Growing up as a Mormon Prepper - Emma Pt. 1 - Ep. 1567

Join John and Carah as they discuss with Emma what it was like to grow up in a "Mormon Prepper" household.
Since the founding of Mormonism, there has been a core belief in the imminent Second Coming of Jesus Christ (thus the "Latter-day" portion of the Church's official name). But over the past few decades, there has been an increasing trend towards "end times preparedness." Ultra-orthodox Mormons sell their assets, move to rural areas, attend "Prepper" conferences (like "Preparing a People"), build fortresses, deny healthcare and education to their children, and stockpile food/weapons/ammunition, etc.
This movement is benign for a few but, for many, it leads to extreme behavior, divided families, financial ruin, a host of charlatan "prophets" who prey on this mentality (e.g., Julie Rowe), and, in some cases, murder (e.g., Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow story).
See Parts 2 and 3 of this series with Emma, who was raised in the Mormon "Prepper" movement.
• A Mormon Missionary in...
• 1569: From Mormon Prep...
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Show Notes:
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
amzn.to/36C3fKg
"Tara Westover, Author of Educated: A Memoir" on Mormon Stories
bit.ly/3LsGya6
"Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right" with Matt Harris on Mormon Stories
bit.ly/385IFSZ
bit.ly/3LqRZz8
"The Mormon Influences on Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow" on Mormon Stories
bit.ly/3tOvIFu
Visions of Glory: One Man's Astonishing Account of the Last Days by John Pontius
amzn.to/36Fe4eL
Mormon Doctrine by Bruce R. McConkie
amzn.to/3uH3ZG0
Doctrines of Salvation: Sermons and Writings of Joseph Fielding Smith by Bruce R. McConkie
amzn.to/3NwCUhh
"Is the Mormon Church in Decline? An Insider Report" on Mormon Stories
bit.ly/3uAXyUV
"Rodney Meldrum: Founder of the Book of Mormon Heartland Model" on Mormon Stories
bit.ly/3JWITKf
"Rodney Meldrum and the Book of Mormon Heartland Model" on Mormon Stories
bit.ly/36ZOaSQ
Saturday's Warrior
bit.ly/3uAts48
"Examining Mormon Mind Control with Luna Lindsey Corbden" on Mormon Stories
bit.ly/36HKuFj
"Entrata founder who accused 'Jews' of Covid-19 vaccine conspiracy steps down from software company's board," by Bryan Schott, Salt Lake Tribune, January 4, 2020
bit.ly/3LtUnp5
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Timecodes:
00:00:00 Introduction and opening remarks
00:13:13 The intersection of Mormonism and the "Prepper" movement
00:25:37 Emma's ultra-orthodox upbringing (anti-government John Birchers, Social Security numbers and vaccines are the Mark of the Beast, etc.)
00:42:19 The 2008 housing market crash and the election of Barack Obama prompt the family to prepare for self-sufficiency so they can avoid the Mark of the Beast
00:54:52 Education, family life, and religious beliefs within Emma's family and within the Mormon prepper movement
01:30:30 Emma's parents read John Pontius and adopt his ideas as quasi-scripture
01:36:56 A revelation that Emma's mother would die soon---and why this is so common among Mormon preppers
01:49:25 When her mother doesn't die, the family rationalizes it with a new revelation to build a secret mountain fortress to house 500 people in the last days
02:04:05 President Nelson's recommendation to wear masks and get vaccinated against Covid causes a split in the family over whether the Prophet has been deceived
02:14:49 Her father used scripture to calculate that the world would end in October 2020, leaving Emma to wonder why she should go on a mission or go to college
02:21:01 Closing remarks and setup for Part 2
#LDS #Mormon #Prepper #PostMormon #ExMormon #MormonStories #Religion #Education

[@JP-JustSayin]

So in mormon prepper lingo there is this quote "if ye are prepared ye shall not fear" ... but under the surface preppers are some of the most fearful people around.

[@crispmom]

I had the same thought. It must be emotionally and physically exhausting to live your life as a hard-core doomsday prepper.

[@lauraburdett8932]

It is one thing to be prepared for an emergency. That is NOT what their kind of preparedness is. Not even close.

[@lauraburdett8932]

@@crispmom it is. They do not think of vacations, travel, etc. Only prepping. They basically live waiting to be able to say "See, I told you it would happen".

[@nicolekim2369]

This is so true, unfortunately I bought into the Julie Rowe, visions of glory BS. I was very afraid and it caused so much stress. I wish I could go back and change that part of my life but then again I wish I got back the last 30 years of my life from this church

[@jeffk464]

Disasters do happen and it can take the government weeks or months to effectively develop a response. It doesn't hurt to have a months worth of food to get through this period. I remember at the start of covid all the canned foods, rice, beans, TP disappeared from the grocery store shelves pretty quick.

