Cult upbringing (with Sam and Melissa)

passed through "hurrikin" once and was appalled that they didn't pronounce it hurricane lol

The Mormon church convinces people that if they don’t pay their tithes they’ll end up in financial ruin?!?!?!?! I knew religions would ask for 10% but I had no idea they actually convinced them horrible things would happen to them if they didn’t pay it. That should be illegal.

Wow, I can't hear them when they speak. Amanda you are loud and clear, but the mic they are using isn't turned on. Sorry it was my earbud it was turned down really low. Sorry.....

“I thought it was going to be something to do with a dump truck” took me out. 😂

I really love the souls you three are.

Interesting audio; Sam and Melissa on the left channel. Amanda on the right

Love this interview! Great work

Wonderful episode. Thank you to the 3 of you for sharing so much.

Love this collaboration. I love both your channels

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For some reason when listening through headphones Amanda your mic only comes through the right earbud and Sam and Melissa’s mic only comes through my left earbud. Just a heads up about the sound!

I remember watching the god squad in Escaping Polygamy and being so scared for you. I’m really glad the town has changed.

Did you know Sam is an ex god squad member? Or at least, he drove his truck around to scare people a little. He didn’t seem to have the perception of god squad being militant like how the show portrayed it.

This is a great interview. You guys brought up 2 helpful things for me. 1) How these ideas can stick around for years even long after you don't believe them anymore. I think it can sometimes be hard when deconstructing. And then 2) The idea of making a list when you were no longer tithing so you could kind of deconstruct the magical thinking that this happened because you tithed. I'm thinking of trying this. Never Mormon, never tithed but I think it's useful idea that you could apply to many beliefs

Your edit at the end wasn't needed. I thought your observation was astute and makes people think. Nevertheless, yes, you said what we immediately comes to mind with that statement.

That is ALSO the problem with the IBLP Duggar cult!

Every time you Sam & Melissa are in a room together, the chemistry is through the roof! I could listen to you all talk about cutting the grass. 😅 literally anything. But I’d much rather hear you talk about your upbringing!! Your lives are so parallel and spreading that knowledge into the world to “normies” like me - is always so powerful &. !uplifting! Can’t wait to watch this 20 times ❤ adore u all.

Great video! I love when yall collab together!

Melissa’s need to be 110% was a typical need for some of us that wanted to be “all in”

Amanda everytime you smile you are so alike with Cammy eskel and Rachel 😮 it’s unbelievable how alike you guys are! 😊

We stayed in hurricane for our honeymoon in 22 and tbh I was SHOCKED by how welcomed we were esp as a queer couple. Most bakeries wanted us to put a pin on their map from where we came from, there was a dinosour metal sculpture shop and a queer shaved ice place. It was a lot of fun seeing and NOTHING like I expected

Loved this

love this collaboration!! hope the lights turn green for all three 🎉

Using god or religion to justify hurting people is so gross. What’s the answer? How does a nobody like me help?

Kody & Janelle were both born into the mainstream LDS (Kody even went on a mission).

Y’all apparently there’s a seer stone app!!

One of my favorite questions my oldest kid asked when they were 15yo was why were there so many terms for guys that masturbate (like jack off) but not for girls. I didn’t have a great answer so we googled terms for girls & omg just soooo funny. We had such a great time learning those things together. Of course there were times I was not yet comfy about taking to them bc of their age or my own limitations, but that exactly how I’d reply to them - like I need some time to find a way to explain it, but when I do we’ll definitely have that conversation.

My kids are now 23yo & 21yo, and I’ll say the hardest part about being open to your kids is the things they tell you about their own sex life. But on the flip side, they are very comfortable talking to doctors and communicating with their partners and standing their ground when it comes to boundaries & consent, as well as wanting the same for everyone else.

about the edited explanation... the statement made perfect sense but the explanation was an interesting insight, love listening to your perspective

Forgive and forget but consequences are an requirement to maintain an civil society

Melissa, brilliant comment regarding a line. I am Catholic and always wished we were given a list of what we can and cannot do. I am in my mid 60's now with 2 married kids. They made life so hard

I love hearing the words 'earthly temptations'. We do live on planet earth right?!

I always thought religiously my background was the wildest eveeer. My mom was a catholic nun, left, married and had children. And then i learned about FLDS, the Order, AUB etc. 😂At that point i realized that i am so randomly "normal" haha.

Does The Order own Lee's Marketplace in SL, UT? Does anyone know?

