In 2019, both Dale G. Renlund, LDS Apostle, and his wife, Ruth L. Renlund, gave a talk at a Worldwide devotional from BYU-Hawaii. They shared a colorful parable and other colorful images to marginalize and blame doubters for their struggles with the church’s false truth claims.
The Renlunds talk focuses on faith, doubt, and trust in the Church despite imperfections. They share a parable comparing the Church to a worn fishing boat and its leaders to an experienced fisherman. A drowning person is rescued by the boat but, instead of appreciating the safety it provides, fixates on its dents, peeling paint, and the fisherman’s flaws. Eventually, the person chooses to jump back into the ocean, despite the danger.
The Renlunds use this story to emphasize that while the Church and its leaders are not perfect, they still provide the essential path to salvation. They caution against focusing on flaws or listening to critics, comparing doubters to financially or spiritually bankrupt individuals whose advice is untrustworthy. They argue that faith should be nurtured through Church-approved sources, rather than alternative voices or online discussions. Ultimately, they encourage members to stay in the Church—trusting that, despite its imperfections, it is divinely guided and the only way to eternal life.
Ruth L. Renlund: We feel prompted to discuss a topic that has been on our minds for many months: faith and doubt. Last year, in June, we shared a parable in the annual training broadcast for instructors in Seminaries and Institutes of Religion. As we begin today, we want to share this same parable with you.
Dale G. Renlund: Imagine having capsized in a boat while sailing in the ocean. You’re wearing a life preserver and have been swimming for hours toward what you believe is the nearest shore, but you can’t be sure. You’ve become extremely dehydrated, so that every time you start swimming, you become light-headed and fatigued. By your best estimates the shore is 30 kilometers, or 18 miles, away. You fear for your life because you can’t swim that far. In the distance you hear a small engine. The sound seems to be coming toward you; your hope of rescue soars. As you look, you see a small fishing boat approaching.
Ruth L. Renlund: “Oh, thank heavens,” you think, “the captain sees me!” The boat stops and a kindly, weather-beaten fisherman helps you on board. Gratefully you crawl to a seat in the boat, breathing a sigh of relief. The fisherman gives you a canteen of water and some soda crackers. You consume them greedily. The water and soda crackers provide enough nourishment for you to recover. You are so relieved and so happy. You are on your way home.
“Doubt Not, but Be Believing”, Dale G Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L Renlund
Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • Brigham Young University–Hawaii
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/broadcasts/worldwide-devotional-for-young-adults/2019/01/11renlund
Ruth L. Renlund: As you begin to revive and start feeling better, you start paying attention to some things you hadn’t really noticed before. The water from the canteen is a bit stale and not what you would have preferred, like Evian or Perrier. The crackers tasted good, but what you really wanted was some delicatessen meat followed by a chocolate croissant. You also notice that the kindly fisherman wears worn boots and blue jeans. The sweatband on his hat is stained, and he seems to be hard of hearing.
Dale G. Renlund: You note that the boat is well-used and that there are dents in the right side of the bow. Some of the paint is chipped and peeling. You see that when the fisherman relaxes his grip on the rudder, the boat pulls to the right. You begin to worry that this boat and this captain cannot provide the rescue you need.
You ask the fisherman about the dents and the rudder. He says he hasn’t worried much about those things because he has steered the boat to and from the fishing grounds, over the same route, day in and day out, for decades. The boat has always gotten him safely and reliably where he wanted to go.
“Doubt Not, but Be Believing”, Dale G Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L Renlund
Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • Brigham Young University–Hawaii
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/broadcasts/worldwide-devotional-for-young-adults/2019/01/11renlund
Dale G. Renlund: You are stunned! How could he not worry about the dents and the steering? And why could the nourishment have not been more to your liking? The more you focus on the boat and the fisherman, the more concerned you become. You question your decision to get on board in the first place. Your anxiety begins to grow. Finally, you demand that the fisherman stop the boat and let you back into the water. Even though you are still more than 20 kilometers, or 12 miles, away from shore, you can’t stand the idea of being in the boat. With sadness, the fisherman stops the boat and helps you back into the ocean. You are on your own again.
“Doubt Not, but Be Believing”, Dale G Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L Renlund
Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • Brigham Young University–Hawaii
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/broadcasts/worldwide-devotional-for-young-adults/2019/01/11renlund
Ruth L. Renlund: Consider this story as a parable in which the boat represents the Church and the fisherman represents those who serve in the Church. The sole purpose of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to help Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in Their work to bring to pass the eternal life of God’s children. It provides the covenant path, the way to return to our Heavenly Father. Those who serve in the Church, though not perfect, are essential to help and encourage us along the covenant path.
