How the Mormon Church Programs Its Youth: Control, Shame, and Surveillance Disguised as Faith
he youth programs of the LDS Church—Mutual nights, Road Shows, worthiness interviews, spiritual checklists—were never neutral. They were never simply about fun or faith.
They were a system. A system built to produce conformity, suppress individuality, and reward obedience through staged social rituals disguised as religious devotion.
From the moment a child entered Primary to the moment they were expected to enter the temple or the mission field, they were subject to a rotating cycle of spiritual grooming, community surveillance, and identity control.
"God's Busywork: How the LDS Church Turns Devotion Into Free Labor and Full-Time Surveillance"
This article critically evaluates the practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), focusing on its system of "callings" and structured obligations as mechanisms of behavioral regulation, social surveillance, and organizational control. Using sociological and psychological frameworks, the analysis situates these practices within the broader context of high-demand religious groups.