Another PR Nightmare For The Church: Karma Comes For Dallas Oaks

[Everybody Wang Chung]

In yet another stunning addition to the PR Disasters We Didn't Need file, the Chicago Sun Times is reporting today that the church has targeted John Dehlin and his podcast. John Dehlin's offense? Daring to document the Wade Christopherson child abuse nightmare. You can practically feel the blood pressure rising in Dallas Oaks and the leadership must be in a full-blown panic. From the article:

Mormon leader D. Todd Christofferson (left) and his brother, accused child molester Wade Christofferson, in a mug shot after his arrest.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Butler County Jail

"Long critical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a popular podcaster whose audio-video platform earlier this year helped reveal accusations that a one-time Mormon figure in the Chicago area molested children in the region is now being sued by the institution.

The church insists it’s not payback for the years that John Dehlin’s “Mormon Stories” podcast exposed and delved into church controversies — including a child sexual abuse scandal.

Podcaster, John Dehlin

Edward Nachel, a former Chicago area resident who revealed he’d been part of the excommunication process of former McHenry County church leader Wade Christofferson in the 1990s after it came to light he molested one or more children.

As the Chicago Sun-Times has since reported, a number of church leaders knew about Christofferson’s misconduct but let him back into the church, and into leadership, and apparently told nobody.

Christofferson has since molested more children out-of-state, according to prosecutors who lodged charges against him in November in a case that’s pending in Ohio where Christofferson moved."

https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchd ... stofferson

[drumdude]

Specifically this video linked below, which John posted to Mormon Stories 2 months ago:

Ed Nachel attended Wade Christofferson’s disciplinary council and confirms that Wade was ex’d for child abuse and then the church covered it up, re-baptized Wade, and expunged his record — allowing later abuse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E3unhsxgDo

But according to DCP there's no place on earth safer than a Mormon church.

[Rivendale]

Salon also jumped in. https://www.salon.com/2026/04/29/morm ... x-member/

How ridiculous.

The church denies that the aim of the lawsuit is to silence a popular maverick whose content is widely disseminated by critics of Mormonism. They claim their goal is only to prevent “ongoing confusion about whether ‘Mormon Stories’ is official Church content.” But they can’t be surprised by the widespread public scoffing at the denial, especially in light of the institution’s longstanding hostility to Dehlin.

[Doctor Steuss]

If only they had someone in a leadership position that was able to foresee future events and outcomes.

[Everybody Wang Chung]

Specifically this video linked below, which John posted to Mormon Stories 2 months ago:

Ed Nachel attended Wade Christofferson’s disciplinary council and confirms that Wade was ex’d for child abuse and then the church covered it up, re-baptized Wade, and expunged his record — allowing later abuse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E3unhsxgDo

But according to DCP there's no place on earth safer than a Mormon church.

It’s quite the black eye for the church when one of the most respected newspapers in the country frames the church's lawsuit as retaliation for exposing child sexual abuse. I can only imagine the huge influx of donations from across the world hitting John Dehlin’s inbox right now.

If the goal was to hurt John Dehlin, they’ve likely achieved the opposite. With stupid moves like this, the church's shrinking membership numbers practically explain themselves.

[Everybody Wang Chung]

Salon also jumped in. https://www.salon.com/2026/04/29/morm ... x-member/

How ridiculous.

The church denies that the aim of the lawsuit is to silence a popular maverick whose content is widely disseminated by critics of Mormonism. They claim their goal is only to prevent “ongoing confusion about whether ‘Mormon Stories’ is official Church content.” But they can’t be surprised by the widespread public scoffing at the denial, especially in light of the institution’s longstanding hostility to Dehlin.

Wow! That Salon article was brutal.

The outsize attention the church is paying to Dehlin’s podcast comes at a critical time for the institution. Membership rolls are shrinking. Some experts suggest the numbers are even worse, as most people simply stop believing without officially leaving their temple. The LDS church has a terrible public image, with only 15% of Americans in a 2023 poll saying they feel favorable toward Mormons, a percentage that ranks them below even atheists and Muslims, two groups that are openly demonized by large segments of the country. The church has, in other words, reason to worry that the explosion of public criticism, enabled by social media, is causing people to turn against them. But again, the whole purpose of free speech is so that powerful institutions like the Mormon church can be held accountable to the public. There is no right to keep your membership rolls high, especially at the expense of robust public debate.

I would guess that the only thing standing between the church from getting a total positive image transformation is the public’s inexplicable failure to watch the Afore's Becoming Brigham, Witnesses or Six Days in August.

[I Have Questions]

If it was about protecting the trademark “Mormon” then they would be pursuing multiple cases against multiple Plaintiffs as part of a programme to enforce it. They’re not. They’ve cherry picked Dehlin and have scrabbled around looking at what other “reasons” they can use as a smokescreen. They really aren’t clever as it’s blatantly obvious. As the journalists have pointed out.

Litigation is what Jesus was known for, right?

It’s worth remembering that it was Oaks that said:
“Criticism is particularly objectionable when it is directed toward Church authorities, general or local. Jude condemns those who ‘speak evil of dignities.’ Evil speaking of the Lord’s anointed is in a class by itself. It is one thing to depreciate a person who exercises corporate power or even government power. It is quite another thing to criticize or depreciate a person for the performance of an office to which he or she has been called of God. It does not matter that the criticism is true.” – Dallin H. Oaks

And:
“We must not lie, but we are free to tell less than we know when we have no duty to disclose… One is not a liar when one remains silent in a circumstance in which there is no duty to disclose.” – Dallin H. Oaks

That last one is in direct conflict with the Gospel Principle “Honesty” which says

Lying is intentionally deceiving others. Bearing false witness is one form of lying. The Lord gave this commandment to the children of Israel: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour” (Exodus 20:16). Jesus also taught this when He was on earth (see Matthew 19:18). There are many other forms of lying. When we speak untruths, we are guilty of lying. We can also intentionally deceive others by a gesture or a look, by silence, or by telling only part of the truth. Whenever we lead people in any way to believe something that is not true, we are not being honest.