What do the boat and the fisherman teach us about the Church? Do dents and peeling paint on the Church change its ability to provide the authorized saving and exalting ordinances to help us become like our Father in Heaven? If the fisherman must hold on to the rudder with both hands to keep the boat on course, does that negate his and the boat’s ability to get us safely and reliably where we want to go? You do not have to be an ordained seer, like my husband, to know that slipping back into the water instead of staying in the boat is risky. Yet when we lose sight of the big picture, the small dents and peeling paint can loom large in our minds.
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He focused on the dents in the boat instead of on the capability of the boat to lead him to the blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
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Ruth L. Renlund: Would you seek financial advice from someone who is broke and in debt?
Dale G. Renlund: Would you ask for medical advice from a charlatan snake oil salesman?
Ruth L. Renlund: Who would you take advice from on how to improve your forehand in tennis—a weekend hack or Roger Federer?
Dale G. Renlund: So why would you entrust your eternal welfare to those who are spiritually bankrupt because they have ripped up in doubt what they once planted in faith or who, as Jeremiah said, “have forsaken [Christ] the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water?” These individuals have walked away from that fountain of living waters and want you to trust in something that doesn’t hold water.
Ruth L. Renlund: Brothers and sisters, you can know that there is a Living Christ. The blogosphere cannot replace scripture study and reading the words of living prophets and apostles. Foster your faith by going to trustworthy sources to find answers to your questions.
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Ruth L. Renlund: Returning to our parable, those who choose to stay on the well-used, dented boat with the chipped paint are those who recognize that the boat saved them from drowning and can get them safely to shore. In other words, they get on the covenant path and stay on the covenant path.
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Dale G. Renlund: What we consider dents and peeling paint on the well-used boat may turn out to be divinely sanctioned and divinely directed from an eternal perspective. The Lord has either had a hand in the dents and the peeling paint or He uses them for His own purposes.
“Doubt Not, but Be Believing”, Dale G Renlund, LDS Apostle, and Sister Ruth L Renlund
Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults • January 13, 2019 • Brigham Young University–Hawaii
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/broadcasts/worldwide-devotional-for-young-adults/2019/01/11renlund
The Renlunds’ parable is a textbook example of manipulative rhetoric designed to discourage critical thinking, marginalize doubters, and reinforce loyalty to the Church at the expense of individual discernment.
Trustworthy Sources
The Renlund’s statements are classic examples of thought control, a tactic often used in high-demand religious groups to steer members away from independent inquiry. By asserting that “the blogosphere cannot replace scripture study and reading the words of living prophets and apostles,” they dismiss outside perspectives as inherently less valid and dangerous. This creates a false dichotomy: either one seeks answers exclusively from church-approved sources, or they risk being misled.
The call to only go to “trustworthy sources” is coded language for materials sanctioned by the church. It implies that information outside of church-approved channels is inherently unreliable or deceptive. This discourages members from exploring diverse viewpoints, reinforcing an echo chamber where only the church’s narrative is considered legitimate.
Historically, similar rhetoric has been used to discredit critics and alternative interpretations of church history, particularly in response to information emerging from scholars, former members, and investigative journalism. Ironically, many of the most challenging aspects of LDS history—such as the multiple versions of Joseph Smith’s First Vision, the translation of the Book of Abraham, and the origins of polygamy—are now acknowledged by the church itself in official essays, as “trustworthy sources”, after decades of being labeled “anti-Mormon lies.”
This is all an attempt to maintain control over the faith narrative by discouraging independent research and thinking. It is not an invitation to seek truth but rather a directive to stay within a prescribed ideological framework. True faith should not fear scrutiny, and truth should hold up to honest examination, no matter the source.
Dismissing Legitimate Concerns as Petty
The parable equates concerns about the Church’s history, policies, and doctrines to trivial issues like “stale water,” “chipped paint,” and “dents in the boat.” This is a blatant minimization of the serious reasons people leave the Church, such as historical deception, institutional cover-ups, systemic sexism, homophobia, racism, or personal spiritual awakenings that lead them elsewhere.
Comparing real harm (e.g., spiritual trauma, exclusionary practices, faith crises) to superficial complaints about aesthetics or minor inconveniences frames doubters as petty, unreasonable, or ungrateful. This false equivalence gaslights members into feeling guilty for questioning, as if their concerns are insignificant.
Demonizing and Marginalizing Doubters
The talk explicitly portrays those who leave as “spiritually bankrupt” and unworthy of trust. The comparison to a “charlatan snake oil salesman” or someone “broke and in debt” is a blatant attempt to discredit former members and faith critics as unreliable, dishonest, or morally corrupt.
