In a Mormon Stories Podcast wherein John Dehlin recently interviewed Dan Wotherspoon, in a follow-up comment, John reveals that he no longer active in the LDS church... and will probably not return, "doubtful, but possible I guess" (he left a little wiggle room). I wish JD well, as with all of us, it is a long and lonely journey, out of Mormonism.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2011 11:28PM by george.

I listened to the podcast and missed that completely. If you don't mind me asking, which section is it in?

It is in the follow-up comments to the Wotherspoon interview,
probably around comment 70 (toward the current end of the pipe).

RFM posts at work I miss details as well. Don't know how I missed that in the first post. Well, actually I do. It's that damn skimming/reading.


Thanks.

I'm copying John Dehlin's post, from ten months ago. This isn't news:

Glenn,

2 quick things....

1. I'm not active in the church right now...and I don't know if I ever
will be again (doubtful, but possible I guess).
2. I'd love to do more videos, but my video volunteer dropped out. I
could theoretically do more video, but I'd need more financial support to
pull it off.

Thanks for asking!

John

I'm happy to see that you posted this.

Thank you George
Yes it's a long and lonely journey leaving MORmONism.

K

John gave me hope through his essay, "How to remain in the LDS church..." It's interesting that he seems to be closing the door even faster than I am. I gave his essay to friends, bishops, etc., in the belief that it might help those with Cog Dis. Now when I read the essay (it's been expanded & improved by others), I will think of the original "Proprietor" and send affirmations in his direction. I used it for a season, but have put aside ...... things.

Shalom to John Dehlin.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2011 11:26PM by george.

I've corresponded with John a few times. I really like the guy. I feel a little sad, because he seemed so sincere in his desire to keep on loving the Church, even though he was exposed to truths which were uncomfortable.

My heart goes out to him, and I wish him well in his journey, whatever he decides to do in the end. I know it takes real courage to leave. Those of us who do are the brave ones.

I like the guy as well. I liked his site and his web casts. He contacted me on occasion. He was staying in because of family pressure. I guess the cog dissonance got to be too much. I wish him all the best and hope he can keep his family together, no matter what the circumstances.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/2011 08:16AM by Jim Huston.

John seems like a great guy. I listened to some of his pod casts when I started my journey. I was a semi believer back then.

I hope all goes well for him.

your human experiences are just exactly that
- your human experiences, they are all that you have.
when they happen in a MORmON setting the (GOD DAMN LYING POS)MORmONS insist that they are MORmON experiences & imply that is all you could ever have. If you have the gumption to question the great LIES of MORmONISM, you can probably rise to the realization that you are capable of Human experience beyond MORmONISM. Bad news for LDS INC, it does not have exclusive control of human experiences or Happiness,despite what the lying filth MORmONS claim! Realizing this can be very liberating from the heart wrenching
t-e-r-r-o-r-i-s-m of MORmONISM.

good luck to John, he is way to decent to be stranded in MORmONISM!

I just checked. It's still up. If he did, I hope at some point he will post something there.

He was a factor in me figuring it out.

If you see this John - thanks - all the best to you.

Having followed John's odyssey for the last few years it seems to me that he would want to maintain ties to the Church for practical, community and spiritual reasons. I wonder if one of his local leaders or even higher did something to discourage him. He has talked of his participation at church as being something he enjoys. In any case, he has done much to shed light on the plight of mormons on the fringe and for that I'm grateful to him.

The Mormon church is too intrusive to allow anyone to be a partial participant.

The real problem, of course, is that the demands Mormonism makes are based on an authority that can now be proven false.

Once that authority goes, what is the point?

That's how I felt too. If it's not God's one-and-only Church upon the face of the earth, then why I am here, giving them all this money? Why was I part of an organization that works to curtail the civil rights of others, if it wasn't really God commanding them to do so? I was outta there.

It's about d@mn time John!

I still maintain that he was just a hair away from getting ex'd anyway . . . might as well go out on your own terms.

;o)

and simultaneously maintain some kind of narrative that the "Church is true" to the degree that you want to continue to participate. I always liked him, and I can like Mormons like him. LDS, Inc. cannot maintain enough wiggle room to accept a person with less than orthodox beliefs.

