Dear Kwaku El, et al:

BCC: John Dehlin:

I have watched a couple of your "This is Your Show" episodes on YouTube. I understand that the point of these videos are to somehow keep the Generation Y members of the church from leaving. I understand that this problem is becoming critical, and this is the best you could do. However, there are a couple of problems I see here.

First, I really don't think that Generation Y is as stupid as you seem to think. I have two daughters in this generation, and they read and do their research. Sure, there are many who will fall for your "1980's-stay-away-from-the-anti-mormon" replay you are trying to pull, but I believe those who really want to know the truth, will find it. Your logical fallacies and ignoring of the facts will only work as a stop-gap measure.

Second, I want you to know that blaming others, like John Dehlin and Jeremy Runnells, for breaking up families is ridiculous. Do you really think they are sitting around trying to figure out ways to destroy families? How does this even make sense? 

From my perspective, the LDS church does just fine breaking up families. Believe it or not, my Mormon Family story started all the way back with Fanny Alger. That is the my first family break up story which can be traced back to the LDS church. 

Let me tell you my story. I have been married to my husband for twenty eight years. He joined the church after we were married for two years. I won't even go into the guilt and judgment that surrounded the decision of marrying someone who was not a member. My husband is a one in a million guy. He always thinks of me first. He has always done everything he can to support and care for our family. Throughout the twenty plus years he was a member, my resentment of him grew and grew. I drifted farther away from him and my anger at him grew. I went to the bishop for help. I talked to two different Relief Society Presidents,  I even talked to two Stake Presidency Counselors. No real help was forth coming. I was on the cusp of leaving this man, who did nothing but love me and care for our family. I couldn't even put into words why I was so miserable.

Then I began to search my beliefs and discovered the truth behind religion and the LDS church, I was able to walk away. As I began going through my faith transition, I invited my husband to listen to a couple of John Dehlin's Mormon Stories podcasts. These podcasts became my tools to explain the way I was was feeling to my husband. Then my husband began working his way through his own doubts about the church. I understand that I am one of the few lucky ones, but my husband ended up leaving the church also. 

Here's the kicker, once I left the church, our marriage changed 180 degrees. All of the ridiculous expectations that I had for a perfect LDS husband were gone, leaving the awesome, hardworking, loving husband behind. I can't describe the difference in our marriage. Our communication is better, our teamwork is working, and the time we spend together is no longer marred by frustrations.

The LDS church did nothing to improve our marriage; all it did was create unrealistic expectations, and load on the guilt when those expectations weren't met. On the other hand, John Dehlin, and his podcast, has been more helpful in improving our marriage in six months than the church has been in twenty six years. 

Kwaku, Instead of trashing things you don't understand, perhaps you should do some research into why people are leaving the church. Ironically, our family is stronger, and closer, since we left the church. Perhaps you should be looking into the number of families the LDS church destroys for money, instead of worrying about people like John Dehlin and Jeremy Runnells, who are just trying to help people make informed choices with their lives.