Recovering Agency: Lifting the Veil of Mormon Mind Control

by Luna (Lindsey) Corbden

In 2012, Mormon General Authority Marlin K. Jensen acknowledged that members are leaving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "in droves." Access to the internet is often credited and blamed for this mass exodus, where members learn about problematic doctrines and cover-ups of LDS history.

Many are happy as Mormons. And many are not. Those who leave, and those doubters who stay, face struggles that few others can understand. Much of this suffering is caused by manipulative and controlling techniques pervasive throughout LDS doctrines and culture. Understanding these techniques will help recovering Mormons overcome the effects of belonging to a high-demand group.

As a former Mormon, Luna Lindsey experienced this coercive persuasion firsthand. Recovering Agency presents years of research into social psychology and the science of cult dynamics, to describe 31 mind control techniques, alongside examples of their use in Mormon scripture, lessons, and from the pulpit.

Even if you have never been Mormon, chances are that coercive influence techniques have been used to manipulate you at some point. Turn the pages and learn the answers to longstanding questions about this unique American religion and about the human mind.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Cults, Psychology, Mormonism, Lds, Spirituality

356 pages, Paperback

First published July 22, 2014

About the author

Luna Corbden (who also writes as Luna Lindsey) lives in Washington State. They are autistic and genderfluid. Their first story, about a hippopotamus, crawled out of their head at age 4. After running out of things to say about hippopotami, they switched to sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. Their stories have appeared in the Journal of Unlikely Entomology, Penumbra eMag, and Crossed Genres. They tweet like a bird @corbden. Their novel, Emerald City Dreamer, is about faeries in Seattle and the women who hunt them.

Reviews

[Roxanne Kade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a very religious person, and I've always believed that religion and politics are the two main evils of this world, but don't get me wrong when I say this because it's not religious belief I have a problem with, it is the abuse of power by the flesh and blood prophets that makes it a dangerous weapon. Lindsey's book just solidifies by ideas.

This book was an eye-opening, though-provoking, and quite terrifying take on how religion, along with a few other factors in society can make us the victims of mind control and manipulation. What was so fascinating was that she has lived through the horrors, therefore is able to give first account to the atrocities that come from living a cult-like existence under the thumb of the LDS. She also incorporated many references from other sources, therefore it can't be made into a game of "It's her word against ours".

Now, even though I am not religious that does not mean I don't believe, and I may not attend church but I have always seen them as a place of safety, a place to go to find peace, love, and acceptance without judgement. It is also a place to go to have your sins forgiven. This book, however, tells of something dark and sinister. The use of all that I have listed prior as a means to control a person. The only question is why? It seems atrocious and preposterous that human beings can take something so powerful, so beautiful, and turn it into something so ugly. To remove all control from a person and destroy their freewill, it is a gross injustice.

Again, this just defines and solidifies the very reason I do not put too much faith in the church and those who preach. I believe what I do, and The Lord above knows me and where my heart is and how pure my soul is, and I turn to him in times of need and times of thanks, and times of hope and acceptance. But I do not need another human being with a God-complex to tell me how to behave, how to speak, what to wear, all the while instilling in me the fear of what will happen should I not comply.

This does not mean that all churches or religious sects are evil. Lindsey merely states facts about the LDS, whilst giving even more fascinating facts and dispelling some myths about cults in general. I think this book is a great read whether you're religious or not, whether you're looking to make a change or trying to find a way out. It stirred something in me and I'm sure each and every reader will find it enlightening. It may even be your saving grace.

[M. Hickmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Recovering Agency, Luna Lindsey deftly exposes every con in the abusive clergyman’s playbook, throwing wide the curtains, blowing away the smoke, and exposing the mirrors and levers that underlie an ancient system of psychological coercion. And although the word Mormon appears on the cover, this information is equally relevant and useful to ex-Pentecostals, Catholics and Baptists.

Lindsey deals with her subject in impressive depth: every factual assertion is meticulously footnoted, and her claims are supported with quotes from scripture, church documents, historical records, and observations from psychologists and cult experts. What Lindsey adds are stories and examples that that let readers quickly accumulate that all-important sense of intuitive understanding. In addition, Lindsey’s skills as a novelist turns what could have been a dry, academic subject into engaging and effortless reading. I covered about a quarter of the book in my first sitting and finished it off over the next week.

Going far beyond basics like cognitive dissonance and confirmation bias, Lindsey separately dissects each of the mental and emotional structures involved in the science of believing, examining their inner folds and secret recesses.

Whether you have recently fled from an abusive church, are in the process of leaving religion or have long ago left, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It should prove especially rewarding for those who regularly read or participate in religious discussions, as it is literally crammed with brief, repeatable insights that will blow your friends’ minds and shut down the other side in debates. Because when people have seen the props and the slight-of-hand, they can never look at religion with the same eyes again.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came close to starting again from the beginning once I'd finished; I did flip thru and re-read some passages. I imagine I will keep this volume to hand for the next little while and dip back into it regularly as I digest the whole.

