Excommunication Cancelled.

[Wiki Wonka]

Thanks, WW. I asked David about this on the other board and he is saying a family member must have tried to out him by creating the fake accounts.

Can you share details on the IP address info? Did it come from a Florida ISP or elsewhere? At the very least we can help David sniff out the alleged impostor.

Seth

Seth,

I am not a moderator at "lds.net," so I have no access to IP addresses there. However, I can investigate further if Mr. Twede wishes in order to clear up the issue once and for all. This information came from the moderator at "lds.net" and they publicly posted the message in the forum.

I'm going to beg the indulgence of the MDDB moderators and post a link to the thread that contains most of the information that I posted: http://www.lds.net/forums/advice-board/48374-report-bad-member.html.

You can see the moderator's message here: http://www.lds.net/forums/advice-board/48374-report-bad-member-4.html#post700733.

I'll have to get permission from others in order to provide precise information contained in PM's, so stay tuned. The short summary is that the moderators stated that the author of the blog, sharing the same IP as "starlight012", attempted to sign up and post information about how he was being threatened with excommunication and that he would be going to the media about it.

Twede did publicly state that he was going to do this in a message he posted on RFM on September 20th. Twede states "I have simultaneously posted to MormonDiscussions, RfM, StayLDS, Postmormon and LDS.NET forums, for completeness."

He did indeed attempt to post his message in the StayLDS forum, but it was deleted by moderators. According to a moderator at StayLDS, "He posted the same message here. We deleted it, since he is looking to engage the support of people in "his fight" against the Church. We have no interest in that at all. None. Nada. Zip. I think his statement says as much about his motivation as anything else possibly could do, and I agree completely with DB about how "facts" can be presented in such a way as to totally hide "the (full) truth" and lead someone to a partial view. That's what I believe Mormon Think does, which is why I stopped reading there after my first couple of visits."

So when the moderator at "lds.net" claimed that Twede attempted to post his message there, and knowing that he attempted to post it at StayLDS, and that Twede himself claimed that he intended to post it in those two forums on Sept. 20th, I see no reason not to believe that what the mods are telling us is correct. According to them, when he attempted to post the message at "lds.net," that is when they discovered that the IP address he was using was the same as the one for "starlight012," and they banned him. One can see now that "starlight012" is indeed banned from the forum.

WW

[sethpayne]

Seth,

I am not a moderator at "lds.net," so I have no access to IP addresses there. However, I can investigate further if Mr. Twede wishes in order to clear up the issue once and for all. This information came from the moderator at "lds.net" and they publicly posted the message in the forum.

I'm going to beg the indulgence of the MDDB moderators and post a link to the thread that contains most of the information that I posted: http://www.lds.net/f...bad-member.html.

You can see the moderator's message here: http://www.lds.net/f...html#post700733.

I'll have to get permission from others in order to provide precise information contained in PM's, so stay tuned. The short summary is that the moderators stated that the author of the blog, sharing the same IP as "starlight012", attempted to sign up and post information about how he was being threatened with excommunication and that he would be going to the media about it.

Twede did publicly state that he was going to do this in a message he posted on RFM on September 20th. Twede states "I have simultaneously posted to MormonDiscussions, RfM, StayLDS, Postmormon and LDS.NET forums, for completeness."

He did indeed attempt to post his message in the StayLDS forum, but it was deleted by moderators. According to a moderator at StayLDS, "He posted the same message here. We deleted it, since he is looking to engage the support of people in "his fight" against the Church. We have no interest in that at all. None. Nada. Zip. I think his statement says as much about his motivation as anything else possibly could do, and I agree completely with DB about how "facts" can be presented in such a way as to totally hide "the (full) truth" and lead someone to a partial view. That's what I believe Mormon Think does, which is why I stopped reading there after my first couple of visits."

So when the moderator at "lds.net" claimed that Twede attempted to post his message there, and knowing that he attempted to post it at StayLDS, and that Twede himself claimed that he intended to post it in those two forums on Sept. 20th, I see no reason not to believe that what the mods are telling us is correct. According to them, when he attempted to post the message at "lds.net," that is when they discovered that the IP address he was using was the same as the one for "starlight012," and they banned him. One can see now that "starlight012" is indeed banned from the forum.