This kind of messaging creates an “us vs. them” mentality, discouraging members from listening to or engaging with those who have left. It also reinforces social consequences for doubting—if you leave, you risk being seen as a deceiver, an apostate, or someone trying to lead others astray.
The idea that someone being rescued from drowning would complain about the brand of water they received is laughably unrealistic. This exaggeration is meant to make doubters seem entitled, petty, and spoiled—people who have been “saved” but are ungrateful for their rescue.
In reality, people who experience a faith crisis are not whining about “chipped paint” (minor, superficial concerns); they are discovering deep cracks in the foundation of the Church itself. Concerns about historical cover-ups, institutional abuse, exclusionary policies, and doctrinal contradictions are not comparable to complaining that your water isn’t fancy enough.
Do leaders think this of the members who act as the “squeaky wheels,” who openly encourage the church to change for the better? LDS leadership wants no criticism, so we can only conclude that leaders find members who point out the “cracked paint” and “dented boat” and “hard of hearing” leadership to be thorns in their side, and apostates, rather than those doing their best to choose to believe, endure to the end, and keep the faith.
Framing Doubt as an Unacceptable Risk
The message is clear: if you leave the boat (Church), you are putting your eternal soul in danger. There is no acknowledgment that someone might swim safely to shore on their own or find another, more seaworthy vessel. Instead, the only options given are:
- Stay in the Church, accept its flaws, and be saved.
- Leave, be alone and spiritually lost, and drown or be eaten by sharks.
This all-or-nothing framing is spiritually coercive and designed to keep members in line through fear rather than faith. It dismisses the reality that many former members find greater peace, morality, and fulfillment outside the Church.
The Hidden Disdain for Doubters
The Perrier analogy is a thinly veiled insult. It trivializes real faith crises, mocks those who struggle, and reinforces the idea that Church leaders are infallible and unaccountable. Instead of addressing genuine concerns with humility and empathy, this kind of rhetoric shames and dismisses those who dare to question, reinforcing an unhealthy culture of blind obedience. This analogy betrays how Church leaders really view those who question: as ungrateful, unreasonable, and undeserving of serious consideration.
It suggests that the Church has already “saved” members, and any questioning or dissatisfaction is akin to childish complaining. It reflects a belief that members should simply accept whatever the Church gives them without question, no matter how flawed or inadequate it may be.
The Fisherman (Church Leadership) Is Above Criticism
The description of the fisherman—weathered, wearing old clothes, hard of hearing—is seen as a representation of the Church’s leadership. The fisherman’s “hard of hearing” nature raises the question: does the Church acknowledge that it does not listen to criticism? If so, why is this framed as acceptable rather than a problem?
The idea that the fisherman has “never worried” about the boat’s flaws suggests that Church leaders do not need to change, listen, or self-correct. The implication is that members should just “trust the fisherman” and ignore problems rather than expect or work for improvements. Is there something wrong with taking good care of a boat? Why not fix the chipped paint and dents? Let’s work together and fix the rudder that pulls to the right. What can we do with policies to make the church a better environment for everyone?
Leadership is likely only wanting to be responsible for fixing the issues they see and care about. If they let the membership voice concerns up the chain, then the leaders will become actual servants of the people. Dale Renlund suggests these dents may be sanctioned by God for his purposes. This is manipulative and screams of an oversimplification that paints believers into a cult.
The manipulative tactics in this parable closely align with the patterns outlined in Dr. Steven Hassan’s BITE model, which describes how cults control Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotion to maintain dominance over their members. The Church leaders in this talk seek to control behavior by demanding unquestioning loyalty to “stay in the boat,” discouraging any deviation from the “covenant path.” They restrict information by warning against alternative sources, dismissing the “blogosphere” and encouraging members to rely only on approved materials. They influence thought by framing all doubt as dangerous and unreasonable, equating it with self-destruction. And finally, they manipulate emotion through fear and shame, portraying those who leave as deceived, broken, or even spiritually bankrupt. These are classic cult-like control mechanisms, not hallmarks of a healthy, open, and honest organization.
Absolving the Church of Accountability
Elder Renlund goes so far as to say that the “dents and peeling paint” may be “divinely sanctioned” or “used for God’s purposes.” This is a dangerous thought because it excuses harm, injustice, and institutional failure by suggesting that God either caused or allows these issues for some greater, unknowable reason.
