Teancum

I have a few additional thoughts. Why is it that active members, and especially apologist, want to gripe and complain when disaffected or Ex Mos still are interested in as well as critical of, things LDS. Why the hell is it an issue if I, even after 20 years, an still periodically interested in MS or Mormonism Live with Bill Reel and RFM? My heritage is tied to the Church. I have ancestors on all sides that either converted in Europe or joined in New England and moved west with the church. I gave my whole life to the church for my first 52 years or so. I have family and friends that are still strongly involved in the church. The fact that I support MS and Mormonism live is not some odd tick that I am looking to satisfied. I think they are worth supporting for a variety of reasons but the main two are I do think they assist people that are where I was at years ago and I find some of their content interesting. I also think they are far more honest about things LDS than the church is as well as its defenders. It is not some flaw nor something that is emotionally broken that keeps me on an endless rage loop or anything like that. My heritage, my friends, and some family are the main reasons I have not removed my name from the church records. My wife, a convert, has talked about name removal and my response was that is up to her if she wants, but I have no desire to do so. So much of what I am for good or ill is because of Mormonism. It is still somewhat my tribe. And I have even considered maybe attending here and there. I do at times miss my ward community. Any way, I just find it peculiar that you and others just expect someone to simply move on. How I or others interact with Mormonism is after our departure and there is not a clock on when we decide not to interact with it anymore. My interaction now is very limited but it is still there and there is nothing wrong with me for that fact.

I know he was ill for a while. But I will miss him. And I think he took more flack than deserved over the Musket speech. He once responded to an email I sent about something that was I was really wrestling with and his response calmed my troubled heart.

Still following a myth and fantasy? You do you as well. Your attempt to psychoanalyze me is hilarious and you could not be more wrong. As I noted I rarely even listen to MS anymore. I recently listened to an exit story because I personally knew the person on the podcast. Before that I do not recall when I listened and when I have it is more like the series where Matt Harris was interviewed about his excellent book Second Class Saints. But I think MS helps people that are where I was at 20 years ago and I am happy to support that. I am aware of the salary John draws and I could not care less. But yea I have mostly moved on from Mormonism. I show up here once in a while and try to keep tabs on some things like the death of Elder Holland and other such things. Your topic intrigued me so I responded. It brings me joy that he still get under all your skins a bit. And more power to you if you want to keep paying your mandated temple tax. You keep helping the Church that claims to be Jesus's amass its enormous wealth rather than relieve human suffering. It is really a Corporation masquerading as a church. And that while it refuses to be transparent with you about its finances. What a waste of $. But sure, you do you as you said.