I left the LDS church as a fairly young adult at 17, so I had in some ways fewer ritual ties to cut than the author. But my family has been Mormon for as long as Mormonism has existed, so the meat of what she describes is definitely my cultural inheritance, and resonates with me deeply. This book has illuminated in great detail some of the vocabulary reasons I have had difficulty talking about my childhood - I have been using the same words to mean radically different concepts to an even greater degree than I realized.

I recommend this to anyone who would like more insight into how ideology can be an avenue for control, and how philosophies with the very best of intentions can go painfully awry.

[Beauregard Bottomley · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was really nothing original in this book and the methods used by the Mormons onto Mormons are not much different from any other group that exist for its own sake.

Russia does it to their own people as a whole while convincing them Ukrainians are fascist and should be invaded, and Republicans get reinforced the same toxic mix every time they listen to Trump claiming he won the election with his incoherent ramblings which will get amplified on the hourly White Power Hour with Tucker Carlson.

I always think its odd that Christians love to cite Mormons as a special case or even when it’s an ex-Mormon picking on Mormons as it is in this book while most of the criticism would be just as valid at all other religious sects.

Cults are what you call other sects or beliefs that don’t align with your own and you can get enough people to agree with you while ignoring your own special pleading. That is, rejecting the other’s ‘ism’ even if when you apply that same standard to yourself you would have to refute yourself.

People crave meaning and they find meaning in the oddest places. The Truthfulness of anything is not a function of the people who make up the organization as such and for all we know from this books dwelling on the nature of cults the Mormons are just a valid as any religion or ‘ism’ out there; an organization with cruddy characteristics does not necessarily mean what they believe in is also cruddy. The author’s arguments are mostly of stating the cult like characteristics of the Mormons and those arguments could just as easily be applied to Catholics, Pentecostals or MAGA hat morons with little change. That alone does not make them false beliefs.

This book tells very little that is new for me, and gave way too many quotes from Orwell’s 1984. Orwell in 1984 will have us be tortured with what we are most afraid of and similarly Pascal's wager induces the fear of eternal damnation verse a eternal heavenly bliss as Mormons (and many other religions) do.

I did do a quick google check and saw that the Mormons currently are growing. This author missed an opportunity to tell their own story in their own voice about their experiences as a Mormon and their transformation out of them, and make the story more revealing for what is going on within the closed circle. The author did make a hilarious joke when they said a Jungian psychiatrist patient’s dream in Jungian archetypes, and a Freudian’s patient dreams in Freudian universals; when one is in the cult everything always makes sense.

Jerry Dewitt wrote Hope after Faith on his journey away from an epistolic closed circle and he did it through the perspective of a true believer, and the Pentecostals have all of the cult characteristics that this author mentioned including a special appeal for feelings as foundational to truth. Dewitt did not need to quote sociologist or experts on cults in order to show what they were doing to him. That made for a better book then this book since it dealt with a personnel story rather than generalities which are already widely known.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well-researched book! The author includes descriptions, explanations, and personal experiences (along with footnotes) regarding the techniques cults use to attract people to them (or any association which uses recruitment to add members to its rosters) and then to quietly--yet fully--envelop them inside the high walls of the organization. She provides "armor" tactics to protect ourselves with in the future and urges the formerly-duped to forgive themselves for falling for a carefully constructed combination of acts aimed at ensnaring future tithe-payers. Reading this book showed me that I hadn't fully "recovered" from growing up mormon and, therefore, easily fell for a multi-level marketing scheme for a time after I left "The One True Church." I will never forget the lessons taught in this book.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been curious about this book for a while as a former mormon and someone who is fascinated by cults. I am going to give this book a good rating because it was well written, nothing was incorrect information, and I'm sure she gets bad reviews from people who simply dislike or disagree with the premise of the book in general.

However, this was not really the book for me. I thought this book would be about reclaiming self identity and agency or touch on adults coming late to individuation with a mormon background in mind. The book was about evidence that the church is a controlling organization. While all the information was accurate, this just wasn't the book I was looking to read at this stage in my life. 5 years ago this would have been the book for me, but at this stage, I'm looking for something else.

[Francis Bezooyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent overview of all the stuff I noticed throughout my life in the church that struck me as coercive, unethical, and a corrupting influence on one's integrity (especially intellectual) and ability to be authentic (I was active in the church until my early 30's, am a former missionary, was married in the temple etc). For me, the kind of stuff that is described in this book, was the primary of several categories of observations that caused me to eventually come to the conclusion that the Mormon church cannot be what it claims to be.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only thing upsetting about this book, besides the well researched content about Cultish Mormonism, is the presentation of the audio book. It is read by a male, B.J. Harrison. That does not fit well with the author's female voice, Luna Lindsey, as used in the first person singular, I, throughout the reading.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well researched and logically laid out. Nothing in it was new to me but someone who has not critically examined the LDS church or who has not been a member might be very surprised by a lot of the information. It got a bit long but it was a thorough examination of Mormonism and cult research.

