This is a brand new book coming out on July 22. It's written by an ExMo who lives in Seattle. The Morg won't be happy with this one. It scientifically goes through all of the methods that high demand groups use to insidiously brainwash their members. She has a website. I want to double check, and will provide a LINK shortly.
Mind control is a type of persuasion that bypasses mental defenses against new beliefs, followed by:
--establishment of beliefs to deflect all skepticism and criticism of the doctrine and leaders
--suppression of critical thinking skills (while maintaining the illusion of logic)
--isolation of members from doubt-inducing information
--the creation of dependency on the group for social and psychological fulfillment
--the instillment of emotions like fear and guilt to keep members from leaving.
It is key that all the while, members maintain perfect trust in the person or group doing the manipulating.
No one knows when they’re being controlled in this way – that’s entirely the point.
Like “mind control,” the word “cult” is loaded with lots of false notions. Many researchers, myself included, prefer the term, “high-demand group,” because it is more descriptive, even if it is more of a mouthful.
A high-demand group, or cult, instills complete trust in its members and demands an inordinate amount of time, energy, and money, using a totalist and inflexible ideology that permeates most or all aspects of the members’ lives. Such groups are known for isolating members either physically or culturally, suppressing serious questions and flexibility in thought, leaving little room for doubts or dissent, and never allowing criticism of leadership. The goal is for ideological purity and unanimity among all members.
The LDS Church fits this definition. These claims are backed up with research and examples within the pages of Recovering Agency.
This is one of the best books on Mormonism I've read and believe me, I've read a lot. Because you can read "No Man Knows My History" and "In Sacred Loneliness" to get a picture of Joseph Smith and "Standing for Something More" and "One Nation Under Gods" and the entire Mormonthink website to get a picture of the rest of the historical and doctrinal problems of Mormonism. But this book deals brilliantly with what Mormonism did to US. What effect it had on our lives, our choices, our abilities to think and feel and act of our own accord. I totally recommend it to anyone and I'm only about 2/3rds of the way through. No matter how completely you think you know the issues in Mormonism, until you get a good understanding of how those issues hurt you and continue to hurt your friends and family, you will be missing an important part of your knowledge of why Mormonism is not just wrong, but damaging. This one is a must read.
I agree wholeheartedly with CA Girl. Long after you're done reading about Old Joe and polygamy you must still untangle yourself from years of cultthink. Luna's book is a greatly appreciated resource to this end.