Our BYUI Experience (honor code narcs, anti-intellectualism, no coke!)

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A few more fun stories from our time at BYU-Idaho that we forgot to mention (there are hundreds!):
One of our advertising teachers once handed out a bunch of magazine ads in class as examples, and she’d colored over certain parts of Victoria’s Secret models.
One of my (Sam’s) roommates once wrote “cleanliness is next to godliness” on my mirror to inspire me to be cleaner.
#BYUI #byu

[@avericrockett862]

My cousin, who is deaf, just completed her freshmen year at BYUI. She was mercilessly bullied by her roommates and their friends, culminating in the roommates encouraging their friend to sexually assault her and laughing about it. The "niceness" of BYU student's is completely contingent on how well you fit in. I'm disgusted that these adult children feel worthy of an ecclesiastical endorsement after abusing their disabled roommate for the past year.

[@alexandrac591]

wow that is bonechilling scary and cruel

[@selenemckenzie5648]

I am very sorry

[@msullivan3531]

I am sorry she went through that. I hope she’s found a better environment. There is a college for the deaf.

[@karasquire]

This hurts my soul. I’m so sorry. I’m sure nothing was done about either. 😢

[@kennbeans]

this is horrifying and heartbreaking. my heart goes to your cousin.

[@emmathe82nd]

Today I got an email from BYU provo asking why I didn't end up attending even though I was accepted, and it felt so good to tell them that I declined the offer to go because I didn't want to go to a school with racist, homophobic, and misogynistic values. I also wrote that I didn't want to go to a school where I could get kicked out for holding hands with a girl.

[@hannahwilson-sc8um]

Ooooohh what a comeback 🔥🔥🔥

[@Soy_Preinaugural]

I applaud this in every way!!

[@Jeweliedear]

👏 bravo

[@thatonechickyousaw]

I’m so proud of you, Emma!!! Lots of love and Skittles to you!!!

[@individualentertainment9156]

I call BS

[@ningenJMK]

Don't leave a buddy alone on the battlefield. Finish him off

[@rosiemoore2285]

Amen

[@ningenJMK]

@@rosiemoore2285 and a-man

[@sirrahderv9165]

Haha

[@freyialilian]

🙈

[@parkerfitzen3609]

My sister & brother-in-law recently left, and I told them about your channel, and they were like "Oh yeah, we knew them at BYU-I! Tanner was my home teacher." Small world 😄

[@aubreetanner9543]

When you guys said coke I fully believed you were talking about cocaine and probably would've continued to believe that if you hadn't said caffeinated

[@MxSilverJackal]

Same- my brain said ‘damn byu really just killin the party vibe with that one huh. No gays no coke?’

[@AnonymousZyx]

Me too. 😂

[@thatonechickyousaw]

I was so thinking the same thing, omg!!!!!

[@timnewman1172]

I went to college(briefly) in the mid 80's, I assumed it was the powder version too...

[@bcreel83]

i know. i got excited. maybe there’s a secret dispenser behind the machine….just deposit 80$

[@aubreetanner9543]

When we were teenagers, my friend went through a series of traumatic events, including her parents divorcing. She started living with her dad who lived outside of our ward boundaries, but she kept going to our ward because she knew people there and it was one of the only consistent things in her life at the time. The bishop found out and called her in to talk. He asked her why she was still going to our ward and she told him. He said she still needed to go to "her" ward. Then he asked her how her life was going and she said she was doing good and she had gotten a job at Carl's Jr. He asked her how much she was making and then calculated on the blackboard how much she owed in tithing.

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

!!!

[@showcrazy2139]

omg yuck.

[@lilafeldman8630]

That's terrible. How can people be so misunderstanding? That happened to me, but in a much different context.

[@aubreetanner9543]

@@lilafeldman8630 He was an interesting guy. My parents are actually really close with him and his family. Most of his family is pretty cool, but he seems like a bit of a narcissist. He's very "by the book" and seems to think that makes him more righteous. In the long run, I guess it was for the best. She told me that that was one of the things that led her out of the Church.

[@emmaj5807]

Oh my god I hope my parents don't make me pay tithing anymore

[@Kellethorn]

Hey! Exbyu apostate here. I left BYU a semester before graduating when I deconverted. Long story short is they will full on withhold your diploma and stop you from graduating until you have received the hard copy in the mail. At that point, they would have to "withdraw" your diploma which has legal requirements so they don't. But yeah, right up until then? They 100% will stop you from graduating, withold your diploma, and keep it until you are "back in good standing" with the church. I actually still don't have a degree (despite having enough credits for a masters) because I haven't found a decent school that accepts more than a year or two's worth of credits just as a standard rule, and from BYU? Yeah... strangely those 18 religious credits really aren't doing anything at all for me now lol. But yeah, BYU is corrupt to the core.

