Conspiracy: Why Did the Mormon Church Ban the Term "Mormon"? (Hint: Math)

https://discord.gg/EGFRjwwS92

Join Malcolm and Simone Collins as they unravel a fascinating conspiracy theory about the Mormon church's influence on social media. This eye-opening discussion explores why Mormon influencers are disproportionately popular online and reveals the surprising connection to the LDS church's rebranding efforts.

Key points covered:

* The LDS church's wealth and marketing budget

* Unusually high CPM rates for Mormon-related content

* The 2001 and 2018 name change initiatives

* How the algorithm boosts Mormon content

* The challenges facing Mormonism in the internet age

* Potential strategies for the LDS church moving forward

Whether you're interested in religion, social media, or marketing strategies, this video offers a unique perspective on the intersection of faith and technology in the modern world.

Malcolm Collins: [00:00:00] Elisa Grenfell. And for her part of the conspiracy theory, what she was investigating was The question of why are there so many Mormon influences, Elisa Grenfell. It's not a conspiracy theory, basically, it is 100 percent proven from my perspective

there was a fact that she found.

That she thought was just an odd curiosity. Ooh, so silly. So silly that this is the case. I don't think this is an odd curiosity at all. I think that this explains everything. So I asked an AI algorithm, when did Mormon influencers start to rise in popularity disproportionately? And perplexity said it was in 2001.

Remember I said that was when they first started discouraging the term Mormon. And then recently there's been a rebranding to further discourage the use of the term Mormon among church members.

Would you like to know more?

Malcolm Collins: Hello. I am so excited to be here with you today. Simone. This episode is going to be one of the Malcolm goes into a conspiracy [00:01:00] theory.

Although I don't think that this one is a conspiracy theory. I think it's actually proven in the data at this point. And it's very interesting. Now I should note one, this is not going to be like an anti Mormon episode of that's what you're here for. Anti Mormon content.

Simone Collins: Yeah, sorry. We're Mormon stands.

So

Malcolm Collins: even our theological beliefs, I've been told by Mormons, they align enough with Mormon theological beliefs that. Some Mormons would consider us more like inactive members or members not in good standing with the church. But theologically they're pretty similar. So yeah.

Simone Collins: Someday we'll get our temple recommends cards.

It's okay, Malcolm. The day will come, maybe. I know,

Malcolm Collins: right?

Simone Collins: The day will come. The day will come. I guess we're not going to tithe, so probably not.

Malcolm Collins: I would never do that. I just don't believe in the central church concept. Yeah, we're very against that. Yeah. Yeah. But that aside, , that aside I believe I have [00:02:00] discovered the solution to a question I was wondering a long time, and I'll set up the question.

Okay. Yes. Throughout the nineties so just a little background on the term, Mormon. Mormon was originally used as a term, not necessarily derogatory, but just by people outside of the Mormon church to refer to people at the Mormon church because. It comes from the book of Moroni, right? That's where you get the word Mormon, right?

Like it's not like an insulting term or anything like that. Mormons reappropriated the word throughout like the 80s and the 90s and it became a mainstream word within the church for members of the church. It started to become unfavorable for church members and there was a, hold on I'll pull up the exact wording here.

In starting around 2001, the church encouraged the full use of its name and discouraged the use of Mormon church although Mormon was still widely accepted among church members. So you've got to keep in mind these [00:03:00] dates here, because they're going to turn out to be important. So the first move against the term Mormon was a lighter push that came in 2001.

But then, there was a much heavier push in August of 2018. In which and by the way, what the thesis of this video is going to be on is Why did these pushes happen? Because I'll explain why they don't make a logical sense from the perspective that they're being laid out by the church. , as of August, 2018 I'll just read basically what AI says about this and what it said the church's explanation was.

Okay. The church, of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints , has had a longstanding, so since 2001, preference for using its full name rather than nicknames like Mormon or LDS Church. But this policy was strongly emphasized and formalized in August 2018. Here's a summary of the key points.

Divine Directive, President Nelson stated, that this change was revealed to [00:04:00] him by God, emphasizing, quote, the importance of the name he has revealed for his church, end quote. New guidelines, the church has issued a style guide that discourages the use of, quote unquote, Mormon church, LDS church, and Mormonism.

It encourages using the full name, quote, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, or shortened versions like quote unquote, the church or quote the church of Jesus Christ in quote. So first of all, you've got to understand how insane this request is just from an outsider's perspective.

Okay. He wants you to not use it. So this new proclamation doesn't just ban the use of Mormon. It bans the use or discourages the use of LDS. And so he's okay, You either have to use the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, which who's going to do that except for devout Mormons, right?

Or, [00:05:00] shortened versions The Church, or The Church of Jesus Christ. And it's If I'm talking to a group of Christians and I'm like, I'm a member of the church or the church of Jesus Christ, they're not going to know or assume I'm talking about Mormonism.

Simone Collins: That's

Malcolm Collins: an insane version of a short version of the name, right?

It seems like a silly change in policy from an outsider's perspective. So let's go over their explanation for this change of policy before I get too much. I think the true explanation is for this change in policy. One. Emphasizing Christian identity. The church leadership wants to highlight that they are a Christian denomination centered on Jesus Christ.

Using Mormon was seen as obscuring this core identity. But they're not even using LDS. They're not using a shortened version that would immediately catch on within popular parlance. So it's clearly not going to re center Jesus in the mind of [00:06:00] the general public. So I don't buy this explanation, right?

Okay,

Simone Collins: yeah.

Malcolm Collins: Divine revelation. In August 2018, Russell M. Nelson, the president of the church, announced that God had instructed him to emphasize the full name of the church and discontinue the nicknames like Mormon. Maybe but I'm going to present strong evidence that he, there okay, people need to understand how Mormons think and relate to God.

When a Mormon had I brought a Mormon, like a business decision or something like that, or if I brought the head of the church, like a decision, like a marketing decision he would then always, especially if it was a big one, like the name of the church pray to God to see what God had to say about it.

That is just the way Mormons relate to God. They always ask God for answers to their questions. So I'm not denying that. The head of the church went and prayed to God and then felt comfortable w