Oaks has admitted that he cannot be relied upon to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And that he is prepared to be as vindictive about truthful criticism as Trump is. And he’s the guy Jesus wants to run His church? Nah, don’t think so.

[I Have Questions]

This is an interesting piece on this subject

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can’t seem to leave John Dehlin alone. Church leadership excommunicated this former graduate of Brigham Young University in 2015, charging him with apostasy for allegedly claiming the Book of Mormon is “fraudulent” and a work “of fiction.” Dehlin believes his support of same-sex marriage and women’s equality in the church was also a major factor in the decision, a position the church disputes. In 2017, a major leak of internal church documents showed that LDS leadership shared a PowerPoint presentation accusing multiple people and organizations of “leading people away from the gospel.” Dehlin, who also has a doctorate in psychology from Utah State University, was on the list.

Now the LDS church is suing Dehlin and his popular “Mormon Stories” podcast using a surprising legal argument: that the show, which he launched during the early days of podcasting in 2005 and is openly critical of the church, is violating the church’s trademark rights. The podcast’s name and marketing materials, the plaintiffs argue, will “cause individuals to be confused” and believe the podcast “comes from or is affiliated with or endorsed by the Church.” The lawsuit takes special issue with the use of the word “Mormon,” though it also includes complaints that the font and colors used in the show’s logo, as well as images of Jesus and holy light, will cause audiences to mistake the podcast for an official LDS production.

The church denies that the aim of the lawsuit is to silence a popular maverick whose content is widely disseminated by critics of Mormonism. They claim their goal is only to prevent “ongoing confusion about whether ‘Mormon Stories’ is official Church content.” But they can’t be surprised by the widespread public scoffing at the denial, especially in light of the institution’s longstanding hostility to Dehlin.

The leaked PowerPoint is really the smoking gun on this one. Oaks has been after him for decades.

Whatever the truth of their motivations, church leadership may come to regret this lawsuit. One surefire way to be cast as the villain in American culture is to be seen as censorious. That’s true in cases where the silencing effort is real, such as Donald Trump‘s attacks on late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, which he revived on Monday after the president and Melania Trump criticized a joke the comedian delivered two days before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in which he said the first lady had “a glow like an expectant widow.” (Following the apparent assassination attempt that took place on Saturday at the dinner, the joke “became awkward in hindsight,” in the words of the New York Times.)

But even people who aren’t being silenced, such as all the folks crying “cancel culture” after being called names on social media, steal the valor of bona fide free speech martyrs. Being perceived as the victim of censors is a surefire way to gain interest in what you’re saying. Whatever the legal merits of this case, the church is making a mistake, using their money and power to go after an ex-Mormon who publicly questions their beliefs.

Oaks is not one to let common sense get in the way of a good vendetta.

While the levels of confusion do matter legally, from a big picture standpoint the church just sounds paranoid. If a Mormon were to click on an episode of “Mormon Stories,” the worst that could happen is exposure to arguments and evidence that question and challenge their beliefs. As long as they’re not being forced to continue listening, their rights aren’t being violated. Is the church suggesting their own beliefs are so fragile that even minimum exposure to skepticism is a threat? If so, too bad. In a free society, there is no right to be shielded from information that might cause pangs of doubt.

From a PR perspective, Oaks and the lawyers are doing more damage to the Church’s reputation than anything Dehlin has ever done or said.

[Marcus]

From the LDS church newsroom site:

...People began referring to Latter-day Saints as "Mormons" in the 19th century shortly after the Church was established. The word comes from the Book of Mormon, a sacred book of scripture used by Mormons in addition to the Bible. The nickname stuck and has been used by Church members ever since as a shorthand version of "Latter-day Saints."

The term does not replace the proper name of the Church, however. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the name mandated in scripture in 1838. Calling it the "Mormon Church" or "LDS Church" leaves out the most central part of the Church: Jesus Christ. Consequently, the Church does not refer to itself as "the Mormon Church" and discourages use of that term.

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.or ... rm-Mormon-

[bolding added by me]
And from the LDS church newsroom style guide:

---While the term “Mormon Church” has long been publicly applied to the Church as a nickname, it is not an authorized title, and the Church discourages its use. Thus, please avoid using the abbreviation “LDS” or the nickname “Mormon” as substitutes for the name of the Church, as in “Mormon Church,” “LDS Church,” or “Church of the Latter-day Saints.”

---When referring to Church members, the terms “members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” “Latter-day Saints,” “members of the Church of Jesus Christ” and “members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ” are preferred. We ask that the term “Mormons” and “LDS” not be used.

---“Mormon” is correctly used in proper names such as the Book of Mormon or when used as an adjective in such historical expressions as “Mormon Trail.”

---The term “Mormonism” is inaccurate and should not be used. When describing the combination of doctrine, culture and lifestyle unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the term “the restored gospel of Jesus Christ” is accurate and preferred.

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/style-guide

It's difficult to take these lawsuits seriously when statements like the above are still posted on the official LDS newsroom site.

[Dwight]

If only they had someone in a leadership position that was able to foresee future events and outcomes.

Doesn't even require an ounce of the gift of discernment or revelation, Todd knew in 2020 about his brother and his brother abused new victims after that.