Is President Oaks the King of Excommunications?
Leaked 2024 leadership slides by President Dallin H. Oaks telling leaders to ‘excommunicate more’”
Podcast: Radio Free Mormon • Episode: RFM 432 (recreating RFM 363) • Title in transcript: “The King of Excommunications!” / “The show the LDS church doesn’t want you to see.”
Core Claim
In 2024, President (then Elder) Dallin H. Oaks directed leadership training whose message was to increase excommunications.
Core Finding
- Independent corroboration: No official Church source has published such a directive. RFM’s own pages repeat the claim; that is not independent verification.
- General Handbook: The purposes of membership restrictions/withdrawal are to protect others, help repentance, and protect Church integrity. These actions are not intended to punish. Leaders determine whether personal counseling or a membership council is appropriate; personal counseling is often sufficient. Councils are required only in specified serious cases; otherwise they may be necessary depending on circumstances.
- Status/dates: Dallin H. Oaks was set apart as the Church’s 18th President on Oct. 14, 2025; no announcement referenced a policy to “increase excommunications.”
Bottom Line
Category: Not Provable — The Handbook promotes case‑by‑case discernment, not numeric targets.
Evaluation
| Start | End | Claim Summary | Category | Evaluation | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00:32 | 00:01:43 | Leaked Oaks slides telling leaders “you’re not excommunicating enough Mormons” | Not Provable | No primary source published; self‑referential claims on program pages do not verify authenticity. | RFM 363 page |
| 00:09:34 | 00:10:04 | Presentation title & scope attributed to Oaks | Unverified | Handbook guidance contradicts any blanket directive. | General Handbook ch. 32 |
| — | — | Current policy = increase excommunications | False | Handbook stresses protection, repentance, integrity; councils are not automatic and not punishment. | GH 32.2 Purposes |
Legal & Logic Analysis: Loaded paraphrase (“up those numbers”) with no primary proof. Risk: 🟠 Moderate
RFM CLAIMS “This is the show the LDS church doesn’t want you to see” & copyright strike = ownership
“The fact the church did a copyright strike proves the church claims ownership. These are the real deal. These slides.”
Core Claim
The Church (via a YouTube copyright strike) both “doesn’t want you to see” the episode and thereby proves it owns—and authenticates—the alleged slide deck.
Logical Questions
- Does a YouTube copyright strike prove the filer owns the content or merely that it alleged infringement under the DMCA?
- Even if a Church‑affiliated entity filed a takedown, does that authenticate the alleged slides or confirm their contents/meaning?
Core Finding
- Under the DMCA (17 U.S.C. §512), a takedown is based on a notice alleging infringement to preserve a platform’s safe harbor; it is not an adjudication of ownership or authenticity.
- YouTube processes copyright removals as a legal claim; removal on receipt of a proper notice does not prove the filer’s claims.
- Historically, the Church protects its IP via Intellectual Reserve, Inc. (IRI) (e.g., Intellectual Reserve, Inc. v. Utah Lighthouse Ministry); past enforcement shows capacity to act, not that specific leaked slides are genuine.
Bottom Line
Category: Misleading (legal inference) — A DMCA strike does not by itself prove the authenticity or authorship of the alleged slides, nor a censorial intent beyond routine IP enforcement.
Evaluation
| Start | End | Claim Summary | Category | Evaluation | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00:01 | 00:00:47 | “Show the Church doesn’t want you to see” because a prior version was taken down | Misleading | Takedown = platform compliance with a legal notice; it is not proof of ownership/authenticity or hidden intent. | 17 U.S.C. §512; YouTube copyright removals; EFF on DMCA |
| 00:03:22 | 00:03:55 | “Copyright strike proves Church ownership; slides are the ‘real deal’” | Not Provable | DMCA allegation ≠ legal proof; IRI’s prior enforcement is not authentication of these specific slides. | 17 U.S.C. §512; Intellectual Reserve v. ULM |
Legal & Logic Analysis: Appeal to secrecy (“they don’t want you to see”), and confirmation by suppression fallacy. Risk: 🟠 Moderate (false‑light framing)
- General Handbook: “Repentance and Church Membership Councils,” ch. 32 — purposes, settings, required vs. may‑be‑necessary; updated 2025.
- Church Newsroom — “Dallin H. Oaks Named 18th President,” Oct. 14, 2025.
- Church News — report on the new First Presidency.
- 3 Nephi 9:20; 2 Corinthians 7:10; D&C 19:16–19; Alma 42:25.
- Gospel Topics Essay — “Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo”.
- Joseph Smith Papers — Intro to Documents, Vol. 12; D&C 132 page.
- RFM 363: “Elder Oaks Calls for More Excommunications!”; RFM 432 page.
- 17 U.S.C. §512 (DMCA safe harbors); YouTube: Submit a copyright removal request; EFF: Guide to YouTube Removals.
- Intellectual Reserve, Inc. v. Utah Lighthouse Ministry (enforcement history).
- Michelle Stone — “Thank You!! And Goodbye for Now…”; Cwic Show coverage.
- Karen Hyatt on Mormon Book Reviews; Mormon Stories episode page.