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You never had the heart for to be a Mormon , you know witch LDS movie I like , Is Jonny Lingo . Did you watch that? I think u have had Talk about that 🎥🍿 movie
I was sent home from my mission for learning too much about Joseph Smith. I kept asking questions and challenging rules and my president got fed up with me. It was miserable, a complete waste of my time. It did help me realize the church wasn't true or worth remaining a member
I can't imagine being indoctrinated into the church, when that is all you know. Then critically thinking, asking questions is a bad thing . Serious Red Flags !
Good for you. I bet you were a breath of fresh air to people you don’t even remember OP. By openly questioning the bullsh*t you allowed others to begin questioning.
This is why I allow missionaries to use my home with the understanding that we (me and my family) will not be discussing their beliefs. They take showers without time limits; call their loved ones in private; search the unfiltered internet; eat what and when they want, etc. They love it.
Oh, thats a great idea. I would sometimes talk to them on my doorstep but never let them in. I could tell one pair of boys that showed up once, one had serious doubts, one was unthinkingly gung ho. I talked to both of them, but I directed a lot of my commentary to the young man I could tell had doubts. Not being rude or forceful cuz im sure they got a lot of that in my city (known as one of the least religious cities in the US) but just politely talking and doing everything I could to get that kid thinking and realizing that he didnt have to live that way. I hope that young man was able to find his way out of the cult. But it wasnt until I watched these vids that I realized how bad these kids were treated. They havent come by for a few years (maybe I caused too many to question their faith or something) but if any of them do, Im going to offer them a nice dinner, and say if they need something to eat they can stop by anytime Im home.
@childofcascadia That would be awesome of you! Just make sure you put it up front that they aren't there to give the lessons or to share their message with you. You are a safe place and that is it. I actually wrote a dissertation in the c*lt/"religion" and always hid my materials from the missionaries. But two users on Alyssa's channel (judgmental af Patty Smith and the consistently dumbe$t commenter on all her videos) made me simply uncover the shelves where my Mormon materials are. They were moths to a flame, and within a day, 4 sister missionaries left the church and moved in with me for a while, as their families told them not to return. Since then, I've had several others live with us as well. I was raised in a different c*lt, but the missionaries really get to my mama's heart and I have to help.
We saw that a seminary teacher in cache valley is running classes to help return missionaries because so many end up with scrupulosity. Because they were taught to be obedient, not think.
The two missionaries I talked to were interesting! The one almost done looked very tired and the other , only one year in had to do most of the talking . But they were less antagonist right after the pandemic lifted and their first Door to Door in awhile. Mormon Missions R a time when many Mormons actually have to defend their church and many realize the criticisms R true and leave after their mission.
I guarantee you that there are introverts on Mormon missions who go into the bathroom, not to take a shower or use the toilet, but just to sit there for 5 minutes so they can get some alone time.
The rule to be next to your mission partner sounds like a nightmare to me. I get tired from being with my husband (whom i love dearly) and need alone time. Can’t imagine being with another person.
There's another theorized "purpose" of a mission that I've seen go by every so often: to make missionaries feel rejected by the general public, so they lean even more into support from the church and are less likely to question or leave it. Along with Alyssa's videos, I've been watching stuff by Daniela Mastenyek Young, aka Knitting Cult Lady. She looks at "high control groups," which the LDS church sure seems to be!
That sounds about accurate. Owen Morgan, the ex-JW RUclipsr, talks at length in his videos about how JWs are not supposed to even associate with outsiders, and he concluded that part of it is that so that when the outsiders give up and just conclude you to be a weirdo (naturally), you'd be pushed even further away from the world and would have to rely even more on the JW church to fulfill your social needs. Messed up.
This is why I'm always kind to the missionaries who knock on the door or talk to me on the street. I can only imagine how overwhelmed they must be, and they're SO young 😢
I try to but always fail. Sure, I am trash but the missionaries in my area come off like the most aggressive, most sleazy used car salesman ever. I have never punched anyone in anger in my 55 years on this dump but they had me thinking about it, they were that bad. They have followed me for blocks talking at me after telling them I am not interested. Once, I drove 3 hours with my granddaughter and I was dropping her off at my daughter's. There were two in her complex and I said don't live here and am very tired. That wasn't enough of a no for them. It was almost 9 PM also. LOL They need to learn that no means no. If it doesn't really matter how many people they get why are they so damn aggressive? If they just wanted to shoot the breeze to burn some clock, that is fine. I would be happy to have a light chat, tired or not. But I can't productively deal with aggressive sales tactics. It is always the men in this area walking around. The women never, ever knock on doors. The women only go to homes by request. Like if the mark is a woman and would feel better talking to women. Other than that, the women work indoors at the employment office and places like that. All while the men are outside in suits in 100+ weather or trudging through a few feet of snow in 20 degree weather dealing with losers like me. I am sure the women enjoy the easy mode, but that is also condescending and what they do to the men is just cruel.
Me too! I'm a staunch atheist, but it breaks my heart to see these young people trudging around in the dead of summer (I live in GA.) I always offer them water and a chance to step into the AC.
for the never be alone rule I remember I went on a church trip in high school (non mormon) and we had a similar rule... issue was they paired me and my girlfriend at the time up so we just had ample opportunities to be super gay in secret.
My friend. I don't think you are bad, but you may not be up-to-date on the latest charitable donations of the Church of Jesus Christ. Did you know that for the past several years the Church of Jesus Christ has given over $1 BILLION annually to worldwide humanitarian causes? Considering the rather small membership of the Church this is remarkable. I'm just guessing, but the Church's donations may make it among the most charitable Christian denominations. Know you know.
I love my progressive rock and metal. I loaded up my mission phone with a ton of instrumental music ranging from acoustic to electronic to some metal. We would have "device audits" and check over each other's music at one point, but due to the sheer amount of music I had, no one was ever able to sniff out the one death metal album I hid in the sea of hundreds of songs.
@shelleyhowell86 Towards the end of my mission, they started cracking down on "google drive piracy" because missionaries would share music through drive since there was pretty much no other way to get music. A bunch of people got purged but no one was able to get me (some really wanted to) because I only brought what I owned and never gave anyone my stuff (no one wanted it anyway)
I hated the lack of alone time. It still affects me and I demand alone time 30 years later. Even happily married, I still insist on my having two master bedrooms in our home.
Never Mormon, never on a Mission, but we have separate living rooms. We enjoy sleeping in the same room, but when we are awake we need retreat space. Plus. We don't have to negotiate how to decorate. We visit each other regularly but... we don't have to.
I'm an atheist since birth and so are/were my parents and I'm still very similar. I've been with my partner for 14 years now and I still need my complete alone time where nobody is speaking to or even looking at me or I'm going crazy. I've always been like that but thankfully so is our mom so I was never bothered too much at home by my two older siblings. Both of them are (much) less introverted than me and so was our dad. My partner is also a lot less introverted than me but also never minded just giving me that space. I would run away screaming if I had to go on a Mormon mission ☠️
I can't imagine how much of a hell mormon missions have to be for people with autism, adhd and the likes. If it's already torture for people without inherent neuropsychological conditions, I don't know what I would end up doing if I were trapped and tied to people 24/7 without the possibility of stepping away and regaining control when overstimulated
I served a mission in the Canary Islands. One of my companions was so incredibly annoying I once had to "ditch him" by leaving the bus right at the last second. That 1/2 hour of solitude was very precious and helped me maintain some sanity.
1:16:45 "...we should maintain a feminine dignity..." she says while wearing shoulder pads in a 80s female power suit style jacket that became fashionable precisely to appear more masculine in order to be taken seriously in the workplace
I'm much too introverted for this kind of stuff. The going door to door thing would also do me in in a week at most. I need to not see any people at least for a few hours a day.
@@ericseamons9982 But can you actually hide out in there? Alyssa was saying your companion has to hang about outside the door!. I used to have a "shy" bladder and still can't use a public bathroom for ummm..."the serious stuff" I'd be constipated with chronic UTIs. TMI I know, but this is the first time I've realised even bodily functions are supervised!
women are asked to wear makeup?????? why???? i haven’t worn makeup since middle school. women look normal with and without makeup. they look pretty and presentable with or without makeup. wtf
When I was a member, especially in Western Mormon country, I noticed that there was a big emphasis on makeup, jewelry, nylons of course, high heels, perfect hairdos, and high quality clothing. I was a casual beach girl. No wonder I left! LOL
I personally do wear makeup but only because I like the creativity and artistry involved. I also go outside without it on and given my personality if someone told me I had to wear it I would refuse. I hate being forced to do anything that makes no sense at all
One of the 12 apostles, M Russel Ballard, gave a talk at a young single adults devotional and during the talk he said, “don't wander around looking like men. Put on a little lipstick now and then and look a little charming. It's that simple.” Also, I think they believe that the sisters will be more successful as missionaries if they look prettier. To be fair, they tell me to lol their best and groom well. Our mission president required us to put a part in our hair. But that quote is still super sexist. The leaders are old fashioned and think that ladies must wear make up.
Just remember that the top 15 leaders of the church are super old men except for a few that are in their 50’s. They have an old fashioned mindset because they all grew up a long time ago. The church will change for the better once millennials are in charge.
How else could you be the perfect 1950s housewife?! 🤢 I was in a different cult that only allowed us to show our face (not hair) and hands, with NO makeup - and definitely no curves showing AT ALL - to distract the men!! Those modesty rules were crazy, walking around in basically a big, baggy sack of a dress 🤦🏻♀️ It still feels like it was a different lifetime, those 2years. ... Funny how cults all have their own, totally conflicting, rules about what God supposedly wants 🤔
I served my mission in Japan in 2013. I got extremely depressed with two very tough companions that took the white hand book to the extreme and it suffocated me. I left early after serving 10 months. It was the event in my life that left a massive crack in my shelf. And from there my shelf crumbled until I officially left. Couldn’t be happier in my life now that I’ve left the cult.
@@ambert5790why is that your business? Anyone making a comment makes the comment they feel is appropriate for themselves. YOU can make a comment on yourself.
@hsavage2899 chill. They weren't judging or hating on them and were just asking a sincere question that they do not have to answer if they don't want to talk about it. I'd rather people ask respectfully, like they did, instead of being ignorant, hateful and judgmental and just "asking" a question as a way to make fun of you/belittle you instead of actually wanting to learn and have a conversation
I live in an area heavily populated by Mormons. They are everywhere, medical professionals, legal, teachers, etc. I have acquaintances who are Mormon. I decided to listen you your information and John Dehlin to learn more about the lives of my neighbors. I have been shocked at most of the rules you share and understand (I think) how you were indoctrinated to the rules from birth believing all of it. I feel sad for a good friend who is from a multi-generational Mormon family who blindly lives all the rules. Thank you for sharing and educating your listeners.
