He stirs the pot in his latest pod cast. Funds may be low.

That dude is a force for good. I know he often gets hammered on this board, but he is very pro full-disclosure. I don't care of he is still active in churchco, he promotes truth.

how long have you followed him?

I've listened to most of his podcasts since he started. 6-8 years maybe.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2013 01:40AM by badfish.

John Dehlin:

Is he pro-open finances?

Does he have a temple recommend?

Does he realize that many young people are still getting recruited into this extremely questionable organization by mormon girlfriends and boyfriends who have been programmed that they must marry in the magic temple at all costs? Or who,are simply "dating and dunking", that happens too. Does he know how those convert young people lie to their families and get off track in their lives by getting involved in this cult tactic organization?


And not just these examples, there are so many issues, so much unhealthiness that he ignores.

Is Dehlin just helping perpetuate a cult tactic, totalist-type group?

Or is he helping to eradicate this unhealthy mess, is he a Thin Edge of the Wedge?

I am really not sure.

When I listen to him talk, I think he really doesn't have his mind around the entire problem that is Mormonism...I am not convinced he grasps all the problematic issues.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2013 11:10AM by 2+2=4.

I am glad he posted the podcasts with Swedes, of course.

John has unique knowledge and perspective on helping those who are gay and LDS in addition to disaffected. I personally know someone who has benefited greatly from chatting with him a few times about being gay and in Mormon culture. I know that's anecdotal but it supports the vibe I get from his podcasts. I believe John will make a great therapist/counselor or whatever they are called. I genuinely hope it is financially successful for him. There is a massive need for someone like him.

His podcasts are usually very refreshing and interesting. In fairness, some of them do suck and are boring. That's the beauty of podcasts: I can skip ahead, unlike priesthood meeting.

Frankly, I couldn't give a rat's @ss if you don't agree with me and are skeptical about his financial motives. Aren't we all trying to scratch out a living doing something we enjoy. I wish him the best as he finishes up his PHD and gets more into counseling.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2013 10:38PM by badfish.

No question. Funds are running low. Once he has his trophy PhD, his financial problems will be over. He'll generate at least $200k/year in revenue even in the worst years, and easily twice that in the best.

If you want to understand him, follow the money trail.

It's important to recognize that John needs the Church to continue to exist, because its existence provides him with a perpetual source of revenue through members whose broken lives drive them to seek him out so that he can provide imaginary, "psychotherapeutic" services.

He is a fraud, charlatan, and liar, playing the game--just as Thomas Stuart Ferguson did--because it benefits him financially and socially.

Steve

GP:
Yes, I think that theory could fit the evidence.

GP nails it here, except that I don't think his career will be as lucrative as you suggest.

Yes,

The difference between what a Psychiatrist a (MD) and Psychologist (PhD) can charge is quite is quite considerable.

John has a practice just waiting for him in the form of people broken by Mormonism who he can charge to help.

He has already established himself as a guru in religious addiction or something like that.

People like my family in Utah will EAT THIS UP because it is using Doctor Freud to promote a religion they rely on for a purpose in life.

It is such a no brainer that what Dehlin is doing is a financially sound thing that will assuage his conscience, keep his marriage intact, and make him money that I'm surprised no one else saw this niche before.

Listen to his whining Podcasts....
I wouldn't put him @ same grade with DP but very close.

He had enough pull with COB to get Danny silenced and smacked around but good. I find that a VERY interesting little factoid........

Elaborate? Who is Danny?

Thank you, I appreciate that.

He couldn't live without his dope, and so he expects the rest of us to be junkies too. No thanks.

I still can't believe he used "wife-swapping" as an excuse to shutdown MS meetups. Are you kidding me?!

--

I will admit that I used to be a big fan of MS, and I still listen to some of the interviews.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2013 12:50PM by archytas.

I think that it's helpful to look at the business (racket) that he's running.

He's using YouTube, primarily, for marketing. He benefits from threads on RfM. The goal isn't for anyone to believe him, only to pay attention to him. Anything that wins him attention and reinforces his "credibility" (which is why the trophy PhD is so important) will benefit his revenue generating capabilities (i.e. operations).

Please understand that he's not doing this alone. He has accomplices who are largely behind-the-scenes. Basically, he runs a small business that's not much different from small-time pretend-"psychics." Because he doesn't profess to speak to the dead or read people's minds, what he has to say at least seems plausible, and his ability to interview generally interesting people maintains his audience.

Ultimately, his goals include: never having to worry about money again; never having to worry about his marriage; having high status in his social circles and being well regarded; and never having to hold down a real job. And he's succeeding brilliantly!

