Hi all,

I just wondered, those of you who would describe yourselves as ex-mormons, how aware you are of the warning signs of a cult?

It just seems to me from what I've read that people who have been involved in a cultish organisation can be vulnerable to being involved in others. And avoiding religion doesn't necessarily protect you, as there are financial and other non-religious cult groups.

I did a quick Google search to try and get a good source for cult warning signs. I haven't yet found a list I can trace back to a credible academic source (in fact I don't know if anyone has done this work yet) but I have found a couple of good newspaper articles setting out some warning signs:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2009/may/27/cults-definition-religion

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jayanti-tamm/the-c-word_2_b_848340.html

I hope some people find this helpful - I think that as well as understanding Mormonism itself that it's useful to get a good understanding of mind control and cult control techniques so as to be able to avoid them in future.

I've seen a few people on here say things like "how could they be so stupid as to believe..." or "I can't believe I took so long to get out" - but a lot of what's happening is not normal human functioning, but a result of mind control techniques which we could all fall victim to. It is not something that would be obvious to you based on normal common sense, it is insidious.

I also am aware that some religious (and other) groups which are not cults can sometimes fall into some of these practices, and it is worth being warned so as to be able to either warn a group you're in of the direction it's drifting, or get out of that group before it becomes destructive.

I think this stuff should be taught in school, I genuinely do!

For professionally listed cult characteristics see:

"Characteristics Associated with Cultic Groups - Revised" by Janja Lalich, Ph.D. & Michael D. Langone, Ph.D., also in Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships (Paperback) by Janja Lalich, Madeleine Landau Tobias ISBN: 0972002154

Other resources on identifying cults, with similar checklists:

http://www.freedomofmind.com/ The home page of Steve Hassan, an authority on cults and brainwashing.
http://www.caic.org.au Jan Groenveld's Cult Awareness Centre
http://www.factnet.org FACTnet, resources on psychological coercion and mind control
http://www.neopagan.net/ABCDEF.html Isaac Bonewits' cult checklist, with 18 items and worksheet.
A 12-minute video on cults in general: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnNSe5XYp6E
See also the article "Spiritual Abuse":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_abuse
Luna Lindsey: Recovering Agency: Lifting the Veil of Mormon Mind Control

The following are 18 indicators that the organization may be a cu;t


1. Charismatic Leader
It will be a leader who can spell bind the members. He will be either “divinely commissioned” or specifically chosen by the former guru.
2. Vague and metaphorical goal
This will be a goal that is in the distant future and not clearly defined.  It will probably be expressed as an abstract idea.
3. Sacred doctrine
There will be some sort of sacred writings such as the bible or the Koran.
Or perhaps a newly revealed doctrine. Or a book that will become the basis of the doctrine.
However all doctrinal sources are carefully manipulated to support the doctrine of the cult.
4. Divine coincidence
This is an important part of the methodology of acquiring new members.
Deity of some sort must be credited for the “awakening” of the new member.
Members must learn of the cult by “grace” not by reasoning or conscious process.
Cults try to avoid the member taking credit for discovering the cult by their own initiative because members should be separated from their sense of self determination in order to be fully indoctrinated.
Join because you feel good about it not because it makes sense.
For this reason many of the sales people (missionaries or preachers) who make contact with prospective customers (members) will advocate group prayer, many times in a kneeling position, as a method of initiating mind control techniques.
The prospect is sucked in to subordinate positioning by being grouped with the sales person (missionaries or preachers) and introduced to carefully constructed chants or prayers if you will.

5. Monetary commitment
Discovery and introduction are almost always FREE.
Tracts or books or magazines are frequently given away as a method to the steps toward mind control. After becoming affiliated with the group the novice member is told that only by paying dues can he fully enjoy the benefits of membership. In theological cults dues are often labeled tithing and made mandatory for complete acceptance into the organization.
6. Isolation  measures
The new member is then asked to do something that is out of the norm for him and that will tend to separate him from his former friends and associates.
Wearing spiritual clothing unique to the organization.

7. Member complicity
The members mindlessly follow any and all dictums from the leaders at the top.
          If headquarters says it the thinking has been done.

8. Demeaning self worth
Next the member is taught that there is little of “self” that is worthwhile.

8. Confusion and transference.
The member is sent confusing messages. Monday = you must do this. Tuesday= forget Monday. That was in error. Do this instead. Whatever I tell you to do today is the command in force.
Come to me for your direction. Give me all power over you.
Reward is given today for doing X. Punishment is given tomorrow for doing the same thing.
Confusion is the order of the day. The member is always in limbo.
9. Behavior is “other” directed. All behavior is directed by someone else.
No behavioral choice is ever left to the member.
[Such as volunteering for a teaching position, choir director, youth leader, or scoutmaster.]
For example one might be heard to question          
“I hope that this song is on the approved list.”
                   (There is no approved list! However the singer then must seek out someone in “authority” to approve the song.)

