John Dehlin

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American podcast host

title: "John Dehlin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["20th-century-mormon-missionaries", "american-male-bloggers", "american-bloggers", "former-latter-day-saints", "american-mormon-missionaries-in-guatemala", "american-religion-and-spirituality-podcasters", "brigham-young-university-alumni", "american-lgbtq-rights-activists", "living-people", "mormon-studies-scholars", "mormon-bloggers", "opencourseware", "utah-state-university-alumni", "21st-century-american-historians", "american-male-non-fiction-writers", "people-excommunicated-by-the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints", "1969-births", "21st-century-american-male-writers"] description: "American podcast host" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dehlin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American podcast host ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameJohn Dehlin
imageJohnDehlin.jpg
captionDehlin speaking in 2007
birth_nameJohn Parkinson Dehlin
birth_placeBoise, Idaho, U.S.
alma_materBrigham Young University (BA)
Utah State University (MS, PhD)
occupationPodcaster and Pundit
Faith crisis coach
spouseMargi Weber Dehlin
websitejohndehlin.com
::

| name = John Dehlin | image = JohnDehlin.jpg | caption = Dehlin speaking in 2007 | birth_name = John Parkinson Dehlin | birth_date = | birth_place = Boise, Idaho, U.S. | alma_mater = Brigham Young University (BA) Utah State University (MS, PhD) | occupation = Podcaster and Pundit Faith crisis coach | spouse = Margi Weber Dehlin | children = | website = johndehlin.com

John Parkinson Dehlin () is an American podcast host. He holds a PhD in psychology. Dehlin founded the Mormon Stories Podcast, as well as several other podcasts, blogs, and websites. He was an influential early participant in the "Mormon blogosphere," and blogs at Patheos.com. He advocates for LGBT rights. In January 2015, Dehlin was excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) on the grounds he committed apostacy by being publicly critical of church leaders and the church's discriminatory treatment of LGBTQ members.

Early life and education

Born in Boise, Idaho, and raised in Katy, Texas, he attended Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1993. In 2007, Dehlin completed a Master of Science degree in Instructional Technology. In 2015, he received a doctorate in clinical and counseling psychology from Utah State University (USU).

Career

Early career

After graduation, Dehlin worked for five years in software and as a consultant for Bain & Company, Arthur Andersen, Citicorp, Heidrick & Struggles, and the LDS Church. He then worked at Microsoft for seven years in programs for developers, marketing, speech technologies, and product demos.

In 2004, Dehlin moved to Logan, Utah, to begin work under David A. Wiley at USU on OpenCourseWare-related projects. Dehlin would serve two years as USU's OpenCourseWare Consortium Coordinator and Director of Outreach for the Center for Open and Sustainable Learning, promoting OpenCourseWare to other universities, and a few years as director of the OpenCourseWare Consortium for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In January 2007, MIT hired Dehlin as the Director of the OpenCourseWare Consortium.

Sunstone

During Dehlin's early career, he developed massive open online courses (MOOCs) and branched into Latter-day Saint-themed new media. Dehlin approached the Sunstone Education Foundation and presented to its board of directors the importance of participating in developing internet communities through blogging and podcasting in order to address the then-limited internet presence for constructive intellectual sources. The Board accepted his offer to initiate these programs and, in September 2005, Dehlin joined the board of directors and began a Sunstone podcast as well as SunstoneBlog. In July 2007, he also became executive director of the Sunstone Education Foundation, in which he was to focus on strategic initiatives to strengthen Sunstone's position as an open forum for issues within the Latter-day Saint community. In that role, he increased organizational focus on its longstanding motto, "faith seeking understanding," and worked to attract new and younger membership. Dehlin resigned from Sunstone in January 2008.

''Mormon Stories''

Main article: Mormon Stories Podcast

In September 2005, after experiencing doubts in his faith and subsequently finding reasons to remain a member of the LDS Church, Dehlin created the Mormon Stories podcast as an open discussion of Latter-day Saint issues, intending to give listeners reasons to remain in the church. Through interviews, Mormon Stories focused on varying religious experiences and perspectives. Mormon Stories has been featured in many venues, including being broadcast on KVNU in Logan, Utah.

Intermittently conflicted about continuing Mormon Stories, Dehlin stopped and restarted the project a few times. In January 2010, Dehlin resumed the blog and podcast, focusing on faith crises and mental illness. The podcast has featured many notable guests, beginning with interviews of Joanna Brooks and John C. Hamer. Two other regular hosts joined Dehlin in conducting interviews for the podcast: Dan Wotherspoon, former editor of Sunstone magazine; and Natasha Helfer Parker, a licensed clinical marriage and family therapist.

