Many people who have left the church report still feeling the “spirit” just as they did when they were active members. This feeling is linked to a phenomenon called “Elevation Emotion,” which is well-researched and associated with positive emotions like gratitude and admiration. Researchers can reliably induce this feeling, often described as a warm sensation in the body or chest, which resembles the experiences people commonly refer to as a spiritual burning in the bosom. This feeling is trusted as a spiritual witness of truth in the Mormon church, but perhaps feeling good about something isn’t the same as that something being true.
Elevation
Elevation is an emotion elicited by witnessing actual or imagined virtuous acts of remarkable moral goodness. It is experienced as a distinct feeling of warmth and expansion that is accompanied by appreciation and affection for the individual whose exceptional conduct is being observed. Elevation motivates those who experience it to open up to, affiliate with, and assist others. Elevation makes an individual feel lifted up and optimistic about humanity.
“The power of the positive moral emotions to uplift & transform people has long been known… an emotion that I have begun to call “elevation.” Elevation is elicited by acts of virtue or moral beauty; it causes warm, open feelings in the chest; and it motivates people to behave more virtuously themselves.” – Jonathan Haidt, Elevation and the Positive Psychology of Morality (2003) Author, Social Psychologist, Professor of Ethical Leadership
Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist who researches morality––its emotional foundations, cultural variations, and developmental course. He began his career studying the negative moral emotions, such as disgust, shame, and vengeance, but then moved on to the understudied positive moral emotions, such as admiration, awe, and moral elevation.
In an early research paper he related Thomas Jefferson who seemed to understand the concept of elevated emotion during his day.
The power of the positive moral emotions to uplift and transform people has long been known, but not by psychologists. In 1771, Thomas Jefferson’s friend Robert Skipwith wrote to him asking for advice on what books to buy for his library, and for his own education. Jefferson sent back a long list of titles in history, philosophy, and natural science. But in addition to these obviously educational works, Jefferson advised the inclusion of some works of fiction. Jefferson justified this advice by pointing to the beneficial emotional effects of great fiction:
[E]very thing is useful which contributes to fix us in the principles and practice of virtue. When any … act of charity or of gratitude, for instance, is presented either to our sight or imagination, we are deeply impressed with its beauty and feel a strong desire in ourselves of doing charitable and grateful acts also. On the contrary when we see or read of any atrocious deed, we are disgusted with its deformity and conceive an abhorrence of vice. Now every emotion of this kind is an exercise of our virtuous dispositions; and dispositions of the mind, like limbs of the body, acquire strength by exercise. (Jefferson, 1771/1975, p.350).
Jefferson goes on to say that the physical feelings and motivational effects caused by a good novel are as powerful as those caused by real episodes:
[I ask whether] the fidelity of Nelson, and generosity of Blandford in Marmontel do not dilate [the reader’s] breast, and elevate his sentiments as much as any similar incident which real history can furnish? Does he not in fact feel himself a better man while reading them, and privately covenant to copy the fair example?
I have quoted this passage at length because it serves as an abstract for this chapter. Jefferson identified, over 200 years ago, the major features of an emotion that I have begun to call “elevation” (Haidt, 2000). Elevation is elicited by acts of virtue or moral beauty; it causes warm, open feelings (“dilation?”) in the chest; and it motivates people to behave more virtuously themselves (to “covenant to copy the fair example”).
“[E]very thing is useful which contributes to fix us in the principles and practice of virtue. When any act of charity or of gratitude, for instance, is presented either to our sight or imagination, we are deeply impressed with its beauty and feel a strong desire in ourselves of doing charitable and grateful acts also. [I ask whether] the fidelity and generosity (of some fiction books) do not dilate [the reader’s] breast, and elevate his sentiments as much as any similar incident which real history can furnish? Does he not in fact feel himself a better man while reading them, and privately covenant to copy the fair example?” – Thomas Jefferson (1771)
Jonathan Haidt continues to explain elevation as an emotion in research papers, books and articles online. Elevation is defined as a warm, uplifting feeling and people experience it when they witness or even think about compassion.
Here’s a puzzle: why do we care when a stranger does a good deed for another stranger? For the past several years I have studied this feeling, which I call “elevation.” I have defined elevation as a warm, uplifting feeling that people experience when they see unexpected acts of human goodness, kindness, courage, or compassion. It makes a person want to help others and to become a better person himself or herself. Elevation is widely known across cultures and historical eras. You probably recognize it yourself.
Haidt explains that as he researched elevation he saw it coming up as an emotional response which was common to witnessing “saintly deeds”. Participants felt physical sensations in their chests such as “warm, pleasant or “tingling” feelings” and when participants felt it, they were motivated to be “better people”.