10. Inclusion by obsession with acceptance
The member must be obsessed with the necessity of being accepted. Therefore the member will do everything that is perceived to be enhancing to their acceptance by the cult.
Only by doing this will the member be included in the general body of the cult.
11. Never express doubt to subordinates
Since doubting is prohibited, the expression thereof to subordinates could undermine their automatic response reparatory to commands.
12. Never express doubt to superiors
Since doubting is prohibited, the expression thereof to superiors could lead to demotion within the cult or even expulsion.
13. The cult supersedes all other commitments
Nothing is so important as the commitment to the cult. It literally becomes the core being to the member. If the choice must be made between the family and the cult the cult must come first. There have been incidents where one spouse was told that if the other spouse did not toe the line that a “proper” spouse would be found after the divorce.
The club here is that without the cult the member will never attain the type of heaven that the cult is selling.
14. Never refuse a request
In a theological cult all requests “come from “God”. Refusing a request is “refusing God”.
Never mind if you are physically, educationally, or emotionally not equipped, never refuse.
There have been occasions where this concept resulted in emotional collapse and even suicide.
15. Never ask for something that specifically benefits you.
That would indicate that you are self centered and that the cult is not the pure center of your universe.
16. Never take action because the cult leader said to.
Plausible denial is the great protector of cult leaders.
Because of alienation of affection laws the cult will back out of the issue just before a decision is actually made. They will always say you choose your action.
17. Respond automatically to the cult leader’s wishes.
Robotic response is the necessary in order to exercise total control over the member’s mind.
18. Accept the leaders as the perfect centers of the universe.
In all issues the leaders are the final word about everything. Having an “holy calling” they are the final word in all things. Regardless of whether they are trained in a given field their findings are final and non negotiable

The book "Recovering Agency: Lifting the Veil of Mormon Mind Control" by Luna Lindsey is excellent in addressing cults and how we get sucked in and stay in.

TG

Thanks for all the info and links. I never knew about any of this when I found myself pantomiming cutting my own throat and that horrific chant "pay lay ale", but I knew back then at that moment something was terribly wrong with everything I had been taught to believe and had been raised in.

thedesertrat1;

That was a wonderful and comprehensive list!

"how aware you are of the warning signs of a cult?"

Very aware. The greatest sign of a cult I have learned from Mormonism is that when you suddenly have strangers who instantly become your friends and tell you how awesome you are, then you can be sure that they represent a cult.

From Steve Hassan, the bite model

google search for Steve Hassan, bite model.

He was a member of a Cult and was all in. When he left the Cult, he came up with this model to show how individuals are controlled by the Cult Leadership.

(B)ehavior Control
(I)nformation Control
(T)hought Control
(E)motional Control

To Control someones Thoughts, all you need to do is control their behaviors and Emotions.

To Control someones Emotions, all you need to do is control their Behaviors and Thoughts.

To Control someones Behavior, all you need to do is control their Emotions and Thoughts.

To control their Behaviors, Thoughts and Emotions, you control the Information.

The reason this works is something called Cognitive Dissonance.
If there is disharmony between Behavior and Thought, the mind will attempt to return to harmony by changing either the behavior or thought. The same is also true for the others. If there is disharmony between Behavior and Emotion, the mind will attempt to return to harmony by changing either the Behavior or Emotion.

To control the individual, you feed them select information. You tell them to Distrust outside information. This one is important to control the LDS mind!

It's important to infect the Young mind to keep them hooked. When you start with a very young impressionable child, teaching them what to say is key. Repeating the words, “I believe the church is true” will create a framework in their minds. When they see or do the same things adults do, they will judge them acceptable or unacceptable based on how they fit in their personal framework.

And of course, praise and positive feedback for repeating the dogma.

Yes even the songs like 'I hope they call me on a mission'.

What led me to this board in the first place was watching the UK documentary "meet the Mormons" (quite different from the US documentary of the same name, which I believe is much more pro-LDS) and being shocked by the treatment of the missionaries, which seemed to me to be straight up mind control - especially the way they isolate them from their families.

if this stuff was more widely known, I think it would shortcut a lot of arguments about truth claims and help people realise their situation and get out of these organisations more quickly, without needing a protracted deconstruction process. Theology, however crazy, isn't the real problem - the problem is control. Disempowerment, subjugation, domination, abuse, loss of agency, whatever you want to call it. That's what we need to be alert to.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/24/2015 06:11PM by finnan haddie.