Some where down the road they may have to loosen their white-knuckled grip on the membership enough to keep the tithing flowing in.

mrtranquility Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> LDS, Inc.
> cannot maintain enough wiggle room to accept a
> person with less than orthodox beliefs.
>

The sad truth is that if guys like John find it hard to stay then there is little hope for anyone who is truly free to think for themselves in the Church. John's a pretty laid back guy from my experience.

John has a personality that is inquisitive. I (and I'm sure others here) share the inquisitive aspect of his personality. With John's personality, I'm assuming, he really wanted to know for a "surety" before he ever felt comfortable preaching it. This process involves a lot of work. Much of the church, however, consists of those who automatically "know" it and preach it without really diving in as deeply as John and others have done. So he was laid back, but he wasn't laid back as far as wanting to know the truth was concerned.

Well, dangit. Happy for him, but sad for those of us who yearn to share facts and relevent commentary from "trusted sources" with TBMs.

I have said in the past that I didn't get John....or more specifically, get how he could believe as he did and know what he knows and still stay. I've always respected him though for what he was doing— namely looking for the truth as far as it can be found. The podcast and other stuff has been a huge help to hundreds if not more people.

I ran into his podcast about the time I started finding out historical issues about the Church and it was a huge help in sorting things out. I still go back and listen to the Palmer, Compton and the Kearney/Masonry podcasts among others.

I agree with the comment about realigning oneself with Mormonism— leaving or at least thinking about it in a new way. It definitely can be a long and sometimes lonely journey. From the looks of it John D. has done his due diligence and I hope it works out for him and his family.

Good luck John.

I don't see that he exited.. He simply is "inactive" Huge difference there. HUGE difference.

I hope he does decide to exit. I have always had respect for him. I enjoyed his podcast about why people leave. I know he did a lot of research on this board in order to create it and I feel like it really did represent the way many of us feel.

He always came across as very genuine. I didn't ever feel like he was trying to get Exmos back to the fold, but rather was trying to help people with a third option so they wouldn't have to leave their culture behind. I disagree with him, but I do respect him. I truly hope he does at some point finally leave TSCC behind for good.

A person like John would get the same interview I did (and possibly you too) where the bishop tells you how welcome you are but your asking questions is disruptive.

Bottom line-- we're "thrilled" you're attending, but please shut up.

Maybe he found it was far less interesting when he couldn't ask questions that have no satisfactory answers.

Anagrammy

He has never been appreciated for his advocacy for TSCC anyways. He should know by now that TSCC does not care about him at all and will toss him aside in a heartbeat.

The cult doesn't deserve John or his anxious efforts in its behalf.

IMO 'When they lost John Dehlin, they lost middle Mormons.'* No Mormon ever tried harder to reconcile the painful facts of history & doctrine with his love for the church. But it just cannot be done.

We honor you for your sincere efforts, John, and your many thought-provoking interviews! So sad for the undeserved anguish and heartache you must feel. We understand, though! Kind and loving wishes to you in these challenging days.

*(for you young 'uns, that's a take-off on U.S. Pres. Lyndon Johnson's comment, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost middle America.” For more info, scroll about halfway down this link):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Cronkite

I'm pondering what to exchange the word "exit" with. If he "will probably not return...," I'm at a bit of a loss, though maybe "inactive" would work. Thanks for the suggestion.

Note: The edit feature has disappeared, so I can't change the subject title, sorry.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/2011 05:30PM by george.

Coming across his work was the first time I felt like an active Mormon was trying to at least take apostate concerns seriously without just dismissing them. It was a relief to feel like I was being understood by someone who was still holding on to Mormon beliefs.

I wish John well and I'm grateful that he tried his best to make the dialogue as fruitful and honest as it could be.

what about family?

married/kids?

where are they in this?

Once eyed with a tiny bit of doubt/suspicion... it falls away Quickly

The timing on when the mind, heart, feet, mouth, and letter-writing exiting happens doesn't always happen in a particular order. I feel for Jon as he's on the same journey as all the rest of us.

(to paraphrase)

To allow other Mormons a safe place to process their own doubts and make a decision to stay or leave.

Thank you for all you have done to allow those you interviewed to speak honestly about their experiences. And thank you for making those interviews available to the public!

Someone who has contact with John, please make sure he sees this thread!