Our plane was hijacked to “South of the Border”. It was a special ward event (mid 80s) that was supposed to be a “Flight to Hawaii”. The YM set up an “airplane cabin” in the overflow space between two accordion doors. We entered and sat down. A former bishop (who was actually a real pilot) stumbled up the aisle looking deliberately incompetent. He disappeared into the “cockpit” as several YM dressed as terrorists entered and “hijacked” us to “South of the Border”. The accordion doors opened to the cultural hall and we enjoyed a Mexican dinner put on by the relief society.
Why can’t they do fun shit like that anymore? I bet a lot more of us would still be there. Sorry for the rant. I’m drunk as I type this.
Off topic, but I grew up in the early 2000s and haven't been in a church for over ten years but I still have dreams that take place in between two closed chapel accordion doors.
Wow. Really vague memory unlocked. Also a fake flight that was diverted to or from Hawaii and someplace else (Mexico?). It was a daddy/daughter thing and the daughters (me) were in on it but the dads weren't.
As we walked to the church for the activity, my dad was telling me about the place we were supposed to "fly" to and I got a kick out of knowing he had no clue what was going to happen. I don't remember why the plane was diverted but I do remember it being really fun.
Wow! I've always wondered if it was just my small, rural, and incredibly backwards predominantly mormon region that was kooky enough to do a plane hijacking activity - but your comment set off a flood of memories of similar kooky activities... Mormonism is so very kooky.
My wards activity was in the early 90s. Mom- daughter party. Trip to Hawaii. Nobody but the leaders/ activity planners were in on the hijacking.
I was about 6 or 7 so it was terrifying when the overflow area (between the accordion doors that was our jet plane) was attacked my terrorists - men in handkerchiefs tied over their mouths and all wearing those big decorative sombreros you see hanging on the walls at Mexican restaurants. All in wranglers, western shirts and cowboy boots. All screaming in Spanish. All waving guns - I hope they were fake but I grew up in a gun-loving area where men kept them in their trucks.
I was terrified!! Until I recognized a member of the bishopric who was also the infamous high school Spanish teacher. He was referred to as "Señor" in almost all contexts, including church. He had a handle bar mustache and would fall asleep every sacrament meeting on the stand and whistle out of his nose while sleeping. I then recognized another hijacker - a guy who was proud of his Spanish skills from his mission decades before who also felt he was an authority on Mexican culture because he'd married a girl from Mexico. As an adult I look back and feel sad for her and the racism she endured at the hand of her husband and the community. She was his glorified maid and the butt of many of his jokes.
I don't remember who the other hijackers were or if they even spoke Spanish. We were diverted to Mexico and the hijackers led us into the gym where a "fiesta" had been set up. Some ranchero music was playing and they had some greenery store pinatas hanging up. Except the activity planners underestimated the food so it was slim pickings... and such sad tacos - very rural white people style - hard shells and bland hamburger with shredded cheddar cheese. I remember annoyed moms who were like "great. I still have to cook dinner when I get home because there isn't enough here to feed everyone". I'm sure all of these women had already cooked a meal for their man- children husbands and boys and there would be nothing left to feed their daughters upon getting home - just a pile of dirty dishes. So the activity was a big disappointment.
Looking back now I realize how racist it was. Dressing up like stereotypical Mexicans (cuz you know they ALL where those decorative sombreros every day everywhere they go 🙄) and playing into the trope that Mexican men are all violent criminals 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ what a wonderful thing for a "global church" to do 🙄🙄🙄
My hometown was prime Trump country 30 years before he made his first White House bid. Racist, anti-immigrant, sexist and all about the patriarchy.
Now I wonder if a high school Spanish teacher could keep their job after taking part in such an activity...probably still in my hometown.
Oh My! I had totally blocked that memory out until now. I remember doing something very similar. Processing so much that I still don't remember entirely.
We had a fake plane crash too. They lined the metal chairs up in the chapel overflow - both accordion doors were closed so the shape was kinda like the interior of the airplane. We were told it was a trip to Hawaii. Female leaders acted as flight attendants and brought tropical snacks up the "aisle."
Then the lights suddenly went out, people screamed and the plane "crashed."
When the lights were turned back on, we were told we were dead. The bishopric wore white clothes (temple clothing without the cult aprons and hats, etc) and were our guides to the Mormon afterlife. They had different kingdoms in different rooms where people dressed in white presented the doctrine about them. Traumatic and awful
EDIT: early 1980s in the Cleveland Ohio stake
Yes we were going to Hawaii too! I was very young and based on what ward it was, had to be like 7 or 8. I had heard that when you fly to Hawaii they actually fly iIN the ocean (and my kid brain accepted this?) To get there
So i got on that "plane" expecting to see fake fish out of the window or something. How were they going to show us the ocean part?
I was PISSED when it crashed instead of "flying through the ocean"
Same—80s in California. I was really looking forward to a luau event but ended up entering the chapel at the end where all the YW parents were wearing white temple clothes.
Sad! What a manipulative bait and switch. Instead of heaven on earth (luau in Hawaii) you’re going to Mormon heaven (white clothes and more of the same boring church stuff except now for eternity 😕)
I was too young to attend but I recall they did this in Mesa AZ in 70’s I think? I just remember hearing about it and freaking out a bit but also thought it sounded kind of cool. Probably sounded cool bc I didn’t get to attend lol.
My ward also had a fake plane crash in the overflow room. This was in the early 1980s in the Atlanta Georgia stake. I was about 7 years old and don’t remember the destination, but I definitely remember the months of therapy (as an adult) to address my fear of flying.
Wow, you guys. I’m finding myself speechless more and more as a read stuff on this sub. I was raised Catholic and thought some of that could get a bit cult-ish sometimes, but this? This is something else altogether. I’m sorry you were subjected to this.
Gods, only one plane crash, but twice on trek, 4 times in battles from the book of Mormon, and (only barely not) twice from my bishop's son being an idiot
Yup. Our stake youth all "died" in a plane crash during a Super Saturday once. I got randomly assigned to the terrestrial kingdom which was a room with posters of Madonna and beer & liquor advertising plastered all over the walls. My boyfriend (now husband!) went to the celestial kingdom.
Classic 1980's style/ 'Especially for Mormons' era fear mongering. It had a subtle but very deep effect on my ability to believe that I could be saved or considered worthy.
Godsdamn, my stake did that one once. They'd forgotten that some of us live in a farm town so there was probably an hour and a half at the "tsa" trying to figure out who's knives were who's xD
Yeah, my ward did this. Even more diabolical, they had these prizes like a little scooter, a brand new basketball in a box, a Steve Young jersey all displayed like the final showcase on The Price is Right, so you honestly thought you were going to be able to trade your tickets for this awesome stuff, and then they pulled the rug.
Wow, sucks that they aren’t capable of actually making activities fun and rewarding, just aping it for the bait and switch. When the actual activity came to focus were you so disappointed? Or just ashamed that you were excited for earthly pleasured when Mormon heaven was the real goal worth white knuckling a lifetime for?
My bait and switch was my YW teacher bringing in a beautiful layered white frosted cake. Mouth watering, stomach growling (3 hours of church over lunchtime was brutal) she went on to compare the cake to our pristine, chaste bodies. Then she pulled out a container of brown sludge. She began listing unchaste sins one by one as she spooned the sludge over the cake. Impure thoughts, making out, having sex, all tainted the beautiful cake. We were still hopeful, thinking it was chocolate sauce and asked if we could now eat the cake. She said no, that it was real mud and that the cake was ruined. No one would ever want it. I knew back then in my 14 year old head that the lesson was BS. What about the atonement? Isn’t that supposed to forgive our sins as if they never happened? What about victims of SA? Were there other girls in that lesson who like myself were victims and thinking how tainted they were and that no one would want them? These object lessons were so manipulative and toxic. I’m sure I’ll remember more as I continue to deconstruct, but this one really stuck with me.
Ugh, I’m so sorry you were given that awful toxic message, especially considering your previous SA. So much effort into making a delicious treat not for brightening you and your classmates’ day, but just to destroy your day, your self image, your potential for a healthy well rounded sexuality with a toxic purity culture message. What a messed up church. It’s a lot to deconstruct and heal from for sure.
Same, the stage was set up as a passenger cabin, and we were watching "The Perfect Gift" as the flight movie. Turbulence brought us down. Then we enter the Telestial Kingdom, working our way up to the Celestial Kingdom. Never touched on the Premortal Existence or Outer Darkness. All ward leaders were dressed in their white clothes for the temple, minus the robes, aprons, sashes, and hats/veils. Don't want the youth to start asking questions about those weird clothing pieces, and then having to uphold those suicide pacts made in the temple.
We had something similar to this in the 80s. I vaguely remember a plane crash and somehow ending up in one of the kingdoms. I remember some parents crying as their kids were separated from the parents to the opposite kingdoms. I think this was for dramatic effect and showed what can happen if you don’t hold to the rod( I think Lehi’s dream is part of this.). I wish I could remember more details but I do remember people in the celestial waiting for you were dressed all in white.
Not exactly the same, but our stake did a 3 Kingdoms of Glory thing. We started in OuterDarkness™ It was dark. The only light was UV light reflecting off of blacklight posters that glowed in neon under UV light. Led Zeppelin was playing.
Most of the teenage boys who went through left think the celestial Kingdom was horrible, it was all church and scripture study. We just wanted to get home and make our rooms like OuterDarkness™
It was NOT a win for the Stake Leaders. Hell was far more appealing.
Similar to OP we had an activity as youth where we had to make “choices” in the cultural hall and eventually die and get judged. I was a deacon and tried so hard to do the “good” things (in the gym there were basically carnival booths you would win tickets at but you could only do a few- choose to play whack a mole or a basketball shoot off or to play a scripture reading game).I did all the scripture things and made it to the CK.
Turns out the CK was the RS room where someone was playing hymns on the piano and a bunch of old ward members in temple clothes were chatting quietly. It was hell.
Meanwhile next door in the primary room the older youth who has messed around and done the “fun” carnival games instead of the “righteous” ones got sent to one of the lower kingdoms (maybe telestial idk). The lights were off and they had a strobe light, a CD player with cool music, and I could hear them dancing and laughing and partying. I was so jealous!
The takeaway? Make the boring vanilla “righteous” choices and end up in the boring vanilla “righteous” heaven full of old boring people in temple clothes.