[Vance Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you meet those nice young men on bicycles.

Well written, but sort of rambles on in places. This is good information to know about the characteristics of cults and how to avoid them, or free yourself from one. Although this book focuses on Mormonism, not all cults are all religious. Some are self help groups, some are political and some are multi-level marketing schemes. However they all have similar characteristics and use similar manipulative techniques.

[Pseudonym Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought Provoking

I was born into and raised in the LDS church. I have always struggled with my beliefs, or "faith" or " testimony" as the church calls it. This book resonated so much with me. I have dealt with physical, emotional, verbal, mental, psychological, and sexual abuse all within the church and I have watched evildoers be protected and victims be slandered and unprotected. This was an enlightening read.

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the perfect book to help me unravel the mind control I was raised under... to help me understand how the mind works, and how to let go of so many damaging beliefs and philosophies. I recommend this book for all ‘recovering Mormons’.

[Nikki Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I dare you to read this :)

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing and helped me so much more than I can explain. My eyes were opened.

[Nathan Hoyt · Rating 5 out of 5]

From what I can tell, Corbden was raised Mormon and became disaffected from the religion. And rather than just walking away, she did a very good in-depth dive into the manipulations used (not just by the Mormons for sure). There are times where I felt in reading this that she was pushing the envelope a bit, but I can see where some can be impacted in the way she describes. As I mentioned, I am impressed at the level of research Corbden put into this and it is not just a, "I can't believe I couldn't see it" emotional rants that are a bit more common.

[Ashley Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether you’re ex mormon, in the process of deconstructing, or active in the Mormon church there is pertinent information for you in this book. The author basically outlines the characteristics of a cult and goes through each bullet point showing how the Mormon church meets each of them and gives examples. I felt recognition in many of the examples I read and feel empowered to break patterns by being more aware of how the the church can manipulate. The author is informed and critical, but not bitter which is hard to find in this type of literature.

[Alyssa Bohman]

this took me /forever/ to get through because there was so much to think about on practically every page so i had to check it out from the library and wait on hold lists twice haha. i'm glad i read it! at times i felt the book was not generous enough to the church and other times i felt it was even too generous, but it was really great food for thought regardless. it helped me understand my own experiences and come to terms with some things that i won't get into in a goodreads review that i know some of my active LDS friends will likely see oop

[Sarah Baggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well-written book but it wasn’t for me. It does a great job talking about different aspects of cults and how the LDS Church fits into that framework but, as someone who has already come around to the idea that the Church is a cult, it just felt like the book was preaching to the converted. There was a lot of interesting info and I would recommend to people starting out on their faith deconstruction journey but I found it to be a bit of a slog.

[Jadene Huston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an important read for me in deconstructing the manipulations I missed in my 40 years of activity in the Mormon church. Having the examples of scriptures and conference talks side by side with what was really going on (covert controls) was essential in breaking free of the indoctrination I was so fully immersed in and even taught as a believer.

[Jared Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much LDS scripture, sermons and quotes. I really appreciate the work and the thought and effort. But I ended up going numb and had to stop at page 124.

Probably a good book for active members or master scriptorians or I’m not sure?

[Karen N · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book! Eye-opening, even though I already had a lot of info about the church’s negative influence on its members.

[Kara Joray]

A great way to begin seeing the church from a different perspective. Though it was a hard thing to read and think about. The author does a great job walking the line of facts and criticism.

[This is V! · Rating 5 out of 5]

From reading this book I have learnt much more about cults in general and how they can manipulate you but most importantly I have learnt a lot about Mormon control.

[Melody Harmon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book came recommended to me by a few different people, so I decided to give it a shot. The bit that I read was underwhelming. It didn’t really state anything new, and the author didn’t speak enough about their own experience and instead relied on quotes and rehashing other people’s ideas.

[Justin Nipko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Corbden makes some great critiques of Mormonism and its authoritarian structure, but I think her language is a bit too harsh & divisive to be helpful to a broad audience. For example, calling Mormonism a cult has some merit (we do fit several of the criteria), but is also unnecessarily incendiary.

Mormonism functions similarly to many tight-knit communities by making an individual’s membership in the community a core part of their identity. This makes them suspicious of those that do not belong (or worse, those that reject the community), and seriously handicaps critical thinking. Corbden rightly calls out the problems with this, but you can also find the same thing in many families, small towns, and religions. Does that make them all cults? Personally, I don’t think so, and I think Corbden’s excessive language distracts from the quality of her criticisms.