Jan. 2022: When the Church of Russell M. Nelson of Latter-day Saints became more emboldened in its worship: Four examples in one month alone.

January continues to be a month in which church members are celebrating the transcendence that is Russell M Nelson. Here are a few examples:

Following Pres. Nelson = increased discernment

In a Europe-area devotional earlier this month, Wendy Nelson asked,

"What would happen in only 30 days if you chose to follow the prophets with exactness?"

She then went on to say,

"Your love for your Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will grow, as will your desire to keep your covenants with them. Your ability to discern between what is true and what is not will increase." [1] 

Which is just the opposite of what Joseph Smith said:

"President Joseph Smith read the 14th chapter of Ezekiel [see, for example, verses 9-10: 'If the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing...the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him.']...said the Lord had declared by the Prophet [Ezekiel], that the people should each one stand for himself, and depend on no man or men in that state of corruption of the Jewish church -- that righteous persons could only deliver their own souls -- applied it to the present state [1842] of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- said if the people departed from the Lord, they must fall -- that they were depending on the Prophet, hence were darkened in their minds, in consequence of neglecting the duties devolving upon themselves..."  [2]

Whenever Elder Bednar hears President Nelson speak, he hears Jesus Christ.

During a Stake Youth Fireside at Fort Mill South Carolina Stake in 2022, newly called mission President Thaddeus Brown spoke about his family's meeting with Elder David Bednar, who set him and his wife apart for the calling. 

During that encounter, President Brown's 9 year-old son asked Bednar if he had ever seen Jesus. Elder Bednar responded by saying whenever he hears President Nelson speak, he hears the voice of the Savior.

"Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!" [3] 

Sister Rasband feels the power of God emanating from Pres. Nelson's finger.

At a January 9, 2022 Young Adult English Area Devotional, Melanie Rasband recounted an incident in which she was late to a church meeting where she was required to sit behind the podium. But as she was looking for a seat near the back, she caught the eye of President Nelson, who was seated on the stand.

"He smiled. I smiled back, despite my embarrassment for being late," Sister Rasband said. Then President Nelson held her gaze as he motioned with his finger for her to come take a seat on the front row. Not wanting to draw attention to her late arrival, Sister Rasband indicated that maybe instead she could stay and sit near the back. But President Nelson continued to smile and again beckoned, with his index finger, for her to come and take the front-row seat that had been reserved with her name on it.

"There was power in that pointing finger," Sister Rasband said.

"Come follow me," the mortal said.

The New Testament is filled with the Savior's invitations to follow him. Here are a few:

• "And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." [4] 
• "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." [5] 
• "come, take up the cross, and follow me." [6] 
• "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" [7] 
• "If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour." [8] 

Nowhere, in any of the scriptures, are we invited to follow a mortal. In fact, we are told quite the opposite: that those who follow mortals are destined for Telestial, not celestial, glory:

"And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars is one; for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so differs one from another in glory in the telestial world;

For these are they who are of Paul, and of Apollos, and of Cephas.

These are they who say they are some of one and some of another-some of Christ and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch;

But received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant." [9] 

Yet, as often happens these days, there is an exception. Although it has not been canonized in the scriptures (yet), you will be blessed if you follow one and only one mortal: Russell Marion Nelson. Here is his wife again, from the same teleconference, telling us how we can follow President Nelson (Note that never once in her talk does she mention following the Savior. Not. Once.):

"And now how will your life be blessed as you choose to follow President Russell M. Nelson, THE prophet of god on the earth today, who for four years has led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under the direction of Jesus Christ himself. I'm grateful that my husband is the kind of man who many years before he was called to be an apostle said quote, 'I never ask myself when does the prophet speak as a prophet and when does he not. My interest has been how can I be more like him?' As his wife, may I offer you several examples of President Nelson's life that you may want to emulate."

Idol Worshippers. All of them.

