futuremissionary admin request to join StayLDS

[Anonymous]

I moved the intro post to this section, so we can discuss it. I sent a PM telling the person we would be discussing the request and that I would let him know if we decided to accept it.

I am not comfortable with allowing that site to be pitched here, and the post itself is completely disingenuous. I went there and read extensively. The site is completely negative and designed, I’m certain, to keep people from serving missions, drive them from the Church and keep people from joining. There isn’t a single positive thing on the site, and even the basic FAQs consist of the most negative things possible (with some real head scratchers as to why they would be included, if the intent was church-friendly in any way) – with some of the answers being over-the-top and blatantly skewed.

Your thoughts? Do we activate him?

PS. He logged on and read my PM but didn’t respond before logging off.

[Anonymous]

I’m with you. He sounds like a promo for the site.

[Anonymous]

There’s just something that feels greasy and staged about this person. I had a feeling he might get into trouble when I read his Justification Text in his registration, it talked about being an apologist and helping people.

My gut reaction is this is a highly intelligent, but young and inexperienced person. Or they are a VERY clever, eloquent but cynical ex-mo and/or anti-Mormon. Either way, they totally seem to miss the point of StayLDS.com. They don’t appear to have spent much, if any, time reading the materials on our site or the conversations.

If nothing else, I think this also gets too close to our site’s general policy of not being a promotion platform. The online personality that registered for an account seems like a promo personality to me. This person does not come across as a good fit for StayLDS help, nor as someone who can help others we try to serve.

Here’s an email he sent to Admin:

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Dear StayLDS management,

I’m very sad that you won’t allow me to post in your forums because I talk openly about historical events. I’m sorry you think I’m anti. I try to present facts in a way that lets people come to their own conclusions. I don’t like to ‘spin.’ I felt that the 2 posts I made were respectful. It’s interesting that you banned me not for my posts, but my beliefs. Do you ban those who are respectful on your forums, but on other forums support the gay rights movement? I’m not a fan of helping people stay LDS through censorship. That’s not Christ’s way.

I apologize if you feel this is too aggressive, but I posted my experience on Mormon Discussions. http://mormondiscussions.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=29820. What you’ve done just gives credibility to anti-Mormons who believe we hide the truth. I think it’s wrong and you deserve to be called out. On the other hand, I’m sure you may gain new support from members who agree with your brand censorship.

I sincerely hope that one day you reconsider. I think that I could not only learn a lot from your community, but I could also help people stay LDS.

[Anonymous]

… and he posted some snarky little complaint at that other site. Smells like troll bait.

[Anonymous]

My reply to his email:

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Hi Jason,

Thanks for the publicity on Mormon Discussion. They say there’s no such thing as bad PR!

We’re having a hard time figuring out if you are sincere and just really don’t get our site, and obviously haven’t read any of the material on it. Or if you are just a really clever troll. Either way, you come across as a “promotional personality.” Your existence seems to only be about promoting your site. We don’t allow much of that, if any at all in the forums. All the above characteristics indicate you are probably not a good fit for the mission of our site.

If you really do believe so firmly in the church, that’s great. We’re happy for you. You don’t seem to need our help with your faith. The target audience we serve would probably not react well to your style, so we don’t feel like your participation would add value. And if you are a troll, then you already know why we are parting ways

This is how we keep our forums drama free. We keep pretty tight control of the content so that it stays focused on our purpose. You can call that censorship if you like. It’s a nice, emotionally-charged word. Are we Nazis too?

We run our site like a magazine with a theme. This isn’t Hyde Park in London. There are plenty of other places with more freedom to express yourself. Enjoy the internet!

-Brian, Site Admin

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Brian. That response is crystal clear in its tone – and showing he hasn’t read our archives or simply doesn’t get our mission.

He can say what he wants, but his site has absolutely nothing on it that would help someone stay in the Church – and lots of stuff that would push someone into a faith crisis with no support.

I just sen him another PM:

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Jason,

I read your message to the admins, and it is a gross mischaracterization of us- but it fits perfectly the tone of your site. Also, I said clearly that we would talk about your request as admins – NOT that we would not approve the request. Your response actually was a deciding factor in the following response:

If you are serious about wanting to help us in our mission here, please take some time to read lots of our archived threads and get a sense for our mission and what we do here. Then, send me a PM explaining what you understand better about our site and how you can help us accomplish our mission. If you do that, we would be happy to consider your request again.

Ray

[Anonymous]

Perfect response.

[Anonymous]

Interesting note: Don Bradley posted a critique on FaceBook with the exact same criticisms, independent of our encounter with these guys.

I exchanged a few more emails with him. It’s weird because he sounds sincere and apologized for causing trouble, claimed he just didn’t have time to fully develop the site with help for the problems, blah blah blah.

But the site … and his actions … and his lack of understanding … If he is sincere, it’s still best we cut him loose. Still not a good fit.

[Anonymous]

Just leaving these as notes in case someone needs to reference it in the future:

He told me his name was Jason. Someone named Jason Christensen (FaceBook profile with that name) claimed he was one of the authors of the site on FaceBook.

Jason Christiansen apparently also runs a FaceBook page called “FutureMissonary” tied to his website that is a clone of a legitimate facebook page https://www.facebook.com/IamaFutureMissionary. (Sound familiar? StayLDS.ORG!) The other site is legitimate and actually setup to encourage young LDS people preparing for a mission.

[Anonymous]

I approved a comment he wrote on a thread, since it was fine and supportive. Then I looked more closely and saw that he linked to his site in his signature, so I deleted it.

[Author]

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