[@MKConnecticut]

I can’t even imagine the PTSD this woman must suffer. Boy, makes my therapy sessions over the years for sexual abuse seem trivial. I can’t imagine where the strength comes from.

[@utah133]

Nothing wrong with having a little stash of rotated canned goods and a barrel of water, but so many go to extremes.

[@jaymanmason2444]

Better to be prepared and not put yourself in a terrible situation.

[@ew5301]

Sure but not because you are doing it because you think zombie Jesus will be roaming the earth.

[@utah133]

@@ew5301 True. I don't believe in the supernatural, but predictive science. I know I live near a fault and evidence of periodic earthquakes.

[@kaylav.1491]

Great comment, rationalguy! Nothing wrong with any of this, until you look at Ruby Ridge. The Weavers? They weren't Mormon, but they *were* Christians, you might call them "preppers," and they were set up by the Bill & Hillary Rodham Clinton administration. There's a documentary: Ruby Ridge (Idaho).

[@DragonHeartTree]

I’m pretty sure all that grain found in king tut’s tomb was the work of Egyptian Preppers 🤣

[@emmablake1300]

I read that as "Growing up as a Mormon Pepper"

[@Sarah-il1lz]

Same lol

[@rlyurisko]

Me, too lol

[@britlynvincent6836]

Lol me too.

[@senorbb2150]

Me too- plus in the picture, right next to her, is what looks like a jar of red pickled peppers!

[@nikkybolonsky]

@@rlyurisko źq

[@addie2754]

I will admit, I am a prepper, but it’s because I’m lazy. I can and freeze everything a few times a year so I have to grocery shop and food prep as little as possible lol. And I do utilize my large Utah basement!! Haha

[@glossypots]

Well, my neighbour next door a Mormon with four children, provide our block with plenty toilet paper during covid lockdown, a very popular lady.😅

[@dunnranches]

I was never taught that my year food storage was for Christ’s coming. I was taught that it was to be prepared for life crisis. During Covid and the fear of no food. I wasn’t scared. Because I was prepared. When my father lost his job due to injury. He and my mother never went hungry because they were prepared.

[@mm7365]

I was raised the same way where I was told in the latter days that even the Mormon Prophets could false Prophets and I always wondered how I would know if the Mormon Prophet was telling the truth in the last days or if he had become a false Prophet. Throughout my years of growing up in the Mormon church when a leader of the church whether it be a Bishop, Stake President or even Apostle or the Prophet would say something that was not factual my parents or other members of the church would always answer," you need to remember their human", this would confuse me because I thought that the leaders in the church were of a higher authority and we're getting their directions from God but when they're directions were incorrect the default answer was always "because they are human." I permanently left the Mormon Church when I was in my late forties because I was fed up with the how badly I was treated after I divorce my returned missionary who I married in the Salt Lake Temple who beat me severely and the church would do nothing about it oh, I also had my temple recommend taken away from me 5 hours before my daughter was to go through the temple for the first time to go on an LDS mission, I was also a crime victim of a brutal, brutal crime and I asked for my Bishop or members in my ward to give me a blessing to help me through the process that I was going through and no one showed up. I asked for help and counseling and I was not offered help I was not offered support when I had to go to court ,no one showed up and then I was told by my Bishop that until I repented of the crime that was committed against me, I was not allowed to take the sacrament. I was born and raised Mormon and I also did not know about the story of Joseph Smith until in my late forties when my daughter was preparing to go on her mission. Being raised in the Mormon church as a female I can say has made it extremely difficult as a single adult because I have guilt changed me my entire life that I will never be good enough which makes it extremely difficult when I meet someone new because it's like I sabotage the relationship because in my mind I am constantly reminded that I am not good enough! Ever since I left the church and my belief is only with God and the decisions I'm making my life are only between me and God I have been so much happier. I remember the first time I attended a non-denominational church and the Pastor said the words, God loves everyone and I started to cry because of the Mormon church it is taught that only God loves the righteous or the good people and yet they never make you feel like you're ever good enough to be loved by God.

[@watchdog8058]

so sorry you were treated so badly. i have never been mormon but NO human should be treated that way! i hope you are feeling much better now! i believe that as long as we are doing our best god will guide us, we do not have to be perfect.

