Content Warning: This content may be disturbing and triggering. Viewer discretion strongly advised.

On November 23rd, 1981, in Logan, Utah, 26-year-old Rodney Lundberg placed his 11-month-old son Justin on a table, raised a butcher knife, and waited for God to intervene—just like in the story of Abraham and Isaac that he'd been taught his entire life was the "gold standard of faithfulness." God didn't stop him. Justin bled to death over two hours while family and neighbors prayed instead of calling 911.

This isn't a story about one man's mental breakdown. This is institutional analysis of how an entire religious culture enabled, validated, and ultimately protected a child killer—and then quietly sent him home after just 3.5 years.

In this episode, we dissect the Mormon theological framework that made this tragedy inevitable: the doctrine that priesthood blessings can heal any wound with sufficient faith, the teaching that Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac represents ultimate obedience, the authority structure that makes challenging male spiritual leaders psychologically impossible, and the cultural programming that prioritizes faith over medical intervention. We examine how the insanity plea allowed everyone to avoid examining the beliefs themselves, how mental health treatment within the same religious framework can never provide real accountability, and why the woman who enabled her son's death remained in a temple marriage to his killer for 28 years.

We trace the systemic protection at every level: The Mormon community that validated Rodney's "spiritual experience." The legal system that accepted an insanity plea to avoid putting doctrine on trial. The mental health professionals who shared their patient's worldview and had every incentive to diagnose individual pathology rather than institutional problem. The family pressures that made leaving impossible. The neighbors who were celebrated as faithful servants despite watching a baby die.

This case reveals the blueprint for how high-control religions handle violence committed in their name: diagnose mental illness to avoid examining doctrine, provide treatment within the same cultural framework that enabled the violence, then quietly reintegrate with minimal accountability. No jury. No cross-examination of church leaders. No public reckoning with dangerous theology. Just institutional cover at every turn.

The real question isn't "Why did Rodney do this?" It's "What theological and cultural systems made it possible for everyone around him to enable his actions?" And more urgently: How many children are currently at risk in communities where these same teachings, authority structures, and protective mechanisms remain fully intact?

How does the Mormon Church consume every aspect of members’ lives? Through unpaid labor, constant meetings, financial control, social surveillance, and the threat of eternal consequences. We break down the control mechanisms that keep members obedient—from cleaning chapels for free to sitting before disciplinary councils, from mandatory tithing to information censorship. Plus: why Utah has some of the highest antidepressant and youth suicide rates in the nation.

Whether you're questioning your faith, supporting someone who's left, or just trying to understand how high-control religions operate, this episode explains the mechanics behind Mormon obedience culture.

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Sorry for what we said when we were Mormon.

In this episode of Postmormon Postmortem Foundations, Jess and Hannah break down Mormon gender roles as a system of control rather than a set of benign religious traditions. They examine how women are taught that motherhood is their primary divine purpose, while men are granted exclusive religious authority through the priesthood.

The episode traces how these roles became entrenched, from the loss of early Mormon women’s authority to the modern, male-controlled Relief Society, and how modesty culture, body policing, and surveillance shape girls’ development from a young age. The episode also connects doctrine to lived experience, showing how teachings about eternal gender and polygamy continue to shape marriage, power, and mental health long after official policies changed. This is an education-first analysis for anyone trying to understand how Mormon gender roles function in practice, not just in theory.

Perfect for: Ex-Mormons, former LDS members, religious deconstruction, cult recovery, religious trauma survivors, and anyone questioning high-demand religion.

Hosts: Jess & Hannah | Postmormon Postmortem

Follow us: TIkTok @postmormonpostmortem | postmormonpostmortem.com | buymeacoffee.com/postmormonpostmortem

#exmormon #religioustrauma #cultrecovery #deconstruction #exmo #postmormon

What Do Mormons Actually Believe? | The Truth About Joseph Smith, Golden Plates & Becoming Gods

Ever wonder what Mormons actually believe—and why they can't talk about it? In this first episode of our Foundations series for never-Mormons, we break down the bizarre origins and shocking doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that most people have never heard. Part 1 of our 10-episode Foundations series designed for never-Mormons who want to understand LDS culture, doctrine, and why so many people are leaving. No Mormon jargon, just honest analysis of the beliefs that shaped millions of lives.

