The Excommunication of John Dehlin Pt. 2 - President Mark Jensen (5/23/2012) | Ep. 1265

The Recording That Captured an Interrogation: Inside John Dehlin’s 2012 Disciplinary Meeting

On May 23, 2012, in a stake center in Logan, Utah, a conversation took place that would foreshadow the coming years of institutional conflict between the LDS Church and its questioning members. The John Dehlin excommunication process, documented in Episode 1265 of the Mormon Stories Podcast, offers a rare audio record of exactly how LDS leadership handles public intellectual dissent. Unlike the sanitized accounts typically released by church public affairs, this recording captures Stake President Mark Jensen and Bishop Stephenson pressing Dehlin on his research, his baptisms, and ultimately, his right to remain in full fellowship while harboring private doubt.

Background: When Academic Research Meets Ecclesiastical Authority

By 2012, Dehlin had established Mormon Stories as a significant outlet for members experiencing faith transitions. He had recently completed a survey on LGBTQ Mormons that was picked up by the Associated Press and syndicated to roughly 250 newspapers worldwide. He was also pursuing doctoral work and had agreed to baptize a man named Winston, an act that triggered the formal meeting with Jensen.

The interview was not framed as pastoral care. Jensen brought Bishop Stephenson into the room and immediately began questioning Dehlin’s recent activities. They wanted to know why someone who publicly expressed uncertainty about God’s existence would perform baptisms. They wanted to understand the survey methodology, seemingly suspicious that academic research into marginalized Mormon populations might undermine orthodox teachings. Most critically, they wanted Dehlin to account for statements he had made in a January interview (which Jensen had found by searching Google) where Dehlin admitted he did not know if God was real, but hoped it was true.

Key Claims: The Clash Between Certainty and Hope