Mormon Stories Podcast

Mormon Stories Listeners, I really need your help.  The Mormon Church is funneling millions of dollars each year into non-profit "charities" like the More Good Foundation and FAIRMormon to smear my name and Jeremy Runnell's name, in hopes of destroying the positive impact of Mormon Stories Podcast.  Watch any cult documentary.  It's what cults do. In a recent video released by paid actors supported by FAIRMormon and the More Good Foundation, Kwaku El, Brad Witbeck, and Cardon Ellis make the claim that I and Mormon Stories (and Jeremy Runnells) are intentionally "homewrecking for profit" with the work we do.  Here's a clip of their lies. https://youtu.be/3jYZNBwsS3Q?t=86 I could really use your help in the following way: Please record a short video or write out a paragraph or two describing if/how Mormon Stories Podcast has helped (or harmed) your family. Feel free to include what role (if any) the LDS Church, and/or apologetic sites like FAIRMormon played in promoting family health and unity, or in harming your family. Please email your videos to me here: mormonstories@gmail.com, or you can message them to me on Facebook. Or if you prefer to write your story, please do so in the comments below. Please know that these videos and/or this text could be used publicly. This would mean the world to me, and will help blunt the lies that FAIRMormon, Cardon, Kwaku, Brad, and the More Good Foundation are telling people. Thank you so, so much for your support. John Dehlin

Recently I was super fortunate to sit down with reality tv stars Heather Gay and Dre Nord - who are both currently appearing on BravoTV's "Real Housewives of Salt Lake City." In this two-part series, we focus on Heather and Dre's experiences as Mormons.  Topics covered in today's episode include: Heather and Dre's early years as devout Mormons. Dre's marriage, divorce, and faith crisis as a Mormon in her early 20s. Heather's experiences at BYU and serving an LDS mission in France. Heather's somewhat challenging efforts to find a faithful Mormon husband (Billy Gay). Heather also provides glimpses into her emerging Mormon faith crisis, which she is currently in the middle of processing. Heather shares some of the reactions she has received from members of the Mormon and ex-Mormon communities, as well as from the Utah LGBTQ community, regarding her participation in the show. This is a heartwarming and inspiring story of resilience.  I was deeply moved by this vulnerability, wisdom, courage, and resilience of these inspiring women. Next week we plan to share Part 2 of this interview, which will cover: Heather's marriage to Billy Gay III, which ended in divorce. Dre's life as a single Mom in Utah. How Heather and Dre met, and how they were able to build a successful, multi-million dollar business together as divorce Mormon single women in Utah (Beauty Lab Laser). Heather will go into more detail about her Mormon faith crisis. Heather and Dre will share their perspectives on life today, as highly successful entrepreneurial non-practicing Mormon single moms in Utah.

In today’s episode we will provide an overview of several LDS church apologetic non-profits, and discuss recent concerns about dishonesty, mean-spiritedness, and the incitement of violence by some people associated with these Mormon apologist non-profits. The Mormon apologetic non-profits that we will be discussing today include: the More Good Foundation, the Mormon Interpreter Foundation, Book of Mormon Central, and FAIRMormon.

Paul Cardall battled long odds from birth, eventually triumphing over a serious heart disability to earn distinction as an outstanding composer and pianist. In 1997 he first won widespread notice by setting author Richard Paul Evans’ No. 1 NY Times best-seller The Christmas Box to music. Cardall’s achievements range from releasing 11 chart-topping albums, winning the Gospel Music Association Dove Award for Instrumental Album of the Year, collaborating with Grammy-winning singer CeCe Winans, Audrey Assad, The Piano Guys among other distinguished artists. With over 2 billion streams, Cardall is one of the most listened to Steinway & Sons sponsored artist in music business. His entrepreneurial activities include founding and directing the Stone Angel Music label and recording studio, promoting medical research and providing scholarships for congenital heart disease through his foundation. Cardall’s music has included works for piano, vocal, band and orchestral settings. On his latest album, Peaceful Piano, he returns to his solo performance roots while exploring complete real-time improvisation for the first time. Paul's Mormon story includes: Growing up in Salt Lake City, Utah, learning to "fit in" as a child and youth with a heart condition. Serving an LDS mission, and marrying in an LDS temple. Paul's rise to celebrity as a piano performer - first in Salt Lake City, then joining the LDS Church speaking/inspiration circuit, and ultimately becoming a world-renowned musician, with hundreds of millions of Spotify downloads. Paul's receipt of a human heart transplant, and his recovery. Paul's struggles to maintain a healthy/happy marriage, ultimately leading to his disfellowshipment from the LDS Church and a shaming public divorce. Paul's remarriage to a non-LDS woman, and his invitation to co-author a Mormon hymn with LDS Church apostle David A. Bednar called "One by One." Paul's loss of testimony in the LDS Church, and his discovery of a new faith in traditional, non-denominational Christianity. Cardall’s story is continuing to evolve as an artist, author and humanitarian. His upcoming album The Broken Miracle, which will be available for pre-order this December, was inspired by J.D. Netto’s biographical fictional novel, based on real events in the artists life from being born with only half a heart, enduring a series of surgeries, which culminated in a heart transplant. While waiting for a donor heart, the pianist’s brother was tragically killed. The album will feature several award-winning guests including David Archuleta, Ty Herndon, Thompson Square, Neon Tress’ Tyler Glenn and more. We hope you enjoy this episode!  Paul is a fantastic human.