ever assuming everyone on the forum knows), Mormon Stories Podcast was started in 2005 by John Dehlin and has been one of the most prominent independent podcast platforms discussing LDS topics with a claim to focus on interviews with a wide variety of perspectives, including critics of the Church. Their official mission statement (from their own website) frames their work as facilitating informed consent, supporting those in faith crisis, and building community, reflecting their self-identified purpose rather than the claims of critics or promoters. This is all deception. Not only is Mormon Stories not an LDS platform., its an Ex-LDS platform. It is run entirely by former members, many of whom are openly hostile to the Church. The name and icons strongly implies it is a faithful LDS or objective organization, which misleads both members and non-members searching for legitimate LDS information. They are the top search result for the term "Mormon". This branding strategy allows the platform to intercept people at moments of vulnerability, like LDS investigators, questioning LDS members, and those in faith crisis. The result is not informed consent, but directional persuasion. Who the Main Audience (Really) Is While Mormon Stories claims to serve people navigating faith transitions (in one direction only), its core audience increasingly appears to be Never-LDS who enjoy exaggerated narratives of "cult escape", abuse amplification, large institutional villainization, shock-value storytelling about LDS culture. This mirrors trends seen in other anti-religious media spaces, where outrage and trauma-p0rn outperform nuance. Faithful discussion, context, and spiritual outcomes are not the product being sold, the conflict is. Supported by a viewership of never-LDS and donation from ex-LDS and anti-LDS. Mormon Stories functions less like a support group and more like a deconstruction factory. Guests are guided, sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly, toward predetermined conclusions. The same accusations are recycled with new faces. For this they get donations. This is pure commercialized deconversion, not pastoral care. Hypocrisy A recurring theme on Mormon Stories is criticism of how the Church handles money. Yet Mormon Stories itself operates under a structure where the brand is inseparable from its founder. All revenue and donations overwhelmingly benefit their central figure. Compensation transparency is minimal compared to the moral scrutiny applied to the Church. At minimum, this represents a double standard. At worst, it suggests projection. I’m not saying Mormon Stories is a cult the way others overbroadly use it, but it’s worth asking why it increasingly resembles the very systems it claims to oppose. There is a central charismatic authority, he has narrative control, people are emotional dependent on him. He uses moral absolutism, he is financial reliant on followers. His followers do identity reconstruction ("before" vs "after" self). If we applied criteria for identifying ‘cult behavior’ to Mormon Stories itself, would it pass? If those patterns are troubling inside churches, they should be troubling in non-churches. The platform only survives if people keep leaving and keep paying. Guests rarely leave more independent. Any later reconciliation to the church is bad for business. Any peace or resolution ends engagement. Therefore, only continued anger sustains it. There will never be a solution. Declining Influence Growth momentum appears to have slowed. Engagement fatigue is visible even among its former supporters. Long-time listeners describe content as repetitive and ideologically rigid. These two consecutive years of reduced growth is not a fluke, it is a trend. Over a two-year span, both viewership growth and audience momentum slowed noticeably. This matters because Mormon Stories’ model depends on sustained emotional engagement. Specifically anger, grievance, and disillusionment. That kind of content performs well in bursts, but it does not age well. Anger is exhausting, repetition dulls outrage, and audiences eventually move on when every story resolves the same way. Platforms built on permanent resentment face an unavoidable problem. Once the emotional payoff diminishes, so does the audience. The decline was already underway because grievance is not a renewable resource. The actual growth rates over recent years are not publicly broken down month-by-month on Social Blade without paid access, so I can't verify claims like 2023 had 117,000 new subscribers vs 57,000 in 2024 and 28,000 in 2025. If anyone has access to month-by-month analytics, that would be great to share. When Weak, a Forced Rebrand is a Direct Hit to their Deception Model The Church’s request that Mormon Stories stop using branding that implies official or representative LDS status strikes at the heart of the platform’s growth strategy. The name itself functions as a search engine funnel. Capturing members, investigators, and outsiders searching for authentic LDS perspectives, then redirecting them into adversarial content. Removing that ambiguity disrupts discoverability, weakens first impressions, and forces the platform to operate honestly as what it is: an ex-LDS commentary channel. The Church has every legal and ethical right to protect its identity and its members from confusion. Coming amid an existing decline, rebranding is not a inconvenience, it is a compounding blow. When growth is already slowing, losing a misleading point of entry can accelerate irrelevance. Organizations like Mormon Stories are far more fragile than they appear. They are not a lean volunteer group; they are bulky operations with fixed costs, salaries, production expenses, contractors, studio infrastructure, and brand maintenance. All funded almost entirely by ongoing donations and attention. Even a modest, sustained decline in views, engagement, or donor enthusiasm can have outsized effects. When revenue dips below operating expectations, there is little cushion, and pressure compounds quickly. Happy Holidays Unlike the LDS Church, which is diversified, geared for the long-term, and not dependent on outrage, Mormon Stories must constantly replace disengaging donors with newly disaffected members. As that pool shrinks and fatigue sets in, the math turns unforgiving. For faithful Latter-day Saints this represents a quiet but meaningful shift. Fewer resources fueling anger, fewer incentives to sensationalize faith crises, and fewer members being monetized at moments of vulnerability. If trends continue, from a faithful LDS perspective, this season truly may be a Merry Christmas for those who care that truth and faith outlasted a grievance-driven enterprise. May we look toward to the new year and hope for fewer fires. Fires of contention and outrage, and fewer literal fires as well. Attacks on churches, vandalism, and arson against houses of worship are never acceptable, no matter the ideology. When rhetoric cools and grievance-driven platforms lose influence, the real-world temperature often lowers too. A calmer media environment makes room for safer congregations, healthier dialogue, and faith practiced without fear. That is a hope worth carrying into the new year. Discussions Have you noticed fewer people recommending Mormon Stories lately? Do you think the name is intentionally misleading? What platforms do you see filling the gap? What trends have you noticed in Mormon Stories’ influence, for yourself or others? Have you noticed increased engagement with faithful LDS channels since 2023? Do you think metrics like subscriber counts has told us anything meaningful? Again, Mormon Stories is produced by the Open Stories Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Reliable revenue data needs the IRS Form 990. If you can access the latest filings, please post them! This is absolutely hilarious. Poor LDS Church and bog old bogy man John Dehlin. Your post is simply laughable especially this: Comparing the LDS Church and it's wealth and its total lack of transparency to Dehlin's NFP and the fact that he makes a reasonable salary is totally absurd. But guess what. As a MS donor I can see his financial statements and Form 990 any time. If it bugs me that he is making too much money I can opt out. He does not hide his financial activity from his supporters unlike the church which demands 10% of it adherents to participate in the highest ordinances of the faith. While I do not listen much to MS podcasts or other Mormon them podcasts anymore things Mormon seem to interest my less and less and I have mostly moved on, I do appreciate the benefit and support I received from the podcasts, and from John directly. When my faith crisis happened in the early 2000s there was really not much support and I stumbled on MS and Dehlin. And John reached out to me personally at that time. Your post really reeks of desperation and fear so apparently MS strikes quite the negative chord in you.

My most sincere condolences. The loss of loved ones is certainly among the most bitter parts of our lives. I think if someone asks to do a proxy baptism for your son, and you prefer not to, just politely decline. No other explanation is needed.

If he had children would his children not have the power of a god?

Well if you go by the book The DaVinci Code that plot has Jesus producing and, spoiler alert, one of the main characters is a descendent.