MULTI-LEVEL MORMONISM

On my drive south from Salt Lake City to Provo, my eyes can’t help but dart from the road up to the plethora of billboards that line I-15: Young Living, doTERRA, Nu Skin. Their commonality? All MLMs—multi-level marketing companies, or, more appropriately named, schemes. Utah just happens to be the global capital of these “Be-Your-Own-Boss-Babe” and “Sell-The-Products-You-Love” companies. This fact is less a sheer coincidence, though, and more a direct result of the force that governs the state of Utah: Mormonism. In fact, Kirk Jowers, CEO of doTERRA, stated, “It would be very difficult for doTERRA to experience the success it’s had in any other state.” Even the CEO of Perfectly Posh, another MLM, said that Utah’s success with direct-selling companies “must have something to do with the way LDS [Latter-day Saint] culture works.” 

The parts of MLMs that may seem dangerous to an outside eye may not feel so sinister in a community where the features of both overlap. The bottom line is that Multi-Level Marketing’s success in Utah likely stems from the fact that Mormon culture is so uniquely prevalent in the state. 

MLMs feature a downline-style structure, creating a literal pyramid formation. Everyone involved in an MLM is part of a downline and has their own downline, too. The larger the downline, the more successful the profit. Utahns, specifically Mormons, may find the MLM hierarchical structure familiar because it mirrors the hierarchical structure of the Mormon Church. What is said by the smallest and most powerful part of the pyramid (the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve) goes. That power trickles down to the Area Seventies, stake presidents,  bishops, and local ward members—the largest, widest part of the pyramid. When a state-wide religion and culture has a similar structure to an MLM, being recruited by an MLM “missionary” may feel second-nature.  

MLMs gain new recruits by “sell[ing] their products or services through person-to-person sales. That means you’re selling directly to other people, maybe from your home, a customer’s home, or online.” Mormonism similarly functions on the basis of door-to-door conversion (and now, online tracting) through missionaries. Mormon missions can be particularly quota-obsessed and numbers-oriented, with mission presidents and assistants to the president (APs) asking for those baptismal reports week after week. Often it seems that the measure of a missionary comes from how many they baptize, with compansionships that report higher baptism rates deemed more successful. Isn’t that the goal? To “invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end?” At the center of it all, could it be said that missionary work is not just door-to-door sales for the Church, creating an eternal downline of converts and baptisms? Perhaps missionaries come home primed and prepped for the practice of door-to-door sales for the “one true” product after spending time doing door-to-door sales for the “one true” church.

Whether it be through a LuLaRoe Legging starter kit or “The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ” missionary pamphlet, certain aspects of Mormonism and MLMs recruiting may feel ethically questionable. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) explains how MLMs can become predatory: “MLMs also target vulnerable people, such as those with chronic illnesses or disabilities … MLMs often target marginalized communities, including people of color and low-income individuals.” Section 9 of the missionary handbook, Preach My Gospel, encourages missionaries “to identify and contact people who have recently had a baby, moved to the area, or experienced a death in the family.” The intent is not necessarily to prey on those in financial and/or emotional distress but rather to provide comfort to those who may be struggling, but there is potential to exploit that overlap. Whether this “targeting” is intentional or not, it’s intuitive to say that those in more vulnerable states are in need of more comfort. Whether in the form of a missionary visit or being invited into a downline, it’s important to note that needing emotional, financial, physical, or social support adds a layer of susceptibility in being recruited by either an MLM or the Mormon Church, or both. 

When rapid onboarding is top priority and the pressure is high to keep numbers up, it’s no surprise both MLMs and Mormon missionaries sometimes use a key recruiting tactic: failing to disclose key institutional information. Investigators of both are promised real change, a renewed purpose, and an expansive community, but neither investigator is being told the full story. When a key reason people join MLMs is for the promise of financial freedom, it’s frustrating when MLM recruiters fail “to adequately disclose to recruits material information about average income at the onset of employment.” Furthermore, Mormon missionary lessons fail to disclose key elements of the Church’s history and practices that would likely keep new converts at bay, including polygamy, the Temple and Priesthood Ban, or homophobic doctrines. Some missionaries may even be unaware of these facts themselves, as the Church does not necessarily make these aspects of the faith common knowledge. It begs the question: if both MLMs and Mormonism were fully upfront with their stipulations instead of putting them in fine print, would conversion numbers be as high? 

