How to Respond When People Call You Brainwashed

We’ve compiled some great quotes from living prophets and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that you can turn to when people raise objections and claim that members of the Church are brainwashed or that they solely follow with blind faith.

To find the source of the quote, click on the name of the person who gave it and it will redirect to the talk.

Thanks to Sara Phelps whose Instagram post gave me the the idea for this article.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Satan, our adversary, wants us to fail. He spreads lies as part of his effort to destroy our belief. He slyly suggests that the doubter, the skeptic, the cynic is sophisticated and intelligent, while those who have faith in God and His miracles are naïve, blind, or brainwashed. Satan will advocate that it is cool to doubt spiritual gifts and the teachings of true prophets.

I wish I could help everyone to understand this one simple fact: we believe in God because of things we know with our heart and mind, not because of things we do not know. Our spiritual experiences are sometimes too sacred to explain in worldly terms, but that doesn’t mean they are not real.

…let me be clear: there is nothing noble or impressive about being cynical. Skepticism is easy—anyone can do it. It is the faithful life that requires moral strength, dedication, and courage. Those who hold fast to faith are far more impressive than those who give in to doubt when mysterious questions or concerns arise.

R. Conrad Schultz

One of the sneaky ploys of the adversary is to have us believe that unquestioning obedience to the principles and commandments of God is blind obedience. His goal is to have us believe that we should be following our own worldly ways and selfish ambitions. This he does by persuading us that “blindly” following the prophets and obeying the commandments is not thinking for ourselves. He teaches that it is not intelligent to do something just because we are told to do so by a living prophet or by prophets who speak to us from the scriptures.

Boyd K. Packer

Those who talk of blind obedience may appear to know many things, but they do not understand the doctrines of the gospel. There is an obedience that comes from a knowledge of the truth that transcends any external form of control. We are not obedient because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see. The best control, I repeat, is self-control.

Neil L. Anderson

We embrace President Nelson as we would have embraced Peter or Moses if we had lived in their day. God told Moses, “I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.”⁷ We listen to the Lord’s prophet with the faith that his words are “from [the Lord’s] own mouth.”⁸

Is this blind faith? No, it is not. We each have a spiritual witness of the truthfulness of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. By our own will and choice, we raised our hand this morning, declaring our desire to sustain the Lord’s prophet with our “confidence, faith, and prayer[s]”⁹ and to follow his counsel. We have the privilege as Latter-day Saints to receive a personal witness that President Nelson’s call is from God. While my wife, Kathy, has known President Nelson personally for nearly three decades and has no question about his divine mantle, upon his setting apart, she began reading all his general conference talks of the past 34 years, praying for an even deeper assurance of his prophetic role. I promise you that this greater witness will come to you as you humbly and worthily seek it.

Why are we so willing to follow the voice of our prophet? For those diligently seeking eternal life, the prophet’s voice brings spiritual safety in very turbulent times.

J. Richard Clarke

Brothers and sisters, we do not always know why the Lord commands us to do certain things. His ways are not man’s ways. But this much we do know—his paths are straight. They are not the crooked paths of men. We accept faith as the first principle of the gospel; but do we trust the Lord enough to act first and receive confirmation later? Some may call this blind obedience. An Idaho bishop used to say, “Any kind of obedience is better than any kind of disobedience.” Faith is not blind. However, we will often receive no witness until after a trial of our faith. If we have been disobedient in the past, let us commit today to repent and to put our house in order.

Waldo P. Call

My dear brothers and sisters and family, can’t you see what we need to do? Be submissive—do not murmur—endure to the end. If we will do this, the Lord will show us the way, if we will but follow his prophets and Apostles.

Do not question their direction! It is as simple as that. No, I am not saying to have blind faith or blind obedience.

Sometimes you may want proof of this doctrine or that saying of the prophet. Keep the commandments! Pray, walk in righteousness, and through the Holy Spirit you can know by that sweet, calm feeling that it is true.

Moroni said, “By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.” (Moro. 10:5.)

We can know by the Spirit that it is right, if, like Nephi, we have faith, are obedient, and keep the commandments.

What if Naaman had let his pride rule him? He would have remained a leper.