From Joseph Smith's magic seer stones in a hat to the church's $100 billion net worth, we expose the foundational beliefs hiding in plain sight: Why does the Book of Mormon contain King James Bible translation errors if it's an ancient text? How did "divine revelation" about polygamy and racism conveniently change when it became legally or socially problematic? And why does the church now deny doctrines that are still printed in their own manuals?

We cover the First Vision, golden plates, three degrees of glory, eternal families, temple worship, mandatory tithing, the priesthood ban on Black members until 1978, and the "one true church" mentality that shapes everything. Whether you're ex-Mormon, exmo-curious, or just trying to understand your Mormon friends and family, this episode gives you the context you need.

Perfect for: Ex-Mormons, former LDS members, religious deconstruction, cult recovery, religious trauma survivors, and anyone questioning high-demand religion.

Hosts: Jess & Hannah | Postmormon Postmortem

Follow us: TIkTok @postmormonpostmortem | postmormonpostmortem.com | buymeacoffee.com/postmormonpostmortem

#exmormon #religioustrauma #cultrecovery #deconstruction #exmo #postmormon

In this Foundations episode of Postmormon Postmortem, Hannah and Jess unpack a culturally revealing aspect of Mormonism: the Word of Wisdom.

Ever wonder why your Mormon coworker powers through Red Bull but won’t touch coffee? Or why basements across Utah are filled with uneaten wheat? This episode is your crash course. Tracing the Word of Wisdom from its origins as 19th-century health advice, explicitly given “not by commandment or constraint,” to its later transformation into a strict worthiness requirement tied to temple access, we unpack the logic (or lack thereof) behind prohibiting decaf coffee while allowing unlimited Diet Coke, discuss Mormon prepper culture and basement food storage, and examine how beverage choices become markers of spiritual worthiness.

You’ll learn about the surveillance culture that monitors compliance, the economic side-effects of Mormon dietary loopholes, and why Utah leads the nation in both antidepressant use and ice cream consumption. Plus: why BYU started selling Diet Coke only after Mitt Romney was photographed drinking it, and how Lisa Barlow sells tequila while her son serves a mission. If you’ve ever been confused by Mormon dietary rules—or if you grew up Mormon and want to understand the deeper implications of the Word of Wisdom—this episode is for you.

in this episode we're diving into something that made everything click into place the first time we heard it—Dr. Gina Colvin's concept of "Ordinary Mormon Trauma." This isn't about dramatic abuse or obvious dysfunction. It's about the everyday, normalized experience of growing up in a culture that teaches you to be "nice but not kind," "obedient but not teachable," and "disciplined but not regulated.

We share personal stories about how Mormon culture prioritizes performance over authenticity, crushes natural curiosity, and creates adults who excel at following rules but struggle to trust their own instincts. If you've ever felt like you had a "good Mormon childhood" but still ended up in therapy trying to figure out why you don’t do better despite knowing better, or cannot set healthy boundaries, this episode is for you. We're giving you language for experiences you've always had but maybe never understood as traumatic—and talking about how healing is absolutely possible.

In this early episode, we're talking about what happens when a master forger with a CTR ring takes on the Mormon Church's biggest weakness: their desperate need to control their own history. Spoiler alert: it involves salamanders, pipe bombs, and prophets getting absolutely schooled by a returned missionary with daddy issues and a chemistry set.

This is the story of Mark Hofmann — a man who fooled prophets, seers, and revelators with nothing but ink, paper, and a lifetime of Sunday School lessons. Because nothing puts the "prophet" in "false prophet" quite like getting scammed by one of your own faithful members.

We're diving into Abducted in Plain Sight—the Netflix documentary.

On the surface, it's a story about a child predator who kidnapped the same girl twice. But underneath? It's a devastating exposé of how religious trust, toxic niceness, and institutional denial create the perfect storm for abuse.

We'll talk about grooming, the Mormon obsession with appearances, and why "He's such a good member of the Church" is the single most dangerous phrase ever uttered.