I’m in Mesa AZ and know lots of Mormons- I knew that they paid for their missions, but had no idea it was so strict! I’ve always tried to be respectful of their faith (being an atheist), but the more I learn, the more I feel that they are trapped in a cult.
I grew up in slc, It feels like a cult to me. Have to pay to be a member, obey obey obey, don't think for yourself, don't indulge, fear of anything but the church, demonizing everything and everyone else so many things
I had never met anyone that I knew to be Mormon before I went to dental school in Arizona. Then suddenly like 25% of my classmates and some faculty were Mormon. It was wild to hear them talk about missions, wards, and the temple like they were totally normal, and I was baffled. I’ll also say that it was funny how I could eventually tell the difference between a Mormon who was from Utah vs a Mormon from anywhere else. This channel has been fascinating to really see “behind the curtain.”
My wife didn’t have enough money for her mission nor did her mom. There were members in the ward willing to help pay for her mission but the bishop denied any assistance for the church/members until my wife had begged all of her family and friends first. She ended paying for her mission from the inheritance from her recently deceased grandfather. This was the second time her family had requested financial help from the church and they were treated like trash both times.
That is so sad. In the end, this organization is about the money: 150 billion hiding in Australia not being used for missionaries, clean water wells being dug in Peru, sending missionaries on their missions without the kids having to worry about money. What the heck??? Who spends $900,000 on a chandelier for a temple but makes some kid whose dream has been to be a missionary all her life beg for money from friends and family to go out into a dangerous world to share a gospel she may not believe in anymore because of all this money drama?
Thats so weird, the Spanish ward would literally pitch in. The youth would volunteer at the church food pantry n help pick groceries for the ppl that needed the help. I swear the Spanish is way different than the English wards. Still f*Ed up but different.
You know I knew one missionary and his family didn’t have a lot of money and were struggling financially but his mom send him and I think some of his siblings who are in the church on the mission and I think it’s insane that you have to even if you can’t afford it so other people won’t look down on you. They could barely afford electricity and food and their house needed a renovation but tithing and mission are more important to that church than their members. I also knew a missionary who never wanted to go on a mission but was forced by the social pressure to do so.
mormons will be like "don't do anything dangerous like play a competitive game of basketball but btw have fun knocking on doors in the most dangerous places on the planet at nighttime" 💀
What's sad is that Mormons, especially these kids on mission, don't realize how ridiculous this two years of torture is. Poor kids who go through this. And what a racket by the church.
It sounds only slightly better though. Even not being allowed to walk to the bathroom together, have a phone call without being listened to…. What if you need to pee in the middle of the night, are you going to wake up the other person to accompany you to the toilet??
My dad was sent to Russia on his mission. After about a year he just couldn’t take it, locals were incredibly rude to him, he got super sick, and even got a knife pulled on him. He decided to go home and got a lot of backlash from his friends/family 😐
I saw two mormons missionaries here in Milan, Italy. I looked at one like he was a mystical creature because it was my first time seeing a Mormon, He approached me meanwhile the other one went across the street. I asked few questions about soaking and the religion, I showcased him also my knowledge (I did the handshake too) and told him about you. Lastly I said “you know you should be in sight and sound with your companion, right?” as his companion was in the other side of the street looking for people to approach. He was gagged.
The no first name rule really bothered, and surprised, me. It is such an insidious (and sick) way to keep you in line. It must completely reduce your identity and your sense of self…not to hear your first name for two years?!??… and it constantly reminds you subconsciously that your mission partner person, or anyone else in your mission really, is not your friend, and you are basically all alone and are being watched. Ugh gross. Awful. Disgusting. This I feel like is really cult-like. Stripping you of yourself. Sick.
In the Victorian middle class manners when the kid banger was still inventing the cult, calling people both surname only was considered respectful. For whatever reason it seems warm in the missionaries are basically made to follow Victorian middle class manners.
in my mission, disobedient missionaries were called fubecas - fu from fumar (to smoke), be from beber (to drink) and ca from castidade (chastity). i was considered a fubeca because i bought a water bottle from a vending machine on a sunday and my companion at the time ratted me out to my mission president for my 'disobedience' ✌
lol, my mission had 1 vending maching - I think, wait i don't actually think there was any - we were also told buy soda if you need to on Sunday just DON'T BUY the WATER. some stupid elder bought the water and got typhoid for 2 transfers. His companion just said it was very very shitty :)
I was raised in the church and left a few years ago. I knew I was queer since I was 12 and receiving the priesthood. After leaving and going to therapy I understood I was trans and I’ve started transitioning now and I’m much happier. I’ve just found you videos and they have all been very therapeutic to have my pain and experiences validated, so thank you
So the message to missionaries is, "We don't trust what you will do if you're alone but we do charge you with leading non-mormons into Mormonism". Well, that makes perfect sense.
I would have so much depression and anxiety if I had to live like that 😫 I wish every young person considering a mission could watch this video before signing up!
One rule in and I'm already shocked. I have heard about the "Don't leave each other alone" rule, but I always thought that this was a safety thing when you were out in the field, which makes sense for saftey reasons, but all the time? Even in the house! I'd go nuts!
This is the principal move of a cult. Left alone with one’s thoughts, they will begin to see the situation for what it is. Hence- never leave anyone alone.
@@85blutch selective policies from the military and the Masons reinforcing the cult behavior to reduce or eliminate opportunities for individual thought. A Cult.
Ironically, I didn't go on a mission because my bishop was an old misogynist who didn't believe in women serving missions. It pissed me off that I was basically not being allowed because I was a woman, but not going on a mission actually ended up helping me get out of the church.
My Patriarchal Blessing stated that I would serve a mission so I felt incredibly stuck. I endured emotional abuse for months from one of my companions and still have anxiety due to what happened to me. I was afraid that if I decided to leave, the whole directory of my life woukd be messed up and I would dissapoint God. The one plus is that my mission opened my eyes to the fact that something was not right with the church. And I speak fluent Spanish. Otherwise it was a complete waste. The mission itself is so culty and abusive in itself. It is infuriating how much it is pushed on young people in the church, especially the men. My heart goes out to everyone that feels stuck on the mission like I did.
I saved over 1000 Euros on my mission, but gave it all back at the end of my mission, because there's a rule that says it should be returned to the mission. The office Elder said I was the first person he'd ever seen return any money at the end of their mission.
Personally I would have saved and seen it as a salary bought something nice for me and my family instead of giving back to a church that has enough with money.
How much were you given per month and where? Because with dinner taken care of and no internet subscription to pay 120€ per month is more than doable even now with inflation. Not that you will be rich but you can go buy yourself a lil sweet treat pastry every now and then without having to save on other essentials.
Disobedient missionaries on my mission were called "chueco" (crooked in Spanish), usually with a little crook of the index finger. I made certain to never be chueco, obeyed all the rules with exact obedience as much as I could and felt devastated when thing out of my control made me disobedient. For example, our meetings with members or investigators could only ever be 30 minutes long, so when those meetings inevitably went over 30 minutes, I would always try to cut the conversation short - even if those poor people were trying to bear their souls to me. That was really hard for me. I still have a really hard time making genuine connections with people
you know obeying rules are extremly based on perspective - had a DL once call me out, because i wasn't wearing qappriopriate attire when leaving the flat on p-day for the 4th p-day in a row. So I jokingly said call MP and organise to join usand see your thoughts after this if I am wearing appriopriate clothes or not. I figured allot of mission was about helping people and since we walked everywhere and didn't have clothing or places to change into if you were doing anything that would get you dirty it was allowed to go out in 'P-Day clothes'... I would setup on Mondays to help people build houses without the pressure of having to prostelize, that day we were moving bricks - his pros clothes for that day were so ruined that he had to throw his clothes away.
Mormons are so phoney. They pretend to like you to get you to come to church regularly. My dad never understood this and kept asking me why I missed some church meetings. I was never able to make a single friend with any of the youth in our ward, despite repeated efforts. My dad didn't believe that the kids didn't like me because they would always ask him about me when I wasn't there. How naive he was! 😕🤔
I have a lot of respect for you, honestly. The shit mormon kids go through with that endowment thing, the missions, byu, all of that is so crazy. Yet it must be SO HARD to leave a cult like that.
I'm an Exmo but was a convert, only one in my family. i'm SO glad i bought the sister missoinaries food whenever i could. I didn't realize how little they had.
I just got back from a trip with my best friend where we were in “sight and sound” of each other for 4 days. We needed 48 hours when we got back where we DID NOT talk/see/look at each other. I can’t imagine a full mission 😮
I went down the Mormon rabbit hole years ago, and was kind of excited when some missionaries came to my door lol my husband and I are Bible believing Christians, and wanted to have a sincere discussion with these young men about the differences between Christianity and what the Mormon church teaches. Because we were knowledgeable of the missionary system, we invited them back and treated them to a nice dinner, which both young men were very grateful for. It was certainly an experience I won’t forget!
The “never be alone” part and you describing the breaks and relief you felt during small bathroom breaks or waking up late at night reminded me a bit of when my son was young during lockdown and I had to retreat to the bathroom to take a tiny “mom vacation” as we were together 24/7 just the two of us and I worked from home. Luckily, he wasn’t outside the door suspiciously imagining all the “sinning” I might do and he went to his own room at night lol. It’s crazy to think that missionaries have less personal space and breaks than parents of little ones do!
My wife, after losing our neice years ago, was searching for meaning. She found herself having Mormons over. Mind you, we're both trans people. There were three ladies in the group. I dont know if that was this particular situation or something that happens often but instead of the standard pair, there were three of them. I ultimately convinced her it was a bad idea and now she's glad she didn't go further with it. They made it clear that they saw her as a man and me as a woman but we were still straight so it was okay 🙃
Funny, I really wanted to serve a mission. But my blessing didn't say anything about it. So, I ended up getting married at age 20. But, by age 21 I was diagnosed with a mental illness in the mental hospital. I didn't even know my name. When my ex showed up, I realized I didn't want to be married, it was a nice break from him. I should have said something to the doctors.
You had to pay to be a slave?!! 😱 I never realized how insane the mission rules were! I had Mormon coworkers (Mesa AZ) and felt bad for the women who worked full time, had kids, and callings. They were so tired!
