Anyone else get this email from Mormon Stories?

[Duncan]

6 minutes ago, pogi said:

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! 

oh! no, I have never felt that prompting!

[blackstrap]

I watch a Sasquatch site with more subs and views. 

[Calm]

15 hours ago, Peppermint Patty said:

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. 

Some people buy his BS about wanting to help people through a faith crisis no matter what the result is and to help families stay intact when one member of the family develops doubt and/or disbelief.

Edited January 20, 2023 by Calm

[Tacenda]

Just now, Calm said:

Some people buy his BS about wanting to people through a faith crisis no matter what the result is and to help families stay intact when one member of the family develops doubt and/or disbelief.

Agree, and I got his email too. I don't know how he got my email because I've never donated to MS. Wait, I do know because I once emailed and said that what he said came off badly. He didn't respond. But others on here probably haven't, so makes me wonder. 

[Calm]

2 hours 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?

 

It was Mormon Discussion dot com, remove spaces.  There were technical issues, so they started a new board with a similar name.

Has everyone who received an email posted there?  I am checking with my friends.  I never have posted there and didn’t get one.

[Teancum]

19 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

Yes I did.  But they have my email and I have donated.

[Teancum]

18 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

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

I feel the same way about donating any more to the church.  Though they are hundreds of thousands ahead of any other organization I have or do donate to.  Well I might do fast offerings again. I like fast offerings. But the language on the donation slip caused me to stop even that for the past year or two.

[Teancum]

10 hours ago, bluebell said:

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

Will he?  I have no idea how that works.  I hope he does. Capitalism and free enterprise at work.

[Teancum]

9 hours ago, pogi said:

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.

I have listened to quite a few MS podcasts and I am not sure your summation is entirely accurate and that especially in the early years. May I ask how much you have listened.  Plus Dehlin will open up to any believer (recent three part podcast with Patrick Mason and Jim Bennet has been on a number of times).  Yet not many are willing to go on his podcast anymore.  As for history I am well versed in the history of the church and find such topics being discussed fairly accurate.

[Teancum]

5 hours ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

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.

Is Dehlin in competition with the church?  Does he claim to be a prophet, apostle, bringing forth new scripture, require 10% of income to listen to his stuff or to attend the place where one needs to go to get to the highest heaven?  When he does maybe you have a point. 

[Teancum]

3 hours ago, pogi said:

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?

Dehlin is not really the most favorite guy and the board you are referring to so I doubt it.

[Calm]

13 minutes ago, Teancum said:

Plus Dehlin will open up to any believer

Not from what I have heard. He has ignored several offers from believers over the years.  If he is still claiming that, it is a lie. 

Edited January 20, 2023 by Calm

[Teancum]

1 hour ago, Calm said:

Some people buy his BS about wanting to people through a faith crisis no matter what the result is and to help families stay intact when one member of the family develops doubt and/or disbelief.

BS?  Can you read minds?

[Teancum]

Just now, Calm said:

Not from what I have heard. He has ignored several offers from believers over the years.

I just go by what he says.  Do you have evidence?

[Calm]

2 minutes ago, Teancum said:

I just go by what he says.  Do you have evidence?

Firsthand info from friends and acquaintances who have offered and been ignored. 

[Calm]

4 minutes ago, Teancum said:

BS?  Can you read minds?

Not reading minds when he’s said it. Unfortunately the clearest example is not currently public info. 

Edited January 20, 2023 by Calm

[Teancum]

8 minutes ago, Calm said:

Firsthand info from friends and acquaintances who have offered and been ignored. 

Your friends offered or acquaintances offered directly and were refused?  If that is the case it would be nice to know who they were or at least if they held some prominence so there might be a reason to accept them as a guest.  I don't imagine a regular just some active member would be of much interest to the audience. 

[bluebell]

20 minutes ago, Teancum said:

Will he?  I have no idea how that works.  I hope he does. Capitalism and free enterprise at work.

