Outdoor Boys Quits YouTube for Mormon Leadership?

Overview

Alyssa Grenfell examines the connection between outdoor YouTuber Luke Nichols (“Outdoor Boys”) leaving YouTube and his later appearance on a prominent leadership list in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She argues the timing looks too coincidental—especially since Nichols later became a member of the church’s Young Men’s General Advisory Council, a high-level advisory body for the Young Men’s program.

Main claims and analysis

• Perceived cause-and-effect with YouTube departure

  • Nichols announced he was retiring from YouTube about seven months earlier.
  • Shortly after, he appeared on an official Mormon leadership roster in formal suit photos.
  • Grenfell says viewers online quickly theorized that his YouTube exit was related to accepting a church calling.

• Support from online Mormon sources

  • She cites research that moderators in the Outdoor Boys subreddit removed posts related to church “appeal,” describing it as causing “unnecessary controversy and heated discussions.”
  • She also references coverage by Deseret News (owned by the church) discussing Nichols’ move.

• Mormon “devotion milestones” and likely leadership trajectories

  • Grenfell outlines steps in Nichols’ likely Mormon life path—mission, BYU, temple marriage, and temple endowment.
  • Her argument is that these milestones signal high devotion, making leadership roles feel “expected” within church culture.

• Temple covenants as the framework for sacrifice

  • Her central explanation is that LDS temple endowment covenants—especially the Law of Consecration—require members to dedicate “everything” (time, talents, identity, future potential) to the church.
  • She argues this helps explain why Nichols (and others) might willingly trade public internet influence for formal religious leadership.

• Unpaid leadership presented as “sacrifice”

  • Grenfell notes that most church callings are voluntary/unpaid, with payment mainly at the highest levels.
  • She connects this volunteer structure to a broader Mormon culture of sacrifice and obedience.

• Church strategy for the internet age (“kryptonite”)

  • She claims the church is losing influence online as younger people drift away and algorithms expose users to both faithful and critical content.
  • In her view, recruiting social-media figures into leadership is a response: retaining youth engagement while countering critical voices online.

• Why Nichols matters as an “influencer”

  • Grenfell highlights Nichols’ outdoors-and-family brand as especially viral and mainstream.
  • She suggests his popularity could be leveraged to attract new interest in the church.

• Possible additional link: youth-program gap after Boy Scouts

  • Grenfell discusses the church cutting ties with the Boy Scouts of America in 2019 after abuse-related disputes, and claims the church has not replaced the program.
  • She speculates Nichols could be involved in building an alternative for young men, while stressing that nothing is announced.

• Criticism of covenant-based pressure

  • Grenfell argues that, in her view, temple covenants can be used to coerce or manipulate members.
  • She cites examples from her own experience and references commentary suggesting leaders (and even family members) invoke temple promises to demand obedience.

• Her bottom-line interpretation

  • She believes that while believers may see the move as noble faithfulness, she sees it as an institutional mechanism for channeling high-profile talent into indoctrination and church growth—especially among youth reached through online platforms.

What she says Nichols’ role is

• Nichols is described as joining the Young Men’s General Advisory Council, which includes 14 men newly added.
• Grenfell emphasizes that about five of these new members are social media figures/content creators—framing this as a meaningful shift toward “influencer” representation in church leadership.

Presenters / contributors

• Alyssa Grenfell (host/narrator)