It's so crazy to me that missionaries have to pay so much without getting any compensation whatsoever from the church and are able to just accept that. I get the concept of not taking from the church, but if the church members aren't allowed access to the church's money then what the hell is the money even for? Like, if I'm a member of the church and I'm spending my own money to do service for the church, but the church's money doesn't go to me, then who the hell does it go to? It's such an easy house of cards to topple I'm surprised it doesn't cause more people to leave.
There do seem to be some slight exceptions to that, or at least there were in 2007. I had a Mormon coworker who was struggling with bills, but his tithes were all paid up, so he was able to just drop his rent statement and utility bills in a dtop box a few different times. They'd get paid, no questions asked.
I remember seeing two mormon boys go around jamaica on BICYCLES. So unsafe... and then they came into Wendy's to eat and they talked to my friend. I just disengaged.
I did a service mission at a storehouse; thankfully, there wasn't the rule about companions (at first), so I could definitely be alone. Although, later on, that rule was changed to be basically the same as the regular missionaries' companion rule. But no one at the storehouse followed it, which, looking back, I can't help but find hilarious.
We got $131 for the missionary monthly card. Thank GOD my dad also got me and filled my personal debit card monthly. It was absolutely not enough. Also I did get my whole mission paid for because we were very poor and everyone in my ward knew there was no way I was going unless someone paid for it. The church *did not* pay for it- an anonymous member of my ward did. I ended up going home at 10 months bc I was sick as hell and as soon as I got home I left the church and was no longer sick.
I always tell the missionaries, don't blame yourselves for no baptisms. It is not your fault. They're taught it's their fault for not being worthy enough and following the rules enough 😢
The last time I spoke with LDS missionaries I was in a small town. I told them a similar thing. There's only so many people in the area to talk to and even fewer who are going to convert.
I’m in Australia, and have Morman missionary’s visiting me atm, from Utar. I’ve learnt so much about the religion.. I’ve been self learning about judaism and Catholicism for years so adding this to my learning is awesome to me. Hearing and learning what your vids show is is also so important and I’m grateful to see the other side of after being a Morman 💯💜 super new subscriber and fan 😊
One of the apartments in my complex is rented to the church, we've had very nice (and painfully naïve) young people. (shocked by Pride parade "the city supports the gays??!). We've also had a male pair that were quite rude. They dropped a jar of salsa on the porch and left it with a shrug. My neighbor saw me cleaning it up, cussed them out. One was eye rolling and a bit smug. the other apologized many many times over for the next week. My one concern, sticking to that schedule even during severe storm warnings. During a blizzard they got stuck in the driveway. wearing thin flats and no gloves, cluelessly following some protocol in the dark and snow whipping around. Digging down with small shovels, hop back in, creep forward an inch, hop out and do it again. If they had rolled the car back down the drive and make a fast run up, would have been just fine. Woefully unprepared to deal with a MN winter.
Once in church (I went to a Pentecostal Church) we had somebody preaching about disobedience and saying that something doesn’t have to be a sin in the Bible in order for it to be a sin. So for example, he said if our pastor decided one day to tell us that we were no longer allowed to wear purple to church and we wore purple to church. Then we would be sinning. Looking back I feel like, what? How did I not notice how crazy that sounded some random man can make a decision like that and if I don’t follow it to the letter, I’m somehow sinning because he’s crazy?
I have been watching your videos Alyssa that last week, when a student intern from my department casually opens up about being curious about the religion (especially about the missions), I had to compose myself so that I won't be yapping about why it is a cult. She was amazed how much I know and was thankful I told her bits about it (I was holding back). She said she would research more about it. That was enough for me.
I just discovered your channel a few hours ago and have already watched quite a few videos. Left a couple of comments as well. I love how you do long form and really get into the details. I've lived in Utah for almost 14 years. I've read some of the book of Mormon, I've read and still own some of the "Teachings of the presidents of the church" books, and I even went to Church a couple of times with my ex, but I never seriously considered joining the church. With all that said, your videos are helping me understand people I interact with every day in a new light, and learning me a lot about the church I still had no idea about after all these years. I never intended to watch hours of your videos but you are very good.
I'm so sorry to hear you want through that. It's horrible when parents do such things... That reminds me of the time my heavily religious but not mormon mother hit me with a metal spoon because I broke a plate by putting it too hard on the table, breaking it in half when I was about 11 years old. We had had another fight and I wanted to cool down but she wanted me to set the table. Thing about me is that when I'm upset or stressed, I no longer have control over my strength. My mom never taught me how to deal with it so I was still figuring things out. In the end, I'm pretty sure she just hated me and I do not have contact with her at this point.
I have no connection to Mormonism, but I love your channel since you are an extraordinary storyteller. The experiences you share can be applied to a myriad walks of life.
It's so funny that they advise you to stay out of trouble in so many specific ways when the whole point is to go around knocking on random doors being really pushy and bothering people. I would argue that the mission itself is an excellent way to put yourself in danger and get into trouble!
Never staying alone would be my nightmare. I'm introverted, autistic (with intensive masking that can't be turned off when I'm with someone) and have social anxiety. All of this makes me unable to truly focus when I'm with someone and so tired that after a while i can have trouble with speaking, seeing, taking care of myself and become more depressed. It's hard for me to fall asleep with someone in the room but my sleep meds and watching videos on my phone help with it
The more I listened the more sad I became for those young people. Being cut off from family with little contact, not having to use your first name which is closely tied to most people’s identity, not getting to hug anyone for 18-24 month? Even without financial restrictions and hard and dangerous work this seems like psychological warfare.
Thank you for this information. I’m an exmo and I didn’t know about the financial aspects of missions. I was told that the church pays for any missionary that can’t afford to go, well it sounds like “not exactly”, but that is certainly the LDS church, it’s “not exactly” the way they present most anything. It’s just all so gross and deceptive.
1:07:08 This had me boiling. My mom spent 2 months in the hospital before dying at 63. My job let me off work- using my vacation pay but couldn’t fire me because of FMLA. Shocking that a capitalist corporation would give me more grace than the Mormons would.
Oh, boy! I thought I was healed from my traumatic memories of a Christian organization called Youth With A Mission, but I could feel my throat getting tight from stress-remembering when I heard all this. Thanks for sharing. People really need to treat youth better.
What happens in instances where one person in the pair gets like. Really sick with like a flu or something. And the other needs to go do things like make dinner or go literally anywhere else in the house. Do they just not get to do that or does the really sick person (who probably is barely able to move) still have to follow them around? Same with like, being hospitalized. If one person ends up having to go to the hospital. Most hospitals don't allow for someone to be in that room all night unless you're like a parent/child. There are so many aspects of the human condition that can really be made significantly worse just by having such a strict and dumb rule. Not being able to exercise properly (running, basketball, etc) just because you could get too far from the other is actively discouraging something that's physically helpful and beneficial to the mind and body. She did mentioned they were required to exercise. But some forms are just better for certain people.
I can't help but think of Queen Victoria before she was queen. She lived with her mother and her mother's lackey. They kept her under such an oppressive, smothering existence, she wasn't allowed to go down staircases alone lest she trip and accidentally snap her neck. The day she became queen, Victoria's first command was to tell Mom et al to fuck off so she could be alone for a while. I imagine that's what coming home for a missionary is like. Hell on Earth. Edit: How easy would it be to sublimate a restrictive ED during one's missionary trip because of how normalized starving and biking/walking all day are?
I served a mission at age 23. I did have a slight difficulty with self stimulate some nights. I did talk with my mission president about and he was easy with me when I talked him and encouraged me to continually pray for help with it.
I work as a historical interpreter in the summer. I have definitely encountered Mormon missionaries at the historic site where I work, so someone is letting them go to educational attractions!
“Always together “ sounds like a 2 edged sword: neither person may be subject to be “taken “ but on the other side if either of you are questioned on what you or LDS believes you are “checked “ so you don’t deviate from the script or come to doubt what you’ve been taught.
There is a small flat for missionaries in the building next to mine and I can often see them going around the neighbourhood. I never talked to them beside saying hello when we meet on the driveway to our respective buildings but they are so young I'm a horrified they must observe this many rules and have so many pressure put on them. I hope their time aboard and meeting new ppl and cultures will help open their view of the world and find a way to leave the church bc that sounds like 2 years of torture.
This daily routine for Mormon missionaries is totally ridiculous! Married people don't even live this way. As a member of another religion, the idea of going out to "proselytize" intentionally door to door or on the street is objectionable. In our faith lay mission work involves doing charity, works of service, building a school, traveling abroad to a third world country to do manual labor, feeding people who are malnourished, working in a soup kitchen, and so on. What's wrong with "showing" Jesus' love instead of just "talking" about your church? Hmm...? 😁😁😄😄
You forgot the mention the Lord's great commission to teach all nation. As far as I know no other Christian denomination really does this. Also, you may want to read the annual humanitarian report. In 2023, the Church of Jesus Christ spend $1.3 billion on worldwide humanitarian efforts and 6.2 mission hours volunteered. We talk and we do.
This is "shepherding," which is a trait of cults. Christian cult Maranatha did this in the 80s. I think the Moonies did this too, but I'm not 100 percent sure.
Insane that it's so shameful to reach out to your church for help as a Mormon, especially considering everyone is required to pay 10% tithe. What do Mormons think the church needs the money for, considering they don't use it to help their members? I grew up Catholic (agnostic with Catholic underpinnings now lol), & the church helped my mother and I when she went through bankruptcy. We were not seen as shameful when my mom reached out to our Priest. People give to the church to aid others, and Catholics are not *required* to pay tithe.
I would love to teach these missionaries one important thing: Malicious Compliance! Would anyone read it if I took each rule and gave an example of how to “break” it but within the bounds of the rule?
The never be alone part reminds me so much of Handmaids Tale. In episode 1 she describes her companion as the person who spies on her and she is the same to her companion. They also were not allowed to know their real names.
Soooo glad I didn’t go on a mission. I hate being around people and need alone time to recharge. Granted, my myriad of medical problems would probably get me sent home so fast because of the things I have to do to take care of them.
I knew a man who went on a mission in the 1960s. Their day off was called "Diversion day" It was the entire day, and they could truly relax, by kicking back, resting, traveling, sight seeing, visiting members, etc. Does anyone remember when this was changed to P Day? I remember hearing about the change, but can't recall the decade or year.
Will you take a nice, normal, secular trip to Denver someday? It's such a wonderful city and it makes me so sad that you didn't get to experience it. I hope someday you come out and see a concert at Red Rocks, check out the science museum, and drink some tasty Colorado beers.
