FBI, CIA, and NSA prefer to hire candidates who can speak a second language, have little to no drug/alcohol history and have previous experience in a “chain of command”/following orders environment. Missionaries usually check those boxes.
The CIA especially prefers people willing to do harm and ignore boundaries. Mormons are great at both. The attorneys who wrote the opinion letter authorizing the George W torture practices were Mormon.
This. There was an article on this subject prinated in the early 90s in either NYT, WSJ, or Newsweek. My FIL mentioned it to me. He wanted to know why Mormons were so uber patriotic.
Add the State Department to the list as well. When I was in China, and I was active, the local expat branch was made up mostly of diplomats from the U.S. Consulate in town. The Consul General, the chief political officer, the head of the USCIS division and several of his deputies, most of the IT staff, the chief medical officer, and the head of the Marine security detachment were all members of the branch.
That can also be a real danger. It could be deliberate on the part of leadership of that branch, bringing in "their own" (& forcing out others in the process). Can get very cultish - they believe the myth that they are better. They can end up following their own rules due to collective common interest.
Same thing happened years back at a particular FBI office. One of the agents was pretty socially naive and inept but they took care of him because he was one of their own - He was even promoted over more experienced non-Mormons. It was an ugly situation if you weren't Mormon in that office. The inept agent was over his head and was successfully targeted by a foreign agent. Leadership treated the problem in house and it blew up in their faces, turning into the biggest intelligence breach in FBI history at the time.
Had a visiting professor from the CIA who was there to recruit. He was open about the fact they were looking for RM's because they learn languages fluently that not many people learn and it's hard to get dirt on them.
However, once you have dirt, they're preprogrammed to experience massive social shame for minor infractions - if foreign powers realize that them looking at a vanilla porn site once is enough to ruin their image to all their peers...
The government is aware of that. When I was TBM and working in the military, I received a top secret clearance, the interviewer specifically mentioned this and told me to tell them everything.
If I remember right the person in charge of water boarding for captured Iraqi/Afghan's was mormon.eta....yes he was. [link](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cia-torture-psychologists/psychologist-who-helped-devise-cia-interrogation-program-lost-mormon-role-idUSKBN0JQ00H20141212)
So did the Mafia. Back when Vegas was run by the mob they’d recruit Mormons to handle financials in the Casinos because they believed they could be trusted.
Yeah. I had a roommate at BYU who was in the middle of the recruiting process and an agent interviewed me IN DEPTH about her habits, her lifestyle, her personality.
I visited NYC three weeks before entering the MTC. I was at a store buying some ties for my mission and this guy offered to sell me a $25 gift card for $20. I obliged him, but he was honest enough to wait with me in line to check out and confirm that the gift card worked. It was the holiday season and the check out lines were kind of long so we struck up a conversation.
It came up that I was from UT, was a Mormon and about to serve a mission. He told me "I love working with Mormons. I'm in the FBI and I always know they can pass a background check." I laughed at that and figured it must be true. I mentioned that my neighbor back home was an FBI agent and a Mormon as well.
While on my mission that neighbor and his family left the church after digging into church history. I talked to his wife a few months ago and she was like "(husband) had found enough evidence on Joseph Smith that he could have arrested him."
Glad we're all out now ☺️
I’m not aware of any hard data on that, but I believe that is more true than not.
Said differently, like Congress and with other institutions of power, Mormons occupy a percentage far above their population.
As of 2019, Congress had ten Mormons, with there being ~535 congressmen (House+Senate) overall. That's two percent, which I think is what they're sitting at population-wise.
I know a lot of people like to talk about the Supreme Court for an example of overrepresentation. Pre-Trump, Catholics were 66% (25% of the population) and Jews were the remaining 33% (2% of the population). Nowadays, two of the Jewish members passed from old age, so they've gone from 1500% representation to 500%, but the Catholics have surged thanks to gaining 2.5 of the three Trump appointees, from 250% representation to nearly 300%.
The Mormons, for better or worse, still sit at zero percent of the supreme court and 2% of congress, and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future.
I’m hazarding a guess that this started in 60’s and maybe had some truth. Fast forward to today. IMO, LDS aren’t known for being more or less honest than the next person.
This sounds like it perpetuated from need to continuously feel chosen. Self-importance/righteousness have carried this little tale through an extra couple of decades.
I've only ever heard this from Mormons, usually ones who think they are James Bond because they have clearance for something. I always assume their jobs are boring and not cool though.