WW

Thanks WW.

I can't speak for David but I do think this is an issue that deserves investigation.

Seth

ETA: WW, do you think we can persuade the lds.net admins to release the IP address logged?

Edited October 3, 2012 by sethpayne

[Wiki Wonka]

Thanks WW.

I can't speak for David but I do think this is an issue that deserves investigation.

Seth

ETA: WW, do you think we can persuade the lds.net admins to release the IP address logged?

Seth,

I don't know the mods at lds.net personally, so I don't know how one would go about obtaining that type of information. What I do know is that the mods said that he tried to post his information about the discipline on September 20, confirmed that the text of his message was the same as that posted on RFM (and was copied to Runtu's blog) and that the account that he created to do so was from the same IP as "starlight012." They banned his new account and the "starlight012" account, and this is why his message never appeared on "lds.net".

I have received permission to post the contents of the private messages that "starlight012" sent to a member of FAIR. The following messages were sent by "starlight012" to a member of FAIR via PM:

"starlight012" said: You're welcome. What will you be able to do about this except to report about it at FAIR? Can this man get reported to his bishop? If he's using his active membership to promote anti-mormonism, his bishop might not take kindly to it.

"starlight012" said: I know him. That's why I posted the first time a few weeks ago. I know the photo on his profile at the mormonthink site and enough of his history (living in Ann Arbor, etc) that I am sure. His name is David Twede. I don't know what ward he's in, but he mentions Florida. Thanks!

"starlight012" said: Glad it helped. Please keep me posted what happens. thanks :-)

"starlight012" said: There was something in the blog posted today, I noticed. I don't remember what it was right now. How did you get the other general editor? Did someone like me turn him in too?

"starlight012" said: Looks like they went after him. See the blog. http://prozac-ville.blogspot.com

"starlight012" said: No problem. I hope they don't get scared off by that press statement. They'll probably back down from the court now. That's probably what he wants and why he's taking it out there.

"starlight012" said: where did you see this press release? I'm searching online. His blog is gone too.

My comments:

The comment "What will you be able to do about this except to report about it at FAIR? Can this man get reported to his bishop?" is an overt suggestion that FAIR contact his local authorities.

I found the question "How did you get the other general editor? Did someone like me turn him in too? " to be intriguing. You see, FAIR didn't know that the previous editor had been approached by the Church for discipline, or that he had resigned, until Twede posted it on his blog. I find it curious that "starlight012", someone who claims that they simply recognized Twede's picture and never had heard of FAIR before, asked that question. FAIR doesn't know the name of the previous editor, or even if it was the same editor that had been publicly fantasizing about a "full-blown faith-destroying session" with his bishop. We certainly have a number of quotes from a previous MT editor on the Wiki, and have had them there for quite some time (FAIR's original MormonThink review went up in August 2009). So, FAIR never "got" the other editor, at least not that we know of. We don't even know which editor was "gotten," although I would assume that it was likely LDS Truthseeker/Spongebob Squaregarments.

Finally, we have, "I hope they don't get scared off by that press statement. They'll probably back down from the court now." That comment sounds awfully familiar.

WW

[sethpayne]

Seth,

I don't know the mods at lds.net personally, so I don't know how one would go about obtaining that type of information. What I do know is that the mods said that he tried to post his information about the discipline on September 20, confirmed that the text of his message was the same as that posted on RFM (and was copied to Runtu's blog) and that the account that he created to do so was from the same IP as "starlight012." They banned his new account and the "starlight012" account, and this is why his message never appeared on "lds.net".

I have received permission to post the contents of the private messages that "starlight012" sent to a member of FAIR. The following messages were sent by "starlight012" to a member of FAIR via PM:

"starlight012" said: You're welcome. What will you be able to do about this except to report about it at FAIR? Can this man get reported to his bishop? If he's using his active membership to promote anti-mormonism, his bishop might not take kindly to it.

"starlight012" said: I know him. That's why I posted the first time a few weeks ago. I know the photo on his profile at the mormonthink site and enough of his history (living in Ann Arbor, etc) that I am sure. His name is David Twede. I don't know what ward he's in, but he mentions Florida. Thanks!