Things that are inherently non-religious can function religiously; for example, MLMs function as a prosperity gospel, as they claim that the more you are devoted to MLM sales, then the more your life will flourish financially. MLMs promise that you can be “your own CEO,” “a girlboss,” and a “small business owner.” In reality, these prosperity promises fall short: working as a singular downline member under a multi-million dollar company is quite literally the antithesis of these promises. MLMs claim that the more money, time, and energy you invest into their companies, the more you reap, when in reality “most people who join legitimate MLMs make little or no money. Some of them [even] lose money.” Mormonism functions on a “if” and “then” reward basis. If members pay their tithing, then they are promised financial stability. Take Dallin H. Oaks’ talk titled The Need for a Church, where he directly mentioned the tangible benefits that come from Church activity: “In addition to feeling peace and joy through the companionship of the Spirit, our Church-attending members enjoy the fruits of gospel living, such as the blessings of living the Word of Wisdom and the material and spiritual prosperity promised for living the law of tithing.” In other words, if members go to the temple, then they are promised  personal revelation. If they wear their garments, then they are promised protection from  physical harm. If they follow all the teachings and are faithful members, then they are promised true and everlasting joy. Culturally, it’s even been said that if young men serve a faithful mission, then they will get a “hot wife.” 

Despite making little or no money, the force that keeps people participating in MLMs is the promise of a changed life. If they haven’t made the money yet, they will. They just need to expand their downline and stay faithful to the cause. “Believe in the business!” the top representatives say. “Devotion is everything!” These vague statements reveal that within MLMs, financial success is tied to institutional devotion. But what really drives people to stay when they’re not seeing the fruits of their labor? It’s “the purchase of hope,” as explained by Stacie Bosley, an economics professor who formally studies MLMs. That’s why top representatives use messaging tactics like “good things take time” and “a good system always works!” Participants are conditioned to believe their life could be changed, even though that won’t likely happen. At the core of it, MLMs “[condition] followers to believe that ‘giving up’ on the business would mean giving up on [their] very life’s purpose.” But what happens when they begin to realize they’re turning only a miniscule profit—or none at all? And like Mormonism, if they decide to leave their MLM community, there goes that social network, too. As M. Russell Ballard once said in response to people leaving the Church, “Where will you go?” So, maybe it’s just easier to stick around. Sound familiar? One of the most common sentiments told when someone is struggling with their faith or principles of the Church is “doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith,” coined by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, simply pushing members’ questions aside in an attempt to simplify doctrinal issues. Mormonism also claims that true happiness is only found inside the Church—monopolizing joy is a scare tactic used by the Church to prevent members from leaving or even questioning it. I mean, if leaving the Church meant never being truly happy again, why would anyone even consider it? 

The tight-knit, often homogeneous communities that make up Mormonism create the perfect in for the MLM prosperity gospel to spread. When a message comes through from your Relief Society sister along the lines of “Hey girls! I have an amazing opportunity for you all,” it feels like second-nature. After all, ministering is all about loving and helping thy neighbor. When her message mentions she’s hosting a “product-selling party and would love your help,” no one bats an eye. In a conservative culture that encourages women to make being a wife and mother their top priority, it’s incredibly understandable why members, especially women, recruit from their church communities in the first place. Jessica Winters from The New Yorker explained that the success MLMs have had within Mormonism is due to “the promise of having it both ways: you can be a money-printing #bossbabe and a traditional homemaker all at once. In this context, the MLM presents an ingenious marriage of prosperity theology and conservative gender roles.” This is precisely why Utah boasts the title of ‘Worldwide MLM Capital’:it’s the perfect market for the stay-at-home-moms who want to have their own income, their own community, and their own sense of purpose all while staying within the bounds of what the Church recommends: “[being] primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.” 

Driving along I-15 past the rows of #BossBabe billboards, I can’t help but sympathize with my fellow Utahns who have seen the familiar promises of community, renewed purpose, and a consecrated wallet—only to find themselves disillusioned by empty promises. It’s important to emphasize that the anger should be directed at these multi-million or even multi-billion dollar companies for throwing out empty promises, not the individuals who have been taken in under their wing. As I take my exit, I’m left to wonder how many people these companies have drawn in, preying on the familiar nature of the hierarchical system they’ve known their whole lives: Multi Level Mormonism.