Another entertaining and insightful video from two great channels. When Melissa spoke about the chains of her past indoctrination making even the smallest decision difficult, it illustrated so well, to me how challenging deconstruction is.

There not being an exact line on what is allowed concerning kissing and making out is on purpose. The church relies on binding their members to them by shame. What the church sells is your salvation from being a sinner, so they have to make sure you are a sinner. Making the lines blurry keeps you in a constant state of feeling guilt and shame because maybe you went too far?!?, so you need the church to repent and god to forgive you for being a sinner.

Whenever I hear about adults who don't even know the proper names for their body parts my brain hurts. My sisters and I were really good at science, so our parents made sure we knew about anatomy. We were always in the library getting science books way above our grade level. I don't remember having "the talk," because we were reading science books with the proper names for all body parts and their functions. It was always about the science, and not until we were 11 or 12 when mom made sure we knew how this scientific information tied with the feelings of teenage hormones.

Many years ago, my mother saw a talk given by Masters and Johnson, the researchers who did a lot of the work on sex, fertility, etc. and my mother said that they did have a couple who had no clue what "sleeping together" meant. This couple was asked how often they slept together and they said, "Every night," meaning that they were asleep, together in the same bed every night, and they had no idea what it meant to engage in sexual intercourse. My mother said that Dr. Masters literally said, "I always just thought that nature would naturally take its course." Perhaps the couple had a very low sex drive, or were asexual, but their issues were resolved once they received the sex talk in his office. This was actually referenced in one of the episodes of "Masters of Sex".

Now, for me, I was the youngest of three children with an age gap and autism/ADHD, so I asked questions, and my parents never lied to me. And, when I got to the age where I became uncomfortable talking to my parents, I looked things up online, and, fortunately, I was wise enough to use good sources, such as Planned Parenthood's website. Planned Parenthood has tons of information, and no shame in the process. In fact, since I lived in a conservative area of Virginia, where they still teach abstinence only sexual education, I told peers, "Go to Planned Parenthood. They're right up the road. They can answer questions and help you, and your parents don't have to know." The reason why the teen pregnancy rate and STD/STI rates are so high in areas where abstinence only sex education exists is because people don't even attempt to prevent anything there. If one tries to prevent it, then they feel like it was "premeditated", whereas, if they don't, then they can claim, "We didn't plan it, things just happened." I literally explained the law to a girl that I knew once, and said, "Your parents have no say in whether or not you go on the pill, but, if something happens, your parents will be legally required to be notified before any termination procedure can take place, at least, 24 hours before it occurs while you are under the age of 18."

Modesty is not a bad idea though. Dressing modestly like LDS can save you a lot of trouble in life.

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I think you all are amazing and insightful. The fact that you’re so positive, introspective and willing to just search for your own individual truth in a loving way is amazing to me. To not be bitter and angry and take on a “victim” mentality shows your strength and courage and how “good” and “worthy”you all are! Thank you for another honest raw and heartfelt discussion! Love both of your channels! ❤

I LOVE WATCHING AND HEARING Y’ALL!!! Y’all are able to bring so much out of each other! Thank y’all for letting us be a part of this phenomenal relationship!!

It’s so sweet to see Sam’s love and respect for his wife and just holding the mic for her not interrupting or anything

So so sweet to see the husband holding that mic for his wife from start to finish. What a gentlemen ❤ they still exist

My 3 favorite people together again, love it. Sam was so strong and so passionate in this episode. Melissa truly opened up a lot and helped explain things so well. Thank you Amanda for always being amazing and talking about the tough topics, we need too. These kids and young adults especially need to hear it. They all need to hear it but I feel so strongly for the younger ones

Very good analysis using the roof crushing who you are and meant to be.

When absolutely everything having to do with avoiding sex and the human body is forbidden to be talked about it just increases the curiosity and setting the followers for abuses and to carry the abuse onto following generations such an injustice for men, women and children 😭😢💔

I was raised Evangelical Chrisitan, in a very insular bubble that seemed a lot more normal than those weird culty Mormons. Except my sex ed was as repressed and pro-ignorance as yours. My parents never told me anything about anatomy, sexuality, sex, etc. I think my mother thought I would just be a spinster if she never told me about sex.

I hope you all can learn to be yourself and not worry about who may or may not be offended. Having a glass of wine is not a sin. I know it’s hard when you’re raised in a strict religious upbringing. Love all three of y’all ! 😊

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