Open Stories Foundation

The Open Stories Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created in January 2011. Dehlin has been criticized for the lack of financial transparency and oversight in his nonprofit umbrella organization, Open Stories Foundation. In 2022, the Salt Lake Tribune reported several former employees of Open Stories Foundation filed a complaint with the IRS alleging Dehlin and the foundation "'curated' its board membership to boost his compensation and blur lines between donations and personal expenses amid what they assert was lax supervision." According to nonprofit tax reports, Dehlin's personal annual compensation grew by more than 700% between 2010 and 2019. His annual compensation of $236,021 in 2019 represented 60% of Open Stories Foundation's total earnings from podcast revenues and donors. James Patterson, a former associate producer for Dehlin, wrote in his whistleblower complaint to the IRS, that "Dehlin sees Open Stories Foundation as his and his alone, with an independent board of directors merely a roadblock to him achieving his personal financial goals."

Other blogs

In June 2007, Dehlin started Mormon Matters as a blog and weekly podcast. The format was a discussion panel on events, culture, politics and spirituality within the LDS Church. Panelists were to represent different sides of each issue, although the show later struggled to retain faithful Latter-day Saint panelists. In early 2008, Dehlin converted Mormon Matters into a group blog and lessened emphasis on new podcast episodes. Dehlin resumed the Mormon Matters podcast on March 5, 2011, with Dan Wotherspoon as the host and Joanna Brooks as a frequent co-host.

Dehlin is also the co-founder of the pro-LGBTQ "Mormons for Marriage" website. He co-founded the now-defunct Stay LDS, a community that was dedicated to helping "unorthodox Mormons" stay in the LDS Church.

Dehlin briefly blogged at a non-partisan religion website, Patheos.com, in a current-issues/events dialogue format with Mormon studies scholar Patrick Q. Mason.

LDS Church membership

From 1988 to 1990, Dehlin served as an LDS Church missionary in Guatemala. According to Dehlin, his mission began baptizing up to 700 converts per month using practices he believed to be deceptive. After reporting this to his mission president, Dehlin was transferred to an area that stoked his allergies, and he was subsequently sent home. He chose to resume missionary service and was reassigned to finish his two-year term in Tempe, Arizona. Dehlin remained an active member of the LDS Church for the next 20 years.

In the spring of 2011, Dehlin stated he had become inactive in the church (i.e., not attending weekly services), citing an inability to believe some of its claims.

In 2014, Dehlin was investigated by his local church leaders regarding his online activity, culminating in a request by Dehlin for greater privacy. Prior to 2014, Dehlin had faced church disciplinary hearings without any resulting disciplinary action. In January 2015, Dehlin's stake president initiated another disciplinary council, which determined Dehlin's online activity constituted apostasy. He was excommunicated for "conduct contrary to the laws and order of the church." Dehlin appealed to the First Presidency on March 10, 2015, stating his actions had not met the church's definition of apostasy. In July and August 2015, the First Presidency notified Dehlin via his stake president of the denial of his appeal.

