Meet Matthew Cole Noorda aka “Mormonger”, 32 years old, of Salt Lake City, Utah an unrelentless queerphobe who has defended discriminatory practices against LGBTQIA people. Although Cole Noorda rejects he is racist, he uses his Mormonger account as a cover to defend racism and to tell racist jokes. A popular tactic of internet trolls, Noorda uses irony and jokes as a cover for his bigoted beliefs. A longtime supporter of DezNat, he unironically thinks he is “defending the gospel” by using the hashtag (#DezNat). Although Noorda is a returned Mormon missionary, graduate of the University of Utah and has close family connections, this article isn’t the first time Noorda has come under fire for his DezNat Mormonger account. Today, let’s get to know the person behind “Mormonger.”

Content Warning: This article contains racist and queerphobic statements, and other objectionable language. We feel it is important to show examples of this person’s hateful ideology in his own words, rather than merely describing or characterizing it. In all cases where words have letters replaced by asterisks, or have been redacted or obscured in images, those redaction’s have been added by the authors of this article, not by the person who is being quoted/screencapped.

Background

Mormonger initially came to our attention due to the LEGO Joseph Smith avatar he uses on Twitter. One of the most well-known and longest running DezNat accounts, Mormonger is often confused with an original member of the DezNat Discord server, “Bunch of Latter-day Saints”, that inspired Deseret Nationalism. In screen caps of the DezNat Discord server another user can be seen using the same avatar [1] as the current “Mormonger” account–a LEGO version of Mormon founder and prophet, Joseph Smith, Jr. Incidentally, the original account using said profile image was Ben McLean of Missouri while the current LEGO Joseph Smith is Cole Noorda of Utah. One should be careful not to mix up the two accounts operated by entirely different people.

Cole Noorda, the person behind the Mormonger account, would like readers of his account to see him as a comedian, who is just posting jokes. The “Mormonger” account is known for using jokes to deflect criticism, which is a tactic (whether known to Noorda or not) popular among domestic extremists: using irony and claims of “just joking” to spread their message, while deflecting criticism (see NPR, How Extremists Use Irony To Spread Hate).

Interestingly, according to Cole Noorda, the Mormonger DezNat account is followed by Utah Senator Mitt Romney’s sock account on Twitter. Although we have no evidence that Romney is aware of DezNat or Deseret Nationalism, it is concerning any time a politician follows–especially secretly–those who are aligned with politics that endorse hate.

Surprisingly, Cole Noorda tweeted in July 2020 that his Stake President (Mormon ecclesiastical leader) “called him to repentance” over how he shares the “gospel” online. He states, “Stake President called me to repentance. Here’s to defending the gospel in a more kind and loving way. Wish me luck.” When another user going by the name Zachary Thornton facetiously replied, “Be aware defending the Gospel in a loving way, for some is hate speech. Good luck,” Noorda replies with a “those are the facts” gif. Additionally, Mormonger has tweeted that his own mother is worried about the content of Noorda’s DezNat account.

Homophobia, Transphobia, Queerphobia

Homophobia and queerphobia is nearly universal with supporters of DezNat. Cole Noorda believes that marriage should only be understood as being between a man and woman as it is a doctrinal concept. Noorda states being gay is sinful and that the only acceptable way for a gay person to participate in sexual relations is within a married heterosexual relationship. In a later tweet he stated, “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with gay man marrying a straight woman as long as he is fully transparent. And by transparent, I don’t mean a parent who is trans.” Noorda, who states he works with a married gay man, would “rather [his] gay co-worker not know [he] support[s] “traditional” marriage” because it might cause “drama in the workplace” or get him fired.

Noorda describes being gay as a biological defect that will be cured during the afterlife. He states concerning homosexuality, “It is my opinion that every single person is born with an imperfection or ‘disability.'” Furthermore, Noorda compares homosexuality with evil impulses, i.e. “when I get upset I want to murder people” but I don’t.”

