@@mollyjaybooks oh good!

@@BeYOUtifulBooks thank you!

@@MorgansEndlessBookshelf it’s the cutest

@@susanfryman5156 I’m so glad it was helpful!

@@booknerdktree I am tweaking it a bit for my pick this time…..

​@@CandlewickLibraryhello friend, I am analyzing your channel, and see that your channel is not monetized. Can you earn from KZbin? Do you want to earn from your KZbin channel? If you want to earn then you must get KZbin monetization.😂😂

@@TheHcjfctc yes! These are very good points I didn’t think of when I was filming. You are completely correct. Thank you.

@@delvis1131 thank you!

@@MosBaked thank you. It is definitely not one of the scariest ones, but they are more harmful than it appears on the surface.

@@talesandtreatswithtay me too!

@@Ella-y7dI’m glad you agree!

@@DaraelDraconis I’m so sorry. I have a microphone and it sounded okay to me. I will look into this. Thank you for letting me know.

@@mollyjaybooks I think people think of cults as just the really violent, restricted, live in a commune kind of thing and that can lead people to say it isn’t. But when you really delve in, you can see that it is

@CandlewickLibrary Yes! Because I don't know anything about Mormonism, this video has definitely shown just how much of a cult it is, if it was isolated info I wouldn't have thought anything of it.

@@miriamelizabethreads thanks!

The BITE model is absolutely not pseudoscience. It’s not designed to disparage groups but to identify patterns of coercive control that can harm individuals. Having worked in law enforcement for over 17 years, including counter-terrorism, human trafficking, and exploitation, I’ve seen firsthand how this model has been instrumental in protecting vulnerable individuals. The justice system widely disagrees with you, with ample evidence to support its effectiveness. You’re right that the model can be applied too broadly, and context is crucial. For instance, our training even included examples from lighthearted comedy to demonstrate how influence works. But in real-world scenarios, the stakes are much higher. Most domestic abuse cases I’ve encountered involved psychological manipulation rather than physical violence. I have a personal experience in that area. But its important to note that context is everything. People experience good within certain groups, others experience harm-and the LDS Church is not immune to that. Doesn't make all LDS members bad but sadly some are over zealous I guess even leaders jump too quickly condemning others for leaving using terms like, we just want to sin, led away or become enemies or we are just confused, misunderstand. its never their accountability but always our own.... its interesting.

@@randoms7113 Deprogrammers like Steven Hassan and their models are very much controversial and while still used by some, many scholars discredit it because it can be applied so broadly and is often used to discredit many groups with the derogatory label of cult. Hassan’s most recent book is trying to label Trump voters as cultists. I guess over 50% of Americans are cultists then. The BITE model may have some use in identifying controlling behavior, but is way too broad. For instance, in looking at the behavioral controls, I am guilty of many of these things with my own children. I restrict leisure time and make them do chores. I teach limits around sexual behavior. I use rewards and punishments to modify behavior, etc. I guess I’m a cult leader according to the model. Do you see the problem? You can literally stretch all of these to apply to anybody and anything. Once you slap them with the cult label, or abuse label, you can then discredit everything about them. We all know what a real cult is. Jim Jones type. Jehovah Witnesses, Latter-day Saints, seventh-day adventists, orthodox Jews, and many other smaller religious communities are not that. Stop stretching the label to apply to everything. Because when everything is a cult, nothing is, and then we don’t have a word to describe actual cults. Furthermore, many really stretch the truth, over-emphasize the bad, gloss over the good, and cherry pick evidence to try and fit Latter-day Saints into this model. Their anger and fear towards the Church clouds everything.

