8 Passengers Family Speaks Out about Mormon Therapist Jodi Hildebrandt | Ep. 1817

My ex was going to Jodi and came home and wanted a divorce. I said I would go and do marriage counseling with Jodi but he said she didn’t want to talk to me and I was to get my own therapist, which I had. He started my two daughters going to her. After I researched Jodi I found all these huge issues on line and my attorney said he had another client that came to him with my exact same story, “I feel like Jodi caused my spouse to want to divorce me.” It was a battle to get my girls not to use Jodi. Can you imagine their surprise when they found out that she basically was running a cult. Jodi I believe has inflicted unbelievable amounts of pain on families, marriages and especially the children of those families. I believe she will pay a steep price for her actions someday but to see some of that price being paid a year later brings peace to my soul

The young boy that escaped from the grip of his abuser mother and her sidekick is a hero. Because of his bravery he has brought the whole Jodi operation to a halt and has saved so many from suffering in the future from her so called counseling. I hope one day he will realize the positive impact he’s had on so many lives.

Nothing was more heartbreaking when Ruby in a video was talking about Evie and the prayer she wrote to God. Her prayer was “dear God please help me to survive!” Ruby thought it was so sweet but that sweet girl was crying out for help! Thank God her prayer did get answered thanks to her brother who escaped their hell!

I was extremely traumatized by my bishop after coming to him about me and my gf touching under clothing(no sex) . It was so bad it gave me an unhealthy view of intimacy. I hated myself for so many years and thought I would never be able to be clean. The miracle of forgiveness is absolutely horrific. I left the church so my kids don’t have to go through this

I believe you have finally shed the light on this case that no one else has. The coverage on this case as a whole has been huge, but the way you have put it all together tonight on your podcast feels like the untold story. It became easier for me to connect the dots to all of this after watching the interview with Jessi and Adam. After watching those interviews I was able to see and understand more of Kevin's side of things. Learning who Jodi is through the eyes of Adam and Jessi helped me see that Kevin's side of things was not so hard to believe. Jodi is an Alienator. She alienates everyone from eachother which is how she does what she does. Great story tonight John. I have learned so much from your podcast. I appreciate all you do ❤

The difference between Adam and Kevin is that Adam fought for his children. He's a hero.

Oh John! You are so right on with all of this! No wonder I was confused as a newly married Mormon “woman” at the ripe old age of 19! I didn’t know how to turn off the shame as soon as we said “I do”. So happy to report I’m still happily married to my sweet husband 37 years later…. But that’s probably because we left the church almost 30 years ago. 🙏

I’m with you, a class action lawsuit against the church for some of the people they’ve hurt who will need sooo much therapy from a therapist not working for the church. I’m absolutely sick over this news, especially how Jessi was treated as a child and even now being ostracized from their family. The children of the Frankes will need therapy as well. So many victims and the church should pay.

I had no idea I needed this so much. My father and his family were jack Mormons but he insisted I go to Primary when I was around 5 years old. My parents were never religious but there I was alone in the church. My mom yanked me out when I came home spewing hate (in her opinion) but I was still allowed to be a camp counselor at Camp Lo Mia (in Arizona) in my teens. The LDS Church was literally across the street from my high school in the early '80s so nearly everything was linked to them. Almost all my friends were Mormon. There were parties and basketball tourneys (I was really into basketball) and it was a cool place to hang out. I became kind of an infamous lesbian in my junior year of high school (long story having nothing to do with my behavior) and was called in to talk to Bishop **** who was also my neighbor and regular client of my babysitting business. He asked me why I wanted to go to Camp Lo Mia. Obviously because it's a gorgeous place and I really enjoyed helping kids. "I was hoping you'd say you wanted to meet God there." Well, no, I don't believe in God so that won't happen. Then he launched in to a diatribe about how he'd met the love of his life at an LDS camp and how he knew it wasn't proper and he'd forgone "pleasures of the flesh" to get married and have six kids. He was talking about a very intense homosexual experience and I just cried for him. Wow, dude. "I hope you can overcome your deepest desires and just have babies." That's never going to happen. Most of my friends were excommunicated and that was horrific because they basically lost their families. Since my parents were never actually going to the church, I couldn't talk to them about it. My siblings were never forced to go to Primary like I was. It was an isolating experience. Mormonism is the very weirdest part of my life and I'm nearly 60 years old. Sorry for blabbing.