Noorda, who uses the umbrella emoji as an anti-LGBTQIA hate symbol in his display name on Twitter, is opposed to showing support for or solidarity with queer people. He tweets, “I can’t help but notice that none of the brethren have gay pride flags or pronouns in their bios…” Additionally, in his bio on Twitter Noorda also uses a rainbow emoji with the words “Old Testament Ally.” An early DezNat anti-LGBTQ+ phenomena, “Old Testament Ally,” or #OldTestamentAlly is an attempt to reappropriate the rainbow from the LGBTQ community in order to “steal it back for God.” It refers to the rainbow shown to Noah after the Old Testament God destroyed the world in a flood because of wickedness. The DezNat user going by the psuedonym DeseretAussie is credited with starting the hashtag (see The Official DezNat Guide, Old Testament Ally). In December 2020, Noorda changed his Twitter header to include a European-associated neo-Nazi anti-LGBTQIA flyer customized for DezNat.

Unsurprisingly, Noorda states that discrimination against LGBTQIA people is acceptable, for example one should be able to discriminate against having gay roommates. When others point out that Noorda’s argument is homophobic and discriminatory, Noorda rejects the notion.

A black ultraconservative Mormon influencer who is often the target of DezNat was the subject of an offensive homophobic tweet by Noorda under his Mormonger account, “[REDACTED] is gay as AIDS.”

In late August 2021, Noorda responded in favor of a speech given by Latter-day Saint top official, Jeffrey R. Holland, wherein Holland called for “musket fire” against pro-LGBTQ politics at Brigham Young University and their allies by stating “Elder Holland is #DezNat confirmed” and, “Jeffrey R Holland did nothing wrong,” the latter which is a common memetic phrase that DezNat supporters use and is a play on the memetic phrase “Hitler did nothing wrong.”

Noorda also changed his banner image on Twitter to reflect a man holding a musket with the text “A little more musket fire, coming right up…” a direct response to Holland’s speech. That same day he also tweeted, “Elder Holland woke up in the morning and chose metaphorical violence.” A few days earlier he had tweeted the same image while stating, “Elder Oaks: ‘I would like to hear a little more musket fire from this temple of learning.’ #DezNat: [image]” The same week of Holland’s speech, a BYU student and DezNat supporter, Conner Ray Murray of West Plains, Missouri, defaced a pro-LGBTQIA chalk mural at BYU. On September 10, 2021 it was revealed that Murray was no longer a student at the Mormon church owned university.

Racism and Religion

Although Cole Noorda rejects that he is racist and has stated he would call out others within DezNat for racist remarks, Noorda has no problem defending racism, making flippant remarks about racism or making racist jokes or comments.

In 1978, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially changed its position on prohibiting black male members from holding the priesthood (see LDS Church, Official Declaration 2). Noorda has apologized for the Mormon church’s historical practice of racial discrimination by reasoning that it’s plausible “God had morally legitimate reasons for excluding blacks from holding the priesthood.” According to the Mormon Church, “Over time, Church leaders and members advanced many theories to explain the priesthood and temple restrictions. None of these explanations is accepted today as the official doctrine of the Church,” — something Noorda seems to understand (Further reading: LDS Church, Race and the Priesthood).

Noorda believes that people should only marry within their race and states that it is acceptable to discourage against interracial marriage. “I do believe (and I think psychologists would agree) that many difficulties arise when people of different nationalities / cultures get married,” Noorda states, “Statistically, your chances of divorce go up if you spouse is a different race.”

The argument that black people are inherently more violent than other races has been used to justify racial prejudices against black people for centuries. A loaded phrase, “black on black crime”, which Noorda uses here in yet another tasteless joke, has been used to defend this notion. Additionally, the phrase “all lives matter” which Noorda has used repeatedly has also been used to counter the phrase and movement Black Lives Matter. Noorda appears to understand this, yet continues to justify its use. Noorda has also used the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.

As mentioned earlier, Cole Noorda makes racist jokes. Noorda tweets, “I have a joke about the Lamanites but it gets pretty dark.” According to the Book of Mormon, the Lamanites (along with the Nephites) are a group of people descended from ancient Israelites who settled in the Americas several hundred years before Christ was born and who are the ancestors of some American Indigenous peoples. The religious text states that the Lamanites, who were wicked, had a “skin of blackness” placed upon them to make them undesirable to the more righteous Nephites. In another racist joke directed at a black extreme anti-abortion activist who is also a DezNat associate and has made racial jokes referencing African American stereotypes herself, he states, “Let me get this straight @spinachtyrant99… A KFC employee asked for your hand in marriage – potentially providing you with free chicken for life. And you rejected his proposal. Are you even black?”