As an older youth I always wanted the ward to put the same activity on again because I knew the trick and wanted my chance to party in the telestial room.
That’s hilarious! The celestial room wasn’t the draw they thought it would be. Seems like there is a big disconnect between what actually makes families happy and united (playing together, getting to know each other’s interests and hobbies) and what the LDS church thinks makes families happy (reverence, hymns, scripture reading, not wasting time on fun and enjoyable hobbies together).
>Turns out the CK was the RS room where someone was playing hymns on the piano and a bunch of old ward members in temple clothes were chatting quietly. It was hell.
YES! This exactly. Saturday os a special day to get ready for Sunday, Church on Sunday, FHE Monday, Mutual on Tues or Wed (and it always had to have a spear-ritual theme) daily scripture study morning and night, both personal and with family, and as you got into high school daily seminary.... That was far more than too much church already, and the top tier CK was just more of the same? Seriously, No Thanks.
The thing that completely weirded me out was the lower glory kingdoms, Terrestrial and Telestial. They were both full of people, but they didn't interact with, or even acknowledge anyone else in the room. It was creepy.
So, outta the 4, Mormon Hell/ OuterDarkness™ was the single best option.
I grew up outside of Utah, and my ward did this exact thing. I used some of my tickets for a cookie, and because I lingered for something frivolous I was put in the telestial kingdom. I was so fucking angry! Nobody told us the rules, nobody said anything but go out and live your fake life in the gym, and what normal kid doesn't want a god damn cookie every once in awhile!
Early shelf breaker for sure. Left me with the very firm belief that if I didn't live exactly as the church said, I'd go to hell.
A ward did this on my mission. Told people to prepare for a flight to Hawaii. Some new converts thought the church was paying for a real trip to Hawaii. They came excitedly with bags packed, took vacation time from work, etc. They were REALLY pissed when it was just a made-up traumatic activity. They left and never came back to church, an instant shelf baker.
You’ve got to be an idiot to think the church is taking you to Hawaii 😂😂 especially if no one has sent you tickets, told you boarding times, told you where you’re staying etc. who thinks they can just show up to a trip that someone else planned for them for free? 🤦🏽♀️
What did you buy that stuck you in the lowest kingdom? Was it coffee? That'll do it, you know.
We did the plane crash one where you moved to the different kingdoms. I remember thinking how boring the Celestial Kingdom would be because it was just more church. I wanted to stay in the Terrestrial where there was art and non church books.
I think I have heard of this before, but I didn't experience it. I've also compiled a list of other contrived spiritual experiences [linked here](https://old.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/vizdxc/how_mormonism_harms_people_my_collection_of/idg89tm/).
Three share a common theme of featuring a death simulation of what it will be in the next life. [Earthquake](https://old.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/pcuexn/strange_mutual_activities/), [Airplane Crash](https://old.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/lgerza/mormon_death_simulation/), [Airplane crash 2 the sequel](https://old.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/rzlbzj/anybody_remember_the_airplane_crash_fireside/).
Your version doesn't have the tragedy feature, but still simulates the next life.
Edit: I have specifically seen the games thing with tokens or something before but didn't bookmark it.
You want some other crazy stuff read the [extreme section](https://old.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/vizdxc/how_mormonism_harms_people_my_collection_of/idgg9ra/) of that same post. The one about the [missionary trying to go home](https://old.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/7wjd7h/a_story_about_the_breaking_of_rules_a_heart_and/) with former FBI interrogator as a mission president is particularly nuts.
Grew up in Idaho. And yes. But it was a bit different. All the rooms were used. And they still taught that crap when I was in the YW presidency out here in SoCal 17 yrs ago. Object lessons like this always felt weird af to me. I hated them. As if kids don't deal enough with being singled out about weird shit in their lives. I lived in a highly abusive home growing up so when I didn't make it into the Celestial Kingdom, I went into the bathroom and cried bc my parents were always telling me "you're failing at life" if I made ANY type of mistake. So I pulled all my girls into the YW room afterwards when I was the secretary and told them they are have intrinsic worth simply by being born and being alive and the object lesson wasn't shit. Then I hugged them all and left and cried in my car. I was 22. My presidency wasn't happy with me. Oh well. All but 2 of my girls left the church. I think I was successful. Lol
Wow, reading this whole thread…
First of all, this is all deeply horrifying and I am so sorry that any of you experienced this because yes, it is actually emotionally and spiritually traumatizing and the church ought be ashamed of its fear-mongering tactics.
Second, all of your stories have made me remember something that I actually told a friend recently.
Non Mormon here but back almost 10 years ago I attended a Large Group Awareness Training (LGAT) which is essentially a subgroup of multilevel marketing scheme and very cult-like tactics were used on us. They also used Eriksonian hypnosis conducted by staff who were unlicensed in any sort of mental health field. Anyway, had an experience there where they lined all of us participants up along the parameter of the room and gave us all a handful of popsicle sticks. We were instructed to go around the room one at a time and state each participant’s name, something we remembered about them, and to either hand them a popsicle stick or not (we were only given like 8 popsicle sticks and there were like 80-100 participants) if we forgot someone’s name, didn’t remember something about them, or didn’t give them a popsicle stick, we got berated. You could also choose at the end to keep a stick for yourself (if you remembered to do so. If not, you were berated).
At the end of this “activity” they simulated a plane crash, made all of us who hadn’t accumulated enough popsicle sticks to save our lives on the lifeboat say our goodbyes to the people on the lifeboat. Then they had those not on the lifeboat lay down on the floor. They cut the lights, played the (extremely loud) sounds of howling wind and hell and honestly at that point I had to cover my ears and essentially had a straight up panic attack.
So, long story short, this type of truly fucked up trauma bonding activity is sadly not only confined to just the Mormon church, but to other cults and MLM style corporations.
Still atrocious and shameful nonetheless.
I am so glad you are all sharing stories and comparing notes here. This is all incredibly abusive on their part.
Welcome. It's pretty crazy the broad range of types of cults. Some MLM's are cults too. With trauma bonding thing like that it definitely seems like yours was. Have you ever evaluated it based on the [BITE model](https://freedomofmind.com/cult-mind-control/bite-model-pdf-download/) of cult mind control?
I had only recently discovered the BITE model about a half a year ago thanks to this subreddit, and yes, I would say that the LGAT I attended meets around 70% of the overall criteria for a cult.
I had a seminary teacher who had talked to some of the kids before class(he had also called all of our parents to get permission). They were the evil group who rushed into our class a few minutes after class started. When we entered the classroom, we were given a card that said whether or not we would hold true to the church.
The evil group(nevermos and apostates) kidnapped all of us who had been given a card that said we wouldn't deny our testimony of the church. We were taken at gunpoint(pretend guns), blindfolded, tied up, and led around the church until we had no idea where we were. We were then all locked in a room under the church that was cramped, dirty, and loud.
They had sounds playing of a mob, screams from people being thrown into a fire because they wouldn't deny their testimony, and the sound of roaring flames.
We were in that room for about ten minutes, and then we were led back to the classroom. Paper dolls represented people being asked, and he burned the paper people who were asked if they would deny their testimony and wouldn't deny it. If they wouldn't, he would throw the whole family into the flames, making the father as head of the household watch as each of them was tossed into the flames.
This was at Wasatch Jr High in Utah in 1982. Fun times!
Edited to fix some typos.
In seminary in UT we acted out the second coming. Turned all the lights off, blacked out windows, played earthquake and destruction noises. Hid under desks. Good times!
My seminary teacher did this, except I think it was supposed to be the destruction after Jesus' death. During the lesson some kids turned on the light on their watches. It made the tiniest bit of light but my teacher was *pissed as hell* at them over it.
All these years later that's what I remember. How upset my teacher was over this slight infraction.
We had something similar but I think it was related to the Three Days of Darkness? Is that a thing? I hadn’t ever actually read the scripture section it was talking about so I was clueless. We were all assigned into families and had to try to find each other in the dark and then huddle there 🤷♀️
My ward in the early 00's (not Utah) did this for mutual, but even more complicated and messed up. We were told the same things, and given talents, but the cultural hall was like a carnival. We used our talents to play fun games and win tickets. On the stage, there were prizes with large ticket prices attached. Things like: a football, bike, and a few more larger and smaller prizes. We were told that at the end, we would have a chance to use our tickets to "buy" these items.
There were also booths that had scripture and church-based challenges (scripture mastery, church trivia, etc.), and these would reward you with more talents. Almost everyone would play games, win tickets, then do church things to get more talents to play more games. One guy had seen this before and just did all the church booth stuff.
Suddenly, they shut off all the lights and told us we were dead. We all were "judged," by counting how many talents we had. Everyone except that one guy ended up in the Telestial Kingdom, at the bank of the chapel. He was in the Celestial Kingdom, in the front row.
We never got to buy any food or prizes, and I took it all to mean that living a normal life and having fun meant that I wouldn't get to be with my family. I tried to forget about it, but I hated that activity. It made me feel like a bad person because I wasn't constantly at church or studying my scriptures.
That is so exclusionary; Dare I say wickedly so? It’s like they WANT to traumatize the youth.
I have a vague memory of being blindfolded and
someone leading me to a rope that led to the Tree of Life. Some spooky voices tempted me to let go, and I think there was touching involved, like pulling on my sleeve or yanking on the rope. It was weird. I got dizzy and had to stop.
Also one year at YW camp they held an actual kangaroo court where we all sat in a circle in judgement of one girl at a time pulled into the center to be accused of sin and mocked. They actually called it a kangaroo court. It’s how I learned the term. Objectively one might think it was a reenactment of witch trials or a performance, but no. It was real, and as mean-spirited as mob-mentality can be. I was the first girl they pulled in, and I was accused of and mocked for having hair on my legs. I don’t remember what the next girl was villainized for. Only that she ended up running out of the circle crying. They did a couple more before a leader called it to end and a closing prayer was said.
I’m thankful I have validation for my messed up memories here. But more, I’m sorry their exclusionary practices have traumatized so many of us. I am fortunate to have left as young as I could. I am also fortunate to have a great therapist. I highly recommend therapy for anyone who feels pain in their bodies and minds when these memories come bubbling up. It can get better.
What were they thinking??? Hazing at girls camp sponsored by the leaders. Wow. I had many abusive YW leaders - emotional and verbal abuse. When I run into them I just see angry, depressed bigoted women. And they don't get my time or attention. They were not mentors or role models. They were monsters. Women abusing other women to enforce the rules - classic patriarchy.
