Anyone else get this email from Mormon Stories?

[Duncan]

Has anyone else gotten this email? I have never at any point been a Mormon Stories donor, I am not sure how this email I hardly ever check got to John Dehlin's thing.   "Mormon Stories Friend,   One of the most common questions I am asked is: “Is the Mormon church in decline?” While I don’t have definitive LDS Church membership statistics, what I can share are some truly stunning data from our end-of-year review. These are Mormon Stories Podcast YouTube statistics - 2021 vs. 2022:

As you can see, the Mormon Stories Podcast YouTube channel had almost 20M views in 2022, with over 5.3M hours viewed (in a single year); we also gained almost 40K YouTube subscribers in a single year (168% YOY growth). As our YouTube usage is currently comparable to our listening-only audience, we can estimate that over 10M hours of Mormon Stories Podcasts were either listened to or watched in 2022 by an estimated 800,000 unique individuals. In addition, Mormon Stories Podcast consistently ranks in the Top 15 Christian-themed podcasts in the U.S. on the Apple Podcasts app.   According to a recent poll, 50% of our audience is or was LDS at some point in their lives, and 14% of our viewers still attend the LDS church. Estimating conservatively, this would mean that at least 112,000 actively attending Mormons consumed Mormon Stories Podcast in the past year - or approximately 7 current Mormon Stories listeners per English speaking LDS ward (if my calculations are correct).   Even if the numbers are only 50% accurate…think for a second as to what this likely means for the LDS church both today, and in the future (given our growth rates).   For me, two essential words come to mind: Informed Consent. Because of Mormon Stories Podcast and other podcasts/channels like it, more and more LDS Church members every day are: 1) learning the truth about Mormon church history, and 2) listening to the stories of people the Mormon church continues to harm in some significant way. Such knowledge helps empower members and investigators alike to a) see the Mormon church more clearly, and b) to make better informed decisions about their lives.   Now, a favor. As of today, we have 97,626 YouTube subscribers, which means that we are 2,374 subscribers away from hitting the 100,000 mark — which YouTube recognizes as a highly significant milestone. If only 2% of those receiving this email today subscribe to our YouTube channel, we will hit the 100,000 subscribers mark by the end of the week. This milestone will help us with the YouTube algorithms, and will also enable us to land even more consequential podcast guests in the future….which will help us to grow even more.   Would you consider helping us out today? Should take 10 seconds.

Subscribe to Mormon Stories YouTube Channel

Following our long tradition of organizational transparency, I just recorded a “2022 Year in Review” episode on Mormon Stories Podcast. In it, I try to address 2022 growth/success statistics in more detail, OSF financial status, recent staff changes, plans for 2023, and I answer several questions from our viewing audience. You can access the episode here.   Please let me know if you value emails like this. Going forward I hope to keep these emails to a minimum (monthly?)…and to only send them when I have something truly valuable to share. No spam. Also, please let me know if you have any thoughts, questions, or ideas for the podcast.   Finally, I can’t thank you all enough for your support over the years. It has made a huge difference in the lives of untold people and families. I consider what I do with Mormon Stories Podcast to be a sacred honor.   Sincerely,   John Dehlin   P.S. I included you in this email list because you either are or at one time were a Mormon Stories Podcast donor. Please feel free to unsubscribe if you do not want to receive these emails. Also, if you would like to donate to the podcast to keep it alive, please click below."

Click here to donate to the podcast

[Bernard Gui]

Doing well by doing good.

 

[Hamba Tuhan]

6 hours ago, Duncan said:

Has anyone else gotten this email?

Very weird. Maybe someone who hates you made a donation in your name?

Quote

I have never at any point been a Mormon Stories donor ...

Yeah, there isn't a gun in the world big enough to compel me to hand over money to Mr Dehlin ...

Edited January 19, 2023 by Hamba Tuhan

[BlueDreams]

Nope. Buy I think I've listened to exactly 1 ms interview in full ever. So it would be weird if I had.

And the use of his numbers are annoyingly poor reasoning. 

 

With luv, 

BD 

[Nevo]

1 hour ago, Duncan said:

and will also enable us to land even more consequential podcast guests in the future

Ouch. Sorry to the 1500+ transitioning Mormons who've shared their stories thus far!

(John was never much of a wordsmith.)

[Calm]

I know several people like you who got it and who have no clue how he got their names.

Duncan, I vaguely remember you getting a request to use your story for something that was being published, but you had never submitted it,  There was a guess that someone had submitted something under your name and email.  Does that ring a bell?

 

Edited January 19, 2023 by Calm

[Duncan]

2 hours ago, Calm said:

I know several people like you who got it and who have no clue how he got their names.

