Here was me thinking we'd be past all that in 2020.
My advice to anyone leaving the church...Once you've scrubbed yourself clean of the stain from the church, do the same with Dehlin and just go live your life.
Many others are helped by his continuing re-educating and affirmations.
PS @ "Got plenty to offer". Now that you've scrubbed yourself clean from the church's stain, why are you still posting here instead of going on to live your life?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/2020 01:21PM by Twinker.
I've often seen people mentions John Dehlin's interviews as being helpful in their exit from the church. Often they will cite a specific interview or interviews.
And there are still people questioning or in the process of exiting. It's not like it ever stops. What is old hat for you might be brand new for someone else.
Perhaps the Dehlin kool-aid is attending a semina more than once.
For me some early podcasts in 2010 and books really helped with understanding that the church's claims and origins was a load of crap. Made it easy to walk away cold turkey and to not invest one more minute in the made up religion.
Spoken with him once in person before while I was still in the closet at BYUI. He’s a good man as far as I can tell. He helped put together a whole mental health support network for Mormons who find themselves in the faith crisis boat, because when it was his turn there was nothing there for him. You gotta respect that.
I've changed my opinion of him. I believe he is a saint for latter-day saints. I just hope he doesn't ever disavow selling questioning to Mormons and try to sell Mormonism to Mormons.
For those of you with short memories. Delhin was fully aware of the church's misogamy, BOM issues, racism, and other unholy and impure practices AND HE STILL wanted to be a part of it as long as he got his new-mormon label business going. He was recommending people stay and pay.
People act like he was the first public dissident or that he was the first to disagree with the church and try to stay.
Yes his stuff is helpful, that does not mean it did not come from a profit-making perspective.
I was there at the post-Mormon conference in 2012, when he humbly apologized for some attitudes he had had about people leaving the church, and it took his excommunication to completely digest that.
I never got the feeling Dehlin was into Mormon History. There are dark places there. But your experiences with his kith and kin sound interesting.
Apparently there is an app where the missionaries have been looking up their ancestral relationships. No surprise that my daughters have found many many "cousins" in their mission fields with them.
I was a grubby little child of a weird father who did not work because the world was going to end Very shortly (1964) and an overwhelmed mother who did work and spent her spare time tranquilized, in bed, trying to flee from her demanding children and deadbeat husband.
Paul K. Dehlin owned the store next door (next-store).
I practically lived there, drooling over the penny candy.
Anybody else would have told me to take a hike but he loved me like a father.
I found out later that he tried hard to like unlikeable people. I think he thought of me as a pest, but tried hard to overcome that feeling and do some positive good in my life. I saw him rescue other young people who no one else seemed to care about.
His belief in the LDS church was unwaivering. He often told the story of when he was a young man, his bishop called out for volunteer missionaries. His mother volunteered Paul. The bishop said no way. You are a widowed mother with almost no money. You cannot spare your son.
Paul Dehlin's mother said Paul must go, and in the end she won.
Paul Dehlin's mission was to Hawaii. Paul's experiences among the Hawaiians made a lasting impression on him. He often spoke of Hawaii with tears in his eyes. Paul was born around 1905, so I guess he was in Hawaii around 1925 before it got too spoiled.
Anyway, he told one funny story from his mission. In order to bond with the Hawaiians, he had to eat their food, and he just couldn't STAND poi, which I think is fermented fish. It made him throw up.
But he prayed to God to help him overcome his loathing of poi, and God answered his prayers and in the end he actually craved poi.
He told many other stories about his childhood, his widowed mother, her faith in the LDS church, and her faith in her son. Many many many stories.
Some of these stories would have included John Dehlin's grandfather, Paul's brother, but John Dehlin didn't seem too interested.
ANYWAY, I thought the adventures of an ardent (however mistaken) missionary's adventures among the wonderful, loving Hawaiians might be of interest to future generations. I heard him tell lots of stories because we had FHE at his house. My father had been ex-d because he wouldn't stop predicting the end of the world. My father didn't like FHE, so we went to Paul Dehlins house and quoted scripture to each other and listened to Paul K. Dehlin talk about Hawaii. I remember it all.
Great story. It is so much better post-Mormonism to hear these things from people who lived them than the gaslighting bags at General Conference spinning yarns about themselves and faith self promoting stories of others. Thanks!
He seems to be very interested/obsessed with mormon celebrities or mormon royalty. It's a form of hero worship.
I have listened to several of his podcasts. It bothers me that he is always prodding the interviewees to say something "nice" about the church and its indoctrination. That's something that I vehemently disagree with.
I acknowledge that he has helped many people to make the decision to leave the church.
It is a softer approach to the truth of The Mormon fraud. I don't know where his head is with the Mormon overlords but acknowledging critics and people's stories from the abusive corporation is somewhat good publicity for the real world.
I think I have to acknowledge like Lois above, the good people I had dealings with in the cult of like mindedness and quieter laughter.
I have actually met and talked to him, but could never judge his sincerity. I mean, he seems very sincere, and I have no reason to doubt him. But, personally, it seems to me that his podcast and other things regarding his erstwhile Mormonism have a distinct effort to earn money, and sometimes he may try too much. Of course, that may be an extension of his counselling or whatever he does. Still, I don't think that one should question his sincerity.
Depends what he is interested in. If you don't know him and want a response I would suggest you propose a large group therapy event where he gets paid or has ability to monetize it, or there will be lots of adoring female fans.