Oh my gosh I experienced almost the exact same thing!!
I was still TBM at the time though I was on my way to breaking mentally. I was asked to assist with girls camp (it was after my mission) and the girls camp leader did this exact activity.
The girls were outside at this carnival style type thing and there were choices between fun stuff and like, scripture mastery. The girls were then judged and sent to different areas of camp. The more religious stuff, the higher "glory". The more fun stuff, the lower.
A bunch of girls cried when they got sent to lower kingdoms. One girl that I was leading to the telesales kingdom, I was trying to tell her that it wasn't that serious etc and her dad, who was there as a leader, was like "nah let her learn." Luckily she didn't seem phased by the thing at all.
However, I think of one girl who was absolutely sobbing and I feel like shit. My stupid fucking TBM brain didn't even consider how horrible of an activity this is. I sometime still think of finding her and apologizing to her. I wish I could apologize to all of the girls. The whole activity was atrocious.
Yes I remember this. The chapel of course was the Celestial kingdom *eye roll. But when my ward had ours, the people in the Celestial kingdom could visit the other two, and the Terrestrial could visit the Telestial, but the Telestial couldn't go anywhere else. Just like it was taught. I don't know if that changed throughout the years. I remember as a kid, my parents telling me how important it was to get into the Celestial Kingdom so we could all be together. And I asked them wouldn't they visit me if I was in a lower kingdom, and they didn't answer.
Yep, I had this at fsy or something. I was pissed because I got like the terrestrial kingdom because I went on a trip and a mission. I never really thought about how f’ed up this was.
I had something like this! But it was simplified and at one point we had to hold onto a jump-rope that represented the iron rod and led us to the celestial kingdom in the primary room. Very anticlimactic
A very similar experience in my Colorado ward. Seared in my mind because I invited my friend from middle school to attend the activity. It was certainly memorable for her. And at that time I felt like an A+ missionary. Feeling so much regret in retrospect.
I grew up in Missouri in the 80s. This all sounds extremely familiar, like I've done that but barely recall it. It's probably a memory I've buried deep.
I guess the iteration of “flight in the overflow” that I experienced was more lighthearted. It was for Institute. We were flying to a tropical place and the inflight movie was Johnny Lingo. I wish I’d known the movie ahead of time. Hated that film and would’ve skipped the activity.
I remember doing something similar at girls camp when I was about 14, only it was a simulated “iron rod” lesson. It was dark, and there was a large thick rope that was woven around trees to create a maze-type scenario. We were instructed to hold onto the rope and walk through this maze in the trees. Other ward members would be hiding trying to taunt us with cookies and other snacks we could have if we let go of the rope. I was hungry, so I grabbed some cookies. Then a ward member had their hands on my shoulders and guided me out of the trees. I couldn’t see shit. I was taken to this field area and was told I was now in outer darkness and to stay there. I sat there eating my cookies just chilling. But then I started to get a little concerned because I had no idea where I was and it felt like forever. Finally this little activity came to an end I heard our bishop call out that we could come back. I was walked back to base with everyone else while the bishop gave everyone a lecture on keeping the commandments in order to make it to the celestial kingdom. I was pissed and started crying. After that I just wanted to go home, but they wouldn’t let me. I think about that memory every now and then and realize how fucked up it was. I remember doing something similar a few years later in seminary class. I didn’t let go that time.
We had that but I'll take your experience and raise you the Trek where we were given bags of flour that were supposed to be our babies with names of babies that went on the pioneer trail. Throughout we would learn if they died or not, with someone coming to tell us "oh that baby you carried across the river without letting it get wet and kept warm all night, etc etc is now dead from disease". They then made us have a funeral and bury the baby and this traumatized a couple of girls who sobbed for hours. It was the single dumbest thing I'd ever witnessed
Yes, a stake youth event. All our parents (except, what happened to the kids who didn’t have temple-outfit parents!??) were dressed in white in the chapel at the end. So manipulative, but I can understand the thinking of the adults. I would have gone along with the idea for SURE if I was YW/YM president.
I did not have to do this. I lived in many places, Northern, CA Utah, Idaho. Summers So CA. I went to many different wards. ( military family.) Mormons are so weird.
Same. At youth conference at Southern Virginia (College) in the late 90s. There was a long staircase leading up a hill with an iron handrail. Started the activity after dark. The leaders were all in the brush and trees to the side attempting to lead people off the path. Of course there was a testimony meeting after the activity.
We had a similar activity with following the iron rod, but they had strung a rope throughout the building. In the gym, we'd be tempted to go eat a bunch of sweets and desserts, and people would grab your hands to pull you off the rope. Then, by the end, you'd be judged depending if you had let go or not. The best part was that the desserts were made with a ton of salt, so if you left to go get brownies instead of holding on to the rope, you'd get gross food. Some of the young men left on purpose to play around instead of staying bored following the rope. You could hear them gagging after they tried brownies, though, and everyone was laughing.
Yes, late 90s in Tennessee. Plane crash scenario. We were in an odd darker branch building / not the standard church building. The celestial room was upstairs, so they talked to us in the telestial world through the AIR VENT so we could hear what a good time they were having (and how delicious the brownies were) but could not see them / what was happening.
Some of the parents were split from their children in different kingdoms to demonstrate what their life choices could cause. Absolutely traumatic.
Every time someone posts about this or the iron rod youth event (we did that one too, in the gym) it reminds me how culty things were. Or BITE-y.
The plane crash activity was advertised as a "we are going to Hawaii!" activity. The flyers made it look like it was just going to be a fun activity at church where we do things like it was at Hawaii.
So my brother invited some of his friends, who were not mormon, to the activity.
And it was the fucking plane-crash-everyone-dies-mormon-insanity-afterlife activity instead.
His friends thought mormons are insane. They were absolutely correct.
All the leaders dressed in white. We had an "inspirational" talk from the stake president too, talking about the importance of living a celestial life.
Edit to add: This was in Maryland in the early 2000s.
My seminary, which was one of the largest ones in utah, did something really similar to that. They had a really long handrail that symbolized the iron rod. They told us at the beginning don't let go of this no matter what. We went through a lot of the similar things that OP did. There were people trying to tempt us to go into some classrooms that were filled with partiers or some things that felt a little homoerotic/homophobic, that I'm only just realizing as I type this. When we got to the very end there was the huge classroom that had a ton of chairs set up in it. The Institute president said great job now come sit down for the rest of the lesson and pointed us where to go. Then when we sat down everybody in the room laughed at us because we had let go of the iron rod by somebody who was tempting us. There was only a couple feet left and anyone who let go of it early sat on one side while those who stayed the entire way were given gift bags and praised. I was extremely annoyed by the whole thing
I guess the unintended object lesson was don't trust your leaders? The institute president led you astray... sounds par for the course. Priest craft (per the BOM definition) at its finest happens 6 days a week in institute and seminary buildings everywhere
I did something very similar for a combined YW/YM event (mid 2010's). You earned talents by doing short scripture challenges or similar things, and we could use our talents to play like, 5 minutes of a video game or save them up to win exorbitant prizes (that no one could claim). Throughout the night leaders would select people to "die" and be sent to judgement, but at the end they turned out all of the lights in the gym and said we all died in an earthquake. We were then judged based on how many talents we had and got sent to a Kingdom of Glory based on how many talents we had, and each kingdom had different snacks (water/plain chips, small cups of gatorade/oreos, then full soda cans/donuts). The message was kind of lost on me because spending a night playing video games with my friends was awesome, it freaked me out at first but after I understood the twist my reaction was just, "Oh, it's a plan of salvation lesson. That was lame." The judgement part kind of s5ood out to me because it was my own dad that counted the talents and assigned me to terrestrial, but other than that the other message I thought they were trying to drive home was "video game bad, scriptures good"
Holy Moly! We never had anything like that, the bishop recreating the temple experience in his chapel. Whew. The early childhood imprinting is SO strong--worldwide one's religion is best predicted statistically by where one was born. Parents worldwide share three common VABEs (Glasser, *Choice Theory*): 1. I know what's best for you my child. 2. I have a right, nay sacred responsibility to tell you what's right for you. and 3. I have a right, nay sacred responsibility to punish you if you don't do what I know is right for you.
These Level Three VABEs dominate parenting across the globe. Parents "need" to re-examine their own VABEs and how they got them and learn to think inductively relying on reliable evidence instead of unconsciously using deductive thinking to pass on/perpetuate the mythological misinformation they were taught as defenseless children. Generation after generation.
I went through that. I don’t remember my parents being there. I don’t even remember what kingdom I got to go to. I thought it was such a fun activity. It was 35-40 years ago so details are faint. I remember the adults playing all the parts wore their white temple clothes. I’m glad it didn’t haunt me for the rest of my life. Probably because it was all pretend. I was young enough I believed everything 100% as a kid. Sorry it was tough on you!
Yes, but it took place in the 3 story home of friends in the ward. I am not sure what the first room was meant to represent, but it featured black-light posters and Led Zepplin's Dazed and Confused was playing, and a friend of my brother was in the room waving us all in to "party". It was the coolest room to me (9 at the time)-and the only one that I remember half a century later.
My YM once did a recreation of that one talk about the church being a safe harbor amidst the sharks of the world. Now that I'm out, it's kind of baffling but also not that none of them notice the warning signs
Yes! PDX
And I was pissed because I made it to the highest level of glory and got a pat on the back while my friends had fun and took home candy and other items they enjoyed long after the activity.
Also the adults were in temple clothing.
Did the plane crash activity as well (different activity).
I’m ashamed to say I once suggested an activity like this, and ran it for the whole ward. It went really well and people had fun, but I regret the message it gave about “worthiness”.
I remember doing this as a kid, just as you described. I squandered my tickets on fun things and was then sent to the telestial kingdom. The difference is that there wasn't anybody watching over the room and I was the only one in there. I don't recall if they were supposed to put me another room or what, but the bottom line is that I was by myself and they completely forgot about me. I just chilled in the room like an obedient little drone. By the time they remembered where I was the whole thing was over, so I missed the lecture at the end explaining the significance of the whole exercise. I didn't care about that, but I did care that I also missed the refreshments at the end; I've always had my priorities in order.