Yes, that is the main reason that people seek subscribers or followers on social media platforms.  Youtube won't even let you monetize your videos until you hit a certain number of scribers and views, and then the amount of money you make goes up depending on the number that you have.  That's why channel creators almost always ask viewers to subscribe to their youtube channels every time they produce a video.

And I agree that there is nothing wrong with making money from these videos.  I just thought it was interesting that someone who was really into informed consent didn't mention that upping subscribers to 100,000 is also a way to increase revenue.  Because the more views you get the more money you make on each video.

(The money comes from the ads, so it is possible that Dehlin doesn't have ads on his videos and if not then they might not be making money at all.  I have never watched any of them.)

[Calm]

6 minutes ago, Teancum said:

Your friends offered or acquaintances offered directly and were refused?  If that is the case it would be nice to know who they were or at least if they held some prominence so there might be a reason to accept them as a guest.  I don't imagine a regular just some active member would be of much interest to the audience. 

Were ignored. My memory is Brant Gardner and/or Kevin Christiansen is one of them and he has mentioned it here, but the rest was in private conversation so not sharing names. They were apologists and well known in the community.

Edited January 20, 2023 by Calm

[bluebell]

7 minutes ago, Teancum said:

Your friends offered or acquaintances offered directly and were refused?  If that is the case it would be nice to know who they were or at least if they held some prominence so there might be a reason to accept them as a guest.  I don't imagine a regular just some active member would be of much interest to the audience. 

I believe that Kevin Christiansen has said that he volunteered to go on a multiple times and was ignored, but I might be remembering wrong.

[Calm]

If two of us remember Kevin mentioning it, chances are he did. 

[LoudmouthMormon]

1 hour ago, Teancum said:

6 hours ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

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.

Is Dehlin in competition with the church?  Does he claim to be a prophet, apostle, bringing forth new scripture, require 10% of income to listen to his stuff or to attend the place where one needs to go to get to the highest heaven?  When he does maybe you have a point. 

I have no clue what your issue is here.  Saints Unscripted doesn't claim any of that stuff - does that mean I'm back in the running for whatever point it is you think I'm making?

[SeekingUnderstanding]

1 hour ago, Calm said:

It was Mormon Discussion dot com, remove spaces.  There were technical issues, so they started a new board with a similar name.

Has everyone who received an email posted there?  I am checking with my friends.  I never have posted there and didn’t get one.

I have unused accounts at the old board and new board. Also signed up for a while at staylds which was started (and later abandoned) by Dehlin. No email. 
 

And as far as I can tell no one over on the “other” board comes across as huge Dehlin fans. 

[Calm]

8 minutes ago, SeekingUnderstanding said:

I have unused accounts at the old board and new board. Also signed up for a while at staylds which was started (and later abandoned) by Dehlin. No email. 
 

And as far as I can tell no one over on the “other” board comes across as huge Dehlin fans. 

Were they ever more positive?  There is no reason this latest email needs to be from a recent list. 

[Kenngo1969]

10 hours ago, theplains said:

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

I think you're just trying to bait us, Jimmy Boy.  That's your usual MO.  While I think that the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ offers the best chance for someone to enjoy peace in this life (to the extent that it is possible in a world in which we "shall have tribulation") along with peace and eternal life in the world to come (so I wish as many people as possible to choose that path), whether someone agrees, and whether someone wishes to have peace and eternal life, is a choice each of us must make for himself or herself. 

So I agree with you that quality is preferable to quantity.   "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump," as Paul wrote to the Galatians (Galatians 5:9).  And why would Christ speak of believers being "as a city on a hill" and invite them to not hide their candle under a bushel and to put it on a candlestick, instead, if the light, rather than the darkness, were the prevailing or predominant state (see Matthew 5:14-16)?  And why would He say that "strait is the gate and narrow the way which leadeth to eternal life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:14)?  And in his vision of the contest between the Church of the Lamb and the forces arrayed against it, of the former, Nephi wrote that its "dominions on the face of the earth were small" (see 1 Nephi 14:12).