Recently, the prophet of the Mormon Church made the following statement in a worldwide church conference. Of course, I have written books on how to do the Strategic Interactive Approach. First ask questions in a respectful way, listen to the response and guide the person to think for themselves. Hassan: I would say start with educating yourself and getting yourself really grounded in understanding models such as the dual identity model of authentic self vs good Mormon self and understand that the effort is to build rapport and trust. I have many Mormon friends I love dearly, but now all I can think about is how the church literally controls them. I was very alarmed at how Mormonism uses mind control. I read your book in preparation for today. Sometimes, like what happened with the Hare Krishna cult, the leader died and all the next-level leaders splintered off to do their own cults. Many cults morph- sometimes there is a designated successor. D oes a cult need to have an active, deceitful leader to continue? These are the keys to calm their cognitive dissonance, and it gives them a higher ‘authority’ so they can believe they’re doing god’s will… despite what they know to be true or not. Members who are slated to become leaders are lulled upward and when they’re finally there, they are under such delusions that it’s best for the people because they’ve given them a ‘higher purpose’ no matter what they personally believe. I would have died on command or killed on command. I was trained to follow orders and suppress my conscience. I was held up by Moon as the model member. When you are in leadership meetings–eventually, there is dissonance brewing between what the top people believe and what we were told to tell members. Hassan: Well, I was only in the Moonies cult for 27 months, but I was a true believer. Questions and Answers Is it possible for leaders of cults like these to believe what they are teaching? Or is it more likely they are actively deceiving their followers? At what point as someone moves up the chain do they go from being a faithful member who truly believes in the church, to one who realizes that there are many falsehoods but they’re high enough up that they have to perpetuate the lies or be disgraced? Most of the questions and my answers from this 2-hour forum are included below, along with links to other resources and information that can be helpful to anyone who is considering leaving or who has already left the Mormon Church. This was the perfect time to have an open forum to address the authoritarian tactics used by the Mormon Church and the difficulties members face when they decide to leave. John Dehlin, a 6 th generation Mormon, who eventually left the Church. I had recently written on my blog about the experience of Dr. This is the link to the entire thread: AMA: I’m Steven Hassan, Ask Me Anything! : exmormon (). This past Sunday (January 9, 2022), I was invited to answer questions about the Mormon Church during an Ask Me Anything (AMA) for the subreddit group, ExMormon. Negative Issues Experienced by Former Members of High-Control Groups.Malignant Narcissism: Stereotypical Characteristics of a Cult Leader. Steven Hassan’s BITE Model of Authoritarian Control.Estate Planning Advice for Wealth Managers.Litigation Consulting, Expert Witness, and Other Professional Case Consultation.
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