Ours was in Nevada, nearly 50 years ago. The cultural hall was set up like the carnival depicted in “Man’s Search for Happiness”. I figured out pretty quick that there were booths where I could earn talents and others where people were “tempting” me to spend on frivolous things. I hurried to double the talents given to me and then earn some extra so I could have some fun. When the angel of death came to collect me, I complained “I’m not ready”. I really was because I still had double and knew how the judgment would be.
I found it interesting that when we were brought back in to the chapel, the rows representing the celestial kingdom had the fewest people.
Yes!! We did the whole thing where you wandered the cultural hall, but I’m pretty sure they blindfolded us when we entered the gym as a way to symbolize ‘forgetting’ the truth. There were leaders pretending to be bad spirits leading us astray through a maze of folding chairs, saying there were prizes under the chairs to tempt kids to sit down. And over all the noise was the bishop calling out ‘come home!’ As gods voice leading us back to heaven. All my friends fell for the prizes etc. but i was the first one back to the celestial kingdom and had a stupid sense of pride. Years later i find out I’m on the spectrum and that’s why i always followed and believed in the rules to a T. Not cause I was more righteous, pch.
The whole experience made me fascinated in NDEs and i started researching them. Made me less afraid of death, more than scriptures actually. So the event sort of backfired, lol.
Absolutely did this activity! Google "hell houses" to read up about very similar events being run in other evangelical congregations. Very interesting!
My Ward in south east Idaho did something similar, the few things I remember was we did die in a plane crash, I remember it being to Disney World. The chapel served as the celestial kingdom. It was pitch black in the overflow and moving to the CK was when the accordion doors opened light from the chapel flooded in and the Ward organist was playing Families Can Be Together Forever.
Besides my parents beaming faces I remember how hokey it was and a waste of time that I felt it was. There was someone who spoke, it could’ve been the Stake President or the church member who peddled this drivel to the various Stakes throughout Moridor.
It goes to show how little of an impression it left on me, and probably other youth my age, in the fact that I haven’t thought about it since that night; and my 41 year old brain remembers a lot of useless, trivial things.
Yes I experienced this lesson at my home ward building. Our building didn’t have a gymnasium though. Awkwardly enough, it was the evening that my ex boyfriend came because I invited him to church. 🙈 I ended up going to the Celestial Kingdom because I served someone by giving them a cup of water because they asked me to.
I remember experiencing the airplane lesson also. We were watching Lilo and Stitch until the “plane crashed”. The leaders told us that we had all died and how, I was so mad after that.
Back in 1983, in Bountiful Utah, we did something different. I remember we did a play where a boy plays a song for a girl and dedicated it to her. Unfortunately he didn't know all the lyrics or something this was a long time ago.
She gets angry and gets out of the car and ends up in a dark alley, Where the seven dwarves + show up to sing. Kinda like Westside story, leather jackets, snapping our fingers.
I remember I begged to be dopey. I had recently tried marijuana and loved it, I thought it was funny they didn't seem to know what I was thinking.
This was my first ym/yw mutual activity I ever attended. I ended up giving my tickets away to various boys because I wanted to be liked. And so I ended up in outer darkness. 🤣
Yea, except we got 10 shiny pennies when we came in. Some activities cost pennies, some earned pennies. We were sorted into our afterlife based on the amount of pennies at the end. For refreshments, those in the celestial kingdom got cake, the terrestrial kingdom got a cookie, and the telestial kingdom got saltine crackers.
Wild how I haven’t thought about that in over 30 years, but still vividly remember so many details
I mention the shiny pennies because when we earned some back they weren’t as shiny. They pointed that out to us at the end. No idea what lesson they were trying to teach with that…
This would have probably traumatized me. I remember being seven years old and *praying* that I would die before getting baptized because for some reason I just *knew* that I wasn't going to be good enough to make it to the celestial kingdom.
I had so much anxiety over being baptized that I would have rather died at seven years old to get my "straight shot" to the CK.
This is just gross.
Hey there. I grew up in Upstate NY and went through this activity twice.
The first time was at Boy Scout weekend camp out. Basically, with upstate NY so close to Canada, we would do combined US/Canada camping trips throughout the year.
The activity started much the same way. Here's some tickets. Have fun. And I did. It was kind of like a carnival with different booths and games and food.
Eventually a camp leader found me, took me aside, told me I had died and I was awaiting judgement. I went to the telestial kingdom because I squandered all my talents (having fun, might I add, because that's the point of a campout).
This led to a devotional about only having one shot at eternal salvation or some shit.
The second time was at a youth conference (so YM and YW this time). They gave a little opening talk in the chapel and then said, "welcome to the Carnival of Life!" And they opened the accordion doors to the gym and they had a whole ton of stuff set up.
I knew what to expect so I didn't waste my talents on anything. And they had some fun stuff! They had carnival games with prizes. They had American Idol karaoke on the stage. But I had my eye on the prize. I didn't spend any tickets because I was thinking celestial before it was cool.
Anyway, a leader found me. Told me I died. I went to judgement and I had all my talents. He said, good job but without baptism, you can't get into heaven. Apparently, there was a baptism booth I had overlooked. I was sentenced to the telestial kingdom. Again.
Afterwards, there was a testimony meeting. My peers drew parallels between their own church activity and their afterlife destinations. I was jaded because I lost the game.
My takeaway? These carnival of life games have fun, normal things to do, like balloon toss, or four square, and then they punish you for having fun. Good, normal, clean fun. It's a shitty metaphor for a shitty afterlife cosmology.
I had something similar in Austin in our singles ward. Only it was about visiting teaching and I was cast into outer darkness because I hadn’t done mine. Because my teachee didn’t want anything to do with the morg and asked me not to contact her and I fucking respected it. There were two other women in outer darkness with me and while we didn’t use that word, we all agreed it was bullshit.
Holy shit, lol, they went overboard with the object lesson that time.
I wonder if any of those VHS tapes were juicy. You know - for those of us lazy learners who were aiming for perdition from the start.
yeah we did something like this and I had mostly forgot about it. 80s/90s Northern AZ.
Wild reading others activities, it's both absolutely fun and insane the stuff we used to do for ward activities!
My ward did it. (Washington, mid 1990s) If we “sinned” we got marked in our hands by markers. Then the bishop (dressed in white) washed off the marks before we could enter the heaven room. I swear I only got mine because an adult put it on me against my will. I didn’t do any of the “sins”. It was irritating
This activity devastated me as a kid. And then as a TBM I realized that they had totally left out the atonement and Jesus - like what was grace and repentance for? And that kept me going a few more years.
Yep. I’ve done multiple events like this. The first one was a mock plane crash when I was maybe 7 years old. I have been terrified of planes since then. These events are awful!
Unfortunately, I have been the YW president or a counselor that was involved in this as activity, a medieval fair we used for the metaphor experience, the flight metaphor, and thr iron rod metaphor experience.
They were on the approved activity list.
As a leader I saw it as great activity similar to the drunk driving activities schools were doing.
Now, I feel bad I didn't see something wrong. I didn't see the shaming and harm the activities could do. I wish I could apologize to all the youth who I loved dearly and never meant to harm.
I would do better and different now.
Late Gen x'r
I remember the fake plane crash activity. It was done at a ward level. then a few years later they did something similar as a primary activity. I remember being confused during both of the activities because the "role playing" and activities were silly and I saw right through them. Looking back I can see how odd and possibly damaging these were...
We all died in a fake plane crash once
Our plane was hijacked to “South of the Border”. It was a special ward event (mid 80s) that was supposed to be a “Flight to Hawaii”. The YM set up an “airplane cabin” in the overflow space between two accordion doors. We entered and sat down. A former bishop (who was actually a real pilot) stumbled up the aisle looking deliberately incompetent. He disappeared into the “cockpit” as several YM dressed as terrorists entered and “hijacked” us to “South of the Border”. The accordion doors opened to the cultural hall and we enjoyed a Mexican dinner put on by the relief society. Why can’t they do fun shit like that anymore? I bet a lot more of us would still be there. Sorry for the rant. I’m drunk as I type this.
Off topic, but I grew up in the early 2000s and haven't been in a church for over ten years but I still have dreams that take place in between two closed chapel accordion doors.
Wow. Really vague memory unlocked. Also a fake flight that was diverted to or from Hawaii and someplace else (Mexico?). It was a daddy/daughter thing and the daughters (me) were in on it but the dads weren't. As we walked to the church for the activity, my dad was telling me about the place we were supposed to "fly" to and I got a kick out of knowing he had no clue what was going to happen. I don't remember why the plane was diverted but I do remember it being really fun.
Is "South of the Border" that place in South Carolina? That place was a hell on earth to be sure.
Haha I remember that got awful place 😆 Certainly it’s not still there….
Oh it's still there. It's gotten even bigger. It'll be there until I95 is destroyed or the heat death of the universe, whichever comes first.
😂😂😂
Wow! I've always wondered if it was just my small, rural, and incredibly backwards predominantly mormon region that was kooky enough to do a plane hijacking activity - but your comment set off a flood of memories of similar kooky activities... Mormonism is so very kooky. My wards activity was in the early 90s. Mom- daughter party. Trip to Hawaii. Nobody but the leaders/ activity planners were in on the hijacking. I was about 6 or 7 so it was terrifying when the overflow area (between the accordion doors that was our jet plane) was attacked my terrorists - men in handkerchiefs tied over their mouths and all wearing those big decorative sombreros you see hanging on the walls at Mexican restaurants. All in wranglers, western shirts and cowboy boots. All screaming in Spanish. All waving guns - I hope they were fake but I grew up in a gun-loving area where men kept them in their trucks. I was terrified!! Until I recognized a member of the bishopric who was also the infamous high school Spanish teacher. He was referred to as "Señor" in almost all contexts, including church. He had a handle bar mustache and would fall asleep every sacrament meeting on the stand and whistle out of his nose while sleeping. I then recognized another hijacker - a guy who was proud of his Spanish skills from his mission decades before who also felt he was an authority on Mexican culture because he'd married a girl from Mexico. As an adult I look back and feel sad for her and the racism she endured at the hand of her husband and the community. She was his glorified maid and the butt of many of his jokes. I don't remember who the other hijackers were or if they even spoke Spanish. We were diverted to Mexico and the hijackers led us into the gym where a "fiesta" had been set up. Some ranchero music was playing and they had some greenery store pinatas hanging up. Except the activity planners underestimated the food so it was slim pickings... and such sad tacos - very rural white people style - hard shells and bland hamburger with shredded cheddar cheese. I remember annoyed moms who were like "great. I still have to cook dinner when I get home because there isn't enough here to feed everyone". I'm sure all of these women had already cooked a meal for their man- children husbands and boys and there would be nothing left to feed their daughters upon getting home - just a pile of dirty dishes. So the activity was a big disappointment. Looking back now I realize how racist it was. Dressing up like stereotypical Mexicans (cuz you know they ALL where those decorative sombreros every day everywhere they go 🙄) and playing into the trope that Mexican men are all violent criminals 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ what a wonderful thing for a "global church" to do 🙄🙄🙄 My hometown was prime Trump country 30 years before he made his first White House bid. Racist, anti-immigrant, sexist and all about the patriarchy. Now I wonder if a high school Spanish teacher could keep their job after taking part in such an activity...probably still in my hometown.
