The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can’t seem to leave John Dehlin alone. Church leadership excommunicated this former graduate of Brigham Young University in 2015, charging him with apostasy for allegedly claiming the Book of Mormon is “fraudulent” and a work “of fiction.” Dehlin believes his support of same-sex marriage and women’s equality in the church was also a major factor in the decision, a position the church disputes. In 2017, a major leak of internal church documents showed that LDS leadership shared a PowerPoint presentation accusing multiple people and organizations of “leading people away from the gospel.” Dehlin, who also has a doctorate in psychology from Utah State University, was on the list.
Now the LDS church is suing Dehlin and his popular “Mormon Stories” podcast using a surprising legal argument: that the show, which he launched during the early days of podcasting in 2005 and is openly critical of the church, is violating the church’s trademark rights. The podcast’s name and marketing materials, the plaintiffs argue, will “cause individuals to be confused” and believe the podcast “comes from or is affiliated with or endorsed by the Church.” The lawsuit takes special issue with the use of the word “Mormon,” though it also includes complaints that the font and colors used in the show’s logo, as well as images of Jesus and holy light, will cause audiences to mistake the podcast for an official LDS production.
The church denies that the aim of the lawsuit is to silence a popular maverick whose content is widely disseminated by critics of Mormonism. They claim their goal is only to prevent “ongoing confusion about whether ‘Mormon Stories’ is official Church content.” But they can’t be surprised by the widespread public scoffing at the denial, especially in light of the institution’s longstanding hostility to Dehlin.
Whatever the truth of their motivations, church leadership may come to regret this lawsuit. One surefire way to be cast as the villain in American culture is to be seen as censorious. That’s true in cases where the silencing effort is real, such as Donald Trump‘s attacks on late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, which he revived on Monday after the president and Melania Trump criticized a joke the comedian delivered two days before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in which he said the first lady had “a glow like an expectant widow.” (Following the apparent assassination attempt that took place on Saturday at the dinner, the joke “became awkward in hindsight,” in the words of the New York Times.)
But even people who aren’t being silenced, such as all the folks crying “cancel culture” after being called names on social media, steal the valor of bona fide free speech martyrs. Being perceived as the victim of censors is a surefire way to gain interest in what you’re saying.
But even people who aren’t being silenced, such as all the folks crying “cancel culture” after being called names on social media, steal the valor of bona fide free speech martyrs. Being perceived as the victim of censors is a surefire way to gain interest in what you’re saying. Whatever the legal merits of this case, the church is making a mistake, using their money and power to go after an ex-Mormon who publicly questions their beliefs.
Earlier this week Dehlin appeared on the YouTube show of Alyssa Grenfell, another popular ex-Mormon content creator, and the two cast doubt on claims of the LDS church that people are confused about the nature of the “Mormon Stories” podcast, which has also been published in video form for many years. Based on episode titles alone — “Joseph Smith Pursues Teenage Girls in Nauvoo” and “Graduated BYU and Resigned Immediately” are just two examples — the show reads as critical even at a quick glance. This point is underscored in the lawsuit itself, which shows any listener confusion was temporary. “It only took one episode to know it was absolutely not friendly toward the church,” said one person. “I quickly realized” that it “was anti content,” said another.
While the levels of confusion do matter legally, from a big picture standpoint the church just sounds paranoid. If a Mormon were to click on an episode of “Mormon Stories,” the worst that could happen is exposure to arguments and evidence that question and challenge their beliefs. As long as they’re not being forced to continue listening, their rights aren’t being violated. Is the church suggesting their own beliefs are so fragile that even minimum exposure to skepticism is a threat? If so, too bad. In a free society, there is no right to be shielded from information that might cause pangs of doubt.
The church’s lawyers understand this, which is why they take great pains to deny the lawsuit is an exercise in censorship. But the language used throughout the filing to describe potential confusion betrays their fears. A church that felt more assured of its ideology would be confident that its followers could hear differing viewpoints without losing faith. Even with all the testimonials of uncertainty included in the lawsuit, none claim to experienced a crisis of faith because of watching “Mormon Stories.”
The outsize attention the church is paying to Dehlin’s podcast comes at a critical time for the institution. Membership rolls are shrinking. Some experts suggest the numbers are even worse, as most people simply stop believing without officially leaving their temple. The LDS church has a terrible public image, with only 15% of Americans in a 2023 poll saying they feel favorable toward Mormons, a percentage that ranks them below even atheists and Muslims, two groups that are openly demonized by large segments of the country. The church has, in other words, reason to worry that the explosion of public criticism, enabled by social media, is causing people to turn against them. But again, the whole purpose of free speech is so that powerful institutions like the Mormon church can be held accountable to the public. There is no right to keep your membership rolls high, especially at the expense of robust public debate.
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The church is also suffering from an even bigger blow to its public image than could ever be offered by niche podcasts. “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” a reality television show that chronicles “MomTok” influencers based in Utah, is a huge hit, exposing the messy, complex truth of Mormon culture that exists behind the shiny, happy image of blow-dried perfection the church prefers to highlight. The show has been especially effective at illustrating the toxic purity culture of Mormonism, which encourages young marriage and punishes sexual expression outside the confines of heterosexual matrimony.
“Secret Lives” had already featured two seasons of marital strife and acting out from sexual repression when a big scandal hit. In March, a video recorded in 2023 was posted online showing Taylor Frankie Paul, the star of the show, drunkenly attacking her boyfriend and, in the process, appearing to accidentally strike her child with a barstool. Paul pleaded guilty to aggravated assault after her arrest in that incident, but ABC proceeded to cast her in another reality show, “The Bachelorette,” presumably as a redemption arc story. When the footage emerged, the network decided to cancel her season, showcasing how ugly the altercation was behind all the legalese.
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In many ways, Paul’s situation is unique; none of the other women on “Secret Lives” have any such allegations or rumors about them. But the whole sorry story still isn’t great for the Mormon church. Not when there’s a growing chorus of ex-Mormons online, many who have sat down for interviews on “Mormon Stories,” talking about how the church’s sexist, puritanical culture sets young people up to fail. This kind of material damage isn’t just grist for the content mill of Mormon critics. Talking about the human cost of religious dogma is more persuasive to more people than any cold, academic analysis of the rational flaws of Joseph Smith’s theology. That’s why “Mormon Stories” emphasizes lived experiences over scholarly discourse, even if it’s less titillating than reality television content.
It’s hard to say what will happen with this lawsuit. The church could very well prevail on the narrow claim that “Mormon Stories” has violated its intellectual property rights. But on the matter of public reputation, it is sure to lose. The lawsuit makes the church look like they have something to hide. That’s bad enough for any institution, but it is much worse when an organization, like the Church of Latter-day Saints, has a long reputation of secrecy and pressuring members to conceal their true selves to present idyllic images to the public.
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from Amanda Marcotte