As I wondered in my last post, why is it that the Church isn't mentioning God, his gifts, powers and promises, in any of their mentions regarding Covid? Now you know: We have "a prophet" (which, parenthetically, has not prophesied one thing that I'm aware of). A prophet whose words outrank those of Joseph Smith's. When he points, it's with power. When he speaks, it's as if you are hearing Jesus Christ. And as long as he lives, you should follow him, not God.

It's clear to me that President Nelson wants to be positioned to a status that's on-par with Jesus Christ. Otherwise, he would be condemning such exalted descriptions and examples of him. 

Here's what the Lord said about such people:

"For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." [10]  

And what about those who follow -- and encourage others to follow -- such man-made gods? Here's the Lord again:

"They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall." [11] 

And Nephi:

"Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost." [12] 

And Pres. Kimball:

"Whatever thing a man sets his heart and his trust in most is his god; and if his god doesn't also happen to be the true and living God of Israel, that man is laboring in idolatry." [13] 

Forget Nelson. Get to know the real Jesus Christ.

A friend recently asked me how I thought one could better know Jesus Christ (beyond prayer, scripture study and serving others).

I said that was a good question, because you first need to know what you're listening for in your prayers and dialogues with God, and if you don't, you're likely to miss what they're saying.

Author John Eldredge said,

"For to come to know Jesus intimately, as he is, as he wants to be known, is to release a redemptive landslide in your life. There will be no stopping the goodness. The first purpose of your existence will be resolved, and from there you are set to fulfill all of God's other purposes for you.

Consider this one piece of evidence: millions of people who have spent years attending church, and yet they don't know God. Their heads are filled with stuffing about Jesus, but they do not experience him.

The records of Christ are written so you can experience him as they [his disciples] did, this intimate connection with the Father and the Son. John says that you can enjoy the same friendship with Jesus that he knew. For this Jesus came.

So, if you do not know Jesus as a person, know his remarkable personality-playful, cunning, fierce, impatient with all that is religious, kind, creative, irreverent, funny-you have been cheated.

If you do not experience Jesus intimately, daily, in these very ways, if you do not know the comfort of his actual presence, do not hear his voice speaking to you personally-you have been robbed.

If you do not know the power of his indwelling life in you, shaping your personality, healing your brokenness, enabling you to live as he did-you have been plundered.

This is why we pray,

Jesus, show me who you really are. I pray for the true you. I want the real you. I ask you for you. Spirit of God, free me in every way to know Jesus as he really is. Open my eyes to see him. Deliver me from everything false about Jesus and bring me what is true."

The author of that quote -- John Eldredge -- wrote a beautiful book which is (in my opinion) the best book ever written about Jesus. Called "Beautiful Outlaw," its contents provide the best description of Jesus I've ever found. Go here to order it and see what others have said about the book (you can also watch the YouTubes of the book, found here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmUK0-mwMsk)

The second thing you can do is to watch The Chosen. It's a powerful portrayal of Jesus and his original associates. The actor who plays Jesus, Jonathan Roumie, nails it. Here's the climax of Season 1, Episode 1:

Between those two resources, you should be off to a solid start in getting to know and develop a vibrant, thriving relationship with Jesus.

Because it's time to stop playing with the big kids who think they're cool, and start dialoguing with a God instead.

Sources

 1.   https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-nelson-europe-devotional-january-2022; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKzTucXZLk8&t=44s
 2.   Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith p. 237-38.
 3.   Ezekiel 13:3
 4.   Matthew 4:19
 5.   Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23
 6.   Mark 10:21
 7.   John 10:27
 8.   John 12:26
 9.   D&C 76:98-101
10.   Luke 14:11; D&C 101:42
11.   D&C 1:16; italics added
12.   2 Nephi 28:31-32; italics added
13.   "The False Gods We Worship", June 1976 Ensign, https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1976/06/the-false-gods-we-worship

VIDEO PROOF – Apostle: “Following the prophet” now "supersedes" all other primary Christian doctrines

Let’s cut right to the chase: As of October 2, 2021, the LDS Church officially ceased being a Christian denomination. 

