John Parkinson Dehlin /d?'l?n/ is a psychologist, online journalist, personal counselor, social critic and scholar. Dehlin founded the Mormon Stories Podcast as well as several other Mormon-themed podcasts, blogs, and web sites was an influential early participant in the Mormon blogosphere, and blogs at Patheos.com. He has advocated for the rights of skeptics in Mormonism, LGBT rights, equality for women, and other individual views outside mainstream Mormonism. Dehlin's research and clinical practice focus on the intersection of religion and mental health. He has published articles on anxiety disorders, the experiences of LGBT Latter-day Saints, and Mormon faith crises.
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Youth and early career
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 in political science in 1993.
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. Dehlin's brother, Joel Dehlin, also worked at Microsoft, and became the chief information officer of the LDS Church in 2004.
In 2004, Dehlin moved to Logan, Utah, to begin work under David A. Wiley at Utah State University (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 Director of Outreach, promoting OpenCourseWare to other universities, and a few years as director of the OpenCourseWare Consortium for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2007, while at USU, Dehlin also completed a Master of Science degree in Instructional Technology. In January 2007, MIT hired Dehlin as the Director of the OpenCourseWare Consortium. In 2015 Dehlin received his doctorate in clinical and counseling psychology at USU.
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New media
Sunstone
During Dehlin's early career developing massive open online courses (MOOCs) he had branched into Latter-day Saint themed new media. Dehlin approached the Sunstone Education Foundation and presented to its Board of Directors about the importance of participating in developing internet communities through blogging and podcasting, in order to address the then limited internet presence for constructive Mormon 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 Mormon issues. 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
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 Mormon issues, intending to give listeners reasons to remain in the church. Through interviews, Mormon Stories focused on varying Mormon 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 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.
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 Mormonism. Panelists were to represent different sides of each issue, although the show later struggled to retain regular conservative LDS 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-LGBT Mormons for Marriage website. He also co-founded Stay LDS, a community dedicated to helping unorthodox Mormons stay in the LDS Church.
In 2016 Dehlin began to blog at non-partisan religion website Patheos.com in a current-issues/events dialogue format with Mormon studies scholar Patrick Q. Mason, who has advocated for a more embracing ethos within Mormonism.
Private practice, scholarship, and presentations
Around 2015, while a doctoral candidate, and after receiving his doctorate, Dehlin gave presentations on his research and interests. During this period, Dehlin began providing to a small number of clients his personal and family coaching through their Latter-day Saint faith crises and transitions. Dehlin et al's scholarly work regarding same-sex attraction is widely published. Dehlin has been criticed by mental health professional Jacob Hess for Dehlin's alleged bias regarding LDS gay individuals' hopes of remaining mentally healthy whilst remaining within the LDS faith community.
Writings
In addition to web-content listed above, Dehlin's publications include:
(Religious skepticism):
- Understanding Mormon Disbelief: Why Do Some Mormons Lose Their Testimony, and what Happens to Them when They Do? (2012
(Trichotillomania):
- Jesse M. Crosby; John P. Dehlin; P.R. Mitchell; Michael P. Twohig. "Cognitive and Behavioral Practice: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Habit Reversal Training for the Treatment of Trichotillomania". Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. 19: 595-605. doi:10.1016/j.cbpra.2012.02.002. Retrieved 2013-04-02.
(Scrupulosity):
- John P. Dehlin; Kate L. Morrison; Michael P. Twohig. "Behavior Modification: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a Treatment for Scrupulosity in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder". Retrieved 2013-04-02.
(Same-Sex/Transgender orientations within the LDS community):
- John P. Dehlin; Renee V. Galliher; William S. Bradshaw; Daniel C. Hyde; Katherine A. Crowell. "Sexual Orientation Change Efforts Among Current or Former LDS Church Members.". Retrieved 2014-05-26.
- John P. Dehlin; Renee V. Galliher; William S. Bradshaw; Katherine A. Crowell. "Psychosocial Correlates of Religious Approaches to Same-Sex Attraction: A Mormon Perspective.". Retrieved 2014-05-26.
- Kate Bradshaw; John P. Dehlin; Katherine A. Crowell; Renee V. Galliher; William S. Bradshaw. "Sexual Orientation Change Efforts through Psychotherapy for LGBQ Individuals Affiliated With the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.". Retrieved 2014-05-26.
(Applied cognitive psychology):
- with Michael P. Twohig (2012). "Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Core Principles for Practice: Skills Training". Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Core Principles for Practice.
Faith
From 1988 to 1990, Dehlin served as an LDS Church missionary in Guatemala. During this time his mission began baptizing up to 700 converts per month using practices he believed to be deceptive. After reporting this to an apostle, Dallin H. Oaks, Dehlin was transferred and finished his two-year missionary term in Tempe, Arizona. Dehlin remained an active, faithful member of the LDS Church for the next 20 years.
In the Spring of 2011, Dehlin stated he had become inactive in the LDS Church (i.e., not attending weekly services), citing an inability to believe some of the church's 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 10 March 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.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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