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cwald wrote:
[I have wondered what JD was up to – and I hate hearing this, but understand it.
I know what you mean, and that was also my first thought. But why should it be that way? Should we be upset that someone else has chosen to follow a path different than ours? Does that sound familiar? It’s as if
mypath is less viable because youchoose not to follow it. It sounds ridiculous, but we do it all the time, and it’s what we’re simultaneously constantly fighting against. It’s also the reason I visit this site because I want to know that there are others like me (more or less 
doug wrote:I know what you mean, and that was also my first thought. But why should it be that way? Should we be upset that someone else has chosen to follow a path different than ours? Does that sound familiar?
Good way to look at it doug.
I guess the reason it disheartened me, is because JD is something of an StayLDS/NOM god, icon and cavalier to me, and if he couldn’t make it work – how am I suppose to do it?
Yeah, we all have our own path to walk. I think, if this is true about JD, that the StayLDS pathway will be a little bit lonelier. I wish JD well, and hope he is at peace, whatever and where ever his pathway takes him.
cwald wrote:but I wonder if the StayLDS PATHWAY if viable for many people over the long haul.I think we have always realized it will not be a majority approach, but it does work for me – and that’s all that I really need to worry about. I remember the days when I couldn’t comprehend how it could work — but today I’m mostly past all that absolutism and I would really hate to be “pushed out.”
cwald, I totally agree. When an ICON leaves, it sometimes dents our position/mobility to continue on.
I hope all who contribute financially to Mormon Stories will continue to do so. If you can get me to listen to four hours of interviews on diverse, often very alternate Mormon subjects, you know I am hooked on the MS website…
I send peace & love affirmations into the wind, hoping they will fall upon JD, in what must be a difficult place in his journey.
doug wrote:It’s also the reason I visit this site because I want to know that there are others like me (more or less
You make it sound like we are all here on the island of misfit toys, where the trains with square wheels go…Obviously, you fit in just great, doug. We’re glad you’re here!
Heber13 wrote:doug wrote:It’s also the reason I visit this site because I want to know that there are others like me (more or less
You make it sound like we are all here on the island of misfit toys, where the trains with square wheels go… Yeah, and your point being?
🙂 I’m going to say this carefully but blunty, so buckle up. 🙂 I love John – a lot. I admire John – a lot. I worry about John – a lot. John is John – and I am not surprised at all by the news.
John is incredibly complex – and that includes being mercurial. In a way, he’s an idealist of the highest order – and that type of person almost never is satisfied with the status quo. That type of person sees the bad constantly and has a hard time acknowledging the good. John knew he needed to try to focus on the good, and he tried to do so, but it’s almost impossible for him to do that – since he’s a “visionary man” and a “change agent” at heart and a very emotional person.
John never was a good fit here – and he wasn’t a good fit at Mormon Matters – and he isn’t a good fit pretty much anywhere long-term. He’s not patient enough, and, as as result, he’s not accepting of less than the best – or perfection, if you will. He goes from one project to another to another to another – never able to settle into one and work it long-term depsite its imperfections.
Let me reiterate, I really love and admire John a lot. His heart is in the right place, and the world needs people like him SO badly in SO many ways – but I’m not surprised at all at the news and believe he isn’t now where he will be eventually, simply because I think he will continue to go from one thing to the next trying to find or create the ideal.
Yes, Ray. We all have our own special strengths. About the best that we can hope for is to leave more flowers than scorched patches wherever we have been. I think John has done that. And I pray he may continue to do that. Thanks, Ray. That explains a lot. I’ve wondered why he seem’d to be off on something new all the time and all seemingly focused on saving someone/something. Over time I’ve gotten pretty aggravated by finding myself giving the church another chance on his encouragement and from his projects only to learn on 2-3 occasions that he’d bailed. Whatever. Good for John to keep challenging things, and a good reminder for me to not hitch my wagon on one person or thing…but to also keep challenging myself on what I need in my life for the kind of person I am. I agree with Ray, the world needs certain people with the ability to challenge the status quo and be visionary for improvement, and the world needs others who can sustain a movement and manage something to reach some sense of stability (status quo).
In business, in the church, or out of the church, this seems to hold true…different people with different strengths are needed at different times for various reasons. Its all an orchestra. I respect John for how he plays his tune.
Where was this announcement made? I don’t see it. It doesn’t surprise me. I am just surprised that he announced it. [EDIT: Never mind, just saw it in the MS interview thread] In any case, John will be just fine. I love John too. I consider him a brother and a friend. Don’t worry about this site. I don’t mean this to diminish anything about John’s involvement or his projects, but the only thing he does is own the domain name. A completely separate group of people (the list of admins) runs this site, and we have it on our own independent server. It’s not going anywhere.
We are a much larger community than it might appear on the surface. For every person you see each day commenting, there are
hundredsof more people every day “lurking” and just enjoying our conversations. That’s perfectly OK. I guess I still don’t know what to make of JD’s writing and advice about staying LDS and giving the church a chance. I’m glad that the admins have made this site their ministry and the way the discussions go in a generally positive and directed way. It’s just trying to put together what is said vs done is another cognitive dissonance and I’ve had enough of those to last me for awhile. “John is incredibly complex, and that includes being mercurial. In a way, he’s an idealist of the highest order – and that type of person almost never is satisfied with the status quo. That type of person sees the bad constantly and has a hard time acknowledging the good. John knew he needed to try to focus on the good, and he tried to do so, but it’s almost impossible for him to do that, since he’s a “visionary man” and a “change agent” at heart and a very emotional person. John never was a good fit here, and he wasn’t a good fit at Mormon Matters…” RAY, Thank you for your opinion regarding JD. I personally can’t visualize him as one who sees bad constantly. My association with him has always reflected the positive in human endeavors. He was (and is) a role model in unconditional acceptance of the diverse decisions we all must make in a lifetime.
I hope all his associates, former/current, will wish him well in whatever path he chooses to follow. He certainly helped me along my rocky path when I needed a flashlight…
PS: GBSmith, please note, you and I have written the exact same number of postings side by side above. How about those apples?
George wrote:PS: GBSmith, please note, you and I have written the exact same number of postings side by side above. How about those apples?
Karma, what can I say…
George, that wording you quoted probably doesn’t convey what I meant to say. Let me try again: I don’t mean that John ONLY sees the bad – or that he has a negative attitude – or anything like that. I didn’t mean that at all. There was no feeling of traditional criticism in my comment. I just meant that he sees the bad (what is “wrong”) very clearly and wants so badly to fix it that he has a hard time accepting that some things just can’t change as quickly as he wants them to change. When they don’t change right away, he tries to find another way to make them change right away.
Also, just for the record, my own associations with John have ALL been positive. I know that’s not true of many people, but it’s true of me.
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