[@KillerOfWhales]

Thanks for sharing, as a current BYU student not entirely sure about staying, it is invaluable to know how to actually go about deconverting

[@ieatoutoften872]

@@KillerOfWhales Commenter Kelleren speaks the truth. I distinctly recall one student get cheated out of six or more years of his life's work this way. He was an athletic young man who served a mission and did everything necessary to graduate BYU Provo. He essentially graduated, but the administration office people had not put his diploma in the U.S. mail (snail mail) which happens about 4 months after a person "essentially" graduates. In that span of 4 months, a calendar with 12 photographs (including one of him and 11 other male returned missionaries -- one for each month) was released to the public in Las Vegas, Nevada. I think he was paid $500 to model for the photographer. In the calendar (I only saw two photographs in it, but I did see his photograph), the 12 returned missionaries were evidentially dressed modestly from the waist down, or not shown from the waist down at all. However, the 12 returned missionaries were naked from the waist up in the calendar photos (which would have been acceptable to the BYU administration, if they were at a swimming event). It made national news when BYU Provo refused to "actually" graduate him indefinitely. His transcripts were redone so as to show he did not graduate. They did not release his printed diploma to him. The televised news made it clear that the calendar was not prnographic.

[@bcreel83]

sucks that credits don’t transfer after you’re so far along. BS totally.

[@bcreel83]

@@ieatoutoften872 that’s so shitty. especially because i’m imagining the calendar. there should be a donation for the calendar or something. “Hot Returned Missionaries”. Would super sell. (from LV too here)

[@stevielm]

I went to BYU-I from 2003 to 2007. Never again. My mom came for mother's week and we were late to curfew due to traffic. I lived in the dorms. They didn't care, I still got in trouble and had to do something stupid to repent or something. My mom was with me and was like wait, it's 15 mins, she was with me, this is what happened. And they were like nope you broke the rules. So stupid.

[@stevielm]

I was editor of the Scroll at the time, intentially wrote things to piss of the students and faculty, it was awesome and the one way I could safely rebel. I was RS president my last semester- worst time ever. Ended up working for the church on the Ensign and Leahona, it was awful. Needless to say I left the church.

[@ambervore1795]

Hey!! Small world :)

[@Moundfreek]

My LDS friend was DEVASTATED when I got into the University of Colorado Boulder. She said I'd drink, get on drugs, and become "messed up." Guess I should have gone to BYUI instead of a life of shorts, sleeveless shirts, and majoring in evolutionary biology XD

[@bcreel83]

damn. i’m sure that accredited diploma made you feel super shame (jk).

[@juliacheneyillustration3928]

I’m at BYUI right now and I’ll be graduating in less than a year. You just started questioning the church last semester and now consider myself atheist/agnostic. It’s been a weird transition. I really love my teachers and I’m grateful for a lot of the things I’ve learned, but I think bishops have wayyyy too much power over here. My best friend got kicked out because they rarely went to church (due to their social anxiety and disabilities). The bishop handled the situation very poorly. I also had a Bishop here that pressed me for way too many details when I was trying to “confess my sins.” I didn’t feel comfortable divulging a lot of the details he was asking for, and it was really upsetting and traumatic for me.

[@StJimmy1408]

I had a similar experience at BYUI before graduating this last spring, though it was just over the last year instead of a single semester. It felt so isolating knowing there wasn’t any maintaining friendships if they ever found out how I felt about the church. In hindsight I realize that there were far more students who shared the same views than I thought, even if I didn’t have a clue how to reach out without getting in trouble haha

[@SA-wz9wu]

I'm in this boat too. I rarely go to church because I'm just so exhausted from everything in the week and thankfully my bishops haven't really cared especially when I explained I was struggling getting out of bed, but it's so odd being in this school and not believing in the religion.

[@hp7548]

The dress code gave other people the right to ask about my clothes and tell me if it was "inappropriate". I was in the testing center in the middle of a test when a male proctor asked me to "pull down my skirt". I knew he meant that my knee length skirt was riding up because I was sitting down (duh, that's what clothing does!), but it made me so uncomfortable and caught me off guard. It took me about 15 min to be able to focus on my test again. Later, it dawned on me that his words could easily be interpreted as sexual harassment. If I could go back, I would immediately ask for his boss and give them a piece of my mind.

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Ughhhh

[@DINGDONGPOLICE]

Very interesting video so far. BYU is fascinating to me as an ex-JW. The JWs are very anti-higher education, most of the kids I grew up with never finished high school (all the time they were meant to be 'homeschooling' was spent out in service aka evangelizing.) When I decided to go to community college I got major flack from the congregation and counseling about how it would draw me away from the "truth." Turns out, they were partly right. Not only did my critical thinking skills develop further but I had a way to support myself when I was inevitably shunned for leaving the Borg. I wonder how things would have been different if instead I had an option to attend a JW-college. Regardless, I love comparing and contrasting cults, videos like yours make me feel much less alone in my experiences. Side note, totally mistook your 'no coke' comments until you mentioned the caffeine lol. Not the coke I typically associate with college students....

[@katrinashaw2195]

ou a star trek reference!