"starlight012" said: Glad it helped. Please keep me posted what happens. thanks :-)

"starlight012" said: There was something in the blog posted today, I noticed. I don't remember what it was right now. How did you get the other general editor? Did someone like me turn him in too?

"starlight012" said: Looks like they went after him. See the blog. http://prozac-ville.blogspot.com

"starlight012" said: No problem. I hope they don't get scared off by that press statement. They'll probably back down from the court now. That's probably what he wants and why he's taking it out there.

"starlight012" said: where did you see this press release? I'm searching online. His blog is gone too.

My comments:

The comment "What will you be able to do about this except to report about it at FAIR? Can this man get reported to his bishop?" is an overt suggestion that FAIR contact his local authorities.

I found the question "How did you get the other general editor? Did someone like me turn him in too? " to be intriguing. You see, FAIR didn't know that the previous editor had been approached by the Church for discipline, or that he had resigned, until Twede posted it on his blog. I find it curious that "starlight012", someone who claims that they simply recognized Twede's picture and never had heard of FAIR before, asked that question. FAIR doesn't know the name of the previous editor, or even if it was the same editor that had been publicly fantasizing about a "full-blown faith-destroying session" with his bishop. We certainly have a number of quotes from a previous MT editor on the Wiki, and have had them there for quite some time (FAIR's original MormonThink review went up in August 2009). So, FAIR never "got" the other editor, at least not that we know of. We don't even know which editor was "gotten," although I would assume that it was likely LDS Truthseeker/Spongebob Squaregarments.

Finally, we have, "I hope they don't get scared off by that press statement. They'll probably back down from the court now." That comment sounds awfully familiar.

WW

Thanks again, WW. Incredibly insightful.

You probably can't confirm this publicly but did starlight012 happen to send messages to a member of FAIR, Scott Gordon?

[Wiki Wonka]

Thanks again, WW. Incredibly insightful.

You probably can't confirm this publicly but did starlight012 happen to send messages to a member of FAIR, Scott Gordon?

Seth, I sent you a PM.

The mods at lds.net do not wish to have any of their PM's to us publicly quoted.

However, it was suggested to me that all David Twede needs to do to settle things is to post the exact message that he received from lds.net stating the reason why he was banned after he attempted to post his message on September 20th. Twede himself says that this happened.

David Twede said on postmormon.org on September 20, 2012 in the thread "MormonThink events":

"I have simultaneously posted to MormonDiscussions, RfM, StayLDS, Postmormon and LDS.NET forums, for completeness. However, LDSNET took it down immediately."

The mods sent him an email explaining why the message was removed. All Twede has to do to settle things is post the text of that message.

WW

[DBMormon]

He did indeed attempt to post his message in the StayLDS forum, but it was deleted by moderators. According to a moderator at StayLDS, "He posted the same message here. We deleted it, since he is looking to engage the support of people in "his fight" against the Church. We have no interest in that at all. None. Nada. Zip. I think his statement says as much about his motivation as anything else possibly could do, and I agree completely with DB about how "facts" can be presented in such a way as to totally hide "the (full) truth" and lead someone to a partial view. That's what I believe Mormon Think does, which is why I stopped reading there after my first couple of visits."

I have officially been quoted for the first time from another board.

yipeeeeeee.

And no this is not a joke... I have officially entered into the group known as the "Mormon Elite"!!!!

Bow down you Danite scum.......

Re: MormonThink

by DBMormon » 21 Sep 2012, 11:34

Cadence wrote:I am not a touchy feely person. I appreciate straight forward discussion. If I am wrong I like to be told in a straight forward yet calm manner. So for me the whole "doing it our of love" is Mormon speak for we have a problem and need to manage the delivery of information to keep us in the best light. I know there is some merit in that approach for many, but the facts are the facts no matter how you dress them up. So for me Mormonthink is exactly how I want to hear it. Just put it out there and let me decide its validity.

Let me state it differently

My wife yells at me, she yells at the kids, the house is messy most of the time, she is moody, she is unrelenting at times, she doesn't eat healthy, she hardly ever admits she is wrong, She is late to work often, ect....

These are truths. What picture does that paint? What do you picture when I say these facts? Is this someone you are going to be open minded about or have you already formed judgements? Have I made it harder for you to like her?

