Joining Teal Swan’s Cult after Leaving Mormonism - Jared Dobson Pt. 3 - Mormon Stories

When someone loses their faith in Mormonism, there are several paths often followed. One is to become agnostic or atheist, and never to rejoin a religion again. One is to re-join a Christian church. One is to follow a more fundamentalist Mormon path (e.g. Denver Snuffer, Preppers, Julie Rowe). And one is to become susceptible to new age beliefs and other gurus or cult leaders. Today we will be talking about the last option.

Teal Swan (born Mary Teal Bosworth) is described on her web site as an American spiritual teacher, author, and social media personality. She was raised in Logan, UT, and as a teenager was connected to controversial Mormon therapist Barbara Snow, who was at the center of the Satanic Ritual Abuse panic in the 1990s and 2000s. After a very turbulent childhood, which involved self harm and suicidality, Teal pursued modeling for a time, and eventually began pursuing the path of becoming a spiritual guide.

Teal's teachings on how to manage mental health issues have often been described as unconventional and she has received criticism for how she attracts fans, with some critics nicknaming her "The Suicide Catalyst". At present she has 700,000 followers and has been covered by the BBC, and in several documentaries, including a recent documentary on Netflix.

Her history of work is highly controversial because it incorporates various super controversial and problematic ideologies and practices such as:

The cultivation of repressed/recovered (false) memories.
Claims of Satanic ritual abuse.
Energy healing.
Clairvoyance.
Numerology.
The Law of Attraction.
A belief in a "Third Eye."
The usage of crystals to "raise your vibration or frequency."
A belief in multiple lives.
A belief that she is an alien from another planet.
A belief in spiritual projections/possessions.
When dealing with suicidal clients, referring to suicide as "pushing the reset button" for a future life.
Communal living.

Jared Dobson was raised LDS, served an LDS mission, got married and divorced, became suicidal, and started searching for answers in New Age Spirituality. He came across Teal Swan, and became a follower in her movement (a "Tealer") for 2 years. He ended up moving in with Teal and became a part of her communal family in Park City, Utah. They were romantically involved for 5-6 months, were set to have a child together, and as the relationship began to fray, Jared was kicked out of the commune and checked himself into a psychiatric ward (UNI at the University of Utah).

He has been recovering ever since.

This is Jared's story of his experiences with Teal Swan. This story also has important connections to other cult-like phenomena occurring in recent times, including the Lori Vallow/Chad Daybell/Julie Rowe/Prepper phenomena. It also is an insider's view into the emergence of a modern cult.

00:00 Jared's relationship with Teal becomes sexual
09:53 Teal gets him some tattoos. New name Fallon
11:47 Movement grows. Paranoia when things start unravelling, comparing to Jim Jones
12:40 Jared the first main threat. Abusive relationships
14:07 Another super important marker of a cult. Comparing with Mormonism and JWs
16:53 Teal wanting him to cut out his family. Not seeing his daughter
17:29 False memories and their implications. Book Remembering Satan
21:43 Shadowhouse - livestreaming experiences. People watching are thinking Teal has the answers
24:15 Difference between screen persona and real persona. She's a nightmare behind the screens
24:51 David Koresh behind the scenes on Netflix
25:18 Jared being told he was the reason things got bad
25:52 Did she ever claim to be a therapist?
31:24 Teal admitting she was lying. Concious or pious fraud?
33:36 Teal claiming she had been through more than Holocaust victims. Comparing with JS
34:09 Teal self harming. Borderline personality disorder?
39:13 Teal marrying Swan after having been involved with Jared
39:40 Comparing to NXIVM cult
43:07 Teal talking about feeling bad about what she did sometimes
44:02 Jared about his current life, being happy.
45:23 For the lonely, cults are better than being alone
46:05 Things falling apart
47:25 Teal gets on a dating service. Jim Carrey (THE Jim Carrey) calls.
48:40 Jared being exhausted. He starts going crazy. He leaves.
49:50 Still believing in her after all the experiences
51:13 Feeding people suicidal thoughts to people
54:15 Comparing with LDS church. Jared still believing after leaving
54:38 Movie The Master. 'Was I in a cult?!' Comparing to LDS
56:45 What Jared knows now

Mormon Stories #1328-1331: Leaving Mormonism to Join Teal Swan’s Cult - Jared Dobson
   • Mormon Stories #1328-1331: Leaving Mo...