I'm from Poland (central Europe), so up until a few years ago I had no idea that Mormonism existed and what it was. I found out through this one girl on Polish social media, but she seemed super normal, so I assumed that it's just another variation of American protestantism and didn't dig into it any further. But then I found out, that she converted to Mormonism at 16 when she started dating a 27 year old Mormon man! They then got married maybe 2 months after she turned 18 and now at 21 she gave birth to their first child. The grooming itself is disgusting enough, but the more I learn about Mormonism from Alyssa's channel the creepier this story gets
It’s really interesting (for me at least) to see that you, so obviously really smart and bright, completely believed and were so analytical about the requirements needed to achieve the best afterlife, to show that you don’t wanna “disrespect” Jesus’s atonement, etc. I guess as an atheist, I’ve just always seen the bible as a story, a fairytale, and it’s hard for me to understand what it’s like to really really believe it. And then to lose that grounding belief and identity. You explain/show this massive transformation, and its effects, so well… Obviously you had no choice, as you were born into this belief system, but it’s also that same intelligence and analytical nature that allowed you to see the fallacy of these beliefs as you matured and gained life experience. Anyway, all that to say you’re amazing, and thank you for helping me lessen my ignorance, and at times frustration, with the super religious in my life.
As an ex evangelical I’d be curious to see a video about the scripture book because In high school an friend gave me a Book of Mormon and I’ve heard about the the doctrine and covenants and Joseph’s translation of the bible but I didn’t know they were also bound into one book to be called scriptures too Honestly to a regular Christian It would go over their heads that Mormon scriptures mean all of those together colloquially Also I love your videos and can’t wait to buy your book It’s helpful to this of us coming to terms with or recovering from high demand groups
When I was a kid my neighbor friend went on a mission to Hells Kitchen Ny. He hated it and came home early all the neighborhood Mormons shunned him and talked behind his back now 50% come home early WTF
My long gone full Italian step-dad was raised there. The were so poor that his parents sent him to live with relatives on the N.J. side. He hated religion, as the Catholic church was always hitting them up for money, making them poorer.
@carolyearsley Father Mcdonnahugh got frisky with another altar boy we need your money or else he might have to face the consequences for raping a child, or worse, it may be on public record that the church was responsible!
My mom has a coworker who is exmorman. When he was on a mission he started dating this guy who would give him money. Eventually someone went through their room (him and mission buddy) and found the money. After asking questions the other missionary told them that he was sleeping with the guy. He was then told that he was being sent home and the church was flying him into salt lake, claiming that it was the cheapest flight, and people would then drive him home. Being 20 he didn't question it. When he touched down in salt lake, a group of people found him and told him that they were there to drive him home, again he didn't question getting in their van. Instead of taking him northward, they drive south in to the literal middle of the desert. He arrived at a "re-education camp" aka conversion therapy. All of his possessions were taken and he was given 1 pair of shorts and 1 t-shirt. He was kept in a empty room, no bed, no window, etc. He was made to do physical labor day or night. The purpose of this camp was not to convert him. His parents mention what was happening to his sister (who was ex morman but not shunned) the sister and her husband hopped into a rental van and looked for him. They found him middle of the night without a coat (it's really cold nighttime desert) doing labor and had lost significant weight. They grabbed him and booked it. The only reason the camp was unable to track him down again was because of the rental van and the sister. While his parents were ultimately the ones who signed him up for the camp, it was the church who convinced and facilitated him being sent there. It was so efficient that he most likely wasn't even close to the first person that the church did that too.
I'm in Germany and the local Mormon center is around the corner, although pretty hidden in a larger building that has lots of other, unrelated offices in it. The whole thing is absolutetly meaningless and I doubt really anybody in the city knows it's there. I only do because I walk past it twice every day and tend to look at the buildings. Anyway, today out of curiosity I had a look at the little name tags on the mail boxes near the main door on the outside wall the building. One had two names on it: "Sister xxx xxx" and "Sister xxx xxx". That is, first and last names, not just the last name. So it appears that has changed and they do now know each other's first names. The men's names weren't there, neither first nor last. I have also seen them (the men and the women) in the evening on the street outside the bulding once or twice and their dress has changed quite a bit, much more casual, but still "modest". I don't know how it is in the US at the moment, but maybe here in Germany they've realized that nobody's going to so much as give them the time of day if they run around dressed like bank clerks from the 1970s. That makes them look like absolute clowns.
Interesting about the tie. I generally invite missionaries into the house, offer them snacks, or drinks, and just try to be generally a good human towards them. I make it clear I'm not really interested in converting to anything, but respect what they are doing. One young man, I commented on the tie he was wearing, because it was very unique...almost a Van Gogh style picture, though I don't think it was an actual Van Gogh print. I'm no expert. Anyway, he thanked me, and you could see a momentary flash of pride on his face before he went back to a more neutral expression.
I do remember a couple of missionaries who came to my little norwegian fishing village when I was young. They taught us kids to play football and baseball. Oddly enough, I don't remember them doing alot of missionary work.
As a current psychology professor and ex-mormon who stopped believing at 12 yrs old, I'm genuinely curious of anyone's perspective: How do mormon missionaries cognitively reconcile being protected via garments while also being told not to go on a hike or keep score in basketball due to risk of injury?
If there had only been one logical flaw in the church’s teachings, we’d all have noticed and “prayerfully considered” it. The trick is to have so, so many inconsistencies that everyone gets used to living with serious cognitive dissonance. You were smarter than me!
@@jauntydamemusic exactly this!! all cults work like that... they have logical flaws on purpose and also there's always the inbuilt "it's your fault" whenever something goes wrong... like "we GAVE you all those rules and those garments to keep you safe and you went out of your way to sin"... as if you're so bad that all the protection we gave against satan failed... kinda like that...
Taking on the name of Jesus doesn’t protect you from broken bones etc. They are supposed to be a physical reminder of the covenants made in the temple not magical
@@cassidydavis4421 The right side is the symbol of the male pagan god Baal, and the left is the female god Ashtoreth. There is nothing Christian about the temple. Lucifer even tells the patrons to put on his apron, the "symbol of my power and priesthoods" The prayer circle, and chanting are Wiccan.
@@cassidydavis4421 When I was LDS, I definitely heard stories about things like people being in fires and NOT being burned anywhere their garments covered---Brother Marriott said it on national television, for one.
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Am trying to date a missionary,next video make me know how fall in love with her..
You never had the heart for to be a Mormon , you know witch LDS movie I like ,
Is Jonny Lingo .
Did you watch that?
I think u have had
Talk about that 🎥🍿 movie
If you can't stand your companion, imagine how u gonna feel a bout husband and kid's
Sorry I can't never watch u and videos for a long time, boring
Alyssa, could you post something about the salaries and benefits earned by LDS leaders? (unless you maybe already have)
I was sent home from my mission for learning too much about Joseph Smith. I kept asking questions and challenging rules and my president got fed up with me. It was miserable, a complete waste of my time. It did help me realize the church wasn't true or worth remaining a member
Glad you discovered the truth 😊
My nephew left after three months. He was tired of the insane rules.
I can't imagine being indoctrinated into the church, when that is all you know. Then critically thinking, asking questions is a bad thing . Serious Red Flags !
Good for you. I bet you were a breath of fresh air to people you don’t even remember OP. By openly questioning the bullsh*t you allowed others to begin questioning.
@@h0rriphic One could only hope that questioning would cause other people to question, but the level of mind control in that cult is something else.
This is why I allow missionaries to use my home with the understanding that we (me and my family) will not be discussing their beliefs. They take showers without time limits; call their loved ones in private; search the unfiltered internet; eat what and when they want, etc. They love it.
That was very kind of you!
Oh, thats a great idea. I would sometimes talk to them on my doorstep but never let them in.
I could tell one pair of boys that showed up once, one had serious doubts, one was unthinkingly gung ho.
I talked to both of them, but I directed a lot of my commentary to the young man I could tell had doubts. Not being rude or forceful cuz im sure they got a lot of that in my city (known as one of the least religious cities in the US) but just politely talking and doing everything I could to get that kid thinking and realizing that he didnt have to live that way.
I hope that young man was able to find his way out of the cult. But it wasnt until I watched these vids that I realized how bad these kids were treated. They havent come by for a few years (maybe I caused too many to question their faith or something) but if any of them do, Im going to offer them a nice dinner, and say if they need something to eat they can stop by anytime Im home.
@@childofcascadia 68998n 627
@childofcascadia That would be awesome of you! Just make sure you put it up front that they aren't there to give the lessons or to share their message with you. You are a safe place and that is it.
I actually wrote a dissertation in the c*lt/"religion" and always hid my materials from the missionaries. But two users on Alyssa's channel (judgmental af Patty Smith and the consistently dumbe$t commenter on all her videos) made me simply uncover the shelves where my Mormon materials are. They were moths to a flame, and within a day, 4 sister missionaries left the church and moved in with me for a while, as their families told them not to return. Since then, I've had several others live with us as well. I was raised in a different c*lt, but the missionaries really get to my mama's heart and I have to help.
Bless you. What a great idea.
Sounds like a mission is basically paying to Be trauma bonded to the church. So glad I had a way out before being forced to go!
This is a great way to put it. And if you’re like, “this sucks” they just say it’s because you don’t love god enough and you’re being selfish.
It's a feature, not a bug
We saw that a seminary teacher in cache valley is running classes to help return missionaries because so many end up with scrupulosity. Because they were taught to be obedient, not think.
The two missionaries I talked to were interesting! The one almost done looked very tired and the other , only one year in had to do most of the talking .
But they were less antagonist right after the pandemic lifted and their first Door to Door in awhile.
Mormon Missions R a time when many Mormons actually have to defend their church and many realize the criticisms R true and leave after their mission.
I had a similar thought the grocery store bit, like it’s just designed to humiliate and alienate you over and over but call it righteous
I guarantee you that there are introverts on Mormon missions who go into the bathroom, not to take a shower or use the toilet, but just to sit there for 5 minutes so they can get some alone time.
You don’t have to be an introvert. Every missionary does it at some point. It is necessary as a missionary.
The rule to be next to your mission partner sounds like a nightmare to me. I get tired from being with my husband (whom i love dearly) and need alone time. Can’t imagine being with another person.
But better not masturbate in there lol
I can't imagine even the biggest extrovert in the world wouldn't be contemplating homicide eventually.