[@lyndarich1824]

I am also exJW. Love this channel

[@coyotelong4349]

Kind of a double-edged sword in terms of whether encouraging higher education makes sense for high-demand religious organizations or not On one hand you have the LDS encouraging it (especially at their own university system), and this leads to more members with high-paying jobs who can give larger tithes to the church… but more intellectualism will also lead to more questioning and critical thinking On the other hand you have the JWs who DIScourage higher education… This likely leads to less questioning and intellect leading members astray, but also means less money going into the organization’s coffers

[@wardfamily5224]

Fun fact, when Sam moved to the willows from the ivy, I was with all your old roommates/friends from that apartment! So I saw you both in passing from your time spent with those friends and that ward at that apartment. I think I saw tanner a bit from maybe a mutual friend as well but I'm not entirely positive. It was a small campus. I started following you both way back with your original blogs which I cannot remember the name of. It's been amazing to watch the both of your lives progress as well as find support in also leave the church. Thanks for everything.

[@ethalee]

I think experiences at byui can very greatly based on your major. I majored in history and even after leaving the church I still hold all of my history professors in high esteem. often times a professor would talk about how certain claims made by the church weren’t true. And the vast majority of the students were super progressive, or even mentally out of the church.

[@Ari-zo7ve]

Agreed, I remember as a biology major having a professor who adamantly defended evolution, Big Bang, earths age, etc. Though, had some of them not been so progressive, I likely would have left the church or school much earlier.

[@dutchik5107]

I am a sustainable chemistry major. It first needs to be seen that climate change is definetly real, why else do it. My minor is biotechnology. I doubt they would teach genetic engineering. You know. Playing god and stuff? Lmao. Yeah I doubt my major even exists at BYU

[@TheHuldraKing]

I love it whenever Sam talks because I get to hear her voice and also see Tanner's divine side profile. #justbisexualthings

[@bcreel83]

what about hers?….

[@FlowerChild65]

Big relate

[@mielimedina3146]

Yeah, this video in particular I just keep falling in love with both of them

[@mitch_edc]

Looking back, I had really bad depression while I went there. I thought it was me, but it was totally the school. What a culty environment.

[@skkeech]

I briefly dated a guy when BYUI was Ricks College. I'm not Mormon and went out with him and some of his friends to Applebee's and they seemed so freaked out when I ordered a margarita. It was so weird at the time. I only lived in Idaho for a year for work, but it was literally the worst year of my life. Non-Mormons in a Mormon area are treated like outsiders. I got a lecture from my Mormon boss at work because I was "seen" dancing at the local "gay bar." Like, seriously?! So many narcs just in general around there.

[@timnewman1172]

What would a "good mormon" know about being in a gay bar?

[@shannond1511]

@@timnewman1172 exactly

[@brennanxyz]

"god hates that flip-floppitty sound" 😂 didn't know you, but we all overlapped @ BYUI, I think. for some reason, nothing about my experience in the church lingers with me and troubles me quite like my time there. even though I was believing throughout, it was a period full of dissonance

[@aubreetanner9543]

I am literally pissing myself at ultra mega bed 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

[@taylors.9548]

When I went to BYU-I as a closeted gay man, I was almost kicked out because my roommate thought I was having sex with a male friend I was hanging out with in my room. The Honor Code office did a full fledged investigation and even had my roommate go through my facebook friends list with an Honor Code administrator to identify my friend (which they did successfully). There is a bit more to my story, and I didn't even include my attempts to get my HC records after I left.... I still don't have them and if I wanted to see them (I can't take them with me despite my willingness to sign a form saying I am fine with my educational records being released) I would need to meet with a church attorney in SLC just to look at them.

[@coyotelong4349]

HC records? Do you mean they won’t give you your actual academic records?? (Sorry, Never-Mo here)

[@FlynnZRSharp]

Sorry you had that experience, such a backwards place. I went there as a closeted gay man too. I had to talk to my bishop about my “Same sex attraction” every Sunday. 🙄

[@shannond1511]

This all sounds so illegal and insane. How has this church been able to get such a stronghold on an entire population of ppl?!?

[@ChristopherSadlowski]

​@@shannond1511cults are crafty like that. Even the most reasonable person ever has a chance of falling into, and staying in, a cult.

[@avisharkdog5345]

Im going to back to byui in January for 2 more semesters before I transfer, your channel will definitely be a lifeline for me lol

[@AnonymousZyx]

“Any sane adult could look at the for 10 seconds and think well surely that couldn’t have happened!” Reminds me in freshman year (at a big liberal university) in Religion 101: the Bible, the sophomore TA in discussion group announcing that “they say that the tree in genesis was probably a fig, not an apple.” And I said totally seriously, not trying to be an asshole, “what does it matter, it’s a allegorical tree,” and the TA looked at me and said, “well not to everyone, elizabeth,” with an air of disapproval. I was totally surprised. 18 years old, raised in church (Episcopalian) and had absolutely no idea that anyone really believed in Adam and Eve.

[@josephcowan6779]

I grew up Episcopal as well, and it was also kind of news to me that people actually believe in Adam and Eve. I think it was always my assumption that most of the Bible was old stories, not literal at all.

[@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr]

Eternal life is probably allegorical too at that point

[@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr]

What about life spontaneously coming from non-life and randomly for no reason gaining all the superpowers of all life on earth. Does it take a full 10 seconds to think, well surely that couldn't have happened!