And all those non-LDS Christian churches who for years have accused the church of not being Christian? Turns out they were right all along. 

First, let’s take a trip back to November, then October, 2021, to better understand what we will now call…

The Rasband Declaration

On Tuesday, Nov. 16, Elder Ronald Rasband presided over a live Facebook broadcast spanning 32 countries across the Africa Central and Africa South areas. During the broadcast, Rasband and others fielded questions posed by members from those areas.

The event was part of a busy 11-day visit to Africa by Elder Rasband, who was recently assigned as the supervising apostle for the Africa Central and Africa South areas.

In his remarks, Elder Rasband said:

“In fact, if any of our audience (and I hope they did) listen to my conference talk just last October Conference, I gave things of my soul points one through seven, do you remember? OK, and my point seven was, follow God’s living prophet. 

And as I have met with youth and young single adults all over the world, if they cause me to narrow down to one thing of my soul that they would like me to comment, my one thing, kind of first and foremost in my mind, is follow God’s living prophet."

This mirrors what Elder Rasband said in his aforementioned October 2021 General Conference address, “The Things of My Soul":

“What are the most important things I should know?”

I answered with the things of my soul, the things that prepare me to hear promptings, that lift my sights beyond the ways of the world, that give purpose to my work in the gospel and to my very life.

May I share with you some of the things of my soul? These things apply to all who seek to be true disciples of Jesus Christ. Ten would be a good, round number. Today I am giving you seven with the hope that you will complete eight, nine, and ten from your own experiences.

First, love God the Father and Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Jesus decreed the first great commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”

President Nelson declared his devotion to God, our Eternal Father, and to His Son, Jesus Christ, when he was called to lead the Lord’s Church, saying, “I know Them, love Them, and pledge to serve Them—and you—with every remaining breath of my life.”

So first, love the Father and the Son.

Second, “Love thy neighbour.”

That is not just a good idea; it’s the second great commandment. Your neighbors are your spouse and family, ward members, work colleagues, roommates, those not of our faith, those needing a helping hand, and, frankly, everyone. The essence of “love thy neighbour” is voiced in the hymn “Love One Another.”

President Nelson reminds us, “When we love God with all our hearts, He turns our hearts to the well-being of others.”

Third, love yourself.

This is where many struggle. Isn’t it curious that loving ourselves seems to come less easily than loving others? Yet the Lord has said, “Love thy neighbour as thyself.” He values the divinity within us, and so must we. When we are heavy laden with mistakes, heartaches, feelings of inadequacy, disappointment, anger, or sin, the power of the Savior’s Atonement is, by divine design, one of the things that lifts the soul.

Fourth, keep the commandments.

The Lord has made it clear: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Strive each day to be and do a little better and to press forward in righteousness.

Fifth, always be worthy to attend the temple.

I call it being recommended to the Lord. Whether you have access to a temple or not, being worthy of a current temple recommend keeps you firmly focused on the things that matter, the covenant path.

Sixth, be joyful and cheerful.

“Be of good cheer, and do not fear,” the Lord has said. Why? How, when challenges face us at every turn? Because of the promise made by Jesus Christ: “I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you.”

President Nelson describes the restored gospel as “a message of joy!” And he explains, “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”

Seventh, follow God’s living prophet.

This may be seventh on my list of things, but it is at the top of my mind in terms of its importance today.

We have a prophet of God on the earth today! Never discount what that means for you. Remember the young woman I mentioned at the beginning. She wanted to know what things matter most. “Follow the living prophet,” I said then and I emphasize again today.

We are distinguished as a Church to be led by prophets, seers, and revelators called of God for this time. I promise that as you listen and follow their counsel, you will never be led astray. Never!”