@@mybirdsofparadise who you don't know and have a chance to not get along with
men being called "elder" but women being called "sister" is also pretty effed up
Elder when you are only about 20 years old
😲
Men are called brother too
I was thinking about this too
Also really disrespectful to other cultures too. Having this young guy as a "elder" vs someone who is actually an elder 😊
Why would a woman want to be called old? Sounds like they're doing them a favor here.
There's another theorized "purpose" of a mission that I've seen go by every so often: to make missionaries feel rejected by the general public, so they lean even more into support from the church and are less likely to question or leave it.
Along with Alyssa's videos, I've been watching stuff by Daniela Mastenyek Young, aka Knitting Cult Lady. She looks at "high control groups," which the LDS church sure seems to be!
That sounds about accurate. Owen Morgan, the ex-JW RUclipsr, talks at length in his videos about how JWs are not supposed to even associate with outsiders, and he concluded that part of it is that so that when the outsiders give up and just conclude you to be a weirdo (naturally), you'd be pushed even further away from the world and would have to rely even more on the JW church to fulfill your social needs. Messed up.
I help em feel comfortable by asking uncomfortable questions without judging.
This is why I'm always kind to the missionaries who knock on the door or talk to me on the street. I can only imagine how overwhelmed they must be, and they're SO young 😢
I try to but always fail. Sure, I am trash but the missionaries in my area come off like the most aggressive, most sleazy used car salesman ever.
I have never punched anyone in anger in my 55 years on this dump but they had me thinking about it, they were that bad.
They have followed me for blocks talking at me after telling them I am not interested. Once, I drove 3 hours with my granddaughter and I was dropping her off at my daughter's. There were two in her complex and I said don't live here and am very tired. That wasn't enough of a no for them. It was almost 9 PM also. LOL
They need to learn that no means no.
If it doesn't really matter how many people they get why are they so damn aggressive? If they just wanted to shoot the breeze to burn some clock, that is fine. I would be happy to have a light chat, tired or not. But I can't productively deal with aggressive sales tactics.
It is always the men in this area walking around. The women never, ever knock on doors. The women only go to homes by request. Like if the mark is a woman and would feel better talking to women. Other than that, the women work indoors at the employment office and places like that. All while the men are outside in suits in 100+ weather or trudging through a few feet of snow in 20 degree weather dealing with losers like me.
I am sure the women enjoy the easy mode, but that is also condescending and what they do to the men is just cruel.
Me too! I'm a staunch atheist, but it breaks my heart to see these young people trudging around in the dead of summer (I live in GA.) I always offer them water and a chance to step into the AC.
for the never be alone rule I remember I went on a church trip in high school (non mormon) and we had a similar rule... issue was they paired me and my girlfriend at the time up so we just had ample opportunities to be super gay in secret.
Accidental allying, I guess 😂
lmao it must have been kinda fun
Omg I love this 😂🩷🏳️🌈
@@JDM-is-my-namea win is a win. 😂
🤣🤣🤣nice twist at the end there, Shyamalan! Hahahahaha!
And here I thought Christ said to care for the poor. My bad.
Mormon Jesus isn't the same as Gospel Jesus. He got re-written during the revisions.
@@drtavernerthe gospel Jesus got changed by 1500 years of uninspired influences.
My friend. I don't think you are bad, but you may not be up-to-date on the latest charitable donations of the Church of Jesus Christ. Did you know that for the past several years the Church of Jesus Christ has given over $1 BILLION annually to worldwide humanitarian causes? Considering the rather small membership of the Church this is remarkable. I'm just guessing, but the Church's donations may make it among the most charitable Christian denominations. Know you know.
I am Catholic and if people need the church money you should give it to the them.
Break the silence. Break the cycle.
Thank you for watching and commenting ✨
@@alyssadgrenfell and sometimes I sneakily share videos to other platforms. Shhhhhhhh! It’s a secret. 😝
The eye facing the fear, breaking the cycle. The eye embracing the past, building the future.
I love my progressive rock and metal. I loaded up my mission phone with a ton of instrumental music ranging from acoustic to electronic to some metal. We would have "device audits" and check over each other's music at one point, but due to the sheer amount of music I had, no one was ever able to sniff out the one death metal album I hid in the sea of hundreds of songs.
😂 good for you!
I’m envious, my companion ripped me a new one for having anything that wasn’t Christian music or byu vocal point 😭
Are you effing kidding? They even "audited" your personal items for wrong think music? Unbelievable.
@shelleyhowell86 Towards the end of my mission, they started cracking down on "google drive piracy" because missionaries would share music through drive since there was pretty much no other way to get music. A bunch of people got purged but no one was able to get me (some really wanted to) because I only brought what I owned and never gave anyone my stuff (no one wanted it anyway)
@@giantclaw138 Yeah, metal is probably way to edgy for the typical Mo, right? Good for you for bending their idiot rules and getting away with it.
I hated the lack of alone time. It still affects me and I demand alone time 30 years later. Even happily married, I still insist on my having two master bedrooms in our home.
Never Mormon, never on a Mission, but we have separate living rooms. We enjoy sleeping in the same room, but when we are awake we need retreat space. Plus. We don't have to negotiate how to decorate. We visit each other regularly but... we don't have to.
I'm an atheist since birth and so are/were my parents and I'm still very similar. I've been with my partner for 14 years now and I still need my complete alone time where nobody is speaking to or even looking at me or I'm going crazy. I've always been like that but thankfully so is our mom so I was never bothered too much at home by my two older siblings. Both of them are (much) less introverted than me and so was our dad. My partner is also a lot less introverted than me but also never minded just giving me that space.
I would run away screaming if I had to go on a Mormon mission ☠️
I can't imagine how much of a hell mormon missions have to be for people with autism, adhd and the likes. If it's already torture for people without inherent neuropsychological conditions, I don't know what I would end up doing if I were trapped and tied to people 24/7 without the possibility of stepping away and regaining control when overstimulated
I’d loose it. I’m an only child! I was built to enjoy my own company and I live for ny time alone. 24/7 with a person? Manslaughter 😂
@@Daaaanielle I have three siblings and I wouldn't make it.
I served a mission in the Canary Islands. One of my companions was so incredibly annoying I once had to "ditch him" by leaving the bus right at the last second. That 1/2 hour of solitude was very precious and helped me maintain some sanity.
Hahahahaha legend
1:16:45 "...we should maintain a feminine dignity..." she says while wearing shoulder pads in a 80s female power suit style jacket that became fashionable precisely to appear more masculine in order to be taken seriously in the workplace
The "always together" would have me shrieking to go home within days...or maybe one day!
Yeah, peace out , I'm bouncing
Thankfully I had really good companions, but the bathroom is necessary to get time to yourself.
I'm much too introverted for this kind of stuff. The going door to door thing would also do me in in a week at most. I need to not see any people at least for a few hours a day.
@@DieAlteistwiederda Yep. I get terribly stressed out if I don't get alone time. Marriage and motherhood weren't easy!
@@ericseamons9982 But can you actually hide out in there? Alyssa was saying your companion has to hang about outside the door!.
I used to have a "shy" bladder and still can't use a public bathroom for ummm..."the serious stuff"
I'd be constipated with chronic UTIs.
TMI I know, but this is the first time I've realised even bodily functions are supervised!
women are asked to wear makeup?????? why???? i haven’t worn makeup since middle school. women look normal with and without makeup. they look pretty and presentable with or without makeup. wtf
When I was a member, especially in Western Mormon country, I noticed that there was a big emphasis on makeup, jewelry, nylons of course, high heels, perfect hairdos, and high quality clothing. I was a casual beach girl. No wonder I left! LOL
I personally do wear makeup but only because I like the creativity and artistry involved. I also go outside without it on and given my personality if someone told me I had to wear it I would refuse. I hate being forced to do anything that makes no sense at all
One of the 12 apostles, M Russel Ballard, gave a talk at a young single adults devotional and during the talk he said, “don't wander around looking like men. Put on a little lipstick now and then and look a little charming. It's that simple.” Also, I think they believe that the sisters will be more successful as missionaries if they look prettier. To be fair, they tell me to lol their best and groom well. Our mission president required us to put a part in our hair. But that quote is still super sexist. The leaders are old fashioned and think that ladies must wear make up.
Just remember that the top 15 leaders of the church are super old men except for a few that are in their 50’s. They have an old fashioned mindset because they all grew up a long time ago. The church will change for the better once millennials are in charge.
How else could you be the perfect 1950s housewife?! 🤢
I was in a different cult that only allowed us to show our face (not hair) and hands, with NO makeup - and definitely no curves showing AT ALL - to distract the men!! Those modesty rules were crazy, walking around in basically a big, baggy sack of a dress 🤦🏻♀️ It still feels like it was a different lifetime, those 2years.
... Funny how cults all have their own, totally conflicting, rules about what God supposedly wants 🤔
The reason why you’re never allowed to be alone is preventing you from thinking and questioning.
well then with me they fucked that up, i taught anyone i was with to ask the questions....
1984 vibes
@@CamilaSilva-le6vr İt really is.
basically they don't want any introverts in their church.
@@svr5423 Because introverts mostly overthinkers as well.
I served my mission in Japan in 2013. I got extremely depressed with two very tough companions that took the white hand book to the extreme and it suffocated me. I left early after serving 10 months. It was the event in my life that left a massive crack in my shelf. And from there my shelf crumbled until I officially left. Couldn’t be happier in my life now that I’ve left the cult.
Do you still believe in god?
@@ambert5790 joseph smith isn't a god
@@ambert5790why is that your business? Anyone making a comment makes the comment they feel is appropriate for themselves. YOU can make a comment on yourself.
@@skullchimes, that's literally not what they asked, tho 💀
@hsavage2899 chill. They weren't judging or hating on them and were just asking a sincere question that they do not have to answer if they don't want to talk about it. I'd rather people ask respectfully, like they did, instead of being ignorant, hateful and judgmental and just "asking" a question as a way to make fun of you/belittle you instead of actually wanting to learn and have a conversation
I live in an area heavily populated by Mormons. They are everywhere, medical professionals, legal, teachers, etc. I have acquaintances who are Mormon. I decided to listen you your information and John Dehlin to learn more about the lives of my neighbors. I have been shocked at most of the rules you share and understand (I think) how you were indoctrinated to the rules from birth believing all of it. I feel sad for a good friend who is from a multi-generational Mormon family who blindly lives all the rules. Thank you for sharing and educating your listeners.
I’m in Mesa AZ and know lots of Mormons- I knew that they paid for their missions, but had no idea it was so strict! I’ve always tried to be respectful of their faith (being an atheist), but the more I learn, the more I feel that they are trapped in a cult.
