Poisoning the Well of Truth: How a Church can Hamper Critical Thinking and Fuel Cognitive Dissonance

Poisoning the Well of Truth: How a Church can Hamper Critical Thinking and Fuel Cognitive Dissonance

Imagine your mind as a garden. In one corner, there’s fertile soil—a place where ideas can take root, grow, and be pruned or replanted as needed. This is where curiosity thrives, where new perspectives are nurtured, and where the harvest yields wisdom and understanding. But in another corner, there’s a poisoned well. Its water seems pure, even nourishing, but it taints every idea it touches, stunting growth and fostering dependency. For many grappling with a Mormon faith crisis, the church has served as this poisoned well—professing to be the ultimate source of truth while undermining the very tools needed to seek it.

The Allure of Certainty

The Mormon Church, like many high-control religions, prides itself on having the truth. Its messaging is clear: you don’t need to search far and wide because the ultimate answers are right here. Truth, in this framework, becomes a finished product—a polished diamond handed down from divine authority. This certainty is comforting, especially in a chaotic world. It provides a map, a community, and a sense of purpose.

But certainty comes at a cost. When truth is framed as absolute and non-negotiable, questioning becomes dangerous, even taboo. Suddenly, the natural processes of curiosity and skepticism—the hallmarks of scientific thinking—are recast as threats. To doubt is to sin. To question is to risk losing your place in eternity.

This conflation of belief with loyalty creates a mental environment where critical thinking is not just discouraged but actively suppressed. The poisoned well waters a garden of beliefs that must never be uprooted, no matter how incongruent they are with observed reality.

Cognitive Dissonance: The Strain of Conflicting Realities

Cognitive dissonance often strikes hardest when reality collides with deeply held beliefs. Imagine discovering a flaw in a diamond you were told was perfect. You might ignore it, rationalize it, or convince yourself it’s not a flaw at all. The Mormon Church’s truth claims often leave members in this position.

The church teaches that it holds the sole, divinely sanctioned path to happiness and meaning. Yet, those struggling with its history, doctrines, or leadership behaviors find themselves trapped in an agonizing loop. If the church is true, how can it be wrong about these things? If it’s wrong about these things, how can it be true?

The church’s answer is often to double down on certainty. Doubts are framed as personal failings—evidence of insufficient prayer, study, or faith. This places the burden squarely on the individual, leaving them to wrestle with guilt, shame, and the sinking feeling that something doesn’t add up.

High-Rung Thinking vs. Low-Rung Thinking

The human mind has a remarkable capacity for critical thinking when nurtured. In the book “What’s Our Problem”, Tim Urban categorizes the different types of thinking a person or group employs. At its best, a person resembles the high-rung thinking of a scientist: curious, skeptical, and willing to revise beliefs in the face of new evidence. But under the influence of systems like the Mormon Church, thinking often devolves into lower rungs—those of the sport fan, attorney, or zealot.

• The Sports Fan: You root for your team (the church), not because they’re always right, but because they’re your team. Evidence against the church is often dismissed as “anti-Mormon lies,” while anything supporting it is celebrated as divine confirmation. However, when clear evidence is presented the Sports Fan will acknowledge the truth and learn to incorporate it into their thinking.
• The Attorney: Here, you’re not seeking truth but defending a predetermined conclusion. Doubts are preemptively squashed, and every piece of evidence is spun to uphold the church’s claims. There is never any evidence that can be presented that will be looked at for validating truth, but instead will only be accepted if it aligns with pre-determined conclusions.
• The Zealot: This is the lowest rung, where belief becomes identity. To question is to betray. Here, the well of truth is not just poisoned; it’s off-limits, guarded by fear and social consequences.

When Faith Becomes Zealotry: How the LDS Church Encourages a Zealot Mindset and Why It Can Be Harmful

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) professes to value truth above all else, with leaders frequently encouraging members to seek personal revelation and test the doctrines for themselves. But beneath the surface of these encouraging words lies a framework that subtly—and sometimes overtly—promotes a Zealot mindset. This mindset is not simply about strong belief; it is characterized by an unyielding allegiance to church teachings and an inability to critically evaluate those teachings. For many, this can lead to significant harm, especially during moments of doubt or faith transition. For example, the LDS Church teaches personal revelation as a cornerstone for understanding truth. However, when someone receives personal revelation that does not agree with church teaching, church leadership is quick to point out that this is “not of the Spirit” and should be ignored and not followed, but instead the individual should live in deference to what church leaders have deemed.

Let’s explore how the LDS Church fosters a Zealot mindset and why it can be damaging for those seeking a balanced, thoughtful approach to belief.

1. Absolute Certainty Over Humble Inquiry

Church leaders frequently declare that the LDS Church is "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth" (Doctrine and Covenants 1:30). This emphasis on exclusivity creates a foundation for certainty that leaves little room for questioning or exploration. Members are taught that doubts should be subdued with more prayer, scripture study, and obedience—essentially doubling down on the existing belief system rather than engaging with critical questions. Instead members are often taught to avoid questions all together and instead doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.

This certainty becomes a barrier to intellectual humility, a cornerstone of higher-rung thinking. When members are certain that they already possess the truth, they stop seeking further understanding. Instead of approaching belief like a scientist—where hypotheses are tested and refined—they are encouraged to view it as a sacred, untouchable baby, to be protected at all costs.

