Humans cannot literally read the minds of others but some can interpret the words, facial expressions, and body language and have a good chance of convincing the person they read their mind.
Some people are actually gifted at this naturally or are able to learn it. Most not so much. In the trade this is called "empathetic accuracy." Good thing to have in organizations that actually help people unlike the Mormons.
So you may get the occasional bishop who is intuitive but this is not likely. I suspect my dad was this way.
What you will get in the stead of mind reading for sure throughout the church sometimes, and, all the time from the G.A.s is them asserting that they know you better than you know yourself. This of course is the ultimate insult but does work well on the inducted.
Most however are going on the ole principle that a broken clock is still right twice a day.
A cult only needs a few depend people who believe in it. They know which buttons to push. If you have members trained by childhood to anxiously wondering what the cult wants and needs it is easy to pretend you as a leader can read their minds. Like Marion Stricker wrote in her book, do not know the exact words, leaders take (steal) and give back what people already own.
A family cult leader would say something like this.
PHIL! It is like you do not know me. After all these years. After all what I have done for you. This is what I get!? Because what you say to me is completely wrong. You should be ashamed talking to me like that. You should be able to know what I want and need, if you do not know that your relationship with me is not sincere. You better start working on the relationship. You are tearing the whole church apart being this inconsiderate.
One time an Elder's Quorum president called me in for a personal priesthood interview (they are supposed to do this for every Elder once a year). We chatted for a while and then he stopped and just looked at me squarely in the eyes.
He said, "Elder, there is something you need to talk to me about, what is it?"
Several things came to mind, but I didn't want to discuss any of them with him so I said, "no, , , there isn't". I stared back. He offered to be available in the future if I felt the need to talk to him again.
This is a common trick that was used on us in the mission. Or variations of it. Reading Dale Carnegies "How to Win Friends and Influence Enemies" gives a good tutorial in this type of manipulation and the Zone Leaders were all reading it on my mission. Control tactics for novices and tyros.
Reply: If you weren't wanking off, you'd know, and wouldn't have to ask me. When you stop wanking off, tell me what you have learned about what I need to talk to you about, and I'll let you know if you are right.
And of course if you are wrong, then there is some other evil in your soul that you need to get right with The Lard™ about.
Not once have I spoken to anyone in the church and felt like they could truly see into me or knew about me. I had a couple of moments where I felt like leaders were blind to things I had done and didn't have supernatural powers(at the time I justified it that they were acting with mercy on behalf of god, that my little thought crimes were being overlooked deliberately to give me a breather; that's how you know it's brainwashing. When you have clear evidence that they have no idea who you are or what you've done bad, yet you make excuses and justifications for them "letting you get away with it" this once).
If you would have stated that experience it would have been twisted into you not taking anything seriously anymore. In the sense it is YOU not keeping the relationships going. Like your experience was very sinful.
Another tactic would be telling you that you are making things up, like you are losing it because everything is fine in the community and you see things not existing.
Found this concept in a book about dysfunctional families. The members in a family protect themselves from being wrong or doing wrong by making other people do all the choices. A part of the protection is not to communicate to each other there are any needs or wants in life. If someone in a family asks another member (with evident needs) if he or she need any help with something the member protests.
- No there is no need for something here! I am fine. It must be something wrong with YOU asking ME if I need anything?
And around it goes. Around and around..
My idea (from what I have read) was that this anxious checking off with others if there are any needs or wants is the best school to become someone walking around on egg shells inside a cult. Especially around leaders. You will always listen to the leaders. 247
There are lots of historical claims that "god" revealed someone's thoughts to someone else. Usually JS or BY (unsurprisingly). There are all kinds of ways to run that scam. One is to make the claim ex post facto or even make up the stories wholecloth. Spread them around and you even get multiple "accounts" (which all amount to hearsay). Another is to stage them. This way a whole group of "witnesses" can be arranged (though there could never be a true witness to mind reading, all they can witness is a conversation). Another is to guess based on what you know about the person, what they've said, their body language, etc, sometimes even manipulating the situation to deliberately steer their thoughts.
Back when I was a TBM, I used to get very self-conscious and worry that God was revealing my "sins" to leaders. That they knew, so I might as well tell them. It's a great way to shame and manipulate people and keep them under your thumb... until they figure out that it's all BS.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/2022 01:34PM by skp.