[@function0077]

This is related to the discussion of people claiming to receive revelations about the impending death of someone. I left religion (specifically the mainstream, SLC based, sect of Mormonism) in my early 20s. I never liked giving priesthood blessings when I was a member (I had zero worthiness issues, i.e. zero porn & zero masturbation, etc.), because I never felt "inspired" to say anything. Anyways, while I was a missionary, some random guy, who wasn't a Mormon, asked me to give him a priesthood blessing. During the blessing, I had an intrusive thought that I should tell this man that he was going to die soon. I did not verbalize this thought, because is seemed like an asshole-ish thing to say. I think these people, who claim to receive revelation about the impending death of someone, are confusing thoughts created by their brain (intrusive and/or anxious thoughts) with divine revelation. Often, this confusion is somewhat benign, but sometimes this confusion can be very dangerous and destructive (e.g. Chad & Lori Daybell, Lafferty brothers, etc.).

[@nicolewade160]

Good on you!!!!

[@beckyobeck]

So much to say about how much I appreciate you all on Mormon stories! Yes, thank you for your sacrifices big and small

[@t.thompson9977]

Coming from a super fan who has listened to every single episode since day 1…….Another fantastic Mormon Stories Episode! You guys are killing it! Love the content

[@GoingApeCostume]

I was raised by inactive parents in Utah County, on a farm, and while I would not call my Dad fundamentalist in any sense, I can see how that influence in his growing up had a profound mark on my growing up! From makeup to earrings to painted nails to dating. His needing to do the farm thing was borne out of poverty but the folks around him were certainly bleeding John Bircher.

[@geoffmerritt]

The revelation in regards to her mother dying and waking up in the morning saying just kidding but it will be some time soon. Without being disrespectful to the trauma it caused Emma... it almost sounds like a Monty Python sketch.

[@sleepycalico]

I loved learning about the history of Mormon prepper-ism. I didn't even realize the idea of Jesus returning started immediately at his death. Just fascinating.

[@hbendzulla8213]

This is a very special Mormon stories podcasts, all of them are good, again this one is special. I am a retired general contractor, if this five story building is built with out a building permit to have to check the plans the footing and everything, it will be required to be torn down if it ever becomes known to the county building department. It’s a fun story podcast but also very sad to hear how some fine people can take the Mormon doctrines as fundamentally right. 🤔

[@protected1836]

Emma is a remarkable young woman and even knowing this was recorded more than a year ago, my heart truly hurts for her. I wish Margie had been there to help her through this. I am awed by her strength and her willingness to talk about the multiple, deep traumas that she has experienced throughout her life. I wish someone had been there to acknowledge that. Emma’s pain is evident throughout and I have never been near this aware of the horrible personal cost of “preparedness” and “revelation” on the children raised in this culture. It needs to be appropriately and sensitively addressed, and these children/young adults need validation and support as they process the terrifying, traumatizing experiences inherent to this mindset. My heart hurts for the young girl who had to deal with her mom’s pending, “prophesized” death, frequent moves to “prepare” for the end; call-outs to come home bc it’s all going to end “tomorrow,” physical, life-threatening activities, and God knows what else. I hate that she was so betrayed by those she loved and should have been able to trust, and that it was done in the name of God😢.

[@imboredwhatsnew]

Great story. She is so well spoken and has a thoughtful answer for everything. Wishing all the best for her and healing 💕

[@hbendzulla8213]

I totally agree she’s great

[@angiemckenna2283]

This is just intriguing, I've never been mormon, and can't imagine there are communities and families raising children with these beliefs. Particularly the revelation of a parent dying. Unbelievable. Thanks for sharing, this was very eye opening.

[@rainepanda]

Most of us grew up with so much indoctrinated fear even if just subconsciously that literally anything that was considered "against" the beliefs of the church would have us terrified for our salvation. Leaving the church and deprogramming really opened my eyes to how many things I feared unnecessarily.

[@the-salamander4truth]

I’ve been out of the church for years, and still prep to an extent. It was pounded into us in the 80’s.

[@jeffk464]

yeah, thats messed up telling kids their mom is going to die.

[@lilacgirl867]

I live in Jackson County, Missouri and we have an influx of Mormons moving here in preparation for Jesus returning to the promise land…

[@hlnbee]

I remember a family who moved to Jackson County decades ago!

[@adamv4951]

And then they end up moving again. Lol

[@TEAM__POSEID0N]

Just as a related observation about the Church's downplaying of the "last days" mindset, it's interesting to note that in countries like Japan, Korea, Taiwan, etc. that use Chinese characters for translations of the Church's name, the characters literally meaning the "last days" (final days) were used from the beginning of the Church's presence in those countries and remained in use for decades. In recent years, however, places like Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan have changed the name of the church, dropping the characters meaning "last days" in favor of using characters that mean "latter age" (latter period). Subtle.... But it seems to signal a significant officially sanctioned de-emphasis of the "last days" orientation among church leadership. (IIRC, Japan still uses the characters that mean "last days". Maybe they did a cost-benefit analysis in Japan regarding changing the Japanese name of the Church and decided it wasn't worth it.)

