meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Journal.

‘Exmo’ Influencers Are Taking On Mormonism

The Journal.

The Wall Street Journal

Daily News, Business News, News

4.25.3K Ratings

🗓️ 21 October 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Once among the world's fastest-growing religions, Mormonism is facing a 21st-century reckoning, driven by social media. Across Tiktok and Instagram an army of #exmo creators take on controversial aspects of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ history. WSJ’s Georgia Wells reports on the growing online #exmo community and how the church is pushing back. Jessica Mendoza hosts.  Further Listening: - Why Utah Is Regulating Mom Influencers - The Mormon Church's $100 Billion Secret Fund Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hi, my name is Alyssa Grenfell and I am an ex-Mormon content creator.

0:10.0

That's 32-year-old Alyssa Grenfell on YouTube.

0:15.0

Alyssa was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

0:20.0

I was convinced that there was nowhere as good as the Mormon church.

0:24.5

And she talks a lot on social media about her life growing up Mormon.

0:28.8

She was baptized at 8.

0:30.6

So many memories of my childhood are in church, something called activity days, mutual.

0:35.8

She went to Brigham Young University, which is affiliated with the church.

0:39.2

And just like lots of the girls at BYU at the time,

0:41.8

I decided it was the right thing for me to serve a mission.

0:45.8

And at 23, Alyssa got married in a Mormon ceremony.

0:49.0

I participated in an ultra-secret ceremony that takes place in a Mormon temple called the endowment.

0:55.6

In other words, Alyssa was a true believer.

0:59.3

She loved her religion and her community.

1:02.7

But then, in 2016, Alyssa started questioning her faith.

1:07.6

I've spent so much time in this church.

1:09.9

Maybe I can just keep believing.

1:12.0

Maybe there's something I'll still find.

1:15.0

And she began sharing her story online.

1:18.5

And then after all my doubting, I finally left.

1:25.6

Alyssa now has more than a million followers across platforms, and she's part of a larger ex-mo, or ex-Morman ecosystem.

1:33.9

I'm an ex-Morman.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Wall Street Journal, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Wall Street Journal and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.