The Peril and Promise of the
Internet Within Mormonism
John Dehlin
Explosion of Digital, Online
LDS content
LDS stuff you can get online
for FREE…
Church Sponsored Content
• Hymns and primary songs both in MP3 format,
and printable (sheet music)
• Complete PDF and HTML versions of all the
scriptures, manuals, and church magazines from
1972 forward
– All of the above in mp3 format for listening
– Much of the above in Spanish and French
– Tons of stuff for Palm or PocketPC devices
• Past and current General Conferences in video
and audio format (lds.org and BYU
Broadcasting)
• A redesign of lds.org, which includes a “special
topics” section
Unofficial LDS-related content
• Past issues of Dialogue and Sunstone online
• Past Sunstone symposium presentations in MP3
format
• MHA and BYU Studies journals online, MHA in
MP3
• Past Utah newspapers online (dating back to
the19th century)
• Updated Mormon Studies and Mormon History
databases from BYU
• The entire Journal of Discourses
• The entire LDS temple ceremony (past and
present) in both text and audio formats
And most importantly…..
Tom Trails!!!!!!
Identity Matters
Why does identity matter?
• Allows reputation to be a potential asset
for increasing quality of contribution
• Lets readers quickly decide who to pay
attention to, and who to ignore
• Personalizes the conversation
• Provides the building blocks of
relationships and community
Identity Matters
• Some use real names: Dan Peterson, Lou
Midgley, Nate Oman, Kaimi Wenger, Tal
Bachman, Bob McCue, Mike Norton
• Some use “aliases”: RoastedTomatoes,
SerenityValley, WattMahoun, Polygamy Porter,
Hyrum, Mental Gymnast
• Increasingly, many seem to be “coming out” and
revealing their real name
• In my mind, this is only goodness
“Bannergate”: A case study in
the down side of aliases
• “Under the Banner of Heaven” blog formed, led
by a set of “real people” as permabloggers
• A healthy readership developed
• In-depth conversations and strong relationships
blossomed
• Very personal stories were shared that included
things like sexual struggles and miscarriages.
• It turned out that all of the main participants and
the shared stories were fake (in at least one
case a male assuming a female identity)
Privacy is Dead…Get Over It
Who knows me in Sioux City
Iowa?
City, State, Country, IP Address
Pages visited
Date, Time
Duration of visit
Country
Referring Link, Search String
Domain Name/Company
Entry and Exit Pages
Google Search Terms
Referring Folks to Mormon
Stories
(or “Privacy is Dead…Get Over It”)
The Personal
• “John Dehlin”
• “John Dehlin Mission President”
• “single dallas robbins”
The Strange
• “Jim jones survived”
• “How to mold football
mouthpiece”
• “Jones jello cult”
• “Joseph smith vs. l. ron
hubbard”
The Curious
• “do lds believe in creation”
The Sexual
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
“LDS Whores”
“gay mormon studs”
“extreme mormon girl videos”
“mormon boys sleeping naked on mission
experience”
“mormon elder homosexuality”
“open marriage stories”
“was joseph smith gay”
“slept with a married woman Mormon”
“mormon missionaries gang raped names”
The Struggling
• “Conflicted with Mormon faith and
now in love with non-mormon”
• “Mormon used to agree”
• “Mormon leaving church telling TBM
parents”
• “Suicide in the lds community”
Google Trends
Google Trends
(Top 10 world cities Googling “Pornography)
Moderation wins over open
dialogue
The Idealistic Values I Started With…
• Free expression
• Open and respectful dialogue
• Diverse points of view
• Honest, objective analysis of the facts
• Everyone’s comments are of equal value
• Tolerance
• Acceptance
• Marketplace of ideas
Correlation = Bad
My bursting onto the scene
• I wrote “John Dehlin’s Thoughtful Faith Modern
Mormon Manifesto” (a la Ted Kazinski)
• Created my own blog and Podcast (Mormon
Stories)
• Started commenting on LDS Blogs
• Came in more with an agenda than to engage
on topic, and become part of the community
– Wanted to promote my manifesto
– Wanted to promote my blog and podcast
– Wanted to exhibit “leadership” on the Mormon internet
The Result?
• “Who the heck is John Dehlin, and who
does he think he is?”
• A few isolated supporters among the
“establishment”
• A somewhat tentative, if not cool reception
from some LDS blogging notables
• Some of my comments held in the
moderation que (IP blocking?)
• Overall…..a resounding thud
So I go on an “Openness Jihad”
• Add a tagline to my blog that reads,
“Open, Honest and Respectful”
• Criticize some of the big LDS blogs for
“censorship”
• Puff with pride that true believers and the
disaffected can engage respectfully on my
blog--without a need to moderate
• Experience some success
Fast forward 6 months after
steady growth….