[@mormonstories]

That’s fascinating!!!

[@caseyjude5472]

Thank you Emma for sharing your story. Really looking forward to part 2 & 3. Really appreciated John’s explanations & comments as a mental health professional on this episode. I always do, but today I found it particularly helpful bc I don’t have a full understanding of how scripture relates to personal revelation as it relates to preppers, dying spouses, end times, etc… so thanks for this. Anytime I hear the words “end times” my brain sings it to the tune of “My Girl”-from that Simpsons episode.

[@kellyj.goodgoldberger4012]

I love when you all put the section tags on the time stamps. So great for the long videos.

[@plantycassy]

I LOVE carah. as a never Mormon she’s one of the reason I watch

[@pianomeister40]

It is amazing how many parallels there are between Mormonism and Pentecostalism. I grew up thinking Jesus was coming back any day and I would never reach adulthood. I am 61 years old now.

[@LesleyVictoria]

John, thanks for your explaining of the history, alongside Emma's story. It adds a layer of deeper understanding for us never-mos. Thanks again! Emma is a lovely person.

[@WV1977]

Southern Baptist also believed Jesus would be coming anyday. My grandmother would tell me almost daily but, i always thought she was wrong.

[@arcaluizoe1469]

Incredible reality and so, so valuable stories!

[@lsun5322]

Fascinating episode! I really loved it!! Can’t wait for the next parts.

[@AdautoMedeiros]

Carah is a legend. People need to leave her alone

[@spunkycat6144]

The bone saw or 'animal into food' is very common in any farming community. I grew up in a small farming community in Texas and you can rent them. But everyone must butcher their animals for food so when the time came (animal is full grown) people would take turns renting them and whoever had the biggest garage would do it. Then everyone would bring their animals (we didn't kill the cattle, we took them somewhere) but that would be our food for the year. Pretty much anyone who was in 4-H was doing this type of thing. This is very common though and city people may not understand that not all food comes from the grocery store and that anyone with land and the ability to farm it (buy small animals and care for them and grown them into adults will eventually have to butcher them). We did out own chickens (all of it). We didn't do our pigs/cattle because you can pay someone to do it and it might be messy. We grew everything we ate and even had honey bees. The Mother Earth magazine was always on our coffee table to read because it explains how to be self sufficient. Our garage was food storage, but we ate it all for the year. So planting and how much cattle, etc. to buy was done once a year at the feed storage and auction to get cattle.

[@jeannemarie5908]

Emma’s parents got married in 1975. Mom was 41 when Emma was born 24 years ago = 65 Mom was 18 when she was married 65 - 18 = 47 2022 - 47 = 1975

[@smockedtop9720]

What a powerful story Emma, thank you for your bravery to be so transparent! Coming from a dysfunctional family, I carry a lot of shame about the behaviors and actions of my family members and I know it can be really hard to share because of the personal identity implications.

[@aceshigh5157]

wow the conversation on oil was very fascinating. very superstitious - trying to control things that are not controllable. additionally, it's interesting that man randomly gets special powers to bless his family. very hierarchical. john is a great interviewer. he asks questions that i have (i'm non mormon). i wish carah participated more. i like her personality and insight.

[@jamkwasowski5207]

Emma, thank you so much for sharing your story ❤️ I also grew up in a family in constant fear as a result of parental "revelations". It's traumatic. Going to watch part two now...

[@heinzhair]

Carah is my hero 💗

[@nuancehoe]

❤️❤️

[@johnhorner1969]

I grew up in an environment with this same prepped/doomsday mentality. Physician father, more practical and not a retreat to the hills prepper but a prepper nonetheless. This episode was maybe the most triggering from my upbringing. It brought back a lot of those feelings of impending doom that underpins this type of environment. My parents are wonderful people but that aspect of living in fear of some unknown certainty of calamity was NOT healthy. I’m out of the church and still have savings and some basic level of food storage but I’m so glad for the sake of my mental health I don’t live under the mental anguish of anticipating that any day some major event is going to being the world to its knees. Such a mentally unhealthy way to live. Really interesting story. Thanks John, Carah and team for bringing this story to us as always.

[@BackupChannel329]

I had a similar realization. The ideology in my family was very similar, but more talk than action.

[@communistsharks6889]

Real talk! Nothing wrong with a cellar of food and such, but the motivation matters

[@jeffk464]

@@communistsharks6889 Food yes, hoarding a bunch of weapons and ammo is a little concerning.