His real business is ENTERTAINMENT.

John Dehlin's PhD is like "Dr." Phil's PhD: a worthless trophy. One gets a PhD primarily for one of two reasons: in order to do academic research, or to impress others. Usually, both of these are at play.

It's fine to be entertained by John Dehlin, but I have to wonder: how does he sleep at night knowing that he's setting himself up as a guru in order to part desperate people from their money?

Someone should write a book, and I'd like to suggest the title:

John Dehlin: Money, Mormonism, and Manipulation

Since he couldn't beat them, he joined them, and is now using Mormonism as a well from which to draw water--that is, vast quantities of money. To anyone who doubts that John is going to make a financial killing, just watch when he sets up his practice. (There will be a website. Count on it.) Future investigations will reveal a high hourly "counseling" rate, along with various events, all of which will generate a great deal of money. He'll have an office, employ a staff, and so on.

John Dehlin is an atheist.

Does it bother you at all that he's lying for his own gain--financial and social?

Steve

The mormon Tony Robbins maybe? haha



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2013 02:43PM by archytas.

Archytas,

That's not a bad way of looking at it. We've already had one of those: Stephen Covey.

I think that John is trying to find a message to peddle. I'm not sure that he has just yet. He's still searching in order to create his "7 Habits of Highly Effective People." He needs a gimmick that he hasn't found just yet. But the moment that he has it, rest assured that he's going to beat people over the head with it and cash in.

Steve

The group I feel the most bad for in all of this are the NOM's.

He put those guys on a pedestal and then knocked it out from under their feet.

Fortunately, I'm not a NOM. :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2013 02:49PM by archytas.

GP

I couldn't agree with you more. I can't even add to that. I think you're right on.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2013 12:58AM by Mia.

The thing with Dehlin is that he seems to expect an audience that has become skeptical to the tactics that have been used by the Church, to then be blind to those same tactics when he uses them. He likes to obfuscate things a bit by being totally "accepting" of what people have to say or do. He has a shifty foundation. He does interview some interesting people, but I have not found the interest to listen to all of his podcasts in the same way as I went through and listened to all of the ones from Mormon Expression and their assorted spin off projects. I just find Dehlin to be wishy washy, he loves hopping back and forth on that fence as well as straddling it. I will continue listening to the more interesting episodes, but it's not for his insights, but rather for the insights of his interlocutors.

I'm more interested in the guests myself. Don't get me wrong. hahaha.

I actually dislike some of JD's interview questions. Particularly when he asks "stereotypical tbm questions" which I find to be a waste of bandwidth.

Yeah, I cringe sometimes at his questions and know exactly what I would ask. But much like contemporary mainstream news outlets in the US these days, if you ask tough questions in an interview of public figures, then you are unlikely to get that person back and thus you lose out on future opportunities to get a ratings bump from having them back. I think one reason that JD likes to softball it is that he wants to be seen as a relatively safe venue for potential interviews with significant faithful public figures.

Did anybody else think it sounded like Dehlin was eating a sandwich during one part of the Grant Palmer interview?

There was Grant Palmer, spilling his guts and talking about his meticulous research on the disturbing last year of Jo Smith's life, and it sounded like Dehlin was chewing on a BLT.



Maybe I was imagining it.

Wait...wait...I gotta hear this.

Which segment was that? I've heard them all, but it has been a while.

So what will the Dr. prescribe?

STay in and deal with it?
Leave and deal with it?

Where is the truth? When does that get center stage?

It was during psychology class (10th grade?) that I first started having real doubts about the church. We were learning about Jonestown and other destructive cults. Mormons fit so many of those criteria...

50% of psychology professors are atheist. Psychology really forces you to think about your beliefs and how the came to be. I have only seen one thing involving Dehlin, and that was his interview with Brian Dalton (Mr. Deity). I thought he was an ex-mo for sure!!! I am now under the impression that he finds it profitable to keep him feet in the cult. TBMs will be more willing to go to a Mormon psychologist or psychiatrist. He can interview both Mormons and Ex-Mormons. He doesn't have to lose his family.

I will NEVER trust a psych that is part of a cult. He obviously doesn't apply his professional knowledge to his own life.

http://epiphenom.fieldofscience.com/2009/05/psychologists-are-least-religious-of.html

earlyrm Wrote:

"He obviously doesn't apply his professional knowledge to his own life."

And that is why he will never value or discover the true definition of integrity. ONE MUST LIVE IT.