While these are truths I could and should also list the 100's of positive things my wife does and is. I could also frame these truths in context to share that these things are small minority of the responses I get from her. She is the most awesome person in the world but because I got to pick and choose which facts I told you I painted an entirely different picture of what I wanted you to think by solely using truth. Truth can when used for a malicious purpose cause one to see a picture from only one side, and that side can be very far from real truth. Facts are useless and can make any conclusion if used innapropriately

Was I honest.... yep

Did I share truth.... yep

was it fair to only share the facts I did... nope

Does listing only some facts give a true visual of a person, concept, faith ... nope

Can sharing truth be anything other then a search for truth? yes

Edited October 4, 2012 by DBMormon

[Wiki Wonka]

I have officially been quoted for the first time from another board.

yipeeeeeee.

And no this is not a joke... I have officially entered into the group known as the "Mormon Elite"!!!!

Bow down you Danite scum.......

FWIW, I like the StayLDS forum quite a bit, although I do not post there (Not sure they want people from FAIR chiming in). I find it one of the more balanced and reasonable discussion forums I've encountered.

WW

[Wiki Wonka]

Seth, I sent you a PM.

The mods at lds.net do not wish to have any of their PM's to us publicly quoted.

However, it was suggested to me that all David Twede needs to do to settle things is to post the exact message that he received from lds.net stating the reason why he was banned after he attempted to post his message on September 20th. Twede himself says that this happened.

David Twede said on postmormon.org on September 20, 2012 in the thread "MormonThink events":

"I have simultaneously posted to MormonDiscussions, RfM, StayLDS, Postmormon and LDS.NET forums, for completeness. However, LDSNET took it down immediately."

The mods sent him an email explaining why the message was removed. All Twede has to do to settle things is post the text of that message.

WW

Here's an update. I don't expect that Mr. Twede will ever respond to the request regarding the message sent to him by the lds.net mods. It turns out that he has an extensive public history of posing as a questioning member online, including on this message board.

• In 2009, David Twede created an account on Postmormon.org called "Jesus Smith". He has posted there many times since 2009. He has publicly associated his "Jesus Smith" account with "David Twede," so this isn't any secret. (See thread "OT Photo Thread," post by "Jesus Smith" Sept. 22, 2010 on Postmormon.org)
  
• In August 2010, a questioning active member sent a message to FAIR under the name "cryophil". The text of this email is located in FAIR's message archive.
  
• In January 2011, "Jesus Smith" told the Postmormon forum that he has been posing as a questioning member on the MormonDialogue board (this board) under the name "cryophil." "Jesus Smith" said on Postmormon.org, "BTW, I am cryophil. But keep that a secret ;-) If any of you can add to the MADB discussion, my alter ego would appreciate the assistance." The "cryophil" account was eventually banned on MDDB. That thread is located here: http://www.mormondia...entry1209059312
  
• In February 2011, "Jesus Smith" told the Postmormon forum that he deliberately posed as a questioning member when he communicated with FAIR. He reproduced exactly the text of the message that is in FAIR's archives. He said, "Posing as a questioning member (which I am, just not active), I asked a question at FAIR's page. A Moap emailed me--someone who works with Danny Boy. This game is a bit different than the one you can play with the kindergarten missionaries at Mormon.org....Posing as a fully active Mo is the only real gray area.....I felt that a little subterfuge would allow the experiment to run its course better than direct discussion as an exmo. Perhaps that is not appropriate, perhaps it is. (See thread "Cozing up with FAIR (Stage 1) on Postmormon.org. Posted by "Jesus Smith" on Feb. 1, 2011.)
  
• In October 2011, "cryophil" states on MDDB that this is his "last ditch effort" to get answers: "I'm asking as a final, last ditch effort to see if there are answers that make sense. I doubt it now....We are going round and round here. I have my questions these days. I am not sure they can be answered. It may be that I will have to accept the BoM as fictional moral teachings. That's a lot easier than to accept science is just wrong, and FAIR's interpretations are more scholarly."
  
• In April 2012, someone posing as a questioning member (Does anyone doubt who it was?) created an account called "cryophil" on lds.net. "cryophil" posted for two months and then stopped posting. One can see that the "cryophil" account on lds.net is now banned.
  