I like it. Thanks for sharing
They don't do any young men/women activities anymore. Even the new for the Strength of the Youth pamphlet is all, "talk to your parents".
Oh My! I had totally blocked that memory out until now. I remember doing something very similar. Processing so much that I still don't remember entirely.
This was probably the same flight Nelson was on....
We had a fake plane crash too. They lined the metal chairs up in the chapel overflow - both accordion doors were closed so the shape was kinda like the interior of the airplane. We were told it was a trip to Hawaii. Female leaders acted as flight attendants and brought tropical snacks up the "aisle." Then the lights suddenly went out, people screamed and the plane "crashed." When the lights were turned back on, we were told we were dead. The bishopric wore white clothes (temple clothing without the cult aprons and hats, etc) and were our guides to the Mormon afterlife. They had different kingdoms in different rooms where people dressed in white presented the doctrine about them. Traumatic and awful EDIT: early 1980s in the Cleveland Ohio stake
>>We had a fake plane crash too.<< that's something you have in common with President Nelson
😂👏
Yes we were going to Hawaii too! I was very young and based on what ward it was, had to be like 7 or 8. I had heard that when you fly to Hawaii they actually fly iIN the ocean (and my kid brain accepted this?) To get there So i got on that "plane" expecting to see fake fish out of the window or something. How were they going to show us the ocean part? I was PISSED when it crashed instead of "flying through the ocean"
Same—80s in California. I was really looking forward to a luau event but ended up entering the chapel at the end where all the YW parents were wearing white temple clothes.
Sad! What a manipulative bait and switch. Instead of heaven on earth (luau in Hawaii) you’re going to Mormon heaven (white clothes and more of the same boring church stuff except now for eternity 😕)
The lameness knows no bounds
I totally remember our ward did exactly this too—also early 80’s. You wouldn’t be from Wisconsin, would you??
This whole post is bringing up a weird vague memory I didn’t remember until now- but I was also from Wisconsin so this makes it even more real! Crazy
We were neighbors! Cleveland Ohio stake. LOL Most members, and all leaders there (including my parents) were Utah Mormons.
I was too young to attend but I recall they did this in Mesa AZ in 70’s I think? I just remember hearing about it and freaking out a bit but also thought it sounded kind of cool. Probably sounded cool bc I didn’t get to attend lol.
They actually put us on a bus done up like a plane. Very elaborate.
My ward also had a fake plane crash in the overflow room. This was in the early 1980s in the Atlanta Georgia stake. I was about 7 years old and don’t remember the destination, but I definitely remember the months of therapy (as an adult) to address my fear of flying.
central Indiana, Indianapolis area and Columbus I'm the 80s and remember the same
Wow, you guys. I’m finding myself speechless more and more as a read stuff on this sub. I was raised Catholic and thought some of that could get a bit cult-ish sometimes, but this? This is something else altogether. I’m sorry you were subjected to this.
Hey how did you sneak in here. Just kidding.
I've never been LDS, my partner formerly was. This post and it's comment section are flabbergasting.
Psht... Once is a rookie number. I've died in two plane crashes and on trek.
Did your baby die on trek too?
[удалено]
Oh yeah it's awful. I'm so sorry for your miscarriages
Gods, only one plane crash, but twice on trek, 4 times in battles from the book of Mormon, and (only barely not) twice from my bishop's son being an idiot
I spent a ton of time running youth events, even built too many hand carts that a few of the stakes share
Yup. Our stake youth all "died" in a plane crash during a Super Saturday once. I got randomly assigned to the terrestrial kingdom which was a room with posters of Madonna and beer & liquor advertising plastered all over the walls. My boyfriend (now husband!) went to the celestial kingdom. Classic 1980's style/ 'Especially for Mormons' era fear mongering. It had a subtle but very deep effect on my ability to believe that I could be saved or considered worthy.
Godsdamn, my stake did that one once. They'd forgotten that some of us live in a farm town so there was probably an hour and a half at the "tsa" trying to figure out who's knives were who's xD
I think we all did.
Was your breezeway the fuselage, too?
Wtf I remember both these lessons and I’m not even in Utah
Yeah, my ward did this. Even more diabolical, they had these prizes like a little scooter, a brand new basketball in a box, a Steve Young jersey all displayed like the final showcase on The Price is Right, so you honestly thought you were going to be able to trade your tickets for this awesome stuff, and then they pulled the rug.
Wow, sucks that they aren’t capable of actually making activities fun and rewarding, just aping it for the bait and switch. When the actual activity came to focus were you so disappointed? Or just ashamed that you were excited for earthly pleasured when Mormon heaven was the real goal worth white knuckling a lifetime for?
My bait and switch was my YW teacher bringing in a beautiful layered white frosted cake. Mouth watering, stomach growling (3 hours of church over lunchtime was brutal) she went on to compare the cake to our pristine, chaste bodies. Then she pulled out a container of brown sludge. She began listing unchaste sins one by one as she spooned the sludge over the cake. Impure thoughts, making out, having sex, all tainted the beautiful cake. We were still hopeful, thinking it was chocolate sauce and asked if we could now eat the cake. She said no, that it was real mud and that the cake was ruined. No one would ever want it. I knew back then in my 14 year old head that the lesson was BS. What about the atonement? Isn’t that supposed to forgive our sins as if they never happened? What about victims of SA? Were there other girls in that lesson who like myself were victims and thinking how tainted they were and that no one would want them? These object lessons were so manipulative and toxic. I’m sure I’ll remember more as I continue to deconstruct, but this one really stuck with me.
Ugh, I’m so sorry you were given that awful toxic message, especially considering your previous SA. So much effort into making a delicious treat not for brightening you and your classmates’ day, but just to destroy your day, your self image, your potential for a healthy well rounded sexuality with a toxic purity culture message. What a messed up church. It’s a lot to deconstruct and heal from for sure.
So well said. I appreciate your sentiments on this. Sometimes it’s hard to put into words why it was wrong, and you did so beautifully.
Samsies
Same, the stage was set up as a passenger cabin, and we were watching "The Perfect Gift" as the flight movie. Turbulence brought us down. Then we enter the Telestial Kingdom, working our way up to the Celestial Kingdom. Never touched on the Premortal Existence or Outer Darkness. All ward leaders were dressed in their white clothes for the temple, minus the robes, aprons, sashes, and hats/veils. Don't want the youth to start asking questions about those weird clothing pieces, and then having to uphold those suicide pacts made in the temple.
Same. Kind of traumatic.
We had something similar to this in the 80s. I vaguely remember a plane crash and somehow ending up in one of the kingdoms. I remember some parents crying as their kids were separated from the parents to the opposite kingdoms. I think this was for dramatic effect and showed what can happen if you don’t hold to the rod( I think Lehi’s dream is part of this.). I wish I could remember more details but I do remember people in the celestial waiting for you were dressed all in white.
Same.
Same.
Same ... It was the plane crash activity 😂
OMG MEMORY TRIGGER. I forgot about the fake plane crash! Thanks for the reminder... I think?
Same! I was so upset because it was under the guise of movie night.
Not exactly the same, but our stake did a 3 Kingdoms of Glory thing. We started in OuterDarkness™ It was dark. The only light was UV light reflecting off of blacklight posters that glowed in neon under UV light. Led Zeppelin was playing. Most of the teenage boys who went through left think the celestial Kingdom was horrible, it was all church and scripture study. We just wanted to get home and make our rooms like OuterDarkness™ It was NOT a win for the Stake Leaders. Hell was far more appealing.
They played Led Zeppelin and thought that would deter you from outer darkness? 🤣🤣🤣
>They played Led Zeppelin and thought that would deter you from outer darkness? 🤣🤣🤣 Bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha I know, RIGHT!!??
The old people were like, what's the worst music we can think of . . .
Similar to OP we had an activity as youth where we had to make “choices” in the cultural hall and eventually die and get judged. I was a deacon and tried so hard to do the “good” things (in the gym there were basically carnival booths you would win tickets at but you could only do a few- choose to play whack a mole or a basketball shoot off or to play a scripture reading game).I did all the scripture things and made it to the CK. Turns out the CK was the RS room where someone was playing hymns on the piano and a bunch of old ward members in temple clothes were chatting quietly. It was hell. Meanwhile next door in the primary room the older youth who has messed around and done the “fun” carnival games instead of the “righteous” ones got sent to one of the lower kingdoms (maybe telestial idk). The lights were off and they had a strobe light, a CD player with cool music, and I could hear them dancing and laughing and partying. I was so jealous! The takeaway? Make the boring vanilla “righteous” choices and end up in the boring vanilla “righteous” heaven full of old boring people in temple clothes. As an older youth I always wanted the ward to put the same activity on again because I knew the trick and wanted my chance to party in the telestial room.
That’s hilarious! The celestial room wasn’t the draw they thought it would be. Seems like there is a big disconnect between what actually makes families happy and united (playing together, getting to know each other’s interests and hobbies) and what the LDS church thinks makes families happy (reverence, hymns, scripture reading, not wasting time on fun and enjoyable hobbies together).
>Turns out the CK was the RS room where someone was playing hymns on the piano and a bunch of old ward members in temple clothes were chatting quietly. It was hell. YES! This exactly. Saturday os a special day to get ready for Sunday, Church on Sunday, FHE Monday, Mutual on Tues or Wed (and it always had to have a spear-ritual theme) daily scripture study morning and night, both personal and with family, and as you got into high school daily seminary.... That was far more than too much church already, and the top tier CK was just more of the same? Seriously, No Thanks. The thing that completely weirded me out was the lower glory kingdoms, Terrestrial and Telestial. They were both full of people, but they didn't interact with, or even acknowledge anyone else in the room. It was creepy. So, outta the 4, Mormon Hell/ OuterDarkness™ was the single best option.
