We Do Not Support John Dehlin

[Salvete]

Yes, I am for real! No need to lecture me on what this board is about, you twit. Look, I've been a contributor of Mormon Discussions since the very first day Shades started his original board, many, many, years ago. I was Paul Osborne, one of the first to register an account on his new board.

So piss off.

I AM for real, and I have my own opinion. So deal with it.

Chill daddy-o, I’m just telling you that there are almost no doctrinal discussions happening here. It’s all drama, all the time.

[drumdude]

Yes, I am for real! No need to lecture me on what this board is about, you twit. Look, I've been a contributor of Mormon Discussions since the very first day Shades started his original board, many, many, years ago. I was Paul Osborne, one of the first to register an account on his new board.

So piss off.

I AM for real, and I have my own opinion. So deal with it.

Chill daddy-o, I’m just telling you that there are almost no doctrinal discussions happening here. It’s all drama, all the time.

Especially when graced with your presence.

[Shulem]

Chill daddy-o, I’m just telling you that there are almost no doctrinal discussions happening here. It’s all drama, all the time.

Not so. There are many, many, doctrinal threads on this board.

You are welcome to head up to the Celestial Forum and escape from the drama that is persistent down in the lower boards. But there are a great many doctrinal threads in Terrestrial if you'll just open your eyes and see.

[Moksha]

Stop giving men your best, sisters!

- Doc

Lysistrata found that this strategy did not end the Peloponnesian War.

[DrStakhanovite]

Truthfully I think most American Mo & Exmo influencers are kinda weird. I feel the same way about many of the people here in fact.

Don't think I don't see you.

[DrStakhanovite]

I think very little of a list including wannabe celebrities, celebrity activists, life coaches, and what have you claiming that John is unsafe.

Okay, but those are his peers. Let’s be honest here, John is a grifting wannabe celebrity activist life coach and any other sort of term you could apply to those women applies to him equally. If the online activities of those women render them not credible then neither is John by any stretch of the imagination.

I would love to see the evidence that KK and K Money felt unsafe around John Dehlin.

This isn’t some amicus brief for some appellate court, it is simply a public warning.

But that’s the beautiful thing about saying you “feel” unsafe, it doesn’t require evidence or anything more than a vague emotional claim.

But I don’t think it is “vague” and “emotional”, I think it sends a very clear message: Don’t be vulnerable or otherwise put yourself in a position to be exploited by John Dehlin. For a guy with a PhD in clinical psychology and trying to be *the* face of Ex-Mormons, that is a pretty specific and damning statement.

If I told you I didn’t feel safe with my therapist, would you say I was being vague and emotional? No, I know you wouldn’t. Why does it become so with these women?

This silly letter oozes a lack of credibility. It’s unfortunate, as I am sure that there is a lot about this group of capable and talented women to respect.

If the signatories are talented women that are worthy of respect, why does the document ooze a lack of credibility? Because they didn’t go into explicit or forensic detail?

[Lowrance]

Yeah, most of these women have probably moved on, and good for them. I would guess that a number of these signatures are expressions of solidarity.

Oh my goodness, that is such a sexist thing to say. Wow. You have just completely disregarded the opinions of the vast majority of the women who signed the letter by stating that, as a man, you would wager that the majority of the signatures are solidarity expressions. You are acting in a very Mormon manner by saying that.

[Kishkumen]

Okay, but those are his peers. Let’s be honest here, John is a grifting wannabe celebrity activist life coach and any other sort of term you could apply to those women applies to him equally. If the online activities of those women render them not credible then neither is John by any stretch of the imagination.

Sure! And had I not spent hours upon hours dealing with Rosebud’s bizarre and slippery drama-mongering, I might be somewhat more sympathetic and less suspicious. Had I no further knowledge about the gripes of Kristy Money I would be more liable to lend credibility to her signature. Had I not witnessed the breathtaking hypocrisy of KK, who has done nothing less than crusade against John Dehlin, even using the Midnight Morons to do so, I would be significantly less cynical.

Unfortunately, I know too much about some key elements behind this document, and those problems are fatally compromising to its credibility, in my opinion.

This isn’t some amicus brief for some appellate court, it is simply a public warning.

No, what it is is a thinly veiled smear campaign. If my kids start pointing fingers at each other, I hear out the accusations. I try to get to the bottom of what informs the emotional complaints. Often I find that people, even people I like and respect, are capable of using accusations in very self-serving and vindictive ways.

But I don’t think it is “vague” and “emotional”, I think it sends a very clear message: Don’t be vulnerable or otherwise put yourself in a position to be exploited by John Dehlin. For a guy with a PhD in clinical psychology and trying to be *the* face of Ex-Mormons, that is a pretty specific and damning statement.

It is vague inasmuch as it does not back up its position. As the reader, I want to know why he should not be trusted. If I know that the unstated answers to these questions are things like, “he paid me the same as his other podcasters and I wanted more,” or, “I never met the man in my life, but I support my friend who wanted higher pay,” then I see why they don’t provide any justification for claiming John Dehlin is “unsafe.” If they told us, they would start losing support pretty quickly. Better to leave that vague claim unsupported by any specifics with all of those signatures under it.

I find it appalling, frankly.

If the signatories are talented women that are worthy of respect, why does the document ooze a lack of credibility? Because they didn’t go into explicit or forensic detail?

Because people are complicated and life is complicated. I love my parents and their politics frankly scare me. I completely disapprove of the campaign against John Dehlin, but I want Rosebud to be a happy, healthy, and successful person. I don’t care for a number of things John Dehlin does, but that does not mean that I have to approve of the campaigns to malign him publicly.

[Kishkumen]

Oh my goodness, that is such a sexist thing to say. Wow. You have just completely disregarded the opinions of the vast majority of the women who signed the letter by stating that, as a man, you would wager that the majority of the signatures are solidarity expressions. You are acting in a very Mormon manner by saying that.

Do you have the vapors now, Lowrance? Or is it that you always take every signature on any document at face value? Do you take the Book of Mormon witnesses at face value?

[Lowrance]

Oh my goodness, that is such a sexist thing to say. Wow. You have just completely disregarded the opinions of the vast majority of the women who signed the letter by stating that, as a man, you would wager that the majority of the signatures are solidarity expressions. You are acting in a very Mormon manner by saying that.

Do you have the vapors now, Lowrance? Or is it that you always take every signature on any document at face value? Do you take the Book of Mormon witnesses at face value?

How many women have you worked with throughout your career? How many accused you of being inappropriate?