Duncan, I vaguely remember you getting a request to use your story for something that was being published, but you had never submitted it,  There was a guess that someone had submitted something under your name and email.  Does that ring a bell?

 

that sounds eerily familiar but I can't remember any details

[JustAnAustralian]

Looks like there was a spike in November/December caused by the two episodes about someone coming home early from their mission, and a few shorts that appear to have large spikes above the normal.

Based on the socialbade analytics, without December, 2022 was nothing special at all for Mormon Stories https://socialblade.com/youtube/c/mormonstoriespodcast/monthly (neither was 2021 for that matter).

So I just see a lot of puffery about 1 month's worth of extra views and subscribers.

Edited January 19, 2023 by JustAnAustralian

[Kenngo1969]

John needs his ego stroked like the rest of us need air to breathe, doesn't he?  

[bluebell]

Did he mention all the extra money he’ll get for hitting 100,000 subscribers?

[pogi]

10 hours ago, Duncan said:

Has anyone else gotten this email? I have never at any point been a Mormon Stories donor, I am not sure how this email I hardly ever check got to John Dehlin's thing.   "Mormon Stories Friend,   One of the most common questions I am asked is: “Is the Mormon church in decline?” While I don’t have definitive LDS Church membership statistics, what I can share are some truly stunning data from our end-of-year review. These are Mormon Stories Podcast YouTube statistics - 2021 vs. 2022:

As you can see, the Mormon Stories Podcast YouTube channel had almost 20M views in 2022, with over 5.3M hours viewed (in a single year); we also gained almost 40K YouTube subscribers in a single year (168% YOY growth). As our YouTube usage is currently comparable to our listening-only audience, we can estimate that over 10M hours of Mormon Stories Podcasts were either listened to or watched in 2022 by an estimated 800,000 unique individuals. In addition, Mormon Stories Podcast consistently ranks in the Top 15 Christian-themed podcasts in the U.S. on the Apple Podcasts app.   According to a recent poll, 50% of our audience is or was LDS at some point in their lives, and 14% of our viewers still attend the LDS church. Estimating conservatively, this would mean that at least 112,000 actively attending Mormons consumed Mormon Stories Podcast in the past year - or approximately 7 current Mormon Stories listeners per English speaking LDS ward (if my calculations are correct).   Even if the numbers are only 50% accurate…think for a second as to what this likely means for the LDS church both today, and in the future (given our growth rates).   For me, two essential words come to mind: Informed Consent. Because of Mormon Stories Podcast and other podcasts/channels like it, more and more LDS Church members every day are: 1) learning the truth about Mormon church history, and 2) listening to the stories of people the Mormon church continues to harm in some significant way. Such knowledge helps empower members and investigators alike to a) see the Mormon church more clearly, and b) to make better informed decisions about their lives.   Now, a favor. As of today, we have 97,626 YouTube subscribers, which means that we are 2,374 subscribers away from hitting the 100,000 mark — which YouTube recognizes as a highly significant milestone. If only 2% of those receiving this email today subscribe to our YouTube channel, we will hit the 100,000 subscribers mark by the end of the week. This milestone will help us with the YouTube algorithms, and will also enable us to land even more consequential podcast guests in the future….which will help us to grow even more.   Would you consider helping us out today? Should take 10 seconds.

Subscribe to Mormon Stories YouTube Channel

Following our long tradition of organizational transparency, I just recorded a “2022 Year in Review” episode on Mormon Stories Podcast. In it, I try to address 2022 growth/success statistics in more detail, OSF financial status, recent staff changes, plans for 2023, and I answer several questions from our viewing audience. You can access the episode here.   Please let me know if you value emails like this. Going forward I hope to keep these emails to a minimum (monthly?)…and to only send them when I have something truly valuable to share. No spam. Also, please let me know if you have any thoughts, questions, or ideas for the podcast.   Finally, I can’t thank you all enough for your support over the years. It has made a huge difference in the lives of untold people and families. I consider what I do with Mormon Stories Podcast to be a sacred honor.   Sincerely,   John Dehlin   P.S. I included you in this email list because you either are or at one time were a Mormon Stories Podcast donor. Please feel free to unsubscribe if you do not want to receive these emails. Also, if you would like to donate to the podcast to keep it alive, please click below."

Click here to donate to the podcast

I received the same email just yesterday - I have no clue how he got my email.

I like how he equates informed consent (it’s like he has been reading my posts here as that is a medical term I use a lot) with listening to subjective anecdotal gripes about the church.  I also don’t like his claim to “truth” about the history, especially when it is so one sided.