​@@tylerahlstrom4553 Respectfully, I think you’ve overlooked or ignored my main point: context is everything. The goal of tools like the BITE model isn’t to label every group as a cult or discredit parenting but to identify harmful dynamics that genuinely strip people of autonomy and cause significant harm that can be found in many places. To a degree, we’re all guilty of behaviors that could fall under aspects of the model. However, the intent differentiate healthy guidance from coercive control. The BITE model isn’t about questioning your parenting or labeling Trump supporters as cultists-that feels a bit pedantic and silly personally. Instead, it’s about identifying manipulation in contexts where it causes harm, such as exploitations or abusive relationships. I also guarantee that not everyone thinks they’re in a cult when they actually are. Victims of coercion often don’t realize they’re being manipulated, and for a time, they may view the offender as the nicest, most supportive person in their lives. Even those who believe they can easily identify a cult can still fall victim to one. Coercive tactics are subtle and often preying on vulnerabilities or needs that people may not even realize they have. Personally, as an ex Mormon, I don’t follow religion because it does have control aspects that resemble cults. Christianity, for instance, began as a way for hopeful people to gather and find community. However, once governments and empires adopted it, it became a tool for control and order-“If you don’t do this, you’ll go to hell.” That's when the "one true church originated" Even today, we see scandals in institutions like the Catholic Church and some within the LDS faith. If you follow religion and love it, that’s great, but it’s important to recognize the negatives too. It’s not all down to “angry ex-Mormons” who “just want to sin” and are labeled as enemies. There are reasons for these critiques, and brushing them off as merely someone else’s problem dismisses legitimate concerns. Was. the use of electroshock therapy right? or making black people feel less important due to banning the priesthood? Do you really need to pay tithing to be worthy ? are we really not allowed to critique a leader or authority ? wouldn't that warrant some anger and upset ? or is that just them not being humble enough? it’s not about cherry-picking evidence or demonizing any group. It’s about striking a balance-acknowledging the positive and negative experiences people have in high-demand organizations. Admitting wrongs is a positive step that can heal wounds. Context and intent are critical to these discussions, and that’s what the BITE model aims to explore.

The BITE model is just not a very good model. Half the items on there to determine controlling behavior in my opinion are not abusive or controlling at all. Using rewards or punishments is controlling behavior? Teaching sexual norms is controlling behavior? Expecting one to sacrifice some of your own comforts for the benefits of others is controlling behavior? Yes contexts matters, it depends on how you are doing that. But you moved the goal posts majorly from what this video is trying to argue- Latter-day Saints are cultists- to we just need to be aware of some problematic behavior amongst some members of my faith. If everybody had that understanding and applied the BITE model accordingly, then I would have no problem. But as you can see from the video and numerous other sources, many use this questionable model to discredit groups they don’t like so they can feel superior to them. It’s bigoted behavior and serves no good. It’s also not applied equally. You can use this to attack groups you don’t like, but then conveniently excuse groups you do like. How come he labels Trump voters as culty and not Kamala voters? Organized religion is huge force for good and not simply about controlling people. The values taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a huge force for good and radically changes lives for the better when applied and lived properly. To dismiss that and all its members as brain-washed cult members is a bullying tactic used by insecure people to justify their behaviors.

@@tylerahlstrom4553 I’ve already explained that context matters and the importance of identifying both healthy and negative behaviors, and I don’t want to keep repeating that. You’re going over the same argument. If others misuse the BITE model, that doesn’t make it pseudoscience. Just because a tool can be misapplied or misread doesn’t invalidate its usefulness when applied correctly. Also, bigotry works both ways-dismissing others’ experiences or labelling them as simply “angry,” “insecure,”(as you just stated) or “anti” is just as harmful as unfairly attacking a group, don’t you think? In fact, a large majority of people leave due to such bigoted comments. Even general authorities refer to those who leave the Church as "enemies of the Church." Doesn’t that behavior then excuse the actions of members to use bigoted comments, further isolating those who have different experiences or viewpoints? You still haven’t answered whether it was right for the LDS Church to use electroshock therapy on gay members. That practice was based on rewards and punishments. My friend was forced on a mission because it was believed that it would "cure" his homosexuality, and he fell into a very dark depression. By your logic, there was nothing wrong with that, right? Where do we draw the line? When can one critique the LDS Church’s actions or practices? Or is it off-limits? What about those who have suffered child abuse within the Church? Should they not speak out about their experiences or critique the institution’s handling of such cases? And what about Ruby Frankie's rewards and punishments? She deprived her kids of food, water, beds, and tied them up with rope. They were forced to jump out of a window, with rope burns on their bodies. Was that not wrong? What if that boy grows up and tells his story on a Mormon podcast-would you be one of the members to comment, telling him he’s just angry and insecure? Ignoring these issues doesn’t make them go away; it only perpetuates harm. Recognizing the pain and validating the experiences of those who suffered is the first step toward meaningful accountability and healing. Yes, many religions and churches do an unbelievable amount of good, but we also need to address and accept the wrongs. Sure, members of the Church do bad things, but doesn’t the Church hold any responsibility or accountability in how it teaches others to be?How it reacts? Firstly: I wouldn't say the church is inherently evil but it does have very questionable practises in its history. and we anent allowed to really question it too much. If we do , we risk becoming excommunicated as apostates. Secondly some members have very bad experiences and it does damage their view on the church and become much more happier without the LDS church and oddly, talking about their experiences is a form of therapy, yet they are faced with bigoted remarks. like states about as "insecure" "angry" see the problem?

