Dan Wotherspoon interview

[Anonymous]

Thanks Ray. I understand much better now. I like you have only had good conversations with John. I think he felt bad when I couldn’t continue the middle path, but always offered continued friendship and understanding.

[Anonymous]

Ray, what is the chance of getting contact with JD, and asking him to give us a short post on what going on with his journey and what his thoughts are about StayLDS? he does own the name of this website after all. I think this is a safe place, and I would love to hear his perspective and have his input. I know he has a ton of projects going on right now, but…

[Anonymous]

We can ask. If it’s a go at some point, you’ll know.

[Anonymous]

Brian Johnston wrote:

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 hundreds of more people every day “lurking” and just enjoying our conversations. That’s perfectly OK.

I’m still 100% supportive of StayLDS…..FWIW. And of Brian. I would NEVER want anything but good to happen to StayLDS. Folks need it. Plain and simple. And I’m very grateful ya’ll have kept it alive.

[Anonymous]

I was reading through the comments section (I still don’t see anything in there from JD, by the way … am I missing something? EDIT: never mind … found it.) and one of the main themes in the comments was to ask the painfully obvious question: why is Dan choosing to stay? The only thing he offers is his explanation that the church provides a great place for him to exercise charity. I think I was originally satisfied with that, but there has to be more to it, doesn’t there? I think the biggest reason for staying for a lot of people, and one that I can certainly relate to, is the need to maintain family relationships. Perhaps that is a factor for Dan, but maybe he didn’t want to emphasize that in public for the simple reason that doing so could easily defeat his purpose?

[Anonymous]

Everyone who has listened to Mormon Stories over the years and learned from it owes JD something. I know fro me it gave more clarification and honest discussion there than a lifetime in the church. I will always be grateful.

[Anonymous]

doug wrote:

why is Dan choosing to stay? The only thing he offers is his explanation that the church provides a great place for him to exercise charity. I think I was originally satisfied with that, but there has to be more to it, doesn’t there?

I talked with Dan on the phone Sunday. He really is a wonderful guy, and fun to talk to. I hate to put words in other people’s mouths, but I got the sense that he just plain enjoys being Mormon. I find a LOT in common with him, both from experience in life and in the church, to my perspective on spirituality and the “mystical” aspects of the universe. I think Dan has moved past really being very concerned about whether the Church is “True(TM)” or not, and I don’t get the sense he is only going to maintain peace in his family. I think he likes it. He finds value and meaning in being Mormon.

I know it’s a hard answer for people to comprehend sometimes, but I don’t think it has to be a lot more complicated than that.

[Anonymous]

I agree Brian, on both accounts.

1) It can be very difficult to comprehend when you are experiencing the heat of the crisis and feeling the betrayal and the conflict on every front.

2) It really can be that simple when it is the life you know and the people you understand. When you have fully deconstructed every little part of your worldview, and then rebuilt it again. When you know your place, how you relate to it all, and have had many experiences confirming how you fit in your own unique way.

[Author]

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