[@brandin7294]

All the shorts of her story brought me here. Keep doing those, it helps me decide if I want to spend 10 hours on a story or not.

[@marandan33826]

I’ve never listened to a full episode before of this podcast so this is my first and I really enjoyed it. Emma is around my age and a lot of the sentiments in her story were apart of my life in middle/high school as members of my family would gossip about end times and even believed a lot of what Julie Rowe taught… up until she was excommunicated and then they came to their senses about her. It’s comforting to know other people in my age group know what I went through and can understand how strange this realm of Mormonism can be since I’ve never personally known anyone who grew up with some of these teachings/ideas since the church doesn’t push the second coming to this extreme. I appreciate her coming on here and sharing her story with us!

[@juliemartin5397]

As a never Mormon this is totally fascinating.

[@grantbeck9228]

My mom sent me a text message at 11:30pm the other night saying she felt strongly there is going to be a world wide famine and we should all make good storage a priority right now. I just say ok mom and move on

[@grantbeck9228]

This war might make supply chain and price issues in certain sectors a little worse. The pandemic has already had a huge effect. There are plenty of conflict free fertile places with good warm weather to grow bountiful amounts of food. Prices might fluctuate. People might make some choices or sacrifices. It will be temporary. A world wide famine?

[@jbw0226]

I have been watching you all for months thinking it was because I found my way here due to the Vallow/Daybells...today I realized that I am searching for a community of Ex's. I am an ex evangelical and the parallels are unmistakable. I grew up on a farm in Eastern NC as a Pentecostal Free Will Baptist. My grandparents spoke in tongues. My Aunt who was a state auditor-picture it-when I took college level bio and chem in high school she stopped me one day and said that I should not let the devil influence me when learning. Looking back it is wild. I lost my faith over my LGBQT best friend at 20. My family thought I was gay. I remember the conversation that I had with the same aunt saying its ok if you have these yearnings as long as you don't act on them. I was ASTOUNDED. I am married now, but at the time I was single and interested in getting OUT of eastern NC. Listening to this reminds me of slaughter days. She is lucky her family were not veggie folks. The summer dread doubles when you have to watch the pigs you fed and raised slaughtered in the fall after you have been picking and shelling all summer (if you had not been putting in tobacco during the day.) I LOVED this one guys. Great job!

[@jbw0226]

PS-I started paying my tithing as soon as we started Sunday school-for my entire family of three via my mom and dad.

[@ah5721]

I met a Julie Row Group in Gilbert Arizona . they talked about a red plague epidemic that made people blood bleed to death, a belief that chemical trails from airplanes are going to poison people etc . these people were woo woo and a bit paranoid and out of it. So I dipped out, that said being in the middle of a desert with no water sounds unhealthy to me . I experienced the local government not telling my apartment complex the recycled water was unsafe to drink in Tempe, Az . I was 4 months pregnant . I decided it was good to have drinking and cooking water at all times in my home after also learning the Government lets farm runoff and heavy metals into our drink water in some areas and with Flint selling out to Nestle water bottling company I was going to have filtered drinking water reserves in my home. My friend is in between Tucson and Phoenix and her whole Mormon community are prepper's but they are all ex: military , firefighter, police etc . It not uncommon as John said . I one day plan on living off grid eventually as I am tired of paying for electricity etc. But mostly because of costs of living not this crazy conspiracy stuff. Its so unfortunate prepping gathers the crazies and end of times people.

[@livehealthyfinishstrong]

I have been fascinated with and studied what I call “apocalyptic groups or cults”. This fits right into that type of thing. I could write a book about it all. Suffice to say, when people become so focused on the end times, they will do radical, dangerous things. I remember as a child asking, “Isn’t the second coming of Christ supposed to be a wonderful thing? Why are people so afraid?” Of course they believe that terrible things will happen just before Christ returns, the “world” will turn against “God’s true church or remnant people” persecute them…etc. this creates a paranoia and fear about the second coming rather than joyous anticipation.

[@amytheshihtzumom]

Thank you for sharing your story, Emma.

[@richharkness5942]

I lived next to Ron Lafferty just died on death row. He was our 1st counselor in bishopric. Major preper. Killed own cows pigs. Had 3 acres large garden 40 fruit trees. Large basement full of items like wheat bottled food. 5000 gallon water tank connected to water pipes coming into the house

[@snailflowers]

as someone who did lose a parent at the age of 17, and who did have to be told by my parents that my dad was going to die soon and remember saying my final goodbyes to him… wow. i cannot believe any parents would put their children through that experience just to say oh oops guess we were wrong about that! i also made decisions about college and my future around the impending death of my parent and i can’t imagine how traumatized, confused, and upset i would be if i felt like i had been subjected to a heartbreaking, traumatic, life-altering experience and then told “oops!” it really speaks to the true conviction highly religious people feel that the things they believe are the Truth and this is how they protect their family, because i cannot imagine putting anyone i love through that for anything i didn’t believe with my entire heart to be true. thank you so much for sharing your story, i’m on to part two now!