I grew up in slc, It feels like a cult to me. Have to pay to be a member, obey obey obey, don't think for yourself, don't indulge, fear of anything but the church, demonizing everything and everyone else so many things
I had never met anyone that I knew to be Mormon before I went to dental school in Arizona. Then suddenly like 25% of my classmates and some faculty were Mormon. It was wild to hear them talk about missions, wards, and the temple like they were totally normal, and I was baffled. I’ll also say that it was funny how I could eventually tell the difference between a Mormon who was from Utah vs a Mormon from anywhere else. This channel has been fascinating to really see “behind the curtain.”
My wife didn’t have enough money for her mission nor did her mom. There were members in the ward willing to help pay for her mission but the bishop denied any assistance for the church/members until my wife had begged all of her family and friends first. She ended paying for her mission from the inheritance from her recently deceased grandfather. This was the second time her family had requested financial help from the church and they were treated like trash both times.
That is so sad. In the end, this organization is about the money: 150 billion hiding in Australia not being used for missionaries, clean water wells being dug in Peru, sending missionaries on their missions without the kids having to worry about money. What the heck??? Who spends $900,000 on a chandelier for a temple but makes some kid whose dream has been to be a missionary all her life beg for money from friends and family to go out into a dangerous world to share a gospel she may not believe in anymore because of all this money drama?
Goodness.
@@Sweetzoo1976I am Australian and know nothing about this. Would you mind explaining some more, please?
Thats so weird, the Spanish ward would literally pitch in. The youth would volunteer at the church food pantry n help pick groceries for the ppl that needed the help. I swear the Spanish is way different than the English wards. Still f*Ed up but different.
You know I knew one missionary and his family didn’t have a lot of money and were struggling financially but his mom send him and I think some of his siblings who are in the church on the mission and I think it’s insane that you have to even if you can’t afford it so other people won’t look down on you. They could barely afford electricity and food and their house needed a renovation but tithing and mission are more important to that church than their members. I also knew a missionary who never wanted to go on a mission but was forced by the social pressure to do so.
I don't really think that I am an introvert, but that sounds absolutely horrific to never even get one moment alone!
If I got a pretty girl as a companion I would be okay with it 😂
Can they cuddle in bed if they don’t sleep there?
mormons will be like "don't do anything dangerous like play a competitive game of basketball but btw have fun knocking on doors in the most dangerous places on the planet at nighttime" 💀
What's sad is that Mormons, especially these kids on mission, don't realize how ridiculous this two years of torture is. Poor kids who go through this. And what a racket by the church.
But if you don't serve than your looked down on by family/friends!
Staying together sounds like the counterpart to solitary confinement.
It sounds only slightly better though. Even not being allowed to walk to the bathroom together, have a phone call without being listened to…. What if you need to pee in the middle of the night, are you going to wake up the other person to accompany you to the toilet??
@@s.a.4358 that's what I was wondering too, what if you have to go to the bathroom or need to drink in the middle of the night
@@tr4sh.doll_ I guess you better wish your companion doesn’t wake up while you are gone and Facebook messages God about your disobedient urination!!
@@tr4sh.doll_ just keep a bucket and a bottle of water next to the bed
@@tr4sh.doll_ pee on ur companion
My dad was sent to Russia on his mission. After about a year he just couldn’t take it, locals were incredibly rude to him, he got super sick, and even got a knife pulled on him. He decided to go home and got a lot of backlash from his friends/family 😐
Russia must be among the worst countries in the world to be send to.
😢
Yikes. Russia? You were on someone’s naughty list.
Is your father still a member of the Church?
@@katanaki3059 Russian Mormons are built different
I saw two mormons missionaries here in Milan, Italy. I looked at one like he was a mystical creature because it was my first time seeing a Mormon, He approached me meanwhile the other one went across the street. I asked few questions about soaking and the religion, I showcased him also my knowledge (I did the handshake too) and told him about you. Lastly I said “you know you should be in sight and sound with your companion, right?” as his companion was in the other side of the street looking for people to approach. He was gagged.
The no first name rule really bothered, and surprised, me. It is such an insidious (and sick) way to keep you in line. It must completely reduce your identity and your sense of self…not to hear your first name for two years?!??… and it constantly reminds you subconsciously that your mission partner person, or anyone else in your mission really, is not your friend, and you are basically all alone and are being watched. Ugh gross. Awful. Disgusting. This I feel like is really cult-like. Stripping you of yourself. Sick.
In the Victorian middle class manners when the kid banger was still inventing the cult, calling people both surname only was considered respectful. For whatever reason it seems warm in the missionaries are basically made to follow Victorian middle class manners.
They use last names in the millitary too, and for the same basic reasons.
Reminds me of basic training in the military lol
@@user-wo5dm8ci1gMormon is not military
Totalitarianism!
in my mission, disobedient missionaries were called fubecas - fu from fumar (to smoke), be from beber (to drink) and ca from castidade (chastity). i was considered a fubeca because i bought a water bottle from a vending machine on a sunday and my companion at the time ratted me out to my mission president for my 'disobedience' ✌
Oh nooo... that vending machine needed to spend time with its family and worship instead of working 💀
Wait. What??? Why was trust seen as disobedient?
tu é do brasil? que loucura. to passando mal com o nome que lembra fubanga
@@marialauraverso servi em portugal 😭 mas conheci tanta gente do brasil quando estava lá!
lol, my mission had 1 vending maching - I think, wait i don't actually think there was any - we were also told buy soda if you need to on Sunday just DON'T BUY the WATER. some stupid elder bought the water and got typhoid for 2 transfers. His companion just said it was very very shitty :)
I was raised in the church and left a few years ago. I knew I was queer since I was 12 and receiving the priesthood. After leaving and going to therapy I understood I was trans and I’ve started transitioning now and I’m much happier. I’ve just found you videos and they have all been very therapeutic to have my pain and experiences validated, so thank you
So the message to missionaries is, "We don't trust what you will do if you're alone but we do charge you with leading non-mormons into Mormonism".
Well, that makes perfect sense.
While going into some dangerous situations
Seriously. Maybe 18-20 year olds aren’t the best beacon for your cult…
They want to eliminate all temptation and risk from life because humans descended from the fallen Adam and Eve. 😕🙏⛪
@@MH-be6hrthat’s fun lore for your ARG but in reality humans descended from primates
You posted 42 seconds after I got home from work 🥳 getting the popcorn ready rn let’s go
🍿🍿🍿 Get ready because the list of rules is IMPOSSIBLY long.
Right?! I recently discovered her videos- she’s so entertaining and funny!
I would have so much depression and anxiety if I had to live like that 😫 I wish every young person considering a mission could watch this video before signing up!
One rule in and I'm already shocked. I have heard about the "Don't leave each other alone" rule, but I always thought that this was a safety thing when you were out in the field, which makes sense for saftey reasons, but all the time? Even in the house! I'd go nuts!
This is the principal move of a cult. Left alone with one’s thoughts, they will begin to see the situation for what it is. Hence- never leave anyone alone.
Me to I probably have 6 meltdowns by the end of the mission i have severe anxiety and ptsd
It's pretty much the same thing as the 'Buddy system' in the military.
@@85blutch selective policies from the military and the Masons reinforcing the cult behavior to reduce or eliminate opportunities for individual thought. A Cult.
They don't want missionaries to stints themselves sexually.
Ironically, I didn't go on a mission because my bishop was an old misogynist who didn't believe in women serving missions. It pissed me off that I was basically not being allowed because I was a woman, but not going on a mission actually ended up helping me get out of the church.
Strange...misogyny... W (??)
My Patriarchal Blessing stated that I would serve a mission so I felt incredibly stuck. I endured emotional abuse for months from one of my companions and still have anxiety due to what happened to me. I was afraid that if I decided to leave, the whole directory of my life woukd be messed up and I would dissapoint God. The one plus is that my mission opened my eyes to the fact that something was not right with the church. And I speak fluent Spanish. Otherwise it was a complete waste. The mission itself is so culty and abusive in itself. It is infuriating how much it is pushed on young people in the church, especially the men. My heart goes out to everyone that feels stuck on the mission like I did.
I’m glad you are out and at least Spanish is a useful language? So a win(ish)?? 😂
I saved over 1000 Euros on my mission, but gave it all back at the end of my mission, because there's a rule that says it should be returned to the mission. The office Elder said I was the first person he'd ever seen return any money at the end of their mission.
Personally I would have saved and seen it as a salary bought something nice for me and my family instead of giving back to a church that has enough with money.
How much were you given per month and where? Because with dinner taken care of and no internet subscription to pay 120€ per month is more than doable even now with inflation. Not that you will be rich but you can go buy yourself a lil sweet treat pastry every now and then without having to save on other essentials.
@@Freaky0Nina 170 a month if I remember correctly. Although we didn't have dinner covered and paid for internet whenever we'd go to an internet Café.
@@teijaflink2226 I would too, knowing what I know now. I definitely didn't realize the church had a ton of money back then.
Okay without dinner covered that is the tight budget of a poor university student. So lotsa pasta with ketchup nights. @@raylawler13
Disobedient missionaries on my mission were called "chueco" (crooked in Spanish), usually with a little crook of the index finger. I made certain to never be chueco, obeyed all the rules with exact obedience as much as I could and felt devastated when thing out of my control made me disobedient. For example, our meetings with members or investigators could only ever be 30 minutes long, so when those meetings inevitably went over 30 minutes, I would always try to cut the conversation short - even if those poor people were trying to bear their souls to me. That was really hard for me. I still have a really hard time making genuine connections with people
you know obeying rules are extremly based on perspective - had a DL once call me out, because i wasn't wearing qappriopriate attire when leaving the flat on p-day for the 4th p-day in a row. So I jokingly said call MP and organise to join usand see your thoughts after this if I am wearing appriopriate clothes or not. I figured allot of mission was about helping people and since we walked everywhere and didn't have clothing or places to change into if you were doing anything that would get you dirty it was allowed to go out in 'P-Day clothes'... I would setup on Mondays to help people build houses without the pressure of having to prostelize, that day we were moving bricks - his pros clothes for that day were so ruined that he had to throw his clothes away.
Mormons are so phoney.
They pretend to like you to get you to come to church regularly.
My dad never understood this and kept asking me why I missed some church meetings.
I was never able to make a single friend with any of the youth in our ward, despite repeated efforts.
My dad didn't believe that the kids didn't like me because they would always ask him about me when I wasn't there.
How naive he was! 😕🤔
But these kids and teens would never just talk with me, hang out, etc.