Just so we’re straight on what’s most important to a prophet, seer and revelator – an apostle – of Jesus Christ, who has emphasized again and again to the world:

And to add further weight to this new doctrinal shift, neither Pres. Nelson, nor anyone in the First Presidency nor Quorum of the 12, have refuted Elder Rasband's claims. Nor have they demanded a public retraction of his comments. In Dutch, the phrase is Zwijgen is instemmen -- "Silence implies consent."

What kind of Christian church demotes loving the Father and the Son below glorifying a mortal?

What kind of Christian church demotes loving your neighbor and yourself below glorifying a mortal?

What kind of Christian church demotes keeping the commandments, joy and cheer below glorifying a mortal?

How can the church legitimately call itself Christian (which should worship Christ above all else)? The church is instead teaching its members to trust in the arm of flesh, to glorify Pres. Nelson, above all others, including and especially God. 

“Apostasy happened in part because
philosophies of men were given more
value than the teachings of Christ.”
(Elder Quentin L. Cook, Oct 2016 General Conference)

Is the Church a cult? Let's look at it objectively.

It's a fascinating question: 

"What are the characteristics one would expect to find in a cult?"

Why do we think "cult" is a bad word? The base definition is "a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object. " In my opinion, the word isn't necessarily bad; rather, it's the attributes of the group (which are often irrational) which make it good or bad, safe or dangerous.

Once those characteristics and/or attributes are identified, the next question to ask might be, "Is the LDS Church a cult?"

For many decades, many have said that it is. 

But in my opinion, much like beauty, cult status may be in the eye of the beholder. After all, no church wants to be categorized as a cult. I mean, that puts them right up there with NXIVM, Heaven's Gate, Branch Davidians, Jonestown, Scientology and more, right?

Regardless, if you're in a cult, the perception is that not only are you whacked, but you're also helping to perpetuate the influence and power of the cult's chief whack-a-doodles as well. That's why there needs to be authoritative, objective criteria to determine if an organization is an actual cult.

Let's see what's out there, what works and what doesn't.

The BITE Model

What are the specific methods cults use to recruit and maintain control over people?

Steven Hassan's BITE Model may provide some answers.

Hassan's bio can be found here. I'll admit: With a resume including a PhD, M.Ed. and LMHC, who am I to argue with his credentials? Still there are others, like cults expert Rick Alan Ross, who dispute details of Hassan's resume.

And even beyond Hassan, one difficulty with the BITE Model is that it is supposedly only accepted by a fraction of all psychologists/sociologists of religion. But (1) even though the BITE Model may not be the academic gold standard, it does resonate with a lot of people and (2) BITE is based on research and theory by experts who studied brainwashing in China. So, while "BITE" may not have the credentials, the info it's based on certainly does. A quick Google search will bring up the info needed.

Which leads us to Hassan's book, "Combating Cult Mind Control." It provides a framework for assessing how cult-like an organization is (or isn't).  In it, he describes his BITE Model, which categorizes cult-like behavior into four domains:

Behavior Control,
Information Control,
Thought Control, and
Emotional Manipulation and Control.

Here's a video which explains BITE Model basics:

Now let's put this evaluation to practice. Below are the four components of the BITE model. Each point has a checkbox. Feel free to check any boxes you are absolutely positive are applicable to the LDS Church. 

Behavior Control

[ ] Regulate individual's physical reality
[ ] Dictate where, how, and with whom the member lives and associates or isolates
[ ] When, how and with whom the member has sex
[ ] Control types of clothing and hairstyles
[ ] Regulate diet - food and drink, hunger and/or fasting
[ ] Manipulation and deprivation of sleep
[ ] Financial exploitation, manipulation or dependence
[ ] Restrict leisure, entertainment, vacation time
[ ] Major time spent with group indoctrination and rituals and/or self indoctrination including the Internet
[ ] Permission required for major decisions
[ ] Rewards and punishments used to modify behaviors, both positive and negative
[ ] Discourage individualism, encourage group-think
[ ] Impose rigid rules and regulations
[ ] Punish disobedience by beating, torture, burning, cutting, rape, or tattooing/branding
[ ] Threaten harm to family and friends
[ ] Force individual to rape or be raped
[ ] Encourage and engage in corporal punishment
[ ] Instill dependency and obedience
[ ] Kidnapping
[ ] Beating
[ ] Torture
[ ] Rape
[ ] Separation of Families
[ ] Imprisonment
[ ] Murder