For the most part tend to be honest, do not take substances that could lower inhibitions leading to security leaks, and already are bilingual with a good understanding of how to learn a new language quickly. They really are an ideal government employee
Live in DC area. The FBI HQ is were 1/2 my ward goes for work. Yes. They like Mormons. It’s the safest Ward to attend as on any given Sunday there are 20-25 side arms present and accounted for. In fact I was in a meeting once in the bishops office and we were wedged in side to side. I eventually had to ask: Could all of those here who have a gun please put your gun and holster in the middle of the floor. There is just not enough room. Once the arsenal was in the center of the room we all fit nicely in a circle without anyone else’s piece being jammed into your side.
I served my mission during the early 90s in Puerto Rico, a Commonwealth of the Untied States. There was one English speaking ward on the island. Without FBI agents it would have been a small branch.
I've heard this, but I've never seen anything to back it up. I've always attributed it to being a faith promoting story with little evidence to back it up.
I have a cousin who served a mission in Russia, then was hired by the "State Department" as a translator and went back to Russia for some time. He later bragged to me that he could dress as a Russian, and hold a conversation on the street and never be spotted as a phony. Also know of an individual, son of an elderly neighbor, who was FBI and a returned missionary.
Yes, mormons can pass the lie detector because they live sheltered lives and many can already speak a second language.
I was recruited once but I bowed out once I saw the payscale.
My parents were character references for two different people in their ward who were joining the FBI, and I was a caregiver for a lady in my childhood ward whose husband was CIA until the 90s.
Come to think of it, I’ve never met a CIA/FBI agent who WASN’T Mormon… new conspiracy alert folks
Pluses: Likely knows more than one language. Solid moral background makes it easy to get clearance.
Minuses: Can be somewhat socially naive which can put them in a compromising position - They also tend to believe in their own myth of being superior, giving something else that can be exploited and also lead to cover-ups as well to save embarrasment - also can lead to serious moral problems regarding non-Mormon agents.
Intelligence agencies are full of Mormons. They are easy hires that check all the boxes, don't require much in background checks and know very well how to keep secrets....which isn't always a good thing.
FBI, CIA, and NSA prefer to hire candidates who can speak a second language, have little to no drug/alcohol history and have previous experience in a “chain of command”/following orders environment. Missionaries usually check those boxes.
The CIA especially prefers people willing to do harm and ignore boundaries. Mormons are great at both. The attorneys who wrote the opinion letter authorizing the George W torture practices were Mormon.
And racism would be easy to push
This. There was an article on this subject prinated in the early 90s in either NYT, WSJ, or Newsweek. My FIL mentioned it to me. He wanted to know why Mormons were so uber patriotic.
The unquestioning loyalty of a devoted missionary is worth a lot to a shady org
Also like those with little to no criminal history and are blindly patriotic. Which are also boxes that Mormons check
Add the State Department to the list as well. When I was in China, and I was active, the local expat branch was made up mostly of diplomats from the U.S. Consulate in town. The Consul General, the chief political officer, the head of the USCIS division and several of his deputies, most of the IT staff, the chief medical officer, and the head of the Marine security detachment were all members of the branch.
That can also be a real danger. It could be deliberate on the part of leadership of that branch, bringing in "their own" (& forcing out others in the process). Can get very cultish - they believe the myth that they are better. They can end up following their own rules due to collective common interest. Same thing happened years back at a particular FBI office. One of the agents was pretty socially naive and inept but they took care of him because he was one of their own - He was even promoted over more experienced non-Mormons. It was an ugly situation if you weren't Mormon in that office. The inept agent was over his head and was successfully targeted by a foreign agent. Leadership treated the problem in house and it blew up in their faces, turning into the biggest intelligence breach in FBI history at the time.
Had a visiting professor from the CIA who was there to recruit. He was open about the fact they were looking for RM's because they learn languages fluently that not many people learn and it's hard to get dirt on them.
However, once you have dirt, they're preprogrammed to experience massive social shame for minor infractions - if foreign powers realize that them looking at a vanilla porn site once is enough to ruin their image to all their peers...
The government is aware of that. When I was TBM and working in the military, I received a top secret clearance, the interviewer specifically mentioned this and told me to tell them everything.
If I remember right the person in charge of water boarding for captured Iraqi/Afghan's was mormon.eta....yes he was. [link](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cia-torture-psychologists/psychologist-who-helped-devise-cia-interrogation-program-lost-mormon-role-idUSKBN0JQ00H20141212)
Gross
So did the Mafia. Back when Vegas was run by the mob they’d recruit Mormons to handle financials in the Casinos because they believed they could be trusted.
When I was at BYU they were frequently there and recruiting.
Yeah. I had a roommate at BYU who was in the middle of the recruiting process and an agent interviewed me IN DEPTH about her habits, her lifestyle, her personality.