In 2014 the LDS Church released an essay entitled "Race and the Priesthood" as part of its Gospel Topics Essays Initiative. This essay was groundbreaking in that it officially renounced past LDS racist teachings regarding blacks and the LDS Priesthood. This essay has been highly controversial. Some see it as groundbreaking positive progress. Some see it as deceptive and/or inadequate. Others lost their faith in the LDS Church because of it. Today on Mormon Stories Podcast we interview Dr. Matt Harris who recently published an analysis of the Race and Priesthood essay. Matt's essay is entitled "Whiteness Theology and the Evolution of Mormon Racial Teachings." This essay is contained within the newly released book entitled "The LDS Gospel Topics Series: A Scholarly Engagement" published by Signature Books (edited by Matt Harris and Newell G. Bringhurst). Click here to purchase this very important book: https://www.amazon.com/LDS-Gospel-Topics-Scholarly-Engagement/dp/1560852879

Join me now as I interview historian Dr. Matt Harris about his new book entitled "The LDS Gospel Topics Series: A Scholarly Engagement" published by Signature Books. In this episode we will provide an overview of the book, and discuss the events that led to the release of the essays by the LDS Church.

In today's Mormon Stories Podcast episode legendary Utah journalist and investigator Lynn Packer discusses his recent investigation into possible fraud perpetrated by Utah Mormon Tim Ballard and Utah Mormon Attorney General Sean Reyes - as part of Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), which has raised over $30 million claiming to rescue children from sex trafficking. Packer has raised concerns about Tim Ballard and Sean Reyes being involved in the following: - Stockpiling $30M in donations that are not being used to save children. - Excessive compensation to Tim Ballard (over $300k/year). - Unethical accounting that now is likely hiding Tim Ballard's total compensation. - Lavish expenditures (e.g., first class flights, 5 star hotels, dramatic helicopter appearances) with no financial accountability about how funds are used. - Using false statistics to over-state the prevalence of child sex trafficking worldwide to lure donors. - Using excessive emotion and religious manipulation to lure donors, including claims to be called of God, and to be protected by God in OUR's work. - Using affinity with Mormon celebrities like Mormon apostle M. Russell Ballard, Glenn Beck, and Elizabeth/Ed Smart to lure donors. - Claiming credit for raids that they were not involved with. - Engaging in illegal and unsafe raids (jump teams) that often yield no positive results. - Alleged unsavory behavior of jump team members, including illegal drug use during raids, sexual assault, etc. - Drawing money and attention away from legitimate charities who are meaningfully providing solutions to the problems OUR decries. - Victimizing and politicizing the suffering of children for political gain (Sean Reyes). - Associating with and taking advantage of known false conspiracy theories like QAnon. - Using the LDS Church's law firm (Kirton & McConkie) to intimidate and silence whistleblowers. - In summary, manipulating wealthy donors through religious and patriotic emotion and misusing or misallocating funds, all on the backs of a very vulnerable population. Lynn Packer is best know for accurately exposing Mormon General Authority Paul H. Dunn for lying to Mormon church members about made-up World War II heroics and about playing professional baseball, all of which led to Elder Dunn being prematurely fired as a General Authority (and which the Mormon church tried to cover up through intimidation). Please join us if you have comments or questions for Lynn. NOTE: This podcast is not asserting that any of these allegations are true. Only that Lynn is claiming to have gathered evidence in support of these positions.

Dear Mormon Stories Podcast Listeners,   Due to COVID-19, we have lost several donors in 2020.   Please help us keep Mormon Stories Podcast alive by donating today, tomorrow, #GivingTuesday, or any time over the next several weeks.   Facebook is matching donations made at or near 6am Mountain time tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. The Facebook Campaign link can be found here:   https://www.facebook.com/donate/936338056891340/936338066891339   Our Facebook goal is $20,000 for this year, and we are at $1000 at this point.   You can also donate directly here:   https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories?default_interval=m   Please help us stay alive if you are in a position to help!

Paul H. Dunn is one of the most beloved General Authorities in the history of the Mormon church. His vast popularity was based on his uncanny ability to tell gripping stories in General Conference, in firesides, in over a dozen books, and on cassette tapes about his time as a professional baseball player with the St. Louis Cardinals, and about his career as a combat veteran in World War II. The only problems were: 1) Paul Dunn made up these stories. They were literally untrue. 2) Paul Dunn made a great deal of money, and drew his fame from these false stories. 3) Paul Dunn used his fame/reputation to advance fraudulent business schemes. Even more disturbing, however, were the lengths and breadths that the Mormon church went to, to suppress, cover-up, and kill this story - using its vast financial and legal resources. This story only came to light because of one courageous Mormon journalist - Lynn Kenneth Packer - who coincidentally was the nephew of super powerful/influential Mormon apostle Boyd K. Packer. In the end, Lynn Packer was fired from his job as a BYU professor for his involvement in investigating and breaking the Paul H. Dunn story. And while this story was minimally covered in an Arizona newspaper and in Sunstone magazine at the time, TO THIS DAY Lynn Packer has never been granted an extensive media interview to tell this story. Until today that is.

Join us now for Part 4 of our interview with legendary Mormon journalist Lynn Packer (nephew of Boyd K. Packer), wherein he will be sharing with us what it was like to cover the darker side of Mormonism or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a journalist. Some of the stories we will cover in this episode include those of: Mark Hofmann, Ervil LeBaron, the Lafferty brothers, and Ted Bundy.