Nocturnal 
A Mormon YouTuber who built a following for challenging his own church’s leadership says he believes a BBC interview was the “final straw” that led to him being put on trial and excommunicated.
Douglas Stilgoe, better known online as Nemo the Mormon, is a third-generation member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He spent years publicly fact-checking the church’s teachings and questioning its leadership, all while continuing to attend services and positioning himself as an internal critic rather than an outsider attacking the faith.
Now he’s opening up about losing his membership entirely, in a new LADbible documentary titled Nemo vs the Mormon Church: The Cost of Speaking Out.
What was he criticising?
Nemo’s concerns centred on the church’s finances, its treatment of LGBTQ+ people, safeguarding, and how it had handled allegations of sexual abuse, as well as the alleged conduct of senior leaders. He first spoke publicly about these issues on LADbible’s Honesty Box in August 2024.
That appearance led to a follow-up interview with the BBC. According to Nemo, just four days after that interview aired, he received a letter from the church accusing him of “clear and deliberate public opposition” to the church, its doctrine and its leaders. The letter also accused him of intentionally trying to “weaken the faith and activity” of other members, and said his conduct could amount to apostasy.
“I think something about LADbible or the BBC was the final straw for them,” Nemo says in the documentary. “And then a letter turns up. Four days after the BBC interview went out.”
The ‘trial’ and its aftermath
Nemo was summoned to a membership council in September 2024, a process he has described as being “put on trial”. He put together a defence running to more than 8,000 words, but his church membership was ultimately withdrawn, commonly referred to as excommunication. An appeal against the decision was also unsuccessful.
For Nemo, the consequences went far beyond simply losing his place in the congregation. He and his wife were married in a Mormon temple in what’s known as a temple sealing, a ceremony that Latter-day Saint belief holds unites spouses and families for eternity.
Speaking before the final decision was made, he explained what excommunication could mean for him personally. “I could be excommunicated from the church, which means that my membership would be withdrawn and I wouldn’t be with my wife in heaven,” he said. “I would be separated from my family for eternity as well, so I would be cast off for apostasy.”
Where things stand now
Despite everything, Nemo has reportedly continued to follow some of the church’s lifestyle guidelines, including its rules around coffee and alcohol, even after losing his membership. The documentary sees him reflect on what it means to lose a religious identity that shaped his childhood, his marriage and his sense of who he is.
Nemo has continued to speak publicly about his experience since the church’s ruling, and his story has been picked up widely as an example of the tension between individual believers who want to question institutional decisions and religious organisations that maintain strict rules around public criticism.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has not been quoted directly in this coverage responding to Nemo’s specific claims about the letter or the council process, and Nocturnal News has not independently verified the contents of the letter described.