Harmful Impact: When doubts inevitably arise, as they often do in the face of conflicting information or personal experiences, members can feel a profound sense of failure. The shame of questioning a “perfect truth” can lead to emotional turmoil, self-doubt, and even a fear of divine punishment.

2. Fear of “The World” and Dissenting Voices

The LDS Church frequently warns members about the dangers of “the world,” a term often used to describe secular influences, intellectual movements, or even other Christian denominations. Leaders caution against engaging with "anti-Mormon material," often equating dissenting perspectives with spiritual attacks.

This creates an environment of intellectual isolation, where only church-approved narratives are deemed trustworthy. Members are subtly conditioned to view external information with suspicion, effectively turning the church into an echo chamber—a hallmark of lower-rung thinking.

Harmful Impact: Intellectual isolation stunts growth and perpetuates ignorance. Members who internalize this fear are less likely to engage with differing perspectives, cutting themselves off from opportunities to refine and strengthen their beliefs or discover new truths.

3. Us vs. Them Mentality

The church instills a strong sense of "us vs. them," framing members as a "peculiar people" chosen by God. Those who leave the church are often viewed with suspicion or pity, their choices framed as moral failings or evidence of spiritual weakness.

This mentality fosters a tribal loyalty that discourages critical thinking. In lower-rung groups like this, members are rewarded for conforming to group norms and punished—sometimes socially, emotionally, or spiritually—for stepping outside them.

Harmful Impact: The fear of social ostracism keeps many members silent about their doubts. For those who do leave, the loss of community can feel like an existential crisis, leaving them isolated and struggling to rebuild their identity outside the group.

4. Equating Obedience with Virtue

One of the church’s primary teachings is that obedience is the first law of heaven. Members are taught to “follow the prophet” without question, as prophets cannot lead the church astray. This emphasis on obedience elevates compliance over critical thinking and personal discernment.

Rather than encouraging members to weigh evidence and come to their own conclusions, this approach treats church leaders’ words as infallible. Over time, members may lose their ability to trust their own reasoning or intuition. Added to these are additional teaching that can vilify personal discernment, such as stating that the “natural man is an enemy of God”. Whenever an idea that leadership can never lead you astray, and that you may have to do things you are uncomfortable with in order to follow God, the situation is ripe for exploitation and abuse.

Harmful Impact: Blind obedience can lead to cognitive dissonance when church teachings conflict with personal values or external evidence. Members caught in this tension often feel forced to choose between their integrity and their faith community.

5. Emotional Manipulation and Testimony Bearing

The LDS Church places great emphasis on personal testimony as a way to know the truth of its teachings. Members are encouraged to bear their testimonies frequently, reinforcing their beliefs through repetition and emotional conviction. Spiritual experiences—often involving strong feelings of peace or joy—are framed as direct confirmation of the church’s truth claims. Beliefs are propped up in an echo chamber by artificially inflating the level of certainty of the group.

While spiritual experiences can be deeply meaningful, relying on them as the sole arbiter of truth discourages critical examination. It also conflates emotional experiences with evidence, which can lead to a fragile faith that collapses when emotional confirmation is absent or when evidence becomes overwhelming.

Harmful Impact: Members who lose the emotional connection they once felt can spiral into a crisis, questioning not only their faith but also their worthiness or ability to discern truth.

Breaking Free: The Scientist's Mindset

Breaking free from this cycle is like stepping out of a fog. It’s terrifying at first—like leaving the safety of a well-worn path for uncharted wilderness. But it’s also exhilarating. High-rung thinking invites you to start with “I don’t know” and let evidence guide you.

This shift often requires unlearning habits ingrained by the church:

1. Permission to Doubt: Recognize that doubt isn’t a weakness but a tool for growth.
2. Seeking Diverse Perspectives: Venture beyond church-approved sources. Read broadly, listen widely, and allow yourself to consider viewpoints that challenge your assumptions.
3. Embracing Uncertainty: Truth-seeking isn’t about arriving at perfect answers but engaging with life’s complexities.

The ability to allow yourself this step is about finally admitting that truth can hold up to scrutiny. If the church is true, it can bear being investigated. The truth can bear honest investigation. The church, if true, has nothing to hide. The truth while potentially sacred, doesn’t need to be protected. The God taught is not weak. You have the right to expect more from this type of God, and a church.

As Megan Phelps-Roper put in “Unfollow: A Journey from Hatred to Hope”: “Doubt was nothing more than an epistemological humility: a deep and practical awareness that outside our sphere of knowledge there existed information and experiences that might show our position to be in error. Doubt causes us to hold a strong position a bit more loosely, such that an acknowledgment of ignorance or error doesn't crush our sense of self or leave us totally unmoored if our position proves untenable. Certainty is the opposite: it hampers inquiry and hinders growth. It teaches us to ignore evidence that contradicts our ideas, and encourages us to defend our position at all costs, even as it reveals itself as indefensible. Certainty sees compromise as weak, hypocritical, evil, suppressing empathy and allowing us to justify inflicting horrible pain on others.”

Reclaiming the Garden of Your Mind

For those in a faith crisis, the poisoned well of Mormonism can feel overwhelming. But the truth-seeker’s journey is about reclaiming your intellectual and emotional agency. It’s about transforming your mental garden into a space where curiosity, humility, and courage can flourish.

As you navigate this process, remember: questioning isn’t betrayal. It’s the most profound act of faith in your own capacity to grow, to learn, and to uncover truths that nourish your soul. The well may have been poisoned, but the garden is yours to tend.