. Leadership decides who "needs to know" what information
4. Spying on other members is encouraged
a. Pairing up with "buddy" system to monitor members
b. Reporting deviant thoughts, feelings, and actions to leadership
5. Extensive use of organization generated information and propaganda
a. Newsletters, magazines, journals, audio tapes, videotapes, etc.
b. Misquotations, statements taken out of context from non-group sources
6. Unethical use of confession
a. Information about "sins" used to destroy individual identity boundaries
b. Past "sins" used to manipulate and control; no forgiveness or absolution
III. Organizational Thought Management Characteristics
1. Need to internalize the group's doctrine as "Truth"
a. Group Reality Map = Actual Universal Reality
b. Black and White thinking
c. Good vs. evil
d. Us vs. them (insiders vs. outsiders)
2. Adopt "loaded" language (characterized by "thought-terminating clichés”). Words are the tools we use to think with. These "special" words constrict rather than expand understanding. They function to reduce complexities of experience into trite, platitudinous "buzz words".
3. Only "good" and "proper" thoughts are encouraged.
4. Thought-stopping techniques (to shut down "reality testing" by stopping "negative" thoughts and allowing only "good" thoughts); rejection of rational analysis, critical thinking, constructive criticism.
a. Denial, rationalization, justification, wishful thinking
b. Chanting
c. Meditating
d. Praying
e. Speaking in "tongues"
f. Singing or humming
5. No critical questions about leaders, doctrine, or policy seen as legitimate
6. No alternative belief systems viewed as legitimate, good, or useful
IV. Organizational Emotional Management Characteristics
1. Manipulate and narrow the range of a person's feelings.
2. Make the person feel like if there are ever any problems it is always their fault, never the leader's or the group's fault.
3. Excessive use of guilt.
a. Identity guilt
i. Who you are (not living up to your potential)
ii. Your family
iii. Your past
iv. Your affiliations
v. Your thoughts, feelings, actions
b. Social guilt
c. Historical guilt
4. Excessive use of fear.
a. Fear of thinking independently
b. Fear of the "outside" world
c. Fear of group enemies
d. Fear of losing one's group status or "salvation"
e. Fear of leaving the group or being shunned by group
f. Fear of disapproval
5. Extremes of emotional highs and lows.
6. Ritual and often public confession of "sins."
7. Phobia indoctrination: programming of irrational fears of ever leaving the group or even questioning the leader's authority. The person cannot visualize a positive, fulfilled future without being in the group.
a. No happiness or fulfillment "outside" of the group
b. Terrible consequences will take place if you leave: “financial ruin;” “abandonment;”; "hell;" "demon possession;" "incurable diseases;" "accidents;" "suicide;" "insanity;" etc.
c. Shunning of leave takers. Fear of being rejected by friends, peers, and family.
d. Never a legitimate reason to leave. From the group's perspective, people who leave are: "weak;" "undisciplined;" "unspiritual;" "worldly;" "brainwashed by family, counselors, enemies;" “seduced by money, sex, pride, rock and roll.”
It is pretty obvious to even TBMs (and to any thinking person) that the organizational descriptions above are clearly descriptive of the common patterns found in lds church culture and institutional practice. There are not merely one or two statements above that apply, but clearly the vast majority of the characteristics listed are right-on-the-money. I guarantee that we could start a thread on nearly every point and LIST the examples.
According to Dr. Hassan:
"Characteristics of cults can be understood in terms of four basic components, which form the acronym BITE:
I. Behavior Control
II. Thought Control
III. Information Control
IV. Emotional Control
It is important to understand that destructive mind control can be determined when the overall effect of these four components promotes irrational dependency and obedience to some leader or cause. Mind controlled cult members can often live in their own homes, have nine-to-five jobs, be married with children, hold responsible and important positions in non-cult settings, function well and exhibit excellent critical thinking skills in most areas of their lives, and still be unable to think for themselves and act independently in regards to the influence of the cult—which has, as its central goal, the object of controlling the behavior, thoughts and emotions of the cult members."
IMHO The overarching and unrelenting goal of mormonism is CONTROL OF PEOPLE AND THOUGHTS. Not righteousness, not honesty, not charity, not community, not personal or spiritual development, not Christ and not happiness.
It is quite clear that EVEN THE CHURCH ITSELF, its teachings, structure, history, practices, doctrine and principles are readily abandoned and or changed at will if the lds church thinks it can increase and extend its control by doing so.
The lds church would like to be portrayed as a mainstream christian religion. It is not. It is a cult pure and simple. Though we may certainly note that individuals in TSCC are victims and should be treated with respect and compassion, the lds cult a christian Taliban that deserves no sensitivity or respect from anyone or from any benevolent religion with benign personal or spiritual development goals.