[@josephcowan6779]

@@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr That's not really what scientists hypothesize though. Unless you are talking about when God created life ? Because actually I guess that is kind of what happened in the Genesis.

[@Volleyball_Chess_and_Geoguessr]

@@josephcowan6779 Ok, tell me the story of the scientists. There were amino acids which came from (???) and then came together and created life. Then became a fish. Then wanted lungs and legs. Then was like, let's be human.

[@OuttaMyMind911]

I remember not being allowed into the testing center for the terrible crime of having my sideburns be too long.

[@jaredandallie1681]

I was 5 min late for curfew my freshman year and bore my testimony about it being worth it being late because I was able to see the man who gave my brother the missionary discussions. That next week at church the Bishop gave a 15 minute talk during Sacrament about following curfew and to never be late.

[@BexxiM]

Honestly I am so glad my Seminary teacher told me that I wouldn't get into BYU-I. He honestly saved my life as a Nonbinary, and Bi sexual person.

[@charlesmarshall1576]

I had a roommate at BYUH who had a faith crisis/discipline issue and I believe he wasn’t allowed to graduate. It was sad because he was close to graduating and because he was an international student he went home without a degree and unable to transfer his credits.

[@patricianoel7782]

IS THAT LEGAL??

[@Djinn_Entonic]

I'm so glad my Catholic university isn't like this, I couldn't imagine not drinking coffee or not being able to be blasphemous. My chemistry teacher trowed shade to the bible for an entire semester and even teaches us how to made poison out of apple seed and what's the better way to eliminate the body using things you probably have in your house. Basically is pretty secular.

[@thatonechickyousaw]

@hercules neira, I wanna learn those things! My college chem teacher told us we were buying his ticket to Italy the following summer and that he had tenure, and so he decided to not teach us anything, let us all so obviously cheat, and the lectures were stories of his life in Louisiana.

[@jakehiller6444]

Catholicism is much more open to critical thought and intellectual debate and isn't cult-like at all really. That's my experience from being raised Catholic and going to Catholic schools my whole life.

[@Diamondelight92]

@@jakehiller6444 It depends on the order that runs your school, some of them (looking at you Opus Dei) are super intense and some of them (Jesuits) are very chill

[@ZandoFox]

Getting this notification put a huge smile on my face, can't wait to watch this

[@dr.jennifercassidy3120]

Professors don’t have to do research? My mind is literally blown. BLOWN. You wouldn’t even get an entry job at University here in the U.K without a PhD, and a HOST of publications.

[@seadog7229]

One of my favorite memories is when a speaker in my ward would cry and call those who were on their phones to repentance and ask if they would be on their phone if Christ spoke. And I’ll give it to BYU Idaho it was what finally made me open my eyes about the church and also introduce me to you guys!

[@NancyStrain]

BYU apostate here! I went to Provo and Hawaii. No degree. Was able to get my transcripts no problem. The only issue was that a normal school doesn't accept the 20 credits you earned in scriptures!

[@meganchase8014]

Provo had a curfew way back in 2008-2012 when I was there (thanks BYU for helping me to see the light and leave the Church). I want to say it was 11:00 or 11:30 on weekdays. Maybe earlier? I remember having a male friend over in the shared living room area and a roommate got mad at us because we were finishing a movie 10 minutes after curfew.

[@kennethd.9436]

Great summary of the creepy rules. I shudder thinking about the way I was, but I was immersed and didn’t have much cognitive dissonance until I left.

[@LindsayWise]

I dropped out of byui because of the cultural mindset and lack of critical thinking. At the time of attending, I was an agnostic and had already deconstructed my faith. I often was reprimanded for expressing my viewpoints and encouraging others to do the same. Due to the honor code and the opportunity I had to attend a university without tuition, I lived in an environment where lying felt like it became essential if you had any plan of achieving anything there, and i despised it. I felt like my purpose there was to help others think for themselves- How sad is that?! I felt like I didn’t learn much there either as icing on the cake. I’m sure my credits there won’t transfer to any other school and honestly that’s okay with me.

[@mdelah]

I attended BYUI the same time you all did and I remember you guys seeming very churchy but glad y'all are out and that I am out as well!

[@kokepasu4583]

My grandpa was the advertising professor at BYU Idaho, Brother H? 😆 The man calls my dad because he can't figure out how to plug in a computer and he's teaching a marketing class lmfao

[@janinecarson8380]

I remember participating in a fencing tournament there back when it was Ricks College. One of our club members was asked by the gym staff to change his T-shirt because it had something “inappropriate” on it (I don’t remember what). And we were just visitors, not Mormon. Lol

[@xoxolovechristielynn]

I just learned that you guys attended BYUI! I live in Boise and have been watching your videos for the last year but just found this out! A lot of people don’t know just how prevalent the Mormon Church is in Idaho. Very similar to Utah. I was raised EXTREMELY Pentecostal personally, but your stories resonate with me profoundly. It’s all the same really, just different flavors of cult culture. 😂

[@nix_cosplay]

I can't believe you have to do general subjects in USA college! You've already done so many years of general education in school. You're so right Sam

[@zacky7572]

“Have a ring by spring or get your tuition back…” I served in the Idaho Pocatello Mission, which included Rexburg. Male missionaries were not permitted to serve on the BYUI campus, and they tried to keep them out of Rexburg, period. The girls there couldn’t help themselves…and neither could the missionaries. We always joked to each other that if we wanted an education, we would go to BYU. But if we just wanted a wife, then we would go to BYUI.