This mindset enables complacency and discourages members from demanding or expecting accountability from Church leadership. It also invalidates real harm experienced by members, as if abuse, exclusion, or historical deception are just “part of the ride.” This is the same mindset that was happy to leave a racist policy (or doctrine – depending on what decade it is) in place and forbid black members of the church from priesthood ordination and temple attendance.
The church throws God under the bus, suggesting they don’t understand his ways, but that we must follow them. That is, until a leader becomes pressured into feeling that God changed his mind. We know the church can change, they now allow all (men only, of course) to be ordained to the priesthood. They now forbid men being married to multiple women, at least live women, at a time. The church previously practiced polygamy and still retains polygamy as a scripturally sanctioned doctrine of eternal marriage, but at one time the leadership changed. What about that fisherman who “never worried” about the dents and other flaws of the boat? At some point he must care, does he only care when the boat begins to sink? Can the boat sink? We’re assured that the church leadership cannot lead us astray!
The parable’s portrayal of a rescued person complaining about not receiving Perrier water and gourmet food is a glaringly condescending misrepresentation of why people question or leave the Church. Let’s break down why this analogy is both absurd and revealing of Church leadership’s disdain for doubters.
The Leadership’s Arrogance: “Criticizing Leaders is Wrong, Even if True”
This parable fits neatly into the long-standing doctrine that Church leaders are beyond reproach. The Church has explicitly taught that even when criticism of leadership is accurate, it is still wrong.
The implication is that if members have concerns about doctrine, history, or policy, they should keep quiet and accept things as they are—just like the rescued person should accept flat water and stale crackers without complaint. The flat water and stale crackers are “sufficient for our needs,” and we shouldn’t want for anything more. The refusal to acknowledge or address legitimate concerns reinforces the perception that the Church does not care about its members’ struggles, only their obedience.
Church Leaders Are Out of Touch with Reality
This analogy is tone-deaf and out of touch with the lived experiences of the general membership. Most members struggling with faith are not demanding luxury—rather, they are seeking truth, integrity, and spiritual fulfillment. A faith crisis is not a matter of being picky; it is often a painful, identity-shattering experience that deserves compassion and understanding, not mockery. The leadership’s framing of doubters as spoiled complainers shows how disconnected they are from the real emotional, intellectual, and spiritual struggles their members face.
The Renlunds’ parable is a masterclass in manipulation. It minimizes real issues, vilifies those who leave, discourages critical thinking, and demands blind loyalty while portraying the Church as beyond reproach. This kind of rhetoric fosters an unhealthy, high-demand religious environment where members are pressured to ignore their own concerns, suppress doubts, and distrust those who see the Church differently. They give up their own intuition, forsaking their doubts and better judgement, for a false hope in a hollow truth sold by the very snake oil salesman church leadership warns of.
Claim Your Story
The Renlunds’ parable is not our story. It is a caricature designed to shame and dismiss those who question, reducing our struggles to petty complaints about stale water and chipped paint. But we know the truth—our doubts were not about inconvenience or personal preference; they were about integrity, honesty, and the search for something real. The Church will continue to paint us as ungrateful, spiritually weak, or even dangerous, but we do not have to accept their version of our journey. We have the right—and the responsibility—to tell our own stories.
If we remain silent, Church leaders will define us. They will say we left because we were offended, lazy, deceived, or never believed and wanted a life of sin. They will insist we chose to “drown” rather than stay in their flawed but “saving” boat. But we know better. Many of us fought to stay, pleaded for answers, and agonized over what leaving would mean for our families, our friendships, and our identities. Our experiences matter, and sharing them ensures that others who are struggling will know they are not alone. Your story is powerful. Tell it.
You don’t have to tell your story alone. Platforms like wasmormon.org exist to collect and amplify our voices, ensuring that our experiences are heard. This site provides a space where former and questioning Mormons can share their journeys honestly, free from the misrepresentation and dismissal we so often face. By adding your voice, you help build a collective record that challenges the Church’s false narratives and offers solidarity to those still navigating their faith transitions. Your story matters—please, share it.
More reading:
- Playing Church History Whack-a-Mole
- https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/broadcasts/worldwide-devotional-for-young-adults/2019/01/11renlund
- https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-and-sister-renlund-discuss-faith-doubt-worldwide-broadcast
- https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2019-01-1010-elder-dale-g-renlund-with-sister-ruth-l-renlund?lang=eng
- Mormon Apostle: Shame on Doubters For Playing “Church History Whack-a-Mole”
- Church Claims Activism a Tactic of Satan and Gaslights Members
- Demonizing Doubt: Nelson’s Talk on Lazy Learners and Lax Disciples