NOM Thread on John Dehlin

[_Equality]

Interesting thread going over at NOM on John Dehlin. The "Omelette Guy" from Dehlin's return-to-church podcast has posted a lengthy thread detailing some of Dehlin's inconsistencies and indiscretions.
http://forum.newordermormon.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30012

[_Res Ipsa]

Wow. That was quite a smackdown.

[_Bazooka]

An excerpt

You do have a lot of followers and admirers. But you have also crossed a few lines. You describe in your podcast that people called you when you were driving home from the airport. That is not what I understand to be perfectly accurate. You were the one dialing numbers and filling your rolodex. You were calling people, especially, at late hours, when you were alone, from your car and from your home. I know this. I know of the calls while driving between SLC and Logan. You were dialing. You do not have to explain it, at least one woman I know has her story and she doesn’t seem to be talking about you, like you are talking about her.

The women you would call sometimes had brutal stories. Loveless marriages and invisible lives were often tidied up in ribbons and bows to look good every Sunday. Then these women were finding things online and waking up a bit. There is no doubt that many were flattered by you, your calls and your interest. I know this because you told me this about these conversations. These women probably really did think you cared about them, and sympathized. You might have thought you were thoughtful in how used people and how you refer to them with stereotypes, but you are not behaving like someone who cared. You are behaving like a creep. It is not these other peoples’ faults that your life was cracking and your marriage was tough. And it is not your association with them that made your life not so rosy.

John, you are in and out, then out and in, and you're still shooting blanks. A walking, talking Mormon vasectomy, if you will. It wouldn't matter if it was just your personal bouts, but you seem to thrive on drawing a large group into your drama, and then using them as material in your explanation. In this case, the people you are judging were part of your Ross Perot data pitch to the nation of Holland.

WOW.

[_Mayan Elephant]

An excerpt

You do have a lot of followers and admirers. But you have also crossed a few lines. You describe in your podcast that people called you when you were driving home from the airport. That is not what I understand to be perfectly accurate. You were the one dialing numbers and filling your rolodex. You were calling people, especially, at late hours, when you were alone, from your car and from your home. I know this. I know of the calls while driving between Salt Lake City and Logan. You were dialing. You do not have to explain it, at least one woman I know has her story and she doesn’t seem to be talking about you, like you are talking about her.

The women you would call sometimes had brutal stories. Loveless marriages and invisible lives were often tidied up in ribbons and bows to look good every Sunday. Then these women were finding things online and waking up a bit. There is no doubt that many were flattered by you, your calls and your interest. I know this because you told me this about these conversations. These women probably really did think you cared about them, and sympathized. You might have thought you were thoughtful in how used people and how you refer to them with stereotypes, but you are not behaving like someone who cared. You are behaving like a creep. It is not these other peoples’ faults that your life was cracking and your marriage was tough. And it is not your association with them that made your life not so rosy.

John, you are in and out, then out and in, and you're still shooting blanks. A walking, talking Mormon vasectomy, if you will. It wouldn't matter if it was just your personal bouts, but you seem to thrive on drawing a large group into your drama, and then using them as material in your explanation. In this case, the people you are judging were part of your Ross Perot data pitch to the nation of Holland.

WOW.

wow indeed. i don't suppose dehlin will have any more of a response than what you already can see on the NOM thread.

one of the NOM posters tried to get him to acknowledge or deny that i was the subject of his discussion in the podcast, i believe the tactic proved his/her point.

[_Bazooka]

I bet the OMIDS are sat there thinking "All this stuff was in the Hamblin authored hit piece!"

I guess the squashing of the hit piece by Elder <insert name> is JD's equivalent of thirty pieces of silver.

[_Madison54]

I read Mayan's letter this morning and I feel he makes some extremely valid points. It doesn't look like John is going to own up to anything or is even willing to clarify or make things right. If John misrepresented Mayan in the podcast and people know who he is in real life, he should correct that.

My main beef with all of this is quite simple. John could have gone back to church and never, ever mentioned any "sinning" going on at the conferences as one of his reasons.

He could have just said, "I've decided that going back is best for my family. I have met some wonderful people in the MS community and made some good friends. I hope to stay in touch with them and I wish them well and thank them for their support."

But, it added a lot more drama and ugliness and hurt to do it like he did.

I also am not thrilled with how he's cozying up to FAIR now and trying to work with them. What's up with that?

[_Stormy Waters]

for what it's worth John issued this statement regarding the comments made about the Mormon Stories gatherings.

http://mormonstories.org/a-clarification-about-the-mormon-stories-regional-communities-and-conferences

[_zeezrom]

I also am not thrilled with how he's cozying up to FAIR now and trying to work with them. What's up with that?

Perhaps he found a ladder.

[_Rollo Tomasi]

I also am not thrilled with how he's cozying up to FAIR now and trying to work with them. What's up with that?

I must have missed this. What did John say or imply about his "cozying up to FAIR"? If true, that is very troubling.

[_Madison54]

I also am not thrilled with how he's cozying up to FAIR now and trying to work with them. What's up with that?

I must have missed this. What did John say or imply about his "cozying up to FAIR"? If true, that is very troubling.

Here are a few of his comments over on MAD:

I believe that FAIR should not fear MormonThink. I believe that FAIR (and the church) should look at MormonThink as the tiger in "Life of Pi" -- as the "enemy" that keeps them alive and makes them stronger.

Please consider using MormonThink as a way to sharper your arguments. The issues won't go away...so use MormonThink to make your approaches stronger. Fearing MormonThink or trying to avoid/ignore/suppress it won't help anyone get stronger in faith. In my opinion, FAIR needs to become so good at what it does that MT becomes irrelevant.

for what it's worth, I totally agree that Mormon Think often hits below the belt. What I don't know if FAIR realizes is that people who claim to be followers of Jesus must hold to a higher standard if they don't want to be viewed as hypocrites.

(He then calls Mormon Think an Anti-Mormon site in one of his next comments.)

I'm definitely willing to take responsibility for any mistakes I've made.

Believe it or not, I'm sincerely trying to help FAIR become more effective. But I don't expect you to believe me.

I'd be thrilled to enter into dialogue with Dan Peterson or the FAIR folks. There are also some things I've done behind the scenes to try to help FAIR, even recently, which I'm not privy to discuss here. But I'm totally willing...if ya'll can let me know how to engage.