[@lauraburdett8932]

This is the exact story of my parents. They are also members of AVOW and totally believe what they say.

[@johnhorner1969]

Omg, AWOV. Ground zero for this type of extreme mentality.

[@daabee236]

What does that mean? AVOW?

[@confessionsofareformedmormon]

Oh my goodness! I hope your parents can see what AVOW is! That's the group that the Daybells got hooked up with. scary?

[@daabee236]

@@confessionsofareformedmormon I googled it I apologize. Extremists I believe but like dooms day.

[@lauraburdett8932]

They are an unrecognized LDS based group called Another Voice of Warning. Basically doomsday and conspiracy theory is their core.

[@nadinehansen9241]

Such a fascinating story! I have followed the Daybell/Vallow case closely and there are a lot of parallels. Lori and Alex Cox's dad was also into the don't-trust-government ideas. People were going to gather in the mountains and needed tents and food storage. The "dome" is a geodesic greenhouse. I have a friend (not a prepper) who has one. It works really well and he actually has a banana tree in it in Utah.

[@dadsarepeopletoo3785]

We must ALL stop looking to others to decide what to do. Our bodies are our own. We must use discernment and learn to think for ourselves. It's no different following some church leader than following a so-called government official.

[@BlessYourHeart254]

#LeaveCarahAlone We here love both of you, and people who don’t like it need to just (a) scroll or read on past and STFU, or (b) as you said, have a conversation, not be haters and bullies. As we say in the south, don’t be ugly.

[@robinwise2171]

When you said you are related to Ezra Taft Benson I LLOST MY MINDDD! Family Reunions must be AWKWARD

[@transitionaloldlady6348]

This sounds sooo much like what I was taught while growing up in the Seventh-day Adventist church.

[@chelseal654]

Oh yeah, my parents got a book from Campmeeting one year that was basically a survival manual for the end times. My grandfather said it was nuts

[@ginamariedemeo]

Thanks Emma! Can’t wait to hear the rest

[@erpthompsonqueen9130]

Thank you. Watching from Alaska.

[@11UncleBooker22]

GREAT interview.

[@herotrent9899]

Her story is very close to home for me. I grew up in Colorado and so did my dads side of the family who lived in Manassa (Alamosa area). They are all very Mormon, but my parents left Mormonism when I was a young child. I often wonder what my life would have been like if they hadn’t left the church. I too have a huge family, I don’t even know all of my cousins cause I have so many. I know my grandparents were subtle doomsday preppers, with the huge pantry stocked with food and all that. And I’m sure some of my other family members are as well. Awesome sorry and it’s crazy to see how much I can relate to her story.

[@abv250]

I don't understand. If you believe in the 2nd coming, would you not then trust in God to enact the drama justly and to save the worthy for eternal life? Would it not be an act of profound doubt to prepare other than to live as you believe that God commands and trust in Him? I thought 'Prepare ye the way of the Lord' was a spiritual instruction. Has anyone got a link to references on this?

[@CharredFibers]

I know this is a year old, but as a recovering Catholic, I can tell you that "special" oil is a Catholic thing too. The only difference is that only a priest or nun can make the blessings/healing

[@marylamphere2112]

I remember getting a blessing and the oil was so warm! I was told it was the power of the priesthood when in reality it was kept in a pocket and body heat transfers. Apparently my carmex tube also has the power of the priesthood 😂

[@doubtingdennis]

Carah I love your idea about interviewing someone that's been invited into polygamy!! Have you guys ever had the opportunity to interview a formerly fundamentalist or polygamous Mormon? There are thousand of people in those sects and some do leave so I think it would be incredible!

[@chelseal654]

Interview Growing Up in Polygamy! Sam was born into the FLDS, and he and his LDS wife have both left.

[@lruss5050]

Fascinating! I really never related the food storage to end times!

[@BlessYourHeart254]

There are many non-Mormon preppers, some for other than religious reasons such as fearing social unrest or zombie apocalypse or Y2K or whatever does it for their hyped up amygdalas. LDS definitely takes it to the next level for sure though.

[@trishayamada807]

Y2K was a hoot. The doctor I worked for was sure it was end times. She stocked her house so full of food and household items and withdrew all her money from the bank because it was all going to collapse. It didn’t and when I was at work after the holidays I asked her if it was still end times. Yep, yep it was still gonna happen anyway. And now it’s been two decades and it’s still end times. I just can’t imagine living in fear 24/7. It must be exhausting mentally and physically. And I got a laugh out of hyped up amygdalas!