• Apologists and anti-Mormons begin frequenting
my site
• Raging battles ensue
• I don’t have time to follow and moderate all the
threads
• People from both sides start telling me that they
are losing interest in my blog because of the
tone
• I have to start moderating folks, and putting
some into the “penalty box”
2 final observations on
moderation….
• Even exmormon.org HEAVILY moderates
(virtually any/all positive stuff about the
church is removed)
• Ironically enough, one of the few places
for relatively unmoderated discussion
is…..FAIR!
– (And they’re really struggling with it)
The Desperate Need for
Ratings
The life of a blog post
• Thoughtful blog post is made
• Responses ensue, comments grow
• Conversation begin to flow off topic (thread
jacking)
• Polar debates begin to rage
• Conversation grows to 100+ comments, often
times w/ 3 or 4 conversations going on
simultaneously
• Thread is often relegated to name calling
• Rinse and repeat
Blog Aggregators:
A step in the right direction
Blog Aggregators: A few challenges
Who gets the prime real estate?
Who gets relegated below?
Who gets left off completely?
2 models for a solution
• http://www.slashdot.org
• http://www.digg.com
• A combination:
– http://www.diggdot.us
Log in
Cool stories and posts submitted
Filter based on ratings
Ratings
How do these sites work?
• Readers (not permabloggers) submit or
nominate interesting articles and posts
• Other readers rate the submissions
• The higher the rating, the higher the visibility of
the submission
• Comments are made per submission
• Comments are rated just like submissions
• Over time, you develop “karma”, where good
submissions and good comments provide you
more influence within the community
• Readers can set a filter to ignore the lame
posts/comments based on karma and ratings
The LDS Internet
DESPERATELY needs a
community-driven aggregator
that has equivalent
functionality to Slashdot and
Digg (ratings and filters)
Audio is Great
(Podcasts)
Sunstone Podcasts
GA Speeches Podcasts
Anti- or Ex-Mormon Podcasts
Personal Podcasts
Potential Podcast Reach
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mormons and Masons w/ Greg Kearney
New Order Mormons Pt. 1 (Ann)
Polygamy with Todd Compton Pt. 1
Kiddie Baps – My Mission Story in Guat.
Grant Palmer Pt. 4
Stages of Faith Pt. 3
Interview with FAIR
3,512
2,983
2,729
2,683
2,486
2,435
2,247
~2,500 downloads per episode on average
Video is Greater
Google Video “Mormon”
Anti-Stuff
Google Video “Mormon”
Pro-Stuff
Youtube Video: Mormon Mash Ups
Almost 100,000 views!!!!
Up to 7800 views!!!!
Youtube Video: Mormon Porn
Over 28,000 views
Youtube Video: Mormons &
Popular Culture
Over 28,000 views
Digg meets Youtube
Labeled as inaccurate
By the faithful
653 Diggs
Google laughing
all the way to the
bank
354 comments
Over 35,000 views
almost
overnight!!!!
Youtube Video: Church Content
2,656 Views
More Good or More Bad?
Top 25 Web Sites Within Mormonism*
• Church Sponsored
–
–
–
–
–
–
(1) lds.org
(2) byu.edu
(3) familysearch.org
(4) deseretbook
(5) mormon.org
(25) josephsmith.net
• Anti-Mormon
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(6) exmormon.org
(9) lds-mormon.com
(13) irr.org
(14) 2think.org
(21) i4m.com
(22) utlm.org
(23) saintsalive.com
(24) richard packham
*Not counting dating sites
• Apologetic
– (10) jefflindsay.com
– (18) fairlds.org
• Blogs
– (7) timesandseasons.org
– (11) bycommonconsent.com
– (15) millennialstar.org
– (17)feministmormonhousewives.org
– (19) mormonstories.org
• Other
– (16) ldstoday.com
– (20) affirmation.org
– (8) Meridianmagazine.com
– (12) ldschurchtemples.com
Top Podcasts Within Mormonism
• True Believing LDS
– This Mormon Life
– Mormon Mom-Cast
– MormonCast
– Mormon
Archipelago
• Anti-Mormon
– Mormon Truth!
– Thechurchisnottrue
– Catholicmormon
– Living Truth
– Mormon Musings
– Sons of perdition
• Apologetic?
• Borderlands
– Mormon Stories
– Sunstone
– Sunstone Classic
– An Atheists’ Prayer
• Reproductions of GA Talks
– LDS Voices
– BYU Classic Speeches
– April 05 General
Conference
http://www.moregoodfoundation.org/
Social software
Myspace and facebook
Warnings against it
ELGG
When Bryce Peterson, a freshman from
Portland, Ore., used to log onto Facebook,
he didn't think he was doing anything his
bishop would disapprove of. But recently,
several BYU bishoprics have cautioned
their wards against the dangers of online
social networks like Myspace and
Facebook, citing inappropriate pictures
and Internet relationships as their top
concerns. "I'm cautious of what people feel
compelled to put on their (pages)," said
Richard Lytle, a bishop who has asked
members of his BYU student ward to
reconsider their involvement with social
networking sites.
