Is the Mormon Church an Unhealthy Organization? w/ John Larsen | Ep. 1757

 

Sometimes we find ourselves involved in organizations, governments and communities that might be psychologically unhealthy to us or our communities. John Larsen has collected a few points you can use to check to see if an organization might be considered dangerous or unhealthy. Episode Show Notes: https://www.mormonstories.org/podcast/unhealthy-organizations 00:00:00 Intro & recap 00:05:30 John Larsen invites callers to correct him if he says something untrue 00:06:15 John addresses complaints over his “rhetorical style” 00:09:00 Anger is justified over the pain and lost opportunities of Mormonism 00:13:30 John Dehlin’s goals for Mormon Stories 00:18:00 John Larsen’s rage is in essence “proxy” work for many listeners 00:23:00 Two deconstructions 00:26:45 You have everything you need to deconstruct Mormonism by a 9th grade education 00:29:00 Great books for more info 00:36:00 Use of the word “cult” 00:37:00 Stephen Hassan’s Influence Continuum 00:39:30 1. Elections w/ only one candidate for office (compared to laughing @ Soviets) 00:40:20 2. All members expected to vote in unison in public 00:42:50 3. The leader is called “beloved” 00:47:33 4. Loyal members calling for reform/change are purged or silenced. 00:50:30 Church’s first instinct is to go for blood, even when they know they are wrong 00:XX:XX 5. No means for membership to appeal a decision 00:58:20 6. The group is willing to break up family structures 01:03:45 7. Members are encouraged to look/dress the same. 01:04:30 Women are especially policed 01:05:30 The purpose of conformity is condition to obey & uplift the “brand” 01:08:15 8. Life events are controlled by the organization 01:13:32 9. Internal Messaging vs outside media 01:18:50 10. Overly focused on going after vulnerable populations - elderly, poor, grieving, etc 01:22:00 JL Rant: I’d be EMBARRASSED to make the argument that I benefited from something off the backs of others 01:23:45 11. Group is involved in businesses or monetary transactions unrelated to the main enterprise 01:30:50 12. Members are encouraged to never say anything negative about leadership 01:33:20 13. Organization uses litigation to suppress dissent (SLAP) 01:36:40 14. Community leaders chosen by central org. Local leaders have no say in who leadership will be 01:45:20 15. Governance structure is hidden/unknown 01:51:05 16. Obedience is encouraged over all other values 01:55:00 Endless menagerie of nitpicking rules 01:57:00 17. Obsessed with intimate details of members lives 01:58:00 John Dehlin mentions weird questions asked by Bishops 02:01:00 John Larsen over confusing metaphorical lesson on masturbation 02:04:45 18. Leadership tends to speak of the victim-hood of the organization even in endeavors where the organization has a majority or controlling influence. 02:08:20 19. Organizational history is overly sentimentalized and edited 02:10:15 20. Organization insists on primacy or that it’s more important than EVERY other organization in the world 02:13:00 21. Obsessive focus on outside looks 02:20:00 John Larsen wishes Mormonism focused on Christ _________________________ Mormon Expression is made possible by generous donors! Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today: https://mormonstories.org/podcast/mormonexpression John & Carah on Other Platforms: Mormon Expression Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0dxn6T2fEuU7Ezb5jJqk7Z Nuancehoe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAib1bMCLZh9Ln0Uq62xxjw Nuancehoe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/nuancehoe John Larsen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JohnLarsen1 Support Mormon Stories Podcast here: One-time or recurring donations: https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories?default_interval=m Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories Our Platforms: Mormon Stories Blog: https://www.mormonstories.org/episodes Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4sDzk7dRjODTSEqzZKZJzk?si=148b0efc1ccc4404 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mormon-stories-lds/id312094772 Contact us: [email protected] PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117 Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mormstories TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mormonstoriespodcast Discord: https://discord.com/invite/kuX5p6yyjF