References

References

  1. {{ authors[i].name }}. (September 28, 2015). "John Parkinson Dehlin (john1parkinson1dehli) 2 uploads". Scribd.
  2. "Mormon Stories Podcast". openstoriesfoundation.org.
  3. (2015-07-24). "Private Practice – John Dehlin, Ph.D". Johndehlin.com.
  4. (November 5, 2013). "TEDx Events". [[TED.com]].
  5. Post by Joanna Brooks. (July 13, 2011). "Landmark Survey of LGBTQ Mormons Launched". Religion Dispatches.
  6. Opsahl, Kevin. (September 26, 2016). "Dehlin upset over church handling of excommunication appeal". The Herald Journal.
  7. [[Peggy Fletcher Stack]], [https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=2163720&itype=CMSID "Mormon critic John Dehlin is excommunicated"], ''[[Salt Lake Tribune]]'', March 12, 2015.
  8. Dehlin, John. "Author Profile: John Dehlin". Mormon Matters.
  9. "User Profile: John Dehlin". OpenCourseWare Consortium.
  10. Dehlin, John. (December 16, 2007). "I did it". Mormon Stories.
  11. (May 2015). "Sexual Orientation Change Efforts, Identity Conflict, and Psychosocial Health Amongst Same-Sex Attracted Mormons". Utah State University.
  12. Dehlin, John. (March 15, 2007). "Meet and Greet". OpenCourseWare Consortium.
  13. Goble, Clark. (September 26, 2005). "M* Interviews… John Dehlin". The Millennial Star.
  14. Wotherspoon, Dan. (September 15, 2005). "Bloggin and Podcasting Sunstone Style!". Sunstone Education Foundation.
  15. (July 28, 2007). "Sunstone foundation hires executive director". [[Deseret News]].
  16. Moore, Carrie A.. (August 7, 2007). "New direction for Sunstone?". [[Deseret Morning News]].
  17. Dehlin, John. (June 8, 2008). "". Latter-day Commentary.
  18. Dehlin, John. (September 4, 2005). "Mormon Stories Podcast # 001: Bad Baptisms? My Mission Experience in Guatemala". Mormon Stories.
  19. Grover, Tom. (January 3, 2008). "John Dehlin, Mormon Stories featured in today's Herald Journal". KVNU’s For The People.
  20. (July 2014). ["What is/was Mormon Stories?"](http://mormonstories.org/?p=478}} {{dead link). Mormon Stories Podcast.
  21. (December 25, 2007). "Some Bonus Material, and a Break". Mormon Stories.
  22. (January 15, 2010). "Mormon Stories 2010 — A New Direction". Mormon Stories Podcast.
  23. (January 20, 2010). "Mormon Stories # 112 & 113: Joanna Brooks Parts 1 and 2". Mormon Stories Podcast.
  24. (January 24, 2010). "Mormon Stories # 116: John Hamer Pt. 1 — The LDS Succession Crisis of 1844 and the Beginnings of the RLDS Church". Mormon Stories Podcast.
  25. (May 9, 2013). "Nonprofit Explorer- Open Stories Foundation". ProPublica.
  26. (November 12, 2019). "Improprieties by John Dehlin and the Open Stories Foundation: An Open Letter to Current Donors". Medium, Markus Smith.
  27. (February 22, 2022). "'Mormon Stories' podcaster John Dehlin makes $236K a year from his nonprofit. Is that too much?". The Salt Lake Tribune.
  28. "Open Stories Foundation Inc. IRS Tax Form 990".
  29. Patterson, James. (May 23, 2017). "Questions about the Open Stories Foundation". Rational Faiths.
  30. "About|Mormon Matters".
  31. Dehlin, John. (July 14, 2007). "Desperately Seeking Conservative LDS Panelist(s)". Mormon Matters blog.
  32. Dehlin, John. (January 9, 2008). "Looking to turn Mormon Matters into a Group Blog". Mormon Matters blog.
  33. "Mormons for Marriage".
  34. "Stay LDS / Mormon | New Ways to Stay Connected". Staylds.com.
  35. Dobner, Jennifer. (July 20, 2009). "Mormons in crisis find online refuge". [[The Salt Lake Tribune]].
  36. Tribune, Peggy Fletcher Stack The Salt Lake. "LDS scholar, ex-Mormon team up on new blog to debate key topics facing the faith".
  37. "New Order Mormon • View topic - Conversation on FB with a friend, because oh John Dehlin". Forum.newordermormon.org.
  38. "Support for People as they Leave or Consider Leaving the Mormon or LDS Church | The Community Forum | Yes, John Dehlin has left the Church". PostMormon.org.
  39. (2014-06-27). "Did you ask to be excommunicated?". Mormon Stories.
  40. (January 15, 2015). "Mormon critic John Dehlin says he'll face church disciplinary council". Deseret News.
  41. (January 15, 2015). "John Dehlin, Mormon Critic, Facing Excommunication". [[The New York Times]].
  42. Moulton, Kristen. (January 22, 2015). "Disciplinary council delayed for 'Mormon Stories' podcaster John Dehlin". Salt Lake Tribune.
  43. Walch, Tad. (February 10, 2015). "John Dehlin excommunicated from LDS Church". KSL.
  44. Fletcher Stack, Peggy. (March 10, 2015). "Mormon critic John Dehlin appeals LDS excommunication". Salt Lake Tribune.
  45. (March 11, 2015). "Mormon critic John Dehlin appeals LDS excommunication | Religion News Service". Religionnews.com.
  46. (2017-08-09). "Will we ever know why the Mormons booted out a top official for the first time in decades?".
  47. writer, Kevin Opsahl staff. (September 26, 2016). "Dehlin upset over church handling of excommunication appeal".

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20th-century-mormon-missionariesamerican-male-bloggersamerican-bloggersformer-latter-day-saintsamerican-mormon-missionaries-in-guatemalaamerican-religion-and-spirituality-podcastersbrigham-young-university-alumniamerican-lgbtq-rights-activistsliving-peoplemormon-studies-scholarsmormon-bloggersopencoursewareutah-state-university-alumni21st-century-american-historiansamerican-male-non-fiction-writerspeople-excommunicated-by-the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints1969-births21st-century-american-male-writers