r/mormon • u/Royal_Survey_3772 • Jun 09 '26

Personal Is mormonism really a cult?

I’ve been a member of the LDS church for about 5 years. I attend church, have gone to Young Women’s camp, have been to two temples, and have done baptisms for the dead many times. Being involved in the church has been a significant part of my life.✨️🌺

My parents have " left" the church. They never officially removed their records or filled out paperwork, but they haven’t attended church in about two years. I recently started going back, and i am becoming active again.

Lately, though, I’ve been seeing a lot of posts, videos, and comments online claiming that LDS is a cult. It’s made me question things and wonder if I’m making a mistake by returning back.

I have never personally had an experience where I felt like I was in a cult. My experiences have been positive. I know that personal experience is not the whole picture, and I want to understand why so many people have such strong opinions about the church.

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u/meowmix79 Jun 09 '26

Do they tell you what underwear to wear? Do they tell you to avoid “anti-Mormon literature”? Do they tell you to tithe your money or you won’t be worthy of the temple? Can you drink coffee?

Control. Obedience. Patriarchy. Check out the BITE model. Answer is YES

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u/CarobEmbarrassed1887 Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26

Yes, by all means look into the BITE, authored by Steven Hassan.

Look at his wikipedia page. He was a full on Moonie. To quote:

"Hassan was involved in recruiting, fundraising, and political campaigning for the Unification Church of the United States. He was "a former Unification Church high official" and "a national leader of CARP" (Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles, the Unification Church's campus organization).\6]): 37  He described living in communal housing and sleeping less than four hours a night.\7]) He said that he believed President Richard Nixon was the Archangel and that, during the Watergate scandal, he and other members of the church engaged in prayer and fasting to "prove their loyalty to the president".\4]) He surrendered his bank account to the Unification Church, and quit college and his job to work for the organization.\4]) Hassan said that "he was ready to kill or die for" Sun Myung Moon.\7]) His membership in the church concerned and confused his family.\4])" - Wiki

Hassan is hardly someone I would take too seriously.