Adam Steed is such a strong person. I would not have survived what jodi did to him.

I was brought up Catholic, and when I was in HS we moved to a community that was predominantly Mormon. I remember having Mormon friends that were obsessed with this topic. I always thought it was weird how they would insert porn, and masturbation as a topic when the conversation wasn’t even about that. Example, girls dancing on a music video was similar to pornography to them. They would say “oh that’s porn, they’re touching themselves” Meanwhile, no one else was even remotely thinking about any kind of sexual act while watching that music video 🥴 everything had some kind of sexual connotation, it was disturbing!

AMEN AMEN! To every word you say, I am so grateful for all that you talk about! I knew Jodi personally back in 2011 she used to be in my ward when I was active and going to church. I have now left the church for these exact reasons! I was referred to Jodi for marriage counseling with my husband and I. Nothing terrible happened but I stopped going to her for her extreme ways and toxic behaviors. It Al stems from the churches controlling and shaming beliefs about sexual transgression. It sickens me how much damage she has done to sooo many people and marriages and children. I am so glad people are coming out and sharing their stories. My heart goes out to those who have been victims of her. 💔

I am not a Mormon, nor do I belong to any religious group, but I feel that anyone following or reporting on this topic should always watch your videos for resource before they say anything. Its very easy to call out Ruby and Jodi as simply "crazy people" and Kevin as the "irresponsible Dad that did nothing/took part in the abuse" and there are many videos out there spreading that narrative. Sure that is not a false statement, and I whole heartedly hope that justice will be served, but its also so important to understand the root of the problem which is so much deeper than anyone could ever have imagined if you were not familiar with the values and ethics that they themselves were brought up in. Your interviews and insights have been extremely helpful in understanding all this. Thank you so much.

Mormon stories at its best. John you have an excellent ability to explain a very confusing and nuanced event. Blessings on everyone involved and your program has shined a light of hope into this darkness.

I am only just starting to become educated about "high demand religions", mostly through your podcast. I immediately realized that the media coverage especially in the "true crime communities " about Jodi and Ruby is missing the mark on root cause. Thanks for your coverage.

Thank you John for bringing up how extreme sexual shaming and control in high-demand religions lays the foundation for abuse and manipulation and damage to people's lives. This is a huge part of how Jodi was able to gain so much power and cause so much damage to people and families, and it's a far more widespread issue than just her too.

That wasn’t what Jesus was saying. He was talking about judgement. Judging people for adultery when you yourself are constantly doing it in your mind too. He was making a point on the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Which is why….the woman caught in adultery was NOT stoned. Jesus said whoever was without sin throw the first stone. Mormonism is literally a cult, not a church.

I hope this presentation goes viral for Mormon Stories podcast, phenomenal work John and crew 👏👏👏

One of the saddest things is that those kids a probably innocent but in their little minds they believe they are guilty of whatever Jodi put into their heads..😢

Quotes from Elizabeth Smart: “I did make that promise to myself that I was going to wait until marriage before I had sex... Well, then I was kidnapped and I was raped, and one of the first thoughts I had was, 'No one is ever going to want to marry me now: I'm worthless, I'm filthy, I'm dirty.' I think every rape survivor feels those same feelings, but having that with the pressure of faith compounded on top—it was almost crippling." “You're like this stick of gum, and if you have sex before you're married, it's like someone chews up that piece of gum, and then when you're done, who wants a piece of gum that's already chewed up? No one." Even after her rescue, Smart sat through another such lesson, in which she was told: "You're like this beautiful fence, and you hammer these nails in, and then every time you have sex with someone else, it's like you're hammering in another nail. And you can take them out, you can repent of them, but the holes are still there. I just remember thinking, This is terrible. Do they not realize I'm sitting in class? Do they not realize that I'm listening to what they're saying?"