[@stevehansen7365]

Oh my gosh, the Memories! I just wanna hang with you two and swap stories! I was in the audience for that performance, Sam! I was a geology major and did a comm cluster. And had some ridiculous run-ins with honor-code office. Such fun.

[@snowjoy3877]

Question for Tanner: Did anybody in your seminary classes ask tough questions about church history, why women can't have the priesthood, LGBTQ+ issues, or anything like that? And how did you react? I remember so many times where that happened, but you're older than me and didn't grow up in the same area. So I don't know how those things could've affected that. Sorry, I know that this isn't related to BYUI, but I was got curious after you guys mentioned that never happened there

[@kokepasu4583]

Tanner is so beautiful, oh my god 🙏

[@chum2290]

My best friend was one semester away from graduating. She was actually doing her internship, so she wasn't even physically at BYU-I. Anyway, she went home for Christmas break and went to a party, where one of her friends took a picture of her holding a red solo cup (couldn't even tell what kind of drink it was) and posted it on their Tumblr. Well, another friend (who also went to BYU-I) saw the picture on the other friends' Tumblr and reported my friend to the Honor Code office. The Honor Code completely sided with the girl who reported my friend, even though the only "evidence" was this single picture on someone else's Tumblr, and the girl who reported it wasn't at the party. My friend got kicked out, so to get back in to finish her degree, she had to go through the disciplinary process, redo the semester and remain in frequent communication with ecclesiastical leaders.

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Whoah. Just for a picture with a red cup? Was she even drinking?!

[@ningenJMK]

Did she even admit to drinking or was she forced to admit to something she didn't even do?

[@chum2290]

@@ZelphOntheShelf To be honest, I can't remember if she was or wasn't-I believe she was, but there's parts of my memory lead me think that this was a time that she wasn't. However, there's no way you could tell from the picture. It was all basically hearsay from the "friend" who reported her and I'm unsure if she was given the opportunity to admit guilt or not. ​@Josh Kim If she was given the opportunity, I would only assume that it would be a forced confession haha.

[@valraeUK]

I went there. It was Ricks when I was there, right before the transition. I studied Interior Design, which was a nationally acclaimed program and the reason (along with the nursing program) that they were able to become a full fledged university. But, of course, they jettisoned it as soon as they could. It was a nearly females-only program, so of course they figured it was just a waste of time educating these women who were just going to marry and have babies and stay home. I really loved my experience, but I went with my BFF and I was codependent then anyway, so it worked fine for me. I converted when I was 14, so I was still in honeymoon phase hoping for true love and marriage. I enjoyed my time, made some lifelong friends, but yeah, I hear you. The mindset... oh man. It seems so strange now.

[@chasejensen899]

My friend got kicked out of BYUI. He went to a support group for gay students to help them get out of being gay, then just hooked up with all of them. Who would think that would have happened?

[@raylawler13]

I went to BYU-I between 2007 and 2011 with a mission in the middle. I had a blast, but at the same time, that will probably only be the case for someone who is super Mormon. I was a great rule follower and even I thought the rules were extreme. The Psych professors there were incredible, though, and I'm so curious where they're at in their religious journeys now. Edit: I wrote this comment prior to hearing the quote from the Psych professor! I promise I wasn't trying to defend them. Wow... Now I'm really curious who the professor was. I have a guess, because one of the psych professors sent me home for having 5:00 shadow, which was more like 3 days shadow for me.

[@TheLazyhomesteader]

It’s such a bummer the school sucks because the surrounding area is so beautiful and the town is so cute and fun!

[@deadsuga]

Bridge jumping, bonfires and climbing over the dorms gate after curfew... that was about the highlights of BYU-i for me.

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Still have a chipped tooth from bridge jumping! Haha. Also bonfires at the sand dunes were pretty fun :)

[@deadsuga]

@@ZelphOntheShelf OMG, you chipped your tooth on what... your knee? 😬 One night our friend went to the back of Walmart and took like 7 pallets and and we had the most epic bonfire!🔥 It started as 6 people and I swear 100 people ended up there since the flame was so massive. It was a good night👽👻

[@meganrasmussen9595]

I was able to transfer my credits from BYUI after my faith-crisis-induced-exodus, but my religion credits didn't even count for elective credit anywhere else. Also, I hadn't officially disaffected from the Church. If you do get excommunicated or kicked out because of honour code, I'm pretty sure they can withhold your transcripts and credits. It's really fucked up but it's the only thing keeping me from resigning as yet

[@cc-sb1is]

When I transferred to a state school, they accepted NOTHING from BYUI...not biology, not French, NOTHING. (I understood not accepting religious classes, but..) It was a complete waste of time.