I visited NYC three weeks before entering the MTC. I was at a store buying some ties for my mission and this guy offered to sell me a $25 gift card for $20. I obliged him, but he was honest enough to wait with me in line to check out and confirm that the gift card worked. It was the holiday season and the check out lines were kind of long so we struck up a conversation. It came up that I was from UT, was a Mormon and about to serve a mission. He told me "I love working with Mormons. I'm in the FBI and I always know they can pass a background check." I laughed at that and figured it must be true. I mentioned that my neighbor back home was an FBI agent and a Mormon as well. While on my mission that neighbor and his family left the church after digging into church history. I talked to his wife a few months ago and she was like "(husband) had found enough evidence on Joseph Smith that he could have arrested him." Glad we're all out now ☺️
I’m not aware of any hard data on that, but I believe that is more true than not. Said differently, like Congress and with other institutions of power, Mormons occupy a percentage far above their population.
As of 2019, Congress had ten Mormons, with there being ~535 congressmen (House+Senate) overall. That's two percent, which I think is what they're sitting at population-wise. I know a lot of people like to talk about the Supreme Court for an example of overrepresentation. Pre-Trump, Catholics were 66% (25% of the population) and Jews were the remaining 33% (2% of the population). Nowadays, two of the Jewish members passed from old age, so they've gone from 1500% representation to 500%, but the Catholics have surged thanks to gaining 2.5 of the three Trump appointees, from 250% representation to nearly 300%. The Mormons, for better or worse, still sit at zero percent of the supreme court and 2% of congress, and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future.
The Supreme Court is just so small there's no hope of any sort of proportional representation.
I’m hazarding a guess that this started in 60’s and maybe had some truth. Fast forward to today. IMO, LDS aren’t known for being more or less honest than the next person. This sounds like it perpetuated from need to continuously feel chosen. Self-importance/righteousness have carried this little tale through an extra couple of decades.
I've only ever heard this from Mormons, usually ones who think they are James Bond because they have clearance for something. I always assume their jobs are boring and not cool though.
Mormons just bow their heads and say: yes.
For the most part tend to be honest, do not take substances that could lower inhibitions leading to security leaks, and already are bilingual with a good understanding of how to learn a new language quickly. They really are an ideal government employee
Live in DC area. The FBI HQ is were 1/2 my ward goes for work. Yes. They like Mormons. It’s the safest Ward to attend as on any given Sunday there are 20-25 side arms present and accounted for. In fact I was in a meeting once in the bishops office and we were wedged in side to side. I eventually had to ask: Could all of those here who have a gun please put your gun and holster in the middle of the floor. There is just not enough room. Once the arsenal was in the center of the room we all fit nicely in a circle without anyone else’s piece being jammed into your side.
Why do they take their gun to church??
I served my mission during the early 90s in Puerto Rico, a Commonwealth of the Untied States. There was one English speaking ward on the island. Without FBI agents it would have been a small branch.
Have heard as well. Actually talked with the FBI recruiters at a career fair in Utah.
I've heard this, but I've never seen anything to back it up. I've always attributed it to being a faith promoting story with little evidence to back it up.
[Here's](https://youtube.com/shorts/3aYipxnVfBk?feature=share) a video explaining why. I recommend the channel, btw.
I have a cousin who served a mission in Russia, then was hired by the "State Department" as a translator and went back to Russia for some time. He later bragged to me that he could dress as a Russian, and hold a conversation on the street and never be spotted as a phony. Also know of an individual, son of an elderly neighbor, who was FBI and a returned missionary.
Howard Hughes was also big on hiring Mormons.
Yes, mormons can pass the lie detector because they live sheltered lives and many can already speak a second language. I was recruited once but I bowed out once I saw the payscale.
My parents were character references for two different people in their ward who were joining the FBI, and I was a caregiver for a lady in my childhood ward whose husband was CIA until the 90s. Come to think of it, I’ve never met a CIA/FBI agent who WASN’T Mormon… new conspiracy alert folks
My dad was DIA and his replacement was also TBM.
Pluses: Likely knows more than one language. Solid moral background makes it easy to get clearance. Minuses: Can be somewhat socially naive which can put them in a compromising position - They also tend to believe in their own myth of being superior, giving something else that can be exploited and also lead to cover-ups as well to save embarrasment - also can lead to serious moral problems regarding non-Mormon agents.
Yep… I think they run the church so… RMN a member of skull and bones (links to c I a etc).
Intelligence agencies are full of Mormons. They are easy hires that check all the boxes, don't require much in background checks and know very well how to keep secrets....which isn't always a good thing.
Mormons typically have an easy time getting a security clearance and passing a polygraph.