[@StephRivera]

What scares me is that as she describes her upbringing and uses words like "fundamental, weird, intense", I don't think it was that weird. But that might mean that I had a similar upbringing. But hers is definitely more strict and more intense. But everything she says feels normal to me.

[@lcutie36]

This another of level crazy !! Interesting stuff !!

[@LisaR2392]

This had to be totally HORRIFYING as a child because as a 42 yr old just listening to this is anxiety inducing and i am totally a Christian and know that this is not true stuff! It's literally mental abuse!!

[@sunnya8]

Isn’t there an LDS family who did a DIY schoolbus reno & lived in it while homeschooling & then it caught fired & burned the dad & two children? 😢😢

[@tjmoore2008]

This is obviously fascinating and interesting to learn about, but it's also so so heartbreaking.

[@kathalloran5828]

This was super interesting.

[@16jcstratton]

that is interesting your experienced.. thanks for sharing..

[@jamiejonah5320]

I think that the whole suburban garden thing was also a generational thing after the depression and rationing during WWII.

[@brandin7294]

For the record, I love having Carah.

[@49heracles]

It seems like all the really good LDS revelations have either been amended or outright denied. My personal favorite is Joseph Smith’s White Horse Prophecy, with John Taylor’s Revelation of September 27, 1886 coming in a close second. Any chance you could talk about these items?

[@pansprayers]

I've watched prepper culture spiral into OCD and hoarding behaviour in parts of my husband's family, and it frustrates me, and breaks my heart. The impact it's had on some of the people I hold close is kind of heart shattering at times.

[@Juliet475]

My family was very involved in the Joseph Smith era....I was shocked when I did the research. I was not raised in that and was extremely shocked when I did the research.... I would hope too be contacted about my family involvement. .

[@freckles2773]

Butchering animals should be normalized for anyone eating meat. I grew up on a farm and this is where meat comes from. It is funny to me how offended or traumatized people get over something so natural.

[@ernest3286]

Hey, does anybody know if transcripts have ever been made for this podcast? I was hoping to find a method to efficiently search through a few of them that I've watched before, but I wouldn't begin to know where to look for something like that.

[@ernest3286]

I've just found the "show transcript" KZbin feature for the auto-generated closed captions, so that will be super helpful. If you happen to know if anyone has done more accurate (rather than auto-generated) transcripts, I'd still love to know. Otherwise, I might consider taking that up myself...

[@JenniferBoyatt]

PS I wouldn't say that the Second Coming idea has been discarded (responding just before minute 20). I have heard President Nelson look at the audience directly and emphasize his words as he mentions exactly that. I was actually surprised: oh, we're going there?

[@Leonard1977ful]

I agree. I have heard Nelson go in that direction before.

[@hlnbee]

One of my seminary teachers was the son of ETB. He taught us some nutty stuff in early morning seminary. He also became a serious member of the Birch Society later on.

[@analuisavianatalina2355]

Jesus came every day in ours eart ❤️😘🙏🏻🇵🇹🇩🇪

[@dianethulin1700]

The Mormons I knew growing up incorporated food store age into their living room furniture

[@DragonHeartTree]

Some prepper males think they’ll be scooping up all the women who’s husbands refuse to go with them to the tent cities… and to be proactive, they get into “emotional affairs” , expecting that the call-out is right around the corner.

[@l.f.6463]

I always thought prepping in the LDS community is for financial safety, emergency preparedness (think Scouts) and less reliance on government. It was pushed in the institution after the elders experienced first hand the extreme civilian hardships overseas during WW1.

[@epicderp6167]

1:49:20 to skip the polygamy talk. IDK just seemed off-topic after she specifically said she didn't suspect that was going on.

[@angusbullseye]

I love the show, but I agree...

[@Pencelia]

Interesting. I'm not Mormon but have a few friends that are. I'm going to look up this John Pontius . My grandmother's maiden name was Pontius. Her parents divorced at 8 and she never saw her father again. From the research I've done on that family line there is a history (3 generations) of father abandoning the family when children are young.

[@theblondeone8426]

WOW your comments about the philippines is prob spot ON. My exhusband is from there and there is SO much corruption. The way they view religion is completely different it isnt personal its kinda forced by society.

[@roxannduran1561]

It’s the one thing I can’t get out of my head, I am a good hoarder, I have 3 panties in my house, of course I rotate, but I just can’t stop. Of course when the pandemic rolled around I was sitting pretty good…

[@alishat-m8132]

This sounds almost exactly like my childhood.