[@showcrazy2139]

Hey, love your guys' stuff. I hope to see a new song parody sometime! I just had Halleluja come up and your voices are so lovely together. I cant wait for Sam on Patreon!

[@mckenzievynn]

This wasn’t at byui but my mom got engaged to my step dad 2 weeks after they met and was married a month later. This was 6 months after both of there divorces. They said they prayed about it and God said they should.

[@KyleScharf-n5j]

As a Jew, if we are not questioning everything about our religion and challenging it, we aren't doing it right. Even prayer is meant to be an argument with god. But the Torah starts with an intro that states the following is all a metaphor which is meant to be re interpreted regularly, which the Bible left out, so can't say I'm shocked by the huge differences

[@taylormalan1479]

It’s so interesting to listen to your point of view on this. I grew up in rexburg so hearing the college kid view of the town is cool. Also my best friends mom was the manager at aspen village apartments 😂😅

[@jabberw0cky13]

my sister went to provo solely for the free tuition and good art program. she would tell me that she'd see women younger than her being already married...and even bringing their babies to campus. and how jarring it was. and she was not kidding, i saw it for myself when i went to Utah for the graduation. jarring to see how the "mormon culture" really prevailed over there, and i was only on the campus less than a day. i have hope for my sister as she is doubting, and is much more liberal than the rest of her peers, but being on the "other side" as an exmormon really opened my eyes and had me face a part of my religious trauma.

[@bentracymusic]

Thanks for the great video!

[@Alexstreams]

Yay! Can't wait to watch, the comedy of life at a CES university practically writes itself (once you have some safe emotional distance from the bullshit)

[@ScottyOrange]

I was there 2000-2001. So many things I have forgot about. There was a record store there that saved my life. Nearly forgot about bridge jumping. And there was a buzzword going around when I was there, "Nick-Mo" which stood for NCMO. I remember it was used so much that they even tried to ban the use of it and even a general authority talked about it at one of the addresses they made to the whole school.

[@ScottyOrange]

If I wasn't in class, I was in the library or that record store. I discovered philosophy there and read stacks of philosophy books. I didn't graduate, felt super compelled to go on a mission for some reason, left the church during my mission. I was there for three semesters, only my film art class credit transferred. I fought hard for all the credits to transfer but only got one. A friend who was with me there, taking similar classes, and also left a semester before graduating for a mission but finished their mission had nearly all their credits transfer to the same school I went to.

[@nanners2068]

I’m sorry you guys took a hit because of your abortion video, but as a fan of your channel, your support and encouragement towards those who are deeply affected by this issue means more than you know. Your videos serve as a reminder that we are not alone and we still have value and deserve respect. So thank you both for being brave and sharing your thoughts, knowing you’d most likely get demonetized. Thank you. ❤️❤️❤️

[@zacharythompson1368]

I was a history major at BYU-I, and I got to admit the teachers I had minus one were all really good and taught accurate history. I even took a Latin American history class and the professor mentioned how the indigenous people came over the land bridge. So my experience in the history program at BYU-I was pretty good.

[@Jay_in_Japan]

4:28 interestingly, my former roommate in the Army was a gay ex-Mormon. He left the church because of its anti-LGBT stances. Haha I remember when he came out to me right after we found out that we were gonna be roommates once we all moved to the new barracks. I already could tell he was gay though, lol! I just told him, "honestly dude, I was more surprised that you were from [a town next to my hometown]" 😂 I don't care who or what anyone is, if you're my buddy, you're my buddy. Especially if I might need to place my life in your hands or vice versa, we better be on the same page! Eventually I was one of the legal witnesses for his marriage to his boyfriend ^.^ I miss those guys

[@a_blaser]

I was a geology major at BYUI during this same time period. All of us were at odds with the religion department because we believed in evolution. We would call ourselves “closeted evolutionists”. Wards who met in our classrooms would take down our scientific posters because the science of the history of the earth was offensive to sacrament meeting. Unbelievable! Wild days back then in Rexburg.

[@pluscarnalivero]

Once you see the Ark Museum, you'll know it could have happened and by know I mean, see it with your spirit eyes.

[@dianethulin1700]

I remember in the 1970’s the expression was that people go to BYU to get an education and they go to Ricks to get married. I think it goes back to the beginning

[@KillerOfWhales]

There’s no curfew like that at BYU Provo, but on-campus housing, at least, doesn’t let you have anybody of the opposite gender in your dorms past midnight or past 1:30 on Fridays. That might not actually be that much different from the BYU-I curfew

[@aerynsun42]

There was definitely a curfew when I was at byu provo on campus housing, but maybe it wasn't enforced off campus. But I remember specifically planning hangouts around curfew even when I lived in the tree streets, thinking "oh right, today's Friday! We can stay out later!" It's possible it was self governed by social stigma or smth tho. One of my roommates worked a night shift on campus and got stopped by someone over breaking curfew once when she literally just got off her shift, so someone thought it was a rule.

[@lyndarich1824]

You were both so cute in your BYU days, still are beautiful. I would love to have friendships like this. I have only been out of the cult for 2 years and most of the time was isolated by Covid-19

[@be.kind.to.animals]

Really enjoy your videos.