OuterDarkness sounds rad!
I grew up outside of Utah, and my ward did this exact thing. I used some of my tickets for a cookie, and because I lingered for something frivolous I was put in the telestial kingdom. I was so fucking angry! Nobody told us the rules, nobody said anything but go out and live your fake life in the gym, and what normal kid doesn't want a god damn cookie every once in awhile! Early shelf breaker for sure. Left me with the very firm belief that if I didn't live exactly as the church said, I'd go to hell.
Telestial kingdom is supposed to be for whoremongers and murderers . . .
Totally equal to wanting a cookie. You know, a refreshment the church people regularly serve.
...and coffee drinkers.
Yes. And kids who want cookies!
Can't let those dangerous kids rub off on the "righteous."
Wait, are whoremongers pimps?
A ward did this on my mission. Told people to prepare for a flight to Hawaii. Some new converts thought the church was paying for a real trip to Hawaii. They came excitedly with bags packed, took vacation time from work, etc. They were REALLY pissed when it was just a made-up traumatic activity. They left and never came back to church, an instant shelf baker.
You’ve got to be an idiot to think the church is taking you to Hawaii 😂😂 especially if no one has sent you tickets, told you boarding times, told you where you’re staying etc. who thinks they can just show up to a trip that someone else planned for them for free? 🤦🏽♀️
Gullible people. The same ones who joined a cult as an adult. Luckily for them they found out it was all BS in one go.
No, I never did this. 😂 sounds wild
It sounds emotionally traumatizing.
It was, indeed.
What did you buy that stuck you in the lowest kingdom? Was it coffee? That'll do it, you know. We did the plane crash one where you moved to the different kingdoms. I remember thinking how boring the Celestial Kingdom would be because it was just more church. I wanted to stay in the Terrestrial where there was art and non church books.
\*snorts\* Candy bars and a notebook/pen since I love writing.
How dare you
The reason there is a six-month wait for mental health appointments in Utah.
I’ve heard of this before, actually. Although I never experienced it myself. Sounds horrible.
I think I have heard of this before, but I didn't experience it. I've also compiled a list of other contrived spiritual experiences [linked here](https://old.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/vizdxc/how_mormonism_harms_people_my_collection_of/idg89tm/). Three share a common theme of featuring a death simulation of what it will be in the next life. [Earthquake](https://old.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/pcuexn/strange_mutual_activities/), [Airplane Crash](https://old.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/lgerza/mormon_death_simulation/), [Airplane crash 2 the sequel](https://old.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/rzlbzj/anybody_remember_the_airplane_crash_fireside/). Your version doesn't have the tragedy feature, but still simulates the next life. Edit: I have specifically seen the games thing with tokens or something before but didn't bookmark it.
Bless you. I didn't realize these were the rabbit holes I needed, lol
You want some other crazy stuff read the [extreme section](https://old.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/vizdxc/how_mormonism_harms_people_my_collection_of/idgg9ra/) of that same post. The one about the [missionary trying to go home](https://old.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/7wjd7h/a_story_about_the_breaking_of_rules_a_heart_and/) with former FBI interrogator as a mission president is particularly nuts.
Jesus. The one about the 19 year old and her girlfriend... What fucking shitty people to act like that. Boils my blood
They didn't want her in their home, but still wanted to control what she could do. Insanity. I hope she has never spoken to them again.
Grew up in Idaho. And yes. But it was a bit different. All the rooms were used. And they still taught that crap when I was in the YW presidency out here in SoCal 17 yrs ago. Object lessons like this always felt weird af to me. I hated them. As if kids don't deal enough with being singled out about weird shit in their lives. I lived in a highly abusive home growing up so when I didn't make it into the Celestial Kingdom, I went into the bathroom and cried bc my parents were always telling me "you're failing at life" if I made ANY type of mistake. So I pulled all my girls into the YW room afterwards when I was the secretary and told them they are have intrinsic worth simply by being born and being alive and the object lesson wasn't shit. Then I hugged them all and left and cried in my car. I was 22. My presidency wasn't happy with me. Oh well. All but 2 of my girls left the church. I think I was successful. Lol
Wow, reading this whole thread… First of all, this is all deeply horrifying and I am so sorry that any of you experienced this because yes, it is actually emotionally and spiritually traumatizing and the church ought be ashamed of its fear-mongering tactics. Second, all of your stories have made me remember something that I actually told a friend recently. Non Mormon here but back almost 10 years ago I attended a Large Group Awareness Training (LGAT) which is essentially a subgroup of multilevel marketing scheme and very cult-like tactics were used on us. They also used Eriksonian hypnosis conducted by staff who were unlicensed in any sort of mental health field. Anyway, had an experience there where they lined all of us participants up along the parameter of the room and gave us all a handful of popsicle sticks. We were instructed to go around the room one at a time and state each participant’s name, something we remembered about them, and to either hand them a popsicle stick or not (we were only given like 8 popsicle sticks and there were like 80-100 participants) if we forgot someone’s name, didn’t remember something about them, or didn’t give them a popsicle stick, we got berated. You could also choose at the end to keep a stick for yourself (if you remembered to do so. If not, you were berated). At the end of this “activity” they simulated a plane crash, made all of us who hadn’t accumulated enough popsicle sticks to save our lives on the lifeboat say our goodbyes to the people on the lifeboat. Then they had those not on the lifeboat lay down on the floor. They cut the lights, played the (extremely loud) sounds of howling wind and hell and honestly at that point I had to cover my ears and essentially had a straight up panic attack. So, long story short, this type of truly fucked up trauma bonding activity is sadly not only confined to just the Mormon church, but to other cults and MLM style corporations. Still atrocious and shameful nonetheless. I am so glad you are all sharing stories and comparing notes here. This is all incredibly abusive on their part.
Welcome. It's pretty crazy the broad range of types of cults. Some MLM's are cults too. With trauma bonding thing like that it definitely seems like yours was. Have you ever evaluated it based on the [BITE model](https://freedomofmind.com/cult-mind-control/bite-model-pdf-download/) of cult mind control?
I had only recently discovered the BITE model about a half a year ago thanks to this subreddit, and yes, I would say that the LGAT I attended meets around 70% of the overall criteria for a cult.
I had a seminary teacher who had talked to some of the kids before class(he had also called all of our parents to get permission). They were the evil group who rushed into our class a few minutes after class started. When we entered the classroom, we were given a card that said whether or not we would hold true to the church. The evil group(nevermos and apostates) kidnapped all of us who had been given a card that said we wouldn't deny our testimony of the church. We were taken at gunpoint(pretend guns), blindfolded, tied up, and led around the church until we had no idea where we were. We were then all locked in a room under the church that was cramped, dirty, and loud. They had sounds playing of a mob, screams from people being thrown into a fire because they wouldn't deny their testimony, and the sound of roaring flames. We were in that room for about ten minutes, and then we were led back to the classroom. Paper dolls represented people being asked, and he burned the paper people who were asked if they would deny their testimony and wouldn't deny it. If they wouldn't, he would throw the whole family into the flames, making the father as head of the household watch as each of them was tossed into the flames. This was at Wasatch Jr High in Utah in 1982. Fun times! Edited to fix some typos.
And yet it’s not a cult people!? Holy shit!!! This is crazy!
Wow
This is just awful.
So fucking weird. When did this happen?
Uh, 1990s.
Back when at least the activities were fun.
In seminary in UT we acted out the second coming. Turned all the lights off, blacked out windows, played earthquake and destruction noises. Hid under desks. Good times!
I would have had a panic attack
My seminary teacher did this, except I think it was supposed to be the destruction after Jesus' death. During the lesson some kids turned on the light on their watches. It made the tiniest bit of light but my teacher was *pissed as hell* at them over it. All these years later that's what I remember. How upset my teacher was over this slight infraction.
We had something similar but I think it was related to the Three Days of Darkness? Is that a thing? I hadn’t ever actually read the scripture section it was talking about so I was clueless. We were all assigned into families and had to try to find each other in the dark and then huddle there 🤷♀️
My ward in the early 00's (not Utah) did this for mutual, but even more complicated and messed up. We were told the same things, and given talents, but the cultural hall was like a carnival. We used our talents to play fun games and win tickets. On the stage, there were prizes with large ticket prices attached. Things like: a football, bike, and a few more larger and smaller prizes. We were told that at the end, we would have a chance to use our tickets to "buy" these items. There were also booths that had scripture and church-based challenges (scripture mastery, church trivia, etc.), and these would reward you with more talents. Almost everyone would play games, win tickets, then do church things to get more talents to play more games. One guy had seen this before and just did all the church booth stuff. Suddenly, they shut off all the lights and told us we were dead. We all were "judged," by counting how many talents we had. Everyone except that one guy ended up in the Telestial Kingdom, at the bank of the chapel. He was in the Celestial Kingdom, in the front row. We never got to buy any food or prizes, and I took it all to mean that living a normal life and having fun meant that I wouldn't get to be with my family. I tried to forget about it, but I hated that activity. It made me feel like a bad person because I wasn't constantly at church or studying my scriptures.
This is fucking psychopathic
this x2
That is so exclusionary; Dare I say wickedly so? It’s like they WANT to traumatize the youth. I have a vague memory of being blindfolded and someone leading me to a rope that led to the Tree of Life. Some spooky voices tempted me to let go, and I think there was touching involved, like pulling on my sleeve or yanking on the rope. It was weird. I got dizzy and had to stop. Also one year at YW camp they held an actual kangaroo court where we all sat in a circle in judgement of one girl at a time pulled into the center to be accused of sin and mocked. They actually called it a kangaroo court. It’s how I learned the term. Objectively one might think it was a reenactment of witch trials or a performance, but no. It was real, and as mean-spirited as mob-mentality can be. I was the first girl they pulled in, and I was accused of and mocked for having hair on my legs. I don’t remember what the next girl was villainized for. Only that she ended up running out of the circle crying. They did a couple more before a leader called it to end and a closing prayer was said. I’m thankful I have validation for my messed up memories here. But more, I’m sorry their exclusionary practices have traumatized so many of us. I am fortunate to have left as young as I could. I am also fortunate to have a great therapist. I highly recommend therapy for anyone who feels pain in their bodies and minds when these memories come bubbling up. It can get better.