____ / 25

Information Control

[ ] Deception:

• Deliberately withhold information
• Distort information to make it more acceptable
• Systematically lie to the cult member

[ ] Minimize or discourage access to non-cult sources of information, including:

• Internet, TV, radio, books, articles, newspapers, magazines, media
• Critical information
• Former members
• Keep members busy so they don't have time to think and investigate
• Control through cell phone with texting, calls, internet tracking

[ ] Compartmentalize information into Outsider vs. Insider doctrines

• Ensure that information is not freely accessible
• Control information at different levels and missions within group
• Allow only leadership to decide who needs to know what and when

[ ] Encourage spying on other members

• Impose a buddy system to monitor and control member
• Report deviant thoughts, feelings and actions to leadership
• Ensure that individual behavior is monitored by group

[ ] Extensive use of cult-generated information and propaganda, including:

• Newsletters, magazines, journals, audiotapes, videotapes, YouTube, movies and other media
• Misquoting statements or using them out of context from non-cult sources

[ ] Unethical use of confession

• Information about sins used to disrupt and/or dissolve identity boundaries
• Withholding forgiveness or absolution
• Manipulation of memory, possible false memories

_____ / 6

Thought Control

[ ] Require members to internalize the group's doctrine as truth

• Adopting the group's 'map of reality' as reality
• Instill black and white thinking
• Decide between good vs. evil
• Organize people into us vs. them (insiders vs. outsiders)

[ ] Change person's name and identity
[ ] Use of loaded language and clichés which constrict knowledge, stop critical thoughts and reduce complexities into platitudinous buzz words
[ ] Encourage only 'good and proper' thoughts
[ ] Hypnotic techniques are used to alter mental states, undermine critical thinking and even to age regress the member
[ ] Memories are manipulated and false memories are created
[ ] Teaching thought-stopping techniques which shut down reality testing by stopping negative thoughts and allowing only positive thoughts, including:

• Denial, rationalization, justification, wishful thinking
• Chanting
• Meditating
• Praying
• Speaking in tongues
• Singing or humming

[ ] Rejection of rational analysis, critical thinking, constructive criticism
[ ] Forbid critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy allowed
[ ] Labeling alternative belief systems as illegitimate, evil, or not useful
[ ] Instill new "map of reality"

_____ / 11

Emotional Control

[ ] Manipulate and narrow the range of feelings - some emotions and/or needs are deemed as evil, wrong or selfish
[ ] Teach emotion-stopping techniques to block feelings of homesickness, anger, doubt
[ ] Make the person feel that problems are always their own fault, never the leader's or the group's fault
[ ] Promote feelings of guilt or unworthiness, such as:

• Identity guilt
• You are not living up to your potential
• Your family is deficient
• Your past is suspect
• Your affiliations are unwise
• Your thoughts, feelings, actions are irrelevant or selfish
• Social guilt
• Historical guilt

[ ] Instill fear, such as fear of:

• Thinking independently
• The outside world
• Enemies
• Losing one's salvation
• Leaving or being shunned by the group
• Other's disapproval
• Historical guilt

[ ] Extremes of emotional highs and lows - love bombing and praise one moment and then declaring you are horrible sinner
[ ] Ritualistic and sometimes public confession of sins
[ ] Phobia indoctrination: inculcating irrational fears about leaving the group or questioning the leader's authority