[@saffronhammer7714]

Other than the food storage, this is entirely like being raised JW--every day all day--it is the last minute of the last days--and so many of the prophetic interpretations she describes are very similar to JWs, And this is not the fringe JW; this is THE doctrine, religion, beliefs, and culture for all JWs. No one makes plans for the future or save money or go to college (rarely some do, but parents can lose congregation "privileges" if their children pursue secondary education); it is a life lived on Hold. Constant state of High Alert, constant vigilance, never resting physically or mentally.

[@janicehussock7735]

Yes. Oh, the terror if we had unusual weather. Patrolled my bedroom for demons at night. But I wanted a normal life; to complete high school, date, dance, do a prom. They mock college and science so much. Once I saw a real Ivy League camous, count me in.

[@ashleyn.9166]

It was interesting Emma mentioned the decision to attend college or not was impacted by the end coming. Jahovah's Witnesses heavily frown on upper education (even trade school is borderline) because if the end is coming then your time is better served on spreading their beliefs.

[@ranicalerp7765]

The power of priesthood blessings is interesting to me. I would get lots of healing blessings, but i never got better and I always thought it was either because I didn't have enough faith or that God didn't WANT to heal me. But interestingly, my dad gave my cat a healing blessing when my dad was very much not worthy (long story) and my cat got better. That seriously seemed miraculous! He had an impaction and after the blessing, the next day he essentially pooped out this mass of plastic yarn. Later, when I found out how "unworthy" my dad would have been at that time, I found it very curious that it still seemed to "work". Perhaps a lot of this is like a placebo. My cat was still a miracle though! 😋

[@marandan33826]

It would be interesting if you had more interviews from “preppers” and ones who followed specific people, such as Julie Rowe and what caused them to stick around or to change their thinking and step away from the lifestyle.

[@augustinbarbosa2100]

Greatly respect this podcast. I learn from each episode. I tremendously admire John, but have to ask if it's really necessary for him to talk so much at the beginning of the episode. Just stopped this episode at 22 minutes, and truthfully, John has done most all of the talking. Is there a way to be a little less verbose and get the guest more involved from the onset?

[@rtmclerk1]

I heard that people would flee to the Rocky. John Taylor was my great great grandfather.

[@shaunarich7237]

Also related to John Taylor. My grandmother’s mother was Mary Ann Taylor who was JT granddaughter.she died when my grandmother was 5 so she was raised by her grandparent, JT’s son.

[@cherylcrowell3253]

I could not imagine growing up in that environment 😞

[@plopperson]

I feel out of the loop, what's the stuff they mentioned at the beginning, where they were featured in the Salt Lake Tribune?

[@marylamphere2112]

Ten bucks says Tim Ballard tries to claim the mantel of the prophet who is "mighty and strong" and will lead the church into the end of the world. My mother adored him this summer and now she is going with "i havent heard of him since the movie came out. Accusations? Nope, never heard of it."

[@angiecarlson4884]

I was taught that consecrated olive oil (had to be olive oil) represented the healing, atoning blood of Christ. As Jesus was pressed with the weight of the sins of the world which caused him to bleed from every pore, so were the olives pressed to squeeze out the oil. Even so, it was always consecrated before being used for blessings. The blessing itself involved two parts, the anointing and the sealing of the anointing which is when the blessing of healing would be pronounced.

[@lisawyatt1671]

I am wondering if she is speaking of the San Luis Valley. My Mormon family settled southern Colorado.(Manassa CO) The Mormons that came with Brigham Young, some of the Mormons went to Utah some stayed in Southern CO. This was my family. I am probably related to Emma and her family.

[@pureblood8692]

I thought we where all prepares? It was the way of life growing up every simmer we would all can and it just followed me as an adult and its saved my families bums a lot, I don't do the canning my mother did but I do can dehydrated veggies and fruits, just wish we had an LDS store near us sure would be nice.

[@wasatch0]

All these prophecies of the Salt Lake Valley being flooded are so bizarre. If you were to drain every single reservoir upstream from SLC, all that water combined wouldn't raise the GLS more than an inch or two. Where is all that flood water supposed to come from?

[@janetlynne8712]

I'm going to watch I'd like to know a few things but I'm unsure about the content of this show.

[@fj59]

We are glad to have you here, Janet! This is a community for everyone. John strives to be as respectful and honest as possible in his episodes.

[@palousetrance2823]

Welcome to the Mormon Stories community -- regardless of where you are on your faith journey.

[@dianethulin1700]

The oil! Who can forget the guy who had his oil with him when Mark Hofmann blew himself up. You never know when you will need it!