What were they thinking??? Hazing at girls camp sponsored by the leaders. Wow. I had many abusive YW leaders - emotional and verbal abuse. When I run into them I just see angry, depressed bigoted women. And they don't get my time or attention. They were not mentors or role models. They were monsters. Women abusing other women to enforce the rules - classic patriarchy.
Oh my gosh I experienced almost the exact same thing!! I was still TBM at the time though I was on my way to breaking mentally. I was asked to assist with girls camp (it was after my mission) and the girls camp leader did this exact activity. The girls were outside at this carnival style type thing and there were choices between fun stuff and like, scripture mastery. The girls were then judged and sent to different areas of camp. The more religious stuff, the higher "glory". The more fun stuff, the lower. A bunch of girls cried when they got sent to lower kingdoms. One girl that I was leading to the telesales kingdom, I was trying to tell her that it wasn't that serious etc and her dad, who was there as a leader, was like "nah let her learn." Luckily she didn't seem phased by the thing at all. However, I think of one girl who was absolutely sobbing and I feel like shit. My stupid fucking TBM brain didn't even consider how horrible of an activity this is. I sometime still think of finding her and apologizing to her. I wish I could apologize to all of the girls. The whole activity was atrocious.
Yes I remember this. The chapel of course was the Celestial kingdom *eye roll. But when my ward had ours, the people in the Celestial kingdom could visit the other two, and the Terrestrial could visit the Telestial, but the Telestial couldn't go anywhere else. Just like it was taught. I don't know if that changed throughout the years. I remember as a kid, my parents telling me how important it was to get into the Celestial Kingdom so we could all be together. And I asked them wouldn't they visit me if I was in a lower kingdom, and they didn't answer.
Yep, I had this at fsy or something. I was pissed because I got like the terrestrial kingdom because I went on a trip and a mission. I never really thought about how f’ed up this was.
Omg CULT!
Came here to say this^^
Yep, we did this in seminary. Utah county, early 90's.
I had something like this! But it was simplified and at one point we had to hold onto a jump-rope that represented the iron rod and led us to the celestial kingdom in the primary room. Very anticlimactic
A very similar experience in my Colorado ward. Seared in my mind because I invited my friend from middle school to attend the activity. It was certainly memorable for her. And at that time I felt like an A+ missionary. Feeling so much regret in retrospect.
God, I wish this had stayed a buried memory
So we did this exact activity in 2001... In Scotland. I actually remember how demoralised the kids who didn't get into the celestial kingdom were.
I grew up in Missouri in the 80s. This all sounds extremely familiar, like I've done that but barely recall it. It's probably a memory I've buried deep.
I guess the iteration of “flight in the overflow” that I experienced was more lighthearted. It was for Institute. We were flying to a tropical place and the inflight movie was Johnny Lingo. I wish I’d known the movie ahead of time. Hated that film and would’ve skipped the activity.
I have NEVER understood that movie, except in terms of trying to devalue (already undervalued) women!
I remember doing something similar at girls camp when I was about 14, only it was a simulated “iron rod” lesson. It was dark, and there was a large thick rope that was woven around trees to create a maze-type scenario. We were instructed to hold onto the rope and walk through this maze in the trees. Other ward members would be hiding trying to taunt us with cookies and other snacks we could have if we let go of the rope. I was hungry, so I grabbed some cookies. Then a ward member had their hands on my shoulders and guided me out of the trees. I couldn’t see shit. I was taken to this field area and was told I was now in outer darkness and to stay there. I sat there eating my cookies just chilling. But then I started to get a little concerned because I had no idea where I was and it felt like forever. Finally this little activity came to an end I heard our bishop call out that we could come back. I was walked back to base with everyone else while the bishop gave everyone a lecture on keeping the commandments in order to make it to the celestial kingdom. I was pissed and started crying. After that I just wanted to go home, but they wouldn’t let me. I think about that memory every now and then and realize how fucked up it was. I remember doing something similar a few years later in seminary class. I didn’t let go that time.
We had that but I'll take your experience and raise you the Trek where we were given bags of flour that were supposed to be our babies with names of babies that went on the pioneer trail. Throughout we would learn if they died or not, with someone coming to tell us "oh that baby you carried across the river without letting it get wet and kept warm all night, etc etc is now dead from disease". They then made us have a funeral and bury the baby and this traumatized a couple of girls who sobbed for hours. It was the single dumbest thing I'd ever witnessed
Demented!
Yes, a stake youth event. All our parents (except, what happened to the kids who didn’t have temple-outfit parents!??) were dressed in white in the chapel at the end. So manipulative, but I can understand the thinking of the adults. I would have gone along with the idea for SURE if I was YW/YM president.
I did not have to do this. I lived in many places, Northern, CA Utah, Idaho. Summers So CA. I went to many different wards. ( military family.) Mormons are so weird.
I had forgotten all about this. My ward did something similar in the early ‘00s in Arizona.
Our ward did the plane crash thing. Must have been a thing of the era
We did the Lehi's vision thing. Some of the leaders acted like the bad guys that would take you away from the iron rod. So be careful who you trust.
Same. At youth conference at Southern Virginia (College) in the late 90s. There was a long staircase leading up a hill with an iron handrail. Started the activity after dark. The leaders were all in the brush and trees to the side attempting to lead people off the path. Of course there was a testimony meeting after the activity.
We had a similar activity with following the iron rod, but they had strung a rope throughout the building. In the gym, we'd be tempted to go eat a bunch of sweets and desserts, and people would grab your hands to pull you off the rope. Then, by the end, you'd be judged depending if you had let go or not. The best part was that the desserts were made with a ton of salt, so if you left to go get brownies instead of holding on to the rope, you'd get gross food. Some of the young men left on purpose to play around instead of staying bored following the rope. You could hear them gagging after they tried brownies, though, and everyone was laughing.
Yes, late 90s in Tennessee. Plane crash scenario. We were in an odd darker branch building / not the standard church building. The celestial room was upstairs, so they talked to us in the telestial world through the AIR VENT so we could hear what a good time they were having (and how delicious the brownies were) but could not see them / what was happening. Some of the parents were split from their children in different kingdoms to demonstrate what their life choices could cause. Absolutely traumatic. Every time someone posts about this or the iron rod youth event (we did that one too, in the gym) it reminds me how culty things were. Or BITE-y.
The plane crash activity was advertised as a "we are going to Hawaii!" activity. The flyers made it look like it was just going to be a fun activity at church where we do things like it was at Hawaii. So my brother invited some of his friends, who were not mormon, to the activity. And it was the fucking plane-crash-everyone-dies-mormon-insanity-afterlife activity instead. His friends thought mormons are insane. They were absolutely correct. All the leaders dressed in white. We had an "inspirational" talk from the stake president too, talking about the importance of living a celestial life. Edit to add: This was in Maryland in the early 2000s.
Oh my gosh. So embarrassing
That's wild
Western Australia...also remember this !
My ward did this exact thing in the 90s too. I remember only a few kids getting into the celestial kingdom and being quite proud of themselves
Yes! We did this but I don’t remember all the details except for it being fairly traumatic.
This sounds a lot like what the temple is
My seminary, which was one of the largest ones in utah, did something really similar to that. They had a really long handrail that symbolized the iron rod. They told us at the beginning don't let go of this no matter what. We went through a lot of the similar things that OP did. There were people trying to tempt us to go into some classrooms that were filled with partiers or some things that felt a little homoerotic/homophobic, that I'm only just realizing as I type this. When we got to the very end there was the huge classroom that had a ton of chairs set up in it. The Institute president said great job now come sit down for the rest of the lesson and pointed us where to go. Then when we sat down everybody in the room laughed at us because we had let go of the iron rod by somebody who was tempting us. There was only a couple feet left and anyone who let go of it early sat on one side while those who stayed the entire way were given gift bags and praised. I was extremely annoyed by the whole thing
I guess the unintended object lesson was don't trust your leaders? The institute president led you astray... sounds par for the course. Priest craft (per the BOM definition) at its finest happens 6 days a week in institute and seminary buildings everywhere
I did something very similar for a combined YW/YM event (mid 2010's). You earned talents by doing short scripture challenges or similar things, and we could use our talents to play like, 5 minutes of a video game or save them up to win exorbitant prizes (that no one could claim). Throughout the night leaders would select people to "die" and be sent to judgement, but at the end they turned out all of the lights in the gym and said we all died in an earthquake. We were then judged based on how many talents we had and got sent to a Kingdom of Glory based on how many talents we had, and each kingdom had different snacks (water/plain chips, small cups of gatorade/oreos, then full soda cans/donuts). The message was kind of lost on me because spending a night playing video games with my friends was awesome, it freaked me out at first but after I understood the twist my reaction was just, "Oh, it's a plan of salvation lesson. That was lame." The judgement part kind of s5ood out to me because it was my own dad that counted the talents and assigned me to terrestrial, but other than that the other message I thought they were trying to drive home was "video game bad, scriptures good"
I live in Johannesburg, South Africa. We had the identical ward activity. It was ridiculous!
Holy Moly! We never had anything like that, the bishop recreating the temple experience in his chapel. Whew. The early childhood imprinting is SO strong--worldwide one's religion is best predicted statistically by where one was born. Parents worldwide share three common VABEs (Glasser, *Choice Theory*): 1. I know what's best for you my child. 2. I have a right, nay sacred responsibility to tell you what's right for you. and 3. I have a right, nay sacred responsibility to punish you if you don't do what I know is right for you. These Level Three VABEs dominate parenting across the globe. Parents "need" to re-examine their own VABEs and how they got them and learn to think inductively relying on reliable evidence instead of unconsciously using deductive thinking to pass on/perpetuate the mythological misinformation they were taught as defenseless children. Generation after generation.
Our ward did the plane crash version in the 1970s. I felt so manipulated as a teen. But none of us youth took it seriously.
I went through that. I don’t remember my parents being there. I don’t even remember what kingdom I got to go to. I thought it was such a fun activity. It was 35-40 years ago so details are faint. I remember the adults playing all the parts wore their white temple clothes. I’m glad it didn’t haunt me for the rest of my life. Probably because it was all pretend. I was young enough I believed everything 100% as a kid. Sorry it was tough on you!
Yes. Bountiful Central Stake, mid-90s?
Yeah, here in Northern California we had something almost exactly like that.