@@ChantelReadsAllDay thank you!

@@booknerdktree that’s so true!

@@booknerdktree thank you!

@@booknerdktree yeah that’s one of the reasons I stopped watching it. I thought it was good, but I know where they film it. It’s in a small town near my parents and it’s a set built by the Mormon church for their videos. And I know that some of the writers are Mormon, so it’s hard for me to trust it.

@ didn’t know they had built the set! The more ya know!! Yeah Josh and I found many parts that didn’t clarify Jesus divinity in it, which means the Mormons can watch without it contradicting “their version” of Jesus😫 His mom was the one who raved about it and bought it for us so we were immediately like oh no what’s wrong with it tho😅

@ yeah all of the Mormons I know love it.

@@booknerdktree exactly!!

@@booknerdktree that would be awesome. But unfortunately they would turn off the microphone and escort him out 😅

@ that’s what I told him😂 he still wants to😅🙈

@@booknerdktree when I was younger it felt like it didn’t change as much- because I didn’t know about all the changes that had already happened! But the last few years have been insane. Even crazier is how people aren’t noticing it and just move on as if it’s always been this way. “Ongoing restoration” has made that possible

@ it definitely has been more the past 5-10 years consistently.

The BITE model and all other tests to determine if something is a cult is pseudoscience. The whole category of cults is problematic. You can literally just throw any group you don’t like into that category. According to these models, you can fit in most churches, corporations, nations, or sports teams. Early Christianity was definitely a cult with Jesus as their cult leader who was a trouble maker and a convicted felon. As a Latter-day Saint, I feel we are in good company.

@@OldeAmericanSpirit you can’t go into the temple and do the rituals there unless you have a temple recommend. You go to the bishop (the leader of the congregation. He is not someone that has been trained in theology; just a member of the ward that has been given the calling) and he asks a bunch of questions. Then you have to do another interview with another higher up leader and they give you your recommend if you are deemed worthy. If you can’t go to the temple you can’t make the covenants they believe you need to get into the highest level of heaven which is where God dwells. So you won’t be with Him or your family if you haven’t been able to do those things

@@CandlewickLibrary oh, wow.

@@MorgansEndlessBookshelf yes, I think it’s important for people to realize that

$265 Billions rich and pay you membership to go inside the luxury temple also wear the magic garments 24/7 . Also bunch stuff you can’t do if you dress what you drink etc.,,

@@OldeAmericanSpirit yeah and some members don’t allow caffeine at all (like my in laws) so they can’t have caffeinated soda and others just don’t do coffee but then they drink unhealthy things with caffeine like soda or energy drinks. It doesn’t make sense

@@CandlewickLibrary Ok, I feel better about being confused. I've seen several constantly with a soda can. I wondered what the difference was.

@@OldeAmericanSpirit I totally forgot to say that we weren’t allowed to drink tea either. Depending on the family you may have been allowed to have herbal tea. I can’t believe I forgot that!

@@CandlewickLibrary oh my!

@@OldeAmericanSpirit thank you

@@CandlewickLibrary Proud of you. I know it can't always be easy

@@OldeAmericanSpirit thank you. It’s not. It’s so good in my little family, but it’s so hard to be ‘different’ from the rest of our family. I’ve had lies spread about me, lost members and friends; it’s not easy, but it’s so worth it

@@CandlewickLibrary oh gosh. I'm sorry. You are speaking volumes to your friends, fam, and strangers through your honest faith conversations. Praying for you. You may never know how many come to the Father through your faithfulness to bravely share truth.

@@OldeAmericanSpiritthank you so much.

@@Coffee_and_a_Book I think it will be fun!

@@mollyjaybooks yay!

@@CreativelyFaithful it’s going to be fun!

@@virginiayuuka that is great!

@@sandra3616 nice!

@@groovypoptartwashere I think it will be!

@@thewritingsongbird5108 me too!

@@MorgansEndlessBookshelf yay!

@@HannahBethsBookBakery yay!

I am so excited!

I read the Royal Christmas wedding last year. It was cute!

@@humblyhaley I love Guernsey! I really enjoyed Daddy long legs too