Lytle said there have been incidents in which
students have posted "very inappropriate"
pictures on their Myspace and Facebook
accounts. He also worries about
dangerous relationships developing
through such Web sites. "Predators can
use social networking websites to network
people for less than honorable reasons,"
Lytle said.
These warnings are not church
policy, according to Lytle, and
different bishops are saying
different things to their wards.
Some, like Peterson's bishop,
have expressly asked their
congregations to stay away from
these sites. Others, like Lytle, are
simply telling their wards to be
"thoughtful" with their online
activity.
Student reaction to the counsel has been
mixed. After his bishop issued the warning,
Peterson went straight home and deleted
his accounts on both Myspace and
Facebook. But despite his willingness to
obey, he didn't completely understand his
bishopric's counsel. "Obviously I didn't see
all the reasons behind it," said Peterson.
"Basically I just got rid of it because (my
bishop) said so." Many students see this
counsel as a sort of trial of their faith. "My
personal opinion is that it's fine to have (an
account) if you're smart with it," said
Hunter Schwarz, a freshman from Gilbert,
Ariz. "But you should always follow your
bishop. At least that's what my bishop tells
me.“
Still, some diehard Facebookers and
Myspacers are fighting to hold on to
their digital social circles, despite
what their bishops have said. Arielle
Waters, a freshman from Petoskey,
Mich. said that her bishop compared
the online temptation of Myspace and
Facebook to the temptation Eve
endured from the serpent in the
Garden of Eden. "I feel like I should
be repenting for using Myspace," said
Waters. "Which I don't think is a sin.“
"Myspace is trashier because on
Facebook it's mostly kept within the
school," said Schwarz. "BYU students
aren't going to be putting half naked
bathroom mirror pictures up.“ Since
Peterson deleted his accounts, he
said that he hasn't seen any clear
results in his spiritual life, but that
there have been some definite social
benefits. "I have tons of extra time
now," said Peterson. "It's kind of nice
not to have to worry about the whole
social thing online, too."
Pop star-turned-doll maker MARIE OSMOND has launched a personal crusade
to clean up the Internet after learning her two teenage daughters have been
posting sexually explicit correspondence on their MySpace.com websites. The
PAPER ROSES singer felt compelled to give a statement to US tabloid
National Enquirer after the publication uncovered outrageous content on her
daughters JESSICA and RACHAEL's blogs. On her site, 18-year-old Jessica,
who was adopted by Osmond as an infant, claims she is a bi-sexual who
craves sex "as many times as possible," while her 16-year-old sister describes
herself as a "slut" and a "whore" in correspondence and opened up about her
dreams of having sex with DAVID BOWIE. In her statement, shocked Marie, a
devout Mormon, says, "I am saddened by some of the choices that two of our
children have made. "The insidious potential for harm from adolescent Internet
sites like MySpace.com only exacerbates these kinds of problems. "If my being
a celebrity figure is good for anything, let it be as a voice of warning to other
parents that no matter how protective we think we may have been with our
children in the past, we need to become more knowledgeable and even more
vigilant now in order to protect them."
The struggling, the isolated,
the lonely
(The “Battleground”)
I am a lifelong member of the church, always
very active. Years ago I subscribed to Sunstone
and enjoyed the articles. My wife did not
approve of some of them, so I started having
them delivered to my office. When the great
intellectual purge took place a few years ago, I
let my subscription to Sunstone lapse. I guess I
didn’t want to get caught in the next purge. Yet,
I have missed the articles and ongoing
discussions that Sunstone provided.
These podcasts provide a safe way for me to
participate again.
I don’t go to church anymore. It just
makes me either bored or depressed. I
wish I had a better reason like some of
the historical issues that are brought up
on your show, but I haven’t delved into
them as deep as your guests have. I find
their analysis fasinating(sp?).
You’re show …gives me some new and
interesting things to hear. And it brings
back that element of church that I did
miss in my life, leaving out the parts of it
that I hated. So keep up the good work.
You stated that you wanted to create a forum that helps
people the same way that you needed help.
I thought I’d tell you that this is exactly what you’ve
done for me. I’m a newly married medical student and
have loved the church my whole life. But, like Enos,
people have to grow up. I’ve had to recently ask new
and sometimes faith-threatening questions about what I
believe (a necessary but precarious step in spiritual
growth).
Those can be heavy and scary days, as you seem to
know. And I had no one to talk to. I didn’t want to burden
my wife, my family, or most of my friends with
something that exists only between me and God. I felt
close to drowning a few times until I found these
podcasts. They were not only honest, open, and
informative, they were freeing.
Final reflections
• Schisms vs. bridgebuilding
• Wasting time vs. socializing vs. making a
difference
• Seminal works within Mormonism
• Audio will continue to grow, video will
become huge