In the spirit of informed consent, perhaps he should reveal all the gripes about his womanizing and the truth about his history before asking people to subscribe.

Edited January 19, 2023 by pogi

[Dario_M]

Oh my oh my....those Mormon stories on youtube. I dislike it a lot. Allthough there can be some truth in it. But they  put the LDS church in a (to much) bad light. 💡 Mister Dehlin my ***.  That is not fair.✝️

Edited January 19, 2023 by Dario_M

[theplains]

11 hours ago, Duncan said:

One of the most common questions I am asked is: “Is the Mormon church in decline?” While I don’t have definitive LDS Church membership statistics, what I can share are some truly stunning data from our end-of-year review. These are Mormon Stories Podcast YouTube statistics - 2021 vs. 2022:

I wouldn't focus on numbers.  Quality is preferable to quantity.

[Calm]

Isn’t there something illegal about spamming this way?

[CV75]

Don't click anything, it is probably spyware, phishing, malware, ransomewate, etc.

[LoudmouthMormon]

I listen to the Saints Unscripted TikTok.  It doesn't have as many followers.

I also go to church. It's doing better than Dehlin.

[Buckeye]

I got it. I’ve never donated. My best guess is that I posted a comment on the MS blog years ago when I listened occasionally and that post required me to enter an email. 

Other possibility is he added me from a direct email I sent him probably 15 years ago. I lived in Ohio then and thought it would be nice to go film less-known church history sites for use by anyone with interest such as gospel doctrine teachers - eg, the quarry where stone was taken for the kirtland temple. I emailed John for recommendations on equipment and he responded with some helpful advice. Of course, right after that my work and church load picked up a bunch and I never started the project. Maybe some day ….

[Buckeye]

2 hours ago, Calm said:

Isn’t there something illegal about spamming this way?

Possibly. Depends on how the emails were gathered and whether notice was provided on how they’d be used. 

[Peppermint Patty]

I'm very confused by MS. I know of one very prominent (ex BYU and NFL football player) that has been donating for the last few years. This person and his family are very active in the Church.

 

I've always though MS was very critical to our faith, but it seems like some members have the impression that it's worthy of donated to. 

[Eschaton]

3 hours ago, Calm said:

Isn’t there something illegal about spamming this way?

From my understanding, no, it's not illegal in the US, unless they don't honor your request to unsubscribe. In Europe anti-spam laws are much more stringent. 

[pogi]

2 hours ago, CV75 said:

Don't click anything, it is probably spyware, phishing, malware, ransomewate, etc.

No more little hearts and up-votes for you then 

[rodheadlee]

I don't know I haven't checked my email in a week.😄

[pogi]

1 hour ago, Buckeye said:

I got it. I’ve never donated. My best guess is that I posted a comment on the MS blog years ago when I listened occasionally and that post required me to enter an email. 

Other possibility is he added me from a direct email I sent him probably 15 years ago. I lived in Ohio then and thought it would be nice to go film less-known church history sites for use by anyone with interest such as gospel doctrine teachers - eg, the quarry where stone was taken for the kirtland temple. I emailed John for recommendations on equipment and he responded with some helpful advice. Of course, right after that my work and church load picked up a bunch and I never started the project. Maybe some day ….

I don't think I have even visited his website.  I honestly have no clue how he got my email.  This is really the only place I go to discuss things related to Mormonism.   

As I was typing this, I just had an epiphany.   I did create an account at the other Mormon discussion board (I honestly can't think of the name of it right now - the anti one), just to see if it could really be as bad as everyone suggested.  I lasted about 1 week there.  I would not be surprised in the least if they are in cahoots with Dahlin, supplying him with email addresses.     What is the name of that other board?

If you know what I am talking about, have you or Duncan ever had an account there?

 

Edited January 19, 2023 by pogi

[Duncan]

9 minutes ago, pogi said:

I don't think I have even visited his website.  I honestly have no clue how he got my email.  This is really the only place I go to discuss things related to Mormonism.   

As I was typing this, I just had an epiphany.   I did create an account at the other Mormon discussion board (I honestly can't think of the name of it right now - the anti one), just to see if it could really be as bad as everyone suggested.  I lasted about 1 week there.  I would not be surprised in the least if they are in cahoots with Dahlin, supplying him with email addresses.     What is the name of that other board?

If you know what I am talking about, have you or Duncan ever had an account there?

 

i've never had an account

[pogi]

3 minutes ago, Duncan said:

i've never had an account

Have you ever received a prompting to change your password on this site because it was suspected of being compromised?   That happened to me not long ago.  That is the only other possible way I can think of as to how he got my information - if they are hacking this site, ha ha!