I have a lot of respect for you, honestly. The shit mormon kids go through with that endowment thing, the missions, byu, all of that is so crazy. Yet it must be SO HARD to leave a cult like that.
I cannot imagine being a missionary. A lot of work and stress for nothing.
That you or your family funds. 🤯
I'm an Exmo but was a convert, only one in my family. i'm SO glad i bought the sister missoinaries food whenever i could. I didn't realize how little they had.
I am so glad that those 2 years are over. 33 years home and I'm still recovering
I just got back from a trip with my best friend where we were in “sight and sound” of each other for 4 days. We needed 48 hours when we got back where we DID NOT talk/see/look at each other. I can’t imagine a full mission 😮
I've never been a Mormon I'm not really even religious but thank you for teaching me something new today
I went down the Mormon rabbit hole years ago, and was kind of excited when some missionaries came to my door lol my husband and I are Bible believing Christians, and wanted to have a sincere discussion with these young men about the differences between Christianity and what the Mormon church teaches. Because we were knowledgeable of the missionary system, we invited them back and treated them to a nice dinner, which both young men were very grateful for. It was certainly an experience I won’t forget!
The “never be alone” part and you describing the breaks and relief you felt during small bathroom breaks or waking up late at night reminded me a bit of when my son was young during lockdown and I had to retreat to the bathroom to take a tiny “mom vacation” as we were together 24/7 just the two of us and I worked from home. Luckily, he wasn’t outside the door suspiciously imagining all the “sinning” I might do and he went to his own room at night lol. It’s crazy to think that missionaries have less personal space and breaks than parents of little ones do!
My wife, after losing our neice years ago, was searching for meaning. She found herself having Mormons over. Mind you, we're both trans people. There were three ladies in the group. I dont know if that was this particular situation or something that happens often but instead of the standard pair, there were three of them. I ultimately convinced her it was a bad idea and now she's glad she didn't go further with it. They made it clear that they saw her as a man and me as a woman but we were still straight so it was okay 🙃
37:00 This really is the very definition of a high control religion. It just takes so much time debating entirely unimportant matters.
Funny, I really wanted to serve a mission. But my blessing didn't say anything about it. So, I ended up getting married at age 20. But, by age 21 I was diagnosed with a mental illness in the mental hospital. I didn't even know my name. When my ex showed up, I realized I didn't want to be married, it was a nice break from him. I should have said something to the doctors.
You had to pay to be a slave?!! 😱 I never realized how insane the mission rules were! I had Mormon coworkers (Mesa AZ) and felt bad for the women who worked full time, had kids, and callings. They were so tired!
Also here from AZ!
It's so crazy to me that missionaries have to pay so much without getting any compensation whatsoever from the church and are able to just accept that. I get the concept of not taking from the church, but if the church members aren't allowed access to the church's money then what the hell is the money even for? Like, if I'm a member of the church and I'm spending my own money to do service for the church, but the church's money doesn't go to me, then who the hell does it go to? It's such an easy house of cards to topple I'm surprised it doesn't cause more people to leave.
There do seem to be some slight exceptions to that, or at least there were in 2007.
I had a Mormon coworker who was struggling with bills, but his tithes were all paid up, so he was able to just drop his rent statement and utility bills in a dtop box a few different times. They'd get paid, no questions asked.
I remember seeing two mormon boys go around jamaica on BICYCLES. So unsafe... and then they came into Wendy's to eat and they talked to my friend. I just disengaged.
I did a service mission at a storehouse; thankfully, there wasn't the rule about companions (at first), so I could definitely be alone. Although, later on, that rule was changed to be basically the same as the regular missionaries' companion rule. But no one at the storehouse followed it, which, looking back, I can't help but find hilarious.
We got $131 for the missionary monthly card. Thank GOD my dad also got me and filled my personal debit card monthly. It was absolutely not enough. Also I did get my whole mission paid for because we were very poor and everyone in my ward knew there was no way I was going unless someone paid for it. The church *did not* pay for it- an anonymous member of my ward did. I ended up going home at 10 months bc I was sick as hell and as soon as I got home I left the church and was no longer sick.
This was 2013-2014 in Vegas.
Y’all Alyssa posted, I just cried a tear of joy
Thank you so much for watching 🥲🥲🥲
I always tell the missionaries, don't blame yourselves for no baptisms. It is not your fault.
They're taught it's their fault for not being worthy enough and following the rules enough 😢
Well nobody wants this garbage so…..
The last time I spoke with LDS missionaries I was in a small town. I told them a similar thing. There's only so many people in the area to talk to and even fewer who are going to convert.
I’m in Australia, and have Morman missionary’s visiting me atm, from Utar. I’ve learnt so much about the religion.. I’ve been self learning about judaism and Catholicism for years so adding this to my learning is awesome to me. Hearing and learning what your vids show is is also so important and I’m grateful to see the other side of after being a Morman 💯💜 super new subscriber and fan 😊
It’s a stinking cult!
One of the apartments in my complex is rented to the church, we've had very nice (and painfully naïve) young people. (shocked by Pride parade "the city supports the gays??!). We've also had a male pair that were quite rude. They dropped a jar of salsa on the porch and left it with a shrug. My neighbor saw me cleaning it up, cussed them out. One was eye rolling and a bit smug. the other apologized many many times over for the next week. My one concern, sticking to that schedule even during severe storm warnings. During a blizzard they got stuck in the driveway. wearing thin flats and no gloves, cluelessly following some protocol in the dark and snow whipping around. Digging down with small shovels, hop back in, creep forward an inch, hop out and do it again. If they had rolled the car back down the drive and make a fast run up, would have been just fine. Woefully unprepared to deal with a MN winter.
It's so crazy that they encourage you to PAY them to work for them... lol
how i felt about college
Once in church (I went to a Pentecostal Church) we had somebody preaching about disobedience and saying that something doesn’t have to be a sin in the Bible in order for it to be a sin. So for example, he said if our pastor decided one day to tell us that we were no longer allowed to wear purple to church and we wore purple to church. Then we would be sinning. Looking back I feel like, what? How did I not notice how crazy that sounded some random man can make a decision like that and if I don’t follow it to the letter, I’m somehow sinning because he’s crazy?
I have been watching your videos Alyssa that last week, when a student intern from my department casually opens up about being curious about the religion (especially about the missions), I had to compose myself so that I won't be yapping about why it is a cult. She was amazed how much I know and was thankful I told her bits about it (I was holding back). She said she would research more about it. That was enough for me.
I just discovered your channel a few hours ago and have already watched quite a few videos. Left a couple of comments as well. I love how you do long form and really get into the details. I've lived in Utah for almost 14 years. I've read some of the book of Mormon, I've read and still own some of the "Teachings of the presidents of the church" books, and I even went to Church a couple of times with my ex, but I never seriously considered joining the church. With all that said, your videos are helping me understand people I interact with every day in a new light, and learning me a lot about the church I still had no idea about after all these years. I never intended to watch hours of your videos but you are very good.
OMG! That explains a lot. (0:11). Once my dad threw a fork at me for table violations. Don’t remember if I was humming, or had my elbows on the table.
I feel like throwing a fork is at least as bad as humming
I'm so sorry to hear you want through that. It's horrible when parents do such things...
That reminds me of the time my heavily religious but not mormon mother hit me with a metal spoon because I broke a plate by putting it too hard on the table, breaking it in half when I was about 11 years old. We had had another fight and I wanted to cool down but she wanted me to set the table. Thing about me is that when I'm upset or stressed, I no longer have control over my strength. My mom never taught me how to deal with it so I was still figuring things out.
In the end, I'm pretty sure she just hated me and I do not have contact with her at this point.
As a person with autism, I get overwhelmed if I have to be around other people for too long. I would go insane if I had to be with someone 24/7.
As someone with ADHD and BPD, my companion would probably end up dead😂
I have no connection to Mormonism, but I love your channel since you are an extraordinary storyteller. The experiences you share can be applied to a myriad walks of life.
It's so funny that they advise you to stay out of trouble in so many specific ways when the whole point is to go around knocking on random doors being really pushy and bothering people. I would argue that the mission itself is an excellent way to put yourself in danger and get into trouble!
Never staying alone would be my nightmare. I'm introverted, autistic (with intensive masking that can't be turned off when I'm with someone) and have social anxiety. All of this makes me unable to truly focus when I'm with someone and so tired that after a while i can have trouble with speaking, seeing, taking care of myself and become more depressed. It's hard for me to fall asleep with someone in the room but my sleep meds and watching videos on my phone help with it
The more I listened the more sad I became for those young people. Being cut off from family with little contact, not having to use your first name which is closely tied to most people’s identity, not getting to hug anyone for 18-24 month? Even without financial restrictions and hard and dangerous work this seems like psychological warfare.
Thank you for this information. I’m an exmo and I didn’t know about the financial aspects of missions. I was told that the church pays for any missionary that can’t afford to go, well it sounds like “not exactly”, but that is certainly the LDS church, it’s “not exactly” the way they present most anything. It’s just all so gross and deceptive.
1:07:08 This had me boiling. My mom spent 2 months in the hospital before dying at 63. My job let me off work- using my vacation pay but couldn’t fire me because of FMLA. Shocking that a capitalist corporation would give me more grace than the Mormons would.
Alyssa, every time I think that you have told me all of the crazy things about Mormonism, you blow my mind again.
Oh my gosh, my brother had this video before his mission in 1998!!
And they were still using it for my group 🤯🤯😂😂
Oh, boy! I thought I was healed from my traumatic memories of a Christian organization called Youth With A Mission, but I could feel my throat getting tight from stress-remembering when I heard all this. Thanks for sharing. People really need to treat youth better.
What happens in instances where one person in the pair gets like. Really sick with like a flu or something. And the other needs to go do things like make dinner or go literally anywhere else in the house. Do they just not get to do that or does the really sick person (who probably is barely able to move) still have to follow them around? Same with like, being hospitalized. If one person ends up having to go to the hospital. Most hospitals don't allow for someone to be in that room all night unless you're like a parent/child.
There are so many aspects of the human condition that can really be made significantly worse just by having such a strict and dumb rule. Not being able to exercise properly (running, basketball, etc) just because you could get too far from the other is actively discouraging something that's physically helpful and beneficial to the mind and body. She did mentioned they were required to exercise. But some forms are just better for certain people.
