http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,285545
Steven Benson is providing an account of John Lynch's "sincere" foray into RfM. I actually vaguely remember people talking about this several years ago, and can remember reading accounts of it, but I don't recall ever having seen such full coverage of it. According to Benson, Lynch was portraying himself as a "sincere" TBM who was interested only in "learning" about the ex-Mormon experience. Unfortunately for Lynch, he failed to disclose his association with FAIR, which led to boatloads of mistrust on the part of Benson and the other RfM participants.
There is a bit of an over-emphasis on Lynch being an all-out liar, in my opinion, but Benson's account is a must-read for anyone interested in Mopologetics. Lynch himself protests that "I used my own name!" but he had to realize that his association with the second-most-important apologetic organization would be problematic. I can't help but wonder what on earth he was up to. This bit, from one of his emails, struck me as being perhaps the most sincere of his comments, at least in terms of expressing his actual motives:
John Lynch wrote:I suppose that sensitive feelings are often easily protected behind barbed remarks and humor, but are difficult to protect in moments of serious dialogue. You are a remarkably gifted individual from what I have seen. I venture to guess that much of your genius emenates from your pain (they often say that artistic genius is).
While I was not a party to what caused it, I can see that my status and beliefs no doubt refresh your memory of it. I sincerely pray that the ghosts of anguish that haunt you from troubled times will somehow be relieved, and that you will find the recovery your presence on the exmo boards hints that you seek.
If you ever become willing to share your experience, if even to vent in anger, I will be a willing, safe, and non-judgmental ear.
Kindest regards,
John L.
I dunno. Was Steve Benson wrong to suspect this guy of ulterior motives? How wise would it be to disclose something of this nature to the Chair of the Board of FAIR? I'm reminded of the fact that, less than five years later, it was FAIR that posted that now-infamous letter from Stake President Keyes in an effort to discredit Tal Bachman. Could it be that Lynch was fishing for material to use in a smear campaign against Benson?
Regardless, I highly recommend the thread.
