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” Stay LDS…Hold On There, We Didn’t Mean You, John! Going after John Dehlin was the biggest mistake the Magisterium has made since investing billions to build the City Creek Mall. John has made a career out of assisting people to find ways to stay in the church who might have otherwise thrown up their hands in frustration and left.
I have personally received hundreds of communications from believing members thanking me for helping reconcile their problems with the faith. John Dehlin has helpedthousands. Likely tens of thousands. He is the co-founder of the websiteStayLDS.com, which should tell you something about where he has been coming from, and he is the guy behind Mormon Stories Podcasts and its faith-promoting offshoot A Thoughtful Faith Podcasts. I won’t spend much more time talking about his accomplishments, but check out those sites and decide for yourself if John Dehlin is a valuable asset to this church. Then ask yourself, “why would anyone want to excommunicate this guy, of all people?”
Answer that, and you may have discovered the key to what’s gone wrong with the institutional LDS Church today.”
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cwald wrote:”
I have personally received hundreds of communications from believing members thanking me for helping reconcile their problems with the faith. John Dehlin has helpedthousands. Likely tens of thousands. He is the co-founder of the websiteStayLDS.com, which should tell you something about where he has been coming from, and he is the guy behind Mormon Stories Podcasts and its faith-promoting offshoot A Thoughtful Faith Podcasts. I won’t spend much more time talking about his accomplishments, but check out those sites and decide for yourself if John Dehlin is a valuable asset to this church. Then ask yourself, “why would anyone want to excommunicate this guy, of all people?”
When my husband and I were having our (only) heated discussion specifically about John Dehlin I said exactly this. The people who are leaving are obvious; how do they know who’s stayed?
Ironically, this is another example of why I don’t support Waterman in any way, shape or form. I have said all along that I hope John is not excommunicated and that the case against him is, I believe, weaker than the case against Kate Kelly (even though I hope she also is not excommunicated). I also appreciate the shout out for this site. However, the hyperbole and name-calling in this statement, that is a constant part of everything Waterman writes, is not something I can praise, laud or hold up as the right way to do things.
I don’t mean to beat a dead horse with this comment, coming on top of the other comments in the other thread about Waterman, but I honestly despise the tone of almost everything he says and a lot of what I see as his theology. I’ve even stopped using the term “pure Mormonism” (which I used previously with no knowledge of his blog) simply because I want absolutely no association with him.
I didn’t read Waterman’s whole post, and I’m not trying to tick anyone off by agreeing with the gist of his thought on this one topic. 
I also agree with the gist of the comment, fwiw. Agreeing with the gist of it isn’t going to tick off anyone here, I’m pretty sure.
His tone does sound anti-Mormon. I agree the overall direction of the message is good — John has helped people stay in the church in spite of their doubts or commitment problems. However, his tone is definitely caustic toward the church. I’ve always enjoyed Rock’s blog, even as I disagree with him often. As far as his tone being “anti-Mormon”, I have always admired him for pointing out the differences in what he believes the “Church” should/could be, and what it has regressed into being. Personally, I think people need to take responsibility for their decisions to stay or leave the church. We’re here to help people find reasons to stay. We want people to stay. But it’s your life and your choice whether you stay or leave. Bruce, as a fundamentalist Mormon, I think you inadvertently make an important point.
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