• No happiness or fulfillment possible outside of the group
• Terrible consequences if you leave: hell, demon possession, incurable diseases, accidents, suicide, insanity, 10,000 reincarnations, etc.
• Shunning of those who leave; fear of being rejected by friends and family
• Never a legitimate reason to leave; those who leave are weak, undisciplined, unspiritual, worldly, brainwashed by family or counselor, or seduced by money, sex, or rock and roll
• Threats of harm to ex-member and family

_____ / 8

TOTAL: _____ / 50

Interestingly, there may be times in a member's life when a particular point is relevant, and other times when it's not. For example, if you're serving a mission or attending a church-owned school, then yes, the church will "Dictate where, how, and with whom the member lives and associates or isolates" and "Control types of clothing and hairstyles." But those points may not be applicable to all members. Some members may find "Control types of clothing and hairstyles" applicable because they wear garments, whereas others don't.

And sometimes, there can be variation within a church. Could a BYU-I student ward be a tighter fit to the BITE model than a Southern California ward? Would a Sandy, UT ward be a better BITE fit than a ward in France? How about any of those wards compared with a mission?

Here is one person's analysis of how the BITE Model interrelates with the church.

Cult Research & Information Center / The Lalich Model

If Dr. Hassan's resume isn't solid enough for you, you might want to check out Dr. Janja Lalich, Professor Emerita of Sociology at California State University, Chico. As the head of the Cult Research & Information Center. Dr. Lalich is a world-renowned expert in cultic studies, and has the credentials to prove it. You can read more about her here: http://cultresearch.org/about

Dr. Lalich also has a model of sorts, found here. Here is what she says about it:

"Concerted efforts at influence and control lie at the core of cultic groups, programs, and relationships. Many members, former members, and supporters of cults are not fully aware of the extent to which members may be manipulated, exploited, or even abused. The following list of social-structural, social-psychological, and interpersonal behavioral patterns commonly found in cultic environments may help you assess a particular group or relationship. 

Compare these patterns to the situation you were in (or in which you, a family member, or friend is currently involved). This list may help you determine if there is a cause for concern. Bear in mind that this list is not meant to be a "cult scale," or a definitive checklist to determine if a specific group is a cult; this is not so much a diagnostic instrument as it is an analytical tool:

[ ] The group displays an excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader, and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.

[ ] Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.

[ ] Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, or debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).

[ ] The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (e.g., members must get permission to date, change jobs, or marry-or leaders prescribe what to wear, where to live, whether to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).

[ ] The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s), and its members (e.g., the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar-or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).

[ ] The group has a polarized, us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.

[ ] The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders, or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).

[ ] The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (e.g., lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).

[ ] The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and control members. Often this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.

[ ] Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.

[ ] The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.

[ ] The group is preoccupied with making money.

[ ] Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.

[ ] Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.

[ ] The most loyal members (the "true believers") feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave-or even consider leaving-the group."

_____ / 15

Objective or Subjective?

In a way, the various cult models could be considered subjective in that somebody had to pick which things did and didn't belong on their list. It's sort of like how depression is diagnosed: People made a list of symptoms - symptoms they saw over and over again. They saw them so often, everybody pretty much agreed on their importance, and the list of symptoms was subsequently included in the DSM. Those who exhibited the symptoms found in the DSM were considered depressed.

Is such criteria arbitrary? One may believe so, but when you see the same characteristics/attributes over and over again in these various models, it must mean something. In this way, the subjective becomes objective.

The c word is offensive to many because it describes an organization that exercises undue/irrational influence on its members. It should be offensive. 

I'm not sure how your scoring of these various models went, but in my case, it's perfectly appropriate to use in evaluating today's LDS Church. 

After all, if it quacks like a cult and walks like a cult…

AN INVITATION I invite you to score the LDS Church in relation to the BITE Model (individual component and total scores) and the Lalich Model. Feel free to leave your scores in the comments below, as well as any comments you have as you scored the sections.