• In May 2012, "Jesus Smith" talks on Postmormon.org about how he's giving the lds.net folks "a run for their money" and that he is "hammering them with logic." "Jesus Smith" said, "Like many of you, I find the concept of religious faith absurd. It is a mind-trick to place it at the top, in first position, so that those who are racing to their belief will jump over it without much thought.....This topic is giving LDS.NET mormons a run for their money. Some of our posts have made their way into the discussion. haha"
  
• In August 2012, the "starlight012" account was created on lds.net. This is the account that reported David Twede's name to FAIR via private message and initiated all of the events that followed.
  
• In September 2012, David Twede attempted to create a new account on lds.net under his own name. He was immediately banned when it was discovered that his new account and the account "starlight012" shared the same IP address.
  

So, am I still inclined to believe that someone may have set Mr. Twede up by creating some fake accounts? Not a chance.

WW

Edited October 10, 2012 by Wiki Wonka

[Scott Lloyd]

Here's an update. I don't expect that Mr. Twede will ever respond to the request regarding the message sent to him by the lds.net mods. It turns out that he has an extensive public history of posing as a questioning member online, including on this message board.

• In 2009, David Twede created an account on Postmormon.org called "Jesus Smith". He has posted there many times since 2009. He has publicly associated his "Jesus Smith" account with "David Twede," so this isn't any secret. (See thread "OT Photo Thread," post by "Jesus Smith" Sept. 22, 2010 on Postmormon.org)
  
• In August 2010, a questioning active member sent a message to FAIR under the name "cryophil". The text of this email is located in FAIR's message archive.
  
• In January 2011, "Jesus Smith" told the Postmormon forum that he has been posing as a questioning member on the MormonDialogue board (this board) under the name "cryophil." "Jesus Smith" said on Postmormon.org, "BTW, I am cryophil. But keep that a secret ;-) If any of you can add to the MADB discussion, my alter ego would appreciate the assistance." The "cryophil" account was eventually banned on MDDB. That thread is located here: http://www.mormondia...entry1209059312
  
• In February 2011, "Jesus Smith" told the Postmormon forum that he deliberately posed as a questioning member when he communicated with FAIR. He reproduced exactly the text of the message that is in FAIR's archives. He said, "Posing as a questioning member (which I am, just not active), I asked a question at FAIR's page. A Moap emailed me--someone who works with Danny Boy. This game is a bit different than the one you can play with the kindergarten missionaries at Mormon.org....Posing as a fully active Mo is the only real gray area.....I felt that a little subterfuge would allow the experiment to run its course better than direct discussion as an exmo. Perhaps that is not appropriate, perhaps it is. (See thread "Cozing up with FAIR (Stage 1) on Postmormon.org. Posted by "Jesus Smith" on Feb. 1, 2011.)
  
• In October 2011, "cryophil" states on MDDB that this is his "last ditch effort" to get answers: "I'm asking as a final, last ditch effort to see if there are answers that make sense. I doubt it now....We are going round and round here. I have my questions these days. I am not sure they can be answered. It may be that I will have to accept the BoM as fictional moral teachings. That's a lot easier than to accept science is just wrong, and FAIR's interpretations are more scholarly."
  
• In April 2012, someone posing as a questioning member (Does anyone doubt who it was?) created an account called "cryophil" on lds.net. "cryophil" posted for two months and then stopped posting. One can see that the "cryophil" account on lds.net is now banned.
  
• In May 2012, "Jesus Smith" talks on Postmormon.org about how he's giving the lds.net folks "a run for their money" and that he is "hammering them with logic." "Jesus Smith" said, "Like many of you, I find the concept of religious faith absurd. It is a mind-trick to place it at the top, in first position, so that those who are racing to their belief will jump over it without much thought.....This topic is giving LDS.NET mormons a run for their money. Some of our posts have made their way into the discussion. haha"
  
• In August 2012, the "starlight012" account was created on lds.net. This is the account that reported David Twede's name to FAIR via private message and initiated all of the events that followed.
  
• In September 2012, David Twede attempted to create a new account on lds.net under his own name. He was immediately banned when it was discovered that his new account and the account "starlight012" shared the same IP address.
  

