Falling Figs: The AVOW Conspiracy Forum in the Context of Mormon Neo-Fundamentalism

Ebook

In the summer of 2022, I first came across the case of Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow. As a former Mormon, I was both horrified and fascinated by the case. I asked myself questions: how could something like this be born in a Mormon environment? At first glance, Daybell's cult had its own doctrines with New Age elements that had little in common with traditional LDS Mormonism. However, as I went through the statements, I couldn't help but notice little hints that their murders were in some mysterious way related to Mormon doctrine. So I decided to do some research on the online conspiracy forum that Daybell was active on and where, as I later found out, he also got some of his ideas. This work is therefore an immersion in the conspiracy mentality of Mormon neo-fundamentalists and an assessment of its potential danger. I would like to thank everyone who looked into this case in detail, and especially John Dehlin, who brought me to the topic.