Austin Wheeler shares his personal journey navigating Mormonism, military culture, and faith deconstruction. He recounts growing up in the church, his early experiences with trauma, and how Mormonism influenced his views on violence and masculinity. After a series of life events—ranging from military service at West Point to his mission in Taiwan—he confronts the toxic elements of both the military and the church, including dehumanization and harmful beliefs. Ultimately, he reflects on how his experiences shaped his disillusionment with Mormonism, his struggles with identity, and the deep questions about purpose and meaning that arose as a result.

Show Notes

YouTube

00:01:55 Introductions

00:08:55 His parents divorced when he was in seventh grade

00:10:00 He was sexually assaulted by a ward member and doubled down in his belief

00:31:00 How his High School shaped his identity

00:42:15 Prepper culture associated with the military culture

00:58:55 The Mormon culture is that they are going to build you in OUR image

01:20:00 Experiences at the Mormon Singles Ward

01:23:37 Called to the Tawaiian mission

01:36:00 He started a fight club in the MTC

01:45:00 Mormon culture makes a lot of people weird

01:50:35 His mission president thought he was sick because he had sinned

01:53:15 They sent him home for worthiness reasons, not because he was sick

02:03:45 He went back on his mission

02:24:00 Meeting his wife

02:42:00 Authority and obedience in the church and in the military

02:56:20 Opening his mind to the reality that the church had a lot of shortcomings

03:07:10 How did his military career end?

03:19:45 How did his military service end?

03:27:35 Because he was never deployed is he happy or sad? Broken or healed?

03:36:35 If you want to connect with people who have been in the military

03:48:30 Nihilistic views and the emptiness of existence

03:53:20 Final thoughts

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