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Yay! :)

[@brandy31d]

Wow I am so glad I listened & watched this. Good lord this is wild, especially the apartment stuff like good lord you could pay for it and then do something wrong and they can keep the fees ??? Fuckk, then the trimester thing with the schooling damn. There’s so many more I missed but definitely subbed to you guys :)

[@merbst]

You go Zelph + her man friend! narcs are bad! Also ... are bad but I am too sleepy to complain or remember! have a nice day, y'all!

[@alexandrac591]

For another episode someday, can you talk about Mormons as preppers? I'm a never-mo but I've noticed that there seems to be some kind of mandate about having an emergency pantry and it's a big deal. The New York Times has an article about it somewhere.

[@kevinslyter]

You guys are looking very happy! 😃

[@susannebyrd4019]

I can confirm that they do in fact freeze your transcript if you get in trouble with the honor code office

[@bgardunia]

Always strange to me that BYUI has different rules from BYU-Provo.

[@brookemiller9961]

I was there between 2010 and 2016. Lots of great memories. I met my husband, and got a degree with no debt and those 2 things make my experience 100% worth it. That being said, your video was spot on. Here's my comments: Sam, I also lived at aspen village my first semester. (Fall 2010) It was the worst for sure! We also had a mold problem, and part of the housing contract was acknowledging the mold issue so they couldn't get in trouble. Tanner, we might have had the same stake president, that guy was the worst. Said not to go to stadium singing because there wasn't a priesthood leader presiding over it. He also gave a long boring talk in stake conference spring 2012 (I will never forget) giving alllll the ways you can break the law of chastity, including undressing yourself in a way to turn yourself on. No joke. I think there's more emphasis on getting married at BYUI. Had to hear about it every week at devo. It's shoved down your throat more up there than BYU (I spent a semester at BYU provo, so that's my experience) I think there was sexism toward men, couldn't have long hair or beards and were often called out publicly about it. I think the majority male faculty felt more comfortable calling men out than women. Didn't have an issue following the rules, and because it was so cold there most the year, I didn't care about not wearing shorts and flip flops. I also didn't have a social life so making curfew was bo big deal. I totally remember that burger ad! Even though it was before my time, we actually had a discussion about it in one of my classes!! The teacher showed the picture and it was literally a modestly dressed girl biting into a hamburger. That was it. Nothing provocative about it. So true about couples being outside the apartment. When I was dating my husband, Porter park was out make out spot. My husband's faith crisis started at BYUI. He talked to bishop about it. I think because he was doing everything right, going to church, paying tithing, etc, they let it slide.

[@micahryanne]

LMAO my ex husband went to BYUI when we met and I moved there but wasn’t a student. He would CONSTANTLY come stay the night at my apartment and we would have sex. We eventually felt bad and told the bishop and his bishop threatened to kick him out of school unless we got married. That fucked my life up.

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Damn!

[@micahryanne]

@@ZelphOntheShelf he ended up cheating on me several times and got another woman pregnant his last semester at BYUI and told me he wanted a divorce but didn’t say why, it wasn’t until my dad’s best friend, just happened to move into the same ward as my ex 2 years later and saw that he had a child! (I did the math and it lined up perfectly). I had asked my bishop for a sealing cancellation and it was denied so I got my records removed and started finding out all the lies. Couldn’t be happier to be out!

[@calebhendry3290]

@@micahryanne holy shit

[@hotdiggity8094]

The way Mormonism effects Utah schooling is so funny. I had a teacher teach about Pangaea and continental drift by saying "Well we know things moved around in the global flood". Like the continents were together pre-flood and they just picked up and floated away?? Pretty crazy looking back.

[@azukib2230]

It’s interesting and nice to see that you liked all your professors and the experiences there at the time. Goes to show that the sinner exmo stereotype is not accurate. Also shows that there are so many decent Mormons

[@randythe4th]

yikes. i’m leaving for the fall semester soon. this helped a lot. thank you.

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Good luck!!!!!

[@725Kellybean]

I don’t know if you’ve ever listened to the Mormon and the Meth Head podcast but the episode Flip Flop Cops was one of my favorites. Along with Sunday School.

[@tiana5395]

I am so excited for reading through Sam on Patreon!

[@johnjones_1501]

Never been to a Mormon college, except for my time at the MTC, but from what I have gathered from people, BYUI operates the way you would expect a Mormon college to be run, with all their sexism and prejudices, while BYU Utah is kind of like the church's Potemkin Campus, since it get's more attention from the outside world. As a result, I feel that is why you see things like Utah BYU cheerleaders wearing normal cheer outfits, while Idaho BYU cheerleaders wear stupidly long skirts, and also why BYU Utah seems to be more invested in teaching actual science, while at BYU Idaho, they don't really push that as much.

[@onegirlarmy4401]

I was talking to an EX-MO who didn't graduate and lost all his credits, even though his mom was a professor at BYU.