I saw a whole new emotional response triggered by virtuous, pure, or super-human behavior. I called this emotion “elevation” because seeing other people rise on the vertical dimension toward goodness seems to make people feel higher on it themselves. Once I began looking for elevation, I found it easily.
Love and a desire for affiliation appear to be a common human response to witnessing saints and saintly deeds, or even to hearing about them second hand. Elevation [is]… a desire to associate with those who are morally admirable.
We found that participants in the elevation conditions reported different patterns of physical feelings and motivations when compared to participants in the control conditions. Elevated participants were more likely to report physical feelings in their chests—especially warm, pleasant, or “tingling” feelings—and they were more likely to report wanting to help others, become better people themselves, and affiliate with others.
He relates this as a surprising and beautiful fact about humans that we can be moved to tears by witnessing saintly deeds. He points out that there are stories of people experiencing this feeling religiously and devote themselves to the mission of “the one who elevated them”, such as Jesus. These feelings are even contagious in that “when an elevation story is told well, it elevates those who hear it.” In a Mormon (or any religious) context, we could easily equate this to bearing a testimony. Mormons are taught that bearing a testimony will bring the spirit, which will confirm truth to the audience. But research shows that this is not unique to the church, but is more a factor of human emotion.
It is a surprising and very beautiful fact about our species that each of us can be moved to tears by the sight of a stranger helping another stranger. It is an even more beautiful fact that these feelings sometimes inspire us to change our own behavior, values, and goals. Narratives of the lives of Jesus, Buddha, Mother Teresa, and other inspiring figures are full of stories of people who, upon meeting the saintly figure, dropped their former materialistic pursuits and devoted themselves to advancing the mission of the one who elevated them.
Indeed, a hallmark of elevation is that… it is contagious. When an elevation story is told well, it elevates those who hear it. Powerful moments of elevation, whether experienced first or second hand, sometimes seem to push a mental “reset” button, wiping out feelings of cynicism and replacing them with feelings of hope, love, optimism, and a sense of moral inspiration.
In Mormonism, the term “burning bosom” refers to a specific type of spiritual confirmation or feeling. This concept comes from the Doctrine and Covenants, a book of revelations considered scripture by the LDS Church. In Doctrine and Covenants 9:8, it describes how a person can receive confirmation of truth from the Holy Ghost:
But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
The “burning bosom” is thus a metaphorical expression used to describe the warm, peaceful, and sometimes intense emotional sensation that believers may feel in their chest when they receive a spiritual witness or confirmation from the Holy Spirit. This feeling is often interpreted as a sign of divine truth and is sought after in moments of prayer and meditation, especially when seeking guidance or confirmation about important decisions or doctrinal questions.
For many members of the church, experiencing a “burning bosom” serves as a deeply personal and significant testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel and the teachings of the church. The feeling is somewhat ambiguous and members are even known to joke about it equating to spiritual heartburn.
After local Mormon Elder Ivan Levine felt a severe burning in his bosom while reading the Book of Mormon, the devoted LDS man was prescribed a special extra-strength, prescription-only Pepcid AC medication by his doctor, sources confirmed Tuesday.
Levine described the spiritual sensation in his chest in detail to his medical professional, who quickly identified the symptoms as being consistent with gastroesophageal reflux disease.
The Latter-Day Saint had first noticed the burning in his bosom region while reading the account of Lehi’s escape from Jerusalem in 1 Nephi. He later relayed the feeling he had experienced to his Baptist friend in an attempt to proselytize the Protestant believer.
“I know the Book of Mormon to be true because a pervasive, fiery sensation slowly rose from my abdomen into my chest while I read it,” he said to the friend.
“You really should get that checked out,” his friend had replied, a look of concern on his face.
After diagnosis, Levine’s doctor prescribed the medication, a special Pepcid AC formula specifically designed for Mormons reading one of their holy books.
After Jonathan Haidt’s research and definition of “elevation,” this seems to exactly explain the burning bosom feeling we equate in the church to a visit from the Holy Ghost.
Students in two sections of “Introduction to Psychology” were randomly assigned to the experimental or control conditions. Those in the elevation condition (experimental group) watched a morally uplifting video of a Thai insurance advertisement showing a man helping various people although receiving no direct reward for it; those in the amusement condition (control group) watched a humorous video excerpt from the Big Bang Theory television show. Displays of humorous scenes are often used in research to induce mirth or joy, whereas videos or stories displaying acts of charity or kindness or forgiveness have been found to be able to induce moral elevation.
The emotion-induction was successful: Participants reported high levels of elevation only in the elevation condition and high levels of amusement only in the control condition (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Mean self-reported feelings and appraisals from participants as a function of video condition.