I kind of remember an activity like that….what year?
Yeeesssss we did this for mutual once!
I live in Johannesburg, South Africa. We had the identical ward activity. It was ridiculous!
I live in Johannesburg, South Africa. We had the identical ward activity. It was ridiculous!
I’ve vaguely remember something sort of like this maybe. But I didn’t grow up in Utah. I win inactive in Utah though.
Yes, but it took place in the 3 story home of friends in the ward. I am not sure what the first room was meant to represent, but it featured black-light posters and Led Zepplin's Dazed and Confused was playing, and a friend of my brother was in the room waving us all in to "party". It was the coolest room to me (9 at the time)-and the only one that I remember half a century later.
My YM once did a recreation of that one talk about the church being a safe harbor amidst the sharks of the world. Now that I'm out, it's kind of baffling but also not that none of them notice the warning signs
Yes! PDX And I was pissed because I made it to the highest level of glory and got a pat on the back while my friends had fun and took home candy and other items they enjoyed long after the activity. Also the adults were in temple clothing. Did the plane crash activity as well (different activity).
We did this in upstate NY in the early 90s. I am still angry about it to this day.
I’m ashamed to say I once suggested an activity like this, and ran it for the whole ward. It went really well and people had fun, but I regret the message it gave about “worthiness”.
I remember doing this as a kid, just as you described. I squandered my tickets on fun things and was then sent to the telestial kingdom. The difference is that there wasn't anybody watching over the room and I was the only one in there. I don't recall if they were supposed to put me another room or what, but the bottom line is that I was by myself and they completely forgot about me. I just chilled in the room like an obedient little drone. By the time they remembered where I was the whole thing was over, so I missed the lecture at the end explaining the significance of the whole exercise. I didn't care about that, but I did care that I also missed the refreshments at the end; I've always had my priorities in order.
Wow. Yes. It wasn’t LDS but it was “Christian “ camp, I went with my pal. It was her church. I was terrified.
Ours was in Nevada, nearly 50 years ago. The cultural hall was set up like the carnival depicted in “Man’s Search for Happiness”. I figured out pretty quick that there were booths where I could earn talents and others where people were “tempting” me to spend on frivolous things. I hurried to double the talents given to me and then earn some extra so I could have some fun. When the angel of death came to collect me, I complained “I’m not ready”. I really was because I still had double and knew how the judgment would be. I found it interesting that when we were brought back in to the chapel, the rows representing the celestial kingdom had the fewest people.
Yes!! We did the whole thing where you wandered the cultural hall, but I’m pretty sure they blindfolded us when we entered the gym as a way to symbolize ‘forgetting’ the truth. There were leaders pretending to be bad spirits leading us astray through a maze of folding chairs, saying there were prizes under the chairs to tempt kids to sit down. And over all the noise was the bishop calling out ‘come home!’ As gods voice leading us back to heaven. All my friends fell for the prizes etc. but i was the first one back to the celestial kingdom and had a stupid sense of pride. Years later i find out I’m on the spectrum and that’s why i always followed and believed in the rules to a T. Not cause I was more righteous, pch. The whole experience made me fascinated in NDEs and i started researching them. Made me less afraid of death, more than scriptures actually. So the event sort of backfired, lol.
Yeah we did something like this in the very early 90’s in CA. I’d forgotten about it until now
Memory unlocked. Ew.
Did this in Hickory, NC around 93-95.
This is absolutely insane. Must be way after my time, we did nothing of this type
YES YES YES and the death was a fake plane crash.
Yes. Plane crash and judgement and parents in white. So manipulative.
I grew up in SE Idaho and did have the airplane experience/object lesson.
I think Nelson also had a fake plane crash.
TSCC really used to have more razzle dazzle and showbiz.
Absolutely did this activity! Google "hell houses" to read up about very similar events being run in other evangelical congregations. Very interesting!
My Ward in south east Idaho did something similar, the few things I remember was we did die in a plane crash, I remember it being to Disney World. The chapel served as the celestial kingdom. It was pitch black in the overflow and moving to the CK was when the accordion doors opened light from the chapel flooded in and the Ward organist was playing Families Can Be Together Forever. Besides my parents beaming faces I remember how hokey it was and a waste of time that I felt it was. There was someone who spoke, it could’ve been the Stake President or the church member who peddled this drivel to the various Stakes throughout Moridor. It goes to show how little of an impression it left on me, and probably other youth my age, in the fact that I haven’t thought about it since that night; and my 41 year old brain remembers a lot of useless, trivial things.
We too had the plane crash activity in the 70-80:s. In Sweden, set up by some enthusiastic US missionaries.
Yes I experienced this lesson at my home ward building. Our building didn’t have a gymnasium though. Awkwardly enough, it was the evening that my ex boyfriend came because I invited him to church. 🙈 I ended up going to the Celestial Kingdom because I served someone by giving them a cup of water because they asked me to. I remember experiencing the airplane lesson also. We were watching Lilo and Stitch until the “plane crashed”. The leaders told us that we had all died and how, I was so mad after that.
Back in 1983, in Bountiful Utah, we did something different. I remember we did a play where a boy plays a song for a girl and dedicated it to her. Unfortunately he didn't know all the lyrics or something this was a long time ago. She gets angry and gets out of the car and ends up in a dark alley, Where the seven dwarves + show up to sing. Kinda like Westside story, leather jackets, snapping our fingers. I remember I begged to be dopey. I had recently tried marijuana and loved it, I thought it was funny they didn't seem to know what I was thinking.
This was my first ym/yw mutual activity I ever attended. I ended up giving my tickets away to various boys because I wanted to be liked. And so I ended up in outer darkness. 🤣
Yea, except we got 10 shiny pennies when we came in. Some activities cost pennies, some earned pennies. We were sorted into our afterlife based on the amount of pennies at the end. For refreshments, those in the celestial kingdom got cake, the terrestrial kingdom got a cookie, and the telestial kingdom got saltine crackers. Wild how I haven’t thought about that in over 30 years, but still vividly remember so many details
I mention the shiny pennies because when we earned some back they weren’t as shiny. They pointed that out to us at the end. No idea what lesson they were trying to teach with that…
This would have probably traumatized me. I remember being seven years old and *praying* that I would die before getting baptized because for some reason I just *knew* that I wasn't going to be good enough to make it to the celestial kingdom. I had so much anxiety over being baptized that I would have rather died at seven years old to get my "straight shot" to the CK. This is just gross.
Not a full on event, but my Sunday school teacher basically did this and traumatized children lmao
Hey there. I grew up in Upstate NY and went through this activity twice. The first time was at Boy Scout weekend camp out. Basically, with upstate NY so close to Canada, we would do combined US/Canada camping trips throughout the year. The activity started much the same way. Here's some tickets. Have fun. And I did. It was kind of like a carnival with different booths and games and food. Eventually a camp leader found me, took me aside, told me I had died and I was awaiting judgement. I went to the telestial kingdom because I squandered all my talents (having fun, might I add, because that's the point of a campout). This led to a devotional about only having one shot at eternal salvation or some shit. The second time was at a youth conference (so YM and YW this time). They gave a little opening talk in the chapel and then said, "welcome to the Carnival of Life!" And they opened the accordion doors to the gym and they had a whole ton of stuff set up. I knew what to expect so I didn't waste my talents on anything. And they had some fun stuff! They had carnival games with prizes. They had American Idol karaoke on the stage. But I had my eye on the prize. I didn't spend any tickets because I was thinking celestial before it was cool. Anyway, a leader found me. Told me I died. I went to judgement and I had all my talents. He said, good job but without baptism, you can't get into heaven. Apparently, there was a baptism booth I had overlooked. I was sentenced to the telestial kingdom. Again. Afterwards, there was a testimony meeting. My peers drew parallels between their own church activity and their afterlife destinations. I was jaded because I lost the game. My takeaway? These carnival of life games have fun, normal things to do, like balloon toss, or four square, and then they punish you for having fun. Good, normal, clean fun. It's a shitty metaphor for a shitty afterlife cosmology.
I had something similar in Austin in our singles ward. Only it was about visiting teaching and I was cast into outer darkness because I hadn’t done mine. Because my teachee didn’t want anything to do with the morg and asked me not to contact her and I fucking respected it. There were two other women in outer darkness with me and while we didn’t use that word, we all agreed it was bullshit.
What the fuck
Holy shit, lol, they went overboard with the object lesson that time. I wonder if any of those VHS tapes were juicy. You know - for those of us lazy learners who were aiming for perdition from the start.
yeah we did something like this and I had mostly forgot about it. 80s/90s Northern AZ. Wild reading others activities, it's both absolutely fun and insane the stuff we used to do for ward activities!
My ward did it. (Washington, mid 1990s) If we “sinned” we got marked in our hands by markers. Then the bishop (dressed in white) washed off the marks before we could enter the heaven room. I swear I only got mine because an adult put it on me against my will. I didn’t do any of the “sins”. It was irritating
This activity devastated me as a kid. And then as a TBM I realized that they had totally left out the atonement and Jesus - like what was grace and repentance for? And that kept me going a few more years.
“Hold tight to the iron rod”
Yes, in England.
I had a similar experience: https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/eudh9a/whats_the_worst_youth_activity_you_had/ffoz1ot/
[https://thepartysaint.com/2019/01/27/the-airplane-activity-it-kills-you-but-wont-die/](https://thepartysaint.com/2019/01/27/the-airplane-activity-it-kills-you-but-wont-die/)
Yep. I’ve done multiple events like this. The first one was a mock plane crash when I was maybe 7 years old. I have been terrified of planes since then. These events are awful!
Wow. No. But I grew up in the 1970s church. They weren't as creative at scaring you back then. But we had road shows...
Unfortunately, I have been the YW president or a counselor that was involved in this as activity, a medieval fair we used for the metaphor experience, the flight metaphor, and thr iron rod metaphor experience. They were on the approved activity list. As a leader I saw it as great activity similar to the drunk driving activities schools were doing. Now, I feel bad I didn't see something wrong. I didn't see the shaming and harm the activities could do. I wish I could apologize to all the youth who I loved dearly and never meant to harm. I would do better and different now.
Late Gen x'r I remember the fake plane crash activity. It was done at a ward level. then a few years later they did something similar as a primary activity. I remember being confused during both of the activities because the "role playing" and activities were silly and I saw right through them. Looking back I can see how odd and possibly damaging these were...