[@_june_lost]

Thinking about my (German) friend who is going to a hyper religious college in the US for a football scholarship... Loved this video

[@benwestover2430]

I lived in Provo when I was 19-21. I wasn’t even a BYU student, and it’s still expected that you follow all the ridiculous rules just to live around other college age people. I’ll never forget Rain Tree apartments having a private security squad that went around shining flashlights through tenants windows to make sure there was no one of the opposite sex in a bedroom or there past the curfew. It was like the gestapo. Then when I lived at The Elms apartments, they threatened to evict me and banned me from the pool because I had my ears pierced and was wearing ear rings in the hot tub.

[@taylor5651]

One of my righteous roommates threw away my Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch ice cream without a word, and my world religions prof told the whole class he would be absent because he was getting circumcised 🙃

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Hahahaha

[@Jeweliedear]

Ouchhh as an adult. Wow

[@JennaGetsCreative]

The only reason I would even slightly consider attending BYU (not Idaho I believe) would be to try to catch Brandon Sanderson's fiction writing class. Thankfully there are several semesters of it entirely recorded and uploaded to KZbin for free, so...

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

right?? i’ve watched all of them -tanner

[@emmaj5807]

OMG I LOVE HIM

[@JBJones66]

I too thought I was edgy for being libertarian around conservatives at BYUI during this same time period. We would’ve been friends if we met haha.

[@robinm1639]

I didn’t tell on anyone about the honor code neither did my roommates but I was severely shamed at the testing center for accidentally exposing my back…

[@alexistaylor8417]

I didnt go to byu but my first uni was sau which is also a very religous uni... I had a faith crisis while there and they literally put on my transcript that i was expelled for violating the honor code which was so intionally vauge. It almost kept me from being allowed to transfer.

[@maddy680]

Currently attending BYU-I cause I’m going for free. Luckily I’m in married housing but I’m low key dying when I go on campus lol

[@dutchik5107]

Ow damn. Good luck

[@calebhendry3290]

How do you get a room alone I’m a senior in high school looking to go to a college for cheap, I don’t want to have to put up with all this but also don’t want to be in debt when I graduate. Should I just go to another school?

[@dutchik5107]

@@calebhendry3290 attend college in a different country. You'll still go into debt, just less

[@maddy680]

@@calebhendry3290 I would go to community college tbh because BYUI basically gives that level of education- maybe even worse. Plus…You’re going to end up wasting a lot of money on religion classes and every class has to tie in church related things. I’m at the tail end which is why I’m there but if I could go back, I would have never attended.

[@maddy680]

@@calebhendry3290 also to add… Rexburg can feel like an incredibly dark and lonely place when you are not a believer. Members can be very extreme in my opinion just because it’s just a big Mormon bubble here. You are required to attend church to be “worthy” to attend the university and you are also expected to pay tithing even as a student. Just really weigh your options. I didn’t get a choice when coming here because my parents practically forced me. Now I’m almost graduated so it is what it is. If you have a choice or say in where you go, I would highly suggest not coming here. Best of luck ❤️

[@luver3]

When I was mormon my dream was to go to BYU Idaho lmao. Glad I got out before I actually went.

[@joecamel6196]

Attendance & graduation is predicated on being in good standing in the LDS Mormon Church Inc. Imagine finding your graduation & diploma being denied to you if a Bishop says you aren't a worthy Church member.

[@sneeze4254]

The liberal arts was where the most “normal” classes were for sure. I got degree in history from BYUi and my teachers were so great. It was obvious that all of them didn’t believe to some extent and literally could care less what we wore or said and would talk about disturbing Mormon history (massacres, Native American school programs, etc.) all the time. But man. BYUi was so messed up. Like it was horrendous. I look back and die a little inside. Such a yucky sexist racist controlling environment.

[@shariceguerry5344]

My dad almost begged me to go to byu and go on a mission....so I joined the navy instead.... lol

[@sedg83]

Tanner's hair is magnificent in this one. I'm very jealous

[@annabelmaskovich8940]

Yep and that’s is why as a Mormon I chose to go to UC Davis instead……there’s no big brother watching you 👀

[@theeight-roadwanderer6286]

I'm actually at byui right now as an unbeliever. It's... interesting. Today was the first day of the semester and one of my teachers literally told us that secular knowledge was essentially evil and that we shouldn't prioritize it over what the prophet decrees as truth. I feel like there's a conflict of interest here, in the sense that college is supposed to be entirely about secular/empirical truth lol she isn't even a religion professor

[@janicaribeiro6350]

I never cease to be shocked , as a 61 year old woman , it was not even like that when I was young . It’s disgusting to treat people like that . Sex is just part of live , but the stories that happened to people here are frankly depraved

[@jmcmillen19]

Never was LDS however I visted BYUI (my friend was attending there right after his mission so i hadnt seen him since graduation in 2014 i think it was 2016 or 2017) and I recall it being a nice small town, but as someone who wasnt LDS it was so weird to see so many lds church's. At the time I was expecting him to be married (and be the first of our high school friends group to get married) but now hes still not married (i got married 4 years ago was the first of our group) I kinda want to share these to him but i dont want to risk loosing a friend

[@mandybridgeforth2235]

Oh! I remember Liahona vs Iron Rod!!! I remember feeling proud that I was a Liahona Mormon. LOL!