In another yet another tweet referencing race, Noorda jokes, “I’m a white male, so my DNA results from http://ancestry.com just say “Apologize.”

Identifying Cole Noorda of Salt Lake City, Utah as Mormonger

Cole Noorda left many clues that led us to and confirmed his identity as the person operating the Mormonger account on Twitter and Instagram. The biggest clue he left is that he previously linked to his “mormie” (aka normie) Twitter account bearing his real name. He has also used his DezNat account to amplify his mormie account.

Additionally, the authors of this article were able to use other details the Mormonger account revealed to confirm the ID including Noorda’s marriages, information about family members, his location, and where he went on his LDS mission, and the school he attended.

LDS MISSION

Mormonger has tweeted a lot about Brazil and speaks Portuguese as a second language. He has rode a bus in Brazil, lived in “the Amazon”, and states at least twice [21, 22] that he served his Mormon mission in Brazil. He also said he once mistook the Portuguese word condom for small shirt while on his mission. Eventually, we were able to locate a tweet that gave the specific location of Mormonger’s mission as Manuas, Brazil which is also the same mission Cole Noorda served in according to his Facebook account.

UNIVERSITY

The Mormonger account tweeted that he graduated from the University of Utah. Cole Noorda graduated from the University of Utah in 2015.

FAMILY and MARRIAGES

The Mormonger account has stated that they’ve been married twice, the first marriage ending in divorce and the second wife being a returned missionary who he married in Arizona. They also state that they moved from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City in 2017. Comparatively, Cole Noorda has also been married twice, his second wife being a returned LDS missionary for the Mormon church; they were married in the Gilbert Arizona Temple and moved to Salt Lake City from Las Vegas.

For some reason, Cole also tweeted that his first wife watched porn because he is not very good at sex (the tweet has since been deleted).

“Mormonger” has also stated that his father’s name is Matthew which matches the name of Cole Noorda’s father. Mormonger also stated that he has a sister with pink hair which matches an image on Instagram that Cole Noorda is tagged in.

LOCATION

The Mormonger account has stated that they have only lived in three areas: Salt Lake City, Utah, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Manuas, Brazil. Incidentally, these are the same places we were able to confirm that Cole Noorda has lived.

BONUS MATERIAL

If there is any doubt left to the identity of the person behind the Mormonger account, their friend was kind enough to name doxx them:

And then confirm their date of birth:

Cole Noorda aka Mormonger of Salt Lake City, Utah:

 

Calls To Action

1.) Report the Mormonger account on Twitter for hate. @Mormonger

2.) UPDATE: Cole Noorda is no longer employed by Podium HQ after being connected to the Mormonger DezNat account. Cole Noorda works for Podium, a reputation management company based in Lehi, Utah. Kindly, but firmly, reach out to Podium and let them know their employee is a homophobe who makes queerphobic and racist jokes online with their Mormonger account.

Employer – Podium
https://twitter.com/PodiumHQ
https://twitter.com/ericwilliamrea Co-Founder and CEO

3.) Cole Noorda is a member of the Olympus Hills Ward of the Salt Lake Mount Olympus Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Let Cole Noorda’s bishop know that he is a homophobe who makes queerphobic and racist jokes with his Mormonger account. Use the information in the image below:

Tips

If you have additional information to share regarding Cole Noorda , please email exposedeznat at riseup dot net. We do not share sources of tips with anyone.

Email: exposedeznat at riseup dot net

Cole Noorda’s social media accounts:

Twitter:

• Display Name: LEGO Joseph Smith ☔️
• User Name: Mormonger
• Twitter ID: 1408886100
• Created: 5/6/2013

Twitter:

• Display Name: Cole Noorda
• User Name: ColeNoorda
• Twitter ID: 1071528222108446720
• Created: 12/08/2018

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mormonger/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mcnoorda

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/cole.noorda ID: 689358156

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@mormonger

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cole-noorda-91a7215b/