Moral Elevation and Economic Games: The Moderating Role of Personality. Original Research Article. Frontiers in Psychology, 13 June 2019. Sec. Personality and Social Psychology, Volume 10 – 2019 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01381/full
One could claim that he is merely studying the psychology behind the feelings of the Holy Ghost, and this doesn’t disprove anything, but when we look at how the church has used this, it seems something nefarious is being done.
“What usually happens when we begin to ponder how merciful the Lord has been to mankind? To us personally? What happens when we count our blessings, or perhaps our sins for which we must ask his forgiveness, and recognize his hand in our individual lives? Is it not true that our hearts turn to the Lord in love and gratitude? Do our faith and humility increase? Yes, and that, in my judgment, is the impact of verse 3—following the counsel therein helps us to become more humble, more willing and ready to receive new information and knowledge with an open mind. Any person who has sincerely followed the admonition of verse 3 is then prepared to apply the counsel on confirming truth that follows in the next two verses…” – LDS Seventy, Gene R. Cook, 1994
What usually happens when we begin to ponder how merciful the Lord has been to mankind? To us personally? What happens when we count our blessings, or perhaps our sins for which we must ask his forgiveness, and recognize his hand in our individual lives? Is it not true that our hearts turn to the Lord in love and gratitude? Do our faith and humility increase? Yes, and that, in my judgment, is the impact of verse 3—following the counsel therein helps us to become more humble, more willing and ready to receive new information and knowledge with an open mind. Any person who has sincerely followed the admonition of verse 3 is then prepared to apply the counsel on confirming truth that follows in the next two verses…
Elder Cook explains that as we follow Moroni’s Promise, we must ponder the Lord’s mercy, which if done correctly, will evoke emotions very similar to the elevation emotion. He states that “any person who has sincerely followed the admonition of verse 3 is then prepared to apply the counsel on confirming truth.” In other words, we must prepare ourselves to feel a burning in our bosom, but evoking the feeling ourself in pondering mercy and love, then when we feel a burning bosom, we can take that feeling as a spiritual witness from God and the Holy Ghost that we have found truth. This burning bosom feeling combines nicely with the confirmation bias in Moroni’s Promise in that together they can convince many that they “know that the church is true.”
Emotional and Psychological Manipulation
The feelings we credit to the Holy Ghost can in fact be engineered. Individuals can essentially be manipulated by having them feel this feeling and telling them it is the Holy Ghost testifying of the truth. This has been done in countless social experiments and is now predictable. Elevation as a feeling is uplifting and motivating, and doesn’t just confirm truth. It’s unsettling that the church seems to know this too. They have known for a while in fact. The church-owned marketing firm has even registered a trademark called HeartSell for doing this in advertising. Bonneville operates as a for-profit marketing agency and has created many ads for the church and other clients using HeartSell – or engineering these elevation feelings in marking in order to motivate an audience to action. They called it “strategic emotional advertising.”
“Our unique strength is the ability to touch the hearts and minds of our audiences, evoking first feeling, then thought and, finally, action. We call this uniquely powerful brand of creative “HeartSell”® – strategic emotional advertising that stimulates response.” – HeartSell® on Bonneville International Website, 2014
So what are we to do? Can we trust the burning bosom, or elevation emotion as a spiritual truth confirmation? It seems the better label for the feeling is “comforter” and not “witness of eternal and spiritual truth.” Entrusting the any emotion but especially elevation emotions to teach us truth is not wise. We see that the church uses an approach of emotional manipulation, and even sells the practice as marketing. They teach missionaries to do this too, though they don’t explain the psychology of it. It seems trusting our emotions to teach us truth is a foolish endeavor.
Gad Saad, a professor of marketing even teaches us that a pursuit of truth must rely on facts, not feelings.
“Any human endeavor rooted in the pursuit of truth must rely on fact and not feelings.” – The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense by Gad Saad, Professor of Marketing, Concordia University, Canada.
Any human endeavor rooted in the pursuit of truth must rely on fact and not feelings.
Combining the confirmation bias inherent in Moroni’s Promise with elevated emotion, which is the typical psychological response to sincere prayerful questioning, we have the formula the church has perfected. Did they use this formula on you? Was it successful in shifting what you thought was true? Did it hold, or did it leave you feeling manipulated?
![“[E]very thing is useful which contributes to fix us in the principles and practice of virtue. When any act of charity or of gratitude, for instance, is presented either to our sight or imagination, we are deeply impressed with its beauty and feel a strong desire in ourselves of doing charitable and grateful acts also.
[I ask whether] the fidelity and generosity (of some fiction books) do not dilate [the reader's] breast, and elevate his sentiments as much as any similar incident which real history can furnish? Does he not in fact feel himself a better man while reading them, and privately covenant to copy the fair example?” - Thomas Jefferson (1771) | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Thomas-Jefferson-on-elevated-emotion-1024x1024.jpg?resize=640%2C640&ssl=1)
