As I showed in my previous post, one factor that strongly correlates with conspiracy thinking is a stronger-than-average desire to avoid ambiguity. And for Mormons, the avoidance of ambiguity is baked into worship.
For example, imagine you are attending a Fast and Testimony meeting in an LDS ward. The priests and deacons have just returned to sit with their families and a member of the bishopric thanks them for their reverence. He begins with a cheerful anecdote about his week, ending in a tame joke that elicits a handful of chuckles from the congregation, scattered amidst the babbling of infants, children crushing Cheerios into the pews, and teenagers and adults discretely checking their smartphones. He then shares some heartfelt spiritual insight before settling into a familiar cadence of several succinct statements, each beginning with “I know.” He sits down. There is a brief and awkward silence. Eventually, a primary child and a confident looking adult make their way up to the stand. The child climbs the steps behind the pulpit, brings the microphone very close to their mouth, and repeats a series of similar “I know” statements. They return to their family in the congregation while the adult steps up to the microphone, tells an anecdote, shares a spiritual insight, and closes with a series of similar “I know” statements. On and on it continues for roughly 30 minutes.
Members repeat this ritual every month, and its structure bleeds into pretty much every aspect of Mormon experience.
We are frequently encouraged by church leaders to strive for and profess certainty in our religious convictions. Even a cursory internet search readily uncovers numerous conference talks,1 church magazine articles,2 and Sunday School lessons3 encouraging members to obtain a testimony of the truthfulness of Mormon teachings and to express their convictions with absolute certainty. Members are also encouraged to “doubt your doubts” or put their unresolved questions on the shelf.4 Occasionally, doubt is even characterized as Satanic and shameful.5
In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Alma describes how individuals can discern with perfect assurance whether something is true by consulting their feelings (Alma 32:17–34). Similarly, the prophet Moroni promises the reader that they “may know the truth of all things” through the influence of the Holy Ghost following a practice of contemplative prayer (Moroni 10:3–5). Every Mormon—whether raised within the faith or converted by the missionaries—is taught that they can obtain a sure knowledge of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and that Joseph Smith was a genuine prophet of God if they seek for it earnestly enough.
And then, we are encouraged to constantly express our knowledge. One of the most frequent directives given in teaching manuals is that the teacher should bear their testimony at the end of the lesson about the truthfulness of whatever concept has been discussed that day. It’s highly unusual for a sacrament meeting talk to close without a testimony. Most comments in a church lesson will be given in the form of a testimony. When Latter-day Saints find themselves in an ad hoc religious gathering, they will likely turn it into a kind of testimony meeting.
Perhaps there is no better example of the need for cognitive closure in a Mormon context than the works of Mormon apologists—groups like FAIR, the Interpreter Foundation, Scripture Central, and the Joseph Smith Foundation. Wherever there is conflicting information between traditional, faith-promoting narratives and secular knowledge, you will find Mormon apologists presenting a possible (if not probable) solution for those seeking a way to escape the discomfort of uncertainty.
In other words, official gatherings of the Saints are expressly structured to help attendees escape ambiguity and achieve cognitive closure. Thus, Mormons receive little practice sitting in the discomfort of ambiguity and uncertainty.
I propose that this socializes many Mormons toward developing a stronger need for cognitive closure, which predisposes them toward adopting a conspiracy mindset. But the need for closure is only one of several factors associated with conspiracy beliefs. We will examine more of them in future posts.
Footnotes:
1. For example: Ballard, MR. (2004). Pure Testimony. 174th Semiannual General Conference; Hinckley, GB. (2007). The Things of Which I Know. 177th Annual General Conference; Pace, GL. (2007). Do You Know? 177th Annual General Conference; Dibb, AM. (2012). I Know It. I Live It. I Love It. 182nd Semiannual General Conference; Christensen, CC. (October 2014). I Know These Things of Myself. 184th Semiannual General Conference.
2. For example: Wilcox B. (2013). “You Can Say, ‘I Know.’” New Era, 43(2); Berteaux K. (2018, November 7). “Bearing Your Testimony: 5 Powerful Tips.” LDS Living, https://www.ldsliving.com/bearing-your-testimony-5-powerful-tips/s/76198.
3. For example, see Lesson 5, “Testimony,” in the 2000 Relief Society manual, The Latter-day Saint Woman: Basic Manual for Women, Part A; Lesson 26, “A Testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” in the 2000 Priesthood manual, Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood: Basic Manual for Priesthood Holders, Part A; and “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” in the 2023 Seminary instructional document, Doctrinal Mastery Core Document.
4. Uchtdorf, DF. (2013). “Come, Join with Us.” 183rd Semiannual General Conference; Nelson, RM. (2021). “Christ is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains.” 191st Annual General Conference; Fielding, L. (1975). “Camilla Kimball: Lady of Constant Learning.” Ensign, 5(10).
5. Riess, J. (2017, June 8). “Mormon leader says doubt is dangerous, of Satan.” Religion News Service, https://religionnews.com/2017/06/08/mormon-leader-says-doubt-is-dangerous-of-satan/; Riess, J. (2019, January 15). “How Mormons handle doubt: Blame the victim.” Religion News Service, https://religionnews.com/2019/01/15/how-mormons-handle-doubt-blame-the-victim/.
Our top leaders KNOW when revelation has been received. For example, in 2016 President Nelson recalled the revelation in late 2015 to prohibit children in same-sex households from being baptized until they reached age 18: “Each of us during that sacred moment felt a spiritual confirmation. It was our privilege as apostles to sustain what had been revealed to President Monson.”
In my May 17 comment I was being a wise guy. However, as no one has corrected me, I’d better correct myself with the following thought: The late 2015 “revelation” on children in same-sex households was a mistake that was scrapped by the Church in 2019. The “spiritual confirmation” felt by President Nelson might have come from eating too much blueberry pie and ice cream.
OK, Steve. Now I simply *have* to correct you. One can never have too much blueberry pie and ice cream. Though the feelings of pleasure and contentment that accompany a such a particularly delicious treat could, perhaps, be described as a transcendent spiritual experience.