So, am I still inclined to believe that someone may have set Mr. Twede up by creating some fake accounts? Not a chance.

WW

I just skimmed the cryophill thread on this board.

Does Twede have a doctorate as he claimed while posing as cryophill, or is that part of the masquerade?

[Wiki Wonka]

I just skimmed the cryophill thread on this board.

Does Twede have a doctorate as he claimed while posing as cryophill, or is that part of the masquerade?

Twede published a novel called "Psypher" back in 2006. The book cover states that he "spent his graduate school years in biophysics and applied physics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor." On his blog (the original one), he states, "In Ann Arbor, his graduate studies focused on a Masters in Molecular Biology and in a doctorate program in Applied Physics." So it appears that the implication is that he has a doctorate in Applied Physics. Interesting way of phrasing it though.

I suppose you are referring to his exchange with Brant Gardner where cryophil got offended when Brant implied that he didn't have the proper credentials to comment on anthropology and DNA:

cryophil, on 26 October 2011 - 09:12 PM, said: Seriously Brant? You want to get into a PhD contest?

Brant Gardner said: Why yes. From your comments, I believe you are not blessed with that particular degree. There are those who know what they are talking about and they disagree with your assessment. Are you suggesting that I shouldn't side with science?

WW

Edited October 10, 2012 by Wiki Wonka

[Mark Beesley]

Just a short response to those posters who were charitable in wishing David Twede well.

I do not wish him well. I hope he fails miserably in his endeavors, drowns in the misery Satan has prepared for him, and then perhaps, someday, after being brought to the depths of humility, finds a loving Savior who will forgive him if and when he repents.

And now I have to go weed out my tie collection and burn any that have any paisley in them because that goon will think that anyone wearing paisley is supporting his apostasy. Thanks.

[Ares]

Drop the Nevada politics and stay on topic please.

[Bob Oliverio]

So what became of the urgency of this issue with the Florida Stake.  As I remember, the leaders became busy, perhaps with general conference supposedly.  Now that GC is behind us does anyone think the disciplinary will now be taken up anytime soon?

As I have concluded long ago, I don't see any action against Mr Twede until long after the election.  Does that make sense?

[ERayR]

So what became of the urgency of this issue with the Florida Stake. As I remember, the leaders became busy, perhaps with general conference supposedly. Now that GC is behind us does anyone think the disciplinary will now be taken up anytime soon?

As I have concluded long ago, I don't see any action against Mr Twede until long after the election. Does that make sense?

Why do you think there was an urgency in the first place. It is odd how some can see conspiracies where none exist.

[Judd]

So what became of the urgency of this issue with the Florida Stake.  As I remember, the leaders became busy, perhaps with general conference supposedly.  Now that GC is behind us does anyone think the disciplinary will now be taken up anytime soon?

As I have concluded long ago, I don't see any action against Mr Twede until long after the election.  Does that make sense?

If they were to contact him about a disciplinary council would it be in his best interest to publicly convey such? Would he? I guess the question is, since this has been played up about being about the election, should that not be the case would he come forward with it?

As a side note, what's the deal with the PhD? I don't really care, but from the way those words were crafted it appears clearly that he states he earned a masters, but then states he simply 'did PhD studies' without staying he 'earned' a PhD but leaves it open for people to conclude such. I don't care one way or the other. I think a PhD gives negligible credibility, generally, as most seem to offer 'expertise' way outside their true (sub)field of study.

[Scott Lloyd]

Just a short response to those posters who were charitable in wishing David Twede well.

I do not wish him well. I hope he fails miserably in his endeavors, drowns in the misery Satan has prepared for him, and then perhaps, someday, after being brought to the depths of humility, finds a loving Savior who will forgive him if and when he repents.

When I see someone wishing an apostate well, I am apt to reply that I wish him the sort of spiritual experience that came to Saul on the road to Damascus or to Alma the younger as he was journeying with the sons of Mosiah. Unpleasant, certainly, but having eternally beneficial consequences.

Edited October 15, 2012 by Scott Lloyd

[Sky]

Looks like David Twede decided to pull the plug on his Church membership himself. So there won't be any disciplinary council later on after all.