8:00 That's not a mission partner; that's a cellmate. 👮
I can't help but think of Queen Victoria before she was queen. She lived with her mother and her mother's lackey. They kept her under such an oppressive, smothering existence, she wasn't allowed to go down staircases alone lest she trip and accidentally snap her neck. The day she became queen, Victoria's first command was to tell Mom et al to fuck off so she could be alone for a while. I imagine that's what coming home for a missionary is like. Hell on Earth.
Edit: How easy would it be to sublimate a restrictive ED during one's missionary trip because of how normalized starving and biking/walking all day are?
Mom et al 😂😂
I served a mission at age 23. I did have a slight difficulty with self stimulate some nights. I did talk with my mission president about and he was easy with me when I talked him and encouraged me to continually pray for help with it.
@@elizabethdavis8594 Are you still remember the church
I work as a historical interpreter in the summer. I have definitely encountered Mormon missionaries at the historic site where I work, so someone is letting them go to educational attractions!
“Always together “ sounds like a 2 edged sword: neither person may be subject to be “taken “ but on the other side if either of you are questioned on what you or LDS believes you are “checked “ so you don’t deviate from the script or come to doubt what you’ve been taught.
There is a small flat for missionaries in the building next to mine and I can often see them going around the neighbourhood. I never talked to them beside saying hello when we meet on the driveway to our respective buildings but they are so young I'm a horrified they must observe this many rules and have so many pressure put on them. I hope their time aboard and meeting new ppl and cultures will help open their view of the world and find a way to leave the church bc that sounds like 2 years of torture.
This daily routine for Mormon missionaries is totally ridiculous! Married people don't even live this way. As a member of another religion, the idea of going out to "proselytize" intentionally door to door or on the street is objectionable. In our faith lay mission work involves doing charity, works of service, building a school, traveling abroad to a third world country to do manual labor, feeding people who are malnourished, working in a soup kitchen, and so on. What's wrong with "showing" Jesus' love instead of just "talking" about your church? Hmm...? 😁😁😄😄
You forgot the mention the Lord's great commission to teach all nation. As far as I know no other Christian denomination really does this. Also, you may want to read the annual humanitarian report. In 2023, the Church of Jesus Christ spend $1.3 billion on worldwide humanitarian efforts and 6.2 mission hours volunteered. We talk and we do.
This is "shepherding," which is a trait of cults. Christian cult Maranatha did this in the 80s. I think the Moonies did this too, but I'm not 100 percent sure.
A bunch of young people in my area in Canada joined the Maranatha group. They went hungry regularly. Ate gross food if there was any....
Insane that it's so shameful to reach out to your church for help as a Mormon, especially considering everyone is required to pay 10% tithe. What do Mormons think the church needs the money for, considering they don't use it to help their members? I grew up Catholic (agnostic with Catholic underpinnings now lol), & the church helped my mother and I when she went through bankruptcy. We were not seen as shameful when my mom reached out to our Priest. People give to the church to aid others, and Catholics are not *required* to pay tithe.
I would love to teach these missionaries one important thing:
Malicious Compliance!
Would anyone read it if I took each rule and gave an example of how to “break” it but within the bounds of the rule?
I sure would!
Appalling exploitation of young people. I can imagine this would really affect mental health very seriously. Thankyou for this information
The never be alone part reminds me so much of Handmaids Tale. In episode 1 she describes her companion as the person who spies on her and she is the same to her companion. They also were not allowed to know their real names.
Soooo glad I didn’t go on a mission. I hate being around people and need alone time to recharge. Granted, my myriad of medical problems would probably get me sent home so fast because of the things I have to do to take care of them.
you probably wouldn't have been sent out.
I knew a man who went on a mission in the 1960s. Their day off was called "Diversion day" It was the entire day, and they could truly relax, by kicking back, resting, traveling, sight seeing, visiting members, etc. Does anyone remember when this was changed to P Day? I remember hearing about the change, but can't recall the decade or year.
Will you take a nice, normal, secular trip to Denver someday? It's such a wonderful city and it makes me so sad that you didn't get to experience it. I hope someday you come out and see a concert at Red Rocks, check out the science museum, and drink some tasty Colorado beers.
I'm from Poland (central Europe), so up until a few years ago I had no idea that Mormonism existed and what it was. I found out through this one girl on Polish social media, but she seemed super normal, so I assumed that it's just another variation of American protestantism and didn't dig into it any further. But then I found out, that she converted to Mormonism at 16 when she started dating a 27 year old Mormon man! They then got married maybe 2 months after she turned 18 and now at 21 she gave birth to their first child. The grooming itself is disgusting enough, but the more I learn about Mormonism from Alyssa's channel the creepier this story gets
It’s really interesting (for me at least) to see that you, so obviously really smart and bright, completely believed and were so analytical about the requirements needed to achieve the best afterlife, to show that you don’t wanna “disrespect” Jesus’s atonement, etc. I guess as an atheist, I’ve just always seen the bible as a story, a fairytale, and it’s hard for me to understand what it’s like to really really believe it. And then to lose that grounding belief and identity. You explain/show this massive transformation, and its effects, so well…
Obviously you had no choice, as you were born into this belief system, but it’s also that same intelligence and analytical nature that allowed you to see the fallacy of these beliefs as you matured and gained life experience. Anyway, all that to say you’re amazing, and thank you for helping me lessen my ignorance, and at times frustration, with the super religious in my life.
As an ex evangelical I’d be curious to see a video about the scripture book because
In high school an friend gave me a Book of Mormon and I’ve heard about the the doctrine and covenants and Joseph’s translation of the bible but I didn’t know they were also bound into one book to be called scriptures too
Honestly to a regular Christian
It would go over their heads that Mormon scriptures mean all of those together colloquially
Also I love your videos and can’t wait to buy your book
It’s helpful to this of us coming to terms with or recovering from high demand groups
When I was a kid my neighbor friend went on a mission to Hells Kitchen Ny. He hated it and came home early all the neighborhood Mormons shunned him and talked behind his back now 50% come home early WTF
Hell's Kitchen is incredibly dangerous!
My long gone full Italian step-dad was raised there. The were so poor that his parents sent him to live with relatives on the N.J. side. He hated religion, as the Catholic church was always hitting them up for money, making them poorer.
@@Monica-gj2yx😆
yep. that's what many of them do.
@carolyearsley
Father Mcdonnahugh got frisky with another altar boy we need your money or else he might have to face the consequences for raping a child, or worse, it may be on public record that the church was responsible!
My mom has a coworker who is exmorman. When he was on a mission he started dating this guy who would give him money. Eventually someone went through their room (him and mission buddy) and found the money. After asking questions the other missionary told them that he was sleeping with the guy. He was then told that he was being sent home and the church was flying him into salt lake, claiming that it was the cheapest flight, and people would then drive him home. Being 20 he didn't question it. When he touched down in salt lake, a group of people found him and told him that they were there to drive him home, again he didn't question getting in their van. Instead of taking him northward, they drive south in to the literal middle of the desert. He arrived at a "re-education camp" aka conversion therapy. All of his possessions were taken and he was given 1 pair of shorts and 1 t-shirt. He was kept in a empty room, no bed, no window, etc. He was made to do physical labor day or night. The purpose of this camp was not to convert him. His parents mention what was happening to his sister (who was ex morman but not shunned) the sister and her husband hopped into a rental van and looked for him. They found him middle of the night without a coat (it's really cold nighttime desert) doing labor and had lost significant weight. They grabbed him and booked it. The only reason the camp was unable to track him down again was because of the rental van and the sister. While his parents were ultimately the ones who signed him up for the camp, it was the church who convinced and facilitated him being sent there. It was so efficient that he most likely wasn't even close to the first person that the church did that too.
I'm in Germany and the local Mormon center is around the corner, although pretty hidden in a larger building that has lots of other, unrelated offices in it. The whole thing is absolutetly meaningless and I doubt really anybody in the city knows it's there. I only do because I walk past it twice every day and tend to look at the buildings.
Anyway, today out of curiosity I had a look at the little name tags on the mail boxes near the main door on the outside wall the building. One had two names on it: "Sister xxx xxx" and "Sister xxx xxx". That is, first and last names, not just the last name. So it appears that has changed and they do now know each other's first names. The men's names weren't there, neither first nor last.
I have also seen them (the men and the women) in the evening on the street outside the bulding once or twice and their dress has changed quite a bit, much more casual, but still "modest".
I don't know how it is in the US at the moment, but maybe here in Germany they've realized that nobody's going to so much as give them the time of day if they run around dressed like bank clerks from the 1970s. That makes them look like absolute clowns.
Interesting about the tie. I generally invite missionaries into the house, offer them snacks, or drinks, and just try to be generally a good human towards them. I make it clear I'm not really interested in converting to anything, but respect what they are doing. One young man, I commented on the tie he was wearing, because it was very unique...almost a Van Gogh style picture, though I don't think it was an actual Van Gogh print. I'm no expert. Anyway, he thanked me, and you could see a momentary flash of pride on his face before he went back to a more neutral expression.
I'm grateful my faith crisis occurred before I subjected myself to this level of high pressure scrutiny.
I do remember a couple of missionaries who came to my little norwegian fishing village when I was young. They taught us kids to play football and baseball. Oddly enough, I don't remember them doing alot of missionary work.
As a current psychology professor and ex-mormon who stopped believing at 12 yrs old, I'm genuinely curious of anyone's perspective: How do mormon missionaries cognitively reconcile being protected via garments while also being told not to go on a hike or keep score in basketball due to risk of injury?
If there had only been one logical flaw in the church’s teachings, we’d all have noticed and “prayerfully considered” it. The trick is to have so, so many inconsistencies that everyone gets used to living with serious cognitive dissonance. You were smarter than me!
@@jauntydamemusic exactly this!! all cults work like that... they have logical flaws on purpose and also there's always the inbuilt "it's your fault" whenever something goes wrong... like "we GAVE you all those rules and those garments to keep you safe and you went out of your way to sin"... as if you're so bad that all the protection we gave against satan failed... kinda like that...
Taking on the name of Jesus doesn’t protect you from broken bones etc. They are supposed to be a physical reminder of the covenants made in the temple not magical
@@cassidydavis4421 The right side is the symbol of the male pagan god Baal, and the left is the female god Ashtoreth. There is nothing Christian about the temple. Lucifer even tells the patrons to put on his apron, the "symbol of my power and priesthoods" The prayer circle, and chanting are Wiccan.
@@cassidydavis4421 When I was LDS, I definitely heard stories about things like people being in fires and NOT being burned anywhere their garments covered---Brother Marriott said it on national television, for one.
It is astonishing how much “the rules” have changed during my lifetime. Doctrine, rites, Mission Rules…. SO MUCH!