John Dehlin just posted this message:
Mormon Stories Listeners,
A small situation has arisen and I’d love to gather a few letters from folks who feel like Mormon Stories has helped them find a way to remain active in the church when they otherwise might not have.
If you are able to help, please either email me at mormonstories@gmail.com or post your story here.
Thanks so much, and sorry to be a burden.
I have a suggestion for the design of this site. You might add another column between the essay column and the links column. In the new middle column you could continually post “headlines” from other Latter Day Saint related blogs and other websites with Mormon interest articles (like this post linking to MormonStories).
That way, in addition to being a strong essay blog center, the site could be a headline portal for all these sites you’re linking to.
Right on, John. That’s the dream. Do you know how to do that?
We also want to provide a separate page with a comprehensive blog aggregator. The most recent excerpt will then be on the front page with a link to the entire aggregator.
Reading between the lines, the Mormon Stories site seems like a heroic battle. It should be a case study in every discussion of the Church. Where else can we get just that, Mormons of all kinds talking freely and openly? And looking below the surface, I may be totally wrong here but it seems that, like the mythical Joseph Smith History, he is hated and persecuted for simply telling the truth. I remember a few months ago when his site had no updates. At the time I guessed (maybe I am totally wrong?) that he was just losing enthusiasm. Not (again I may be totally wrong) it seems he is getting leaned on by those who are damaged by openness and honesty.
John Dehlin’s Mormon Stories is an epic tale. If future historians want to understand the church, they do not need to read the Ensign, or Bushman, or even FLAK. They just need to read Mormon Stories and see what happened.
Sorry, Hellmut. My experience is with the design side of things, not programming.
Meanwhile, I’m pleased to see that MormonStories has generated a number of helpful testimonials.