[volgadon]

Does that make sense?

No.

[Calm]

Looks like David Twede decided to pull the plug on his Church membership himself. So there won't be any disciplinary council later on after all.

Not surprising if he wants to stay in control and take advantage of whatever news interest there is left.

Besides giving him another story to tell, don't see much benefit to him to attend one as he doesn't appear to be the least interested in reconciliation and the Church has already demonstrated they won't let him construct the story any way he wants (such as in their announcement that his politics had nothing to do with it).

Edited October 23, 2012 by calmoriah

[Sky]

Not surprising if he wants to stay in control and take advantage of whatever news interest there is left.

Besides giving him another story to tell, don't see much benefit to him to attend one as he doesn't appear to be the least interested in reconciliation and the Church has already demonstrated they won't let him construct the story any way he wants (such as in their announcement that his politics had nothing to do with it).

"While I’ve been in serious doubt about the veracity of LDS claims for some time, I had become so disillusioned with how my situation was handled," Twede wrote Monday in an email, "that I just wanted to be free."

I wonder how he thinks his situation should have been "handled"? Either way the Church couldn't win with him.

Anyhow, his 15 minutes of fame are all but gone.

[Bernard Gui]

Que le vaya bien, pero que le vaya.

[Wiki Wonka]

Not surprising if he wants to stay in control and take advantage of whatever news interest there is left.

Besides giving him another story to tell, don't see much benefit to him to attend one as he doesn't appear to be the least interested in reconciliation and the Church has already demonstrated they won't let him construct the story any way he wants (such as in their announcement that his politics had nothing to do with it).

Here's the text of the resignation letter he emailed to the Church on Friday while at the ex-Mormon conference.

--------------------------

David Twede wrote:

Mr. Dodge, or current resignation processor,

I have a feeling you know my name, as managing editor of MormonThink.com. Let me spare you and Mitt Romney all a load of more embarrassing media fallout, and having to fire Stake President Allan Pratt, who you may know is the star of the “Little Boyd factory self-abuse missionary video” on YouTube. If you haven’t seen it, you should watch it. It’s great humor. Have a beer first.

I’ll save you the media fallout by foregoing your kangaroo “court of love.” First though, I want to thank Church leaders and especially Scott Gordon, head apologetic cheese, for their skulking me and the previous site founder at MormonThink. This produced the unintended but welcome ten-fold increase of traffic to MormonThink. With its balanced approach to looking at Church history from all sides, MormonThink is many times more popular now than FAIR and its one-sided approach. For now, the Orwellian tactics used in guilt and discipline boosted our rankings. A dozen more active LDS have asked to contribute to MormonThink to show a more balanced view of Church history. MormonThink, with its full-disclosure approach, is stronger than ever, with millions of hits each month.

Attempts at General Conference recently to make MormonThink “forbidden fruit” have only showed curious members that, quote, “it is very desirable and delicious to the taste” as they bit into the fruit of knowledge. By the way, can I get the new hottie temple Eve’s phone number?

While the aim of MormonThink has been to objectively examine history and doctrine of the LDS church, we understand that the latest actions by Salt Lake City has upset some members and caused increased resignations. By confronting truth-givers, the truth has caused problems among its own ranks. Perhaps the Church could avoid this if it started to disclose to its members, and investigators, the full truth of its historical foundations instead of hiding its history. At least, it’s unlikely Church leaders will go after future editors with impunity, now that they know what happens if they try to manipulate. Our Rolodex currently overflows with high-level media contacts. Thank you for the help.

If you’d like to help further, please, by all means, excommunicate the next editor at MormonThink. Have leaders of the Strengthening Members Committee stalk us. Even better, send in the Danites, please, please. That should propel MormonThink popularity into orbit around Kolob.

Edited October 23, 2012 by Wiki Wonka

[Calm]

Of course it was not actually what the Church and whatever Scott did that caused the increased traffic but the claims being made about them by Mr. Twede and others looking to grab attention.

[TAO]

Well, that response speaks for itself. He'll be missed, as do all who leave.

Edited October 23, 2012 by TAO

[Calm]

Definitely demonstrates how much he actually cared about being a member if anyone is in doubt that he was driven out of a church he loved.