Federal Funding for Critics of the Church? Really???

Newly posted on the never-changing, essentially moribund website of the Interpreter Foundation, in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship:  “Prepping for the Last Battle,” written by one Daniel C. Peterson:

Abstract: Intellectually acute, deeply learned, brilliantly imaginative, yet popular and easily accessible, C. S. Lewis was arguably the greatest Christian apologist of at least the past century. I believe that Latter-day Saints can benefit greatly from reading him and re-reading him and that those who are unfamiliar with his writing have an enviable treat awaiting them. I’m also convinced, by my own experience, that those who return to his work after having read some of it once, long ago, will find his books at least as good as they seemed on first acquaintance. In fact, they may even find, as I did, that they’re even better than they had realized. This essay is a shameless plug for a great and greatly admired writer.

For your viewing pleasure:  Episode 20: Who Wrote the Testimony of the Witnesses?

Witnesses of the Book of Mormon—Insights Episode 20:  Every edition of the Book of Mormon has included a copy of the Testimony of the Three Witnesses. Who wrote it? And if each of the three witnesses didn’t actually write the words themselves, does that somehow invalidate that testimony? This is Episode 20 of a series compiled from the many interviews conducted during the course of the Witnesses film project. . . . These additional resources are hosted by Camrey Bagley Fox, who played Emma Smith in Witnesses, as she introduces and visits with a variety of experts. These individuals answer questions or address accusations against the witnesses, also helping viewers understand the context of the times in which the witnesses lived. This week we feature Daniel C. Peterson, President of the Interpreter Foundation and Executive Producer of Witnesses. For more information, go to https://witnessesofthebookofmormon.org/. Learn about the documentary movie Undaunted—Witnesses of the Book of Mormon at https://witnessesundaunted.com/.

And watch the movies Witnesses and Undaunted at no charge via the links at The Witnesses Initiative.  Please note, however, that, while Undaunted has been made available in perpetuity, Witnesses will only be available for free streaming during this current month of February.  So do not procrastinate the day of your viewing it!

I found this nine-minute video interesting and, of course, correct: “Nemo The Ex Mormon: Demonstrably Wrong As Usual”:

Is Nemo willing to debate me on his claims that The Book of Mormon witnesses only claimed to see the plates in a vision? After watching this video I doubt he will.

And this six-minute video is powerful:  “What Alyssa Grenfell Doesn’t Tell You About Latter-Day Saint (Mormon) Women – And Why It Matters”

And here’s a real gem written by one “Emma Chance, Celebrity/Reality TV: Emma is a writer and critic based in Portland, Maine. She holds an MFA in creative writing. She covers pop culture, television, and entertainment trends. When she’s not doing that, she blogs about relationships, self-discovery, and all the weirdness in between.”  Ms. Chance’s article bears the title “What’s the Point of All These Mormon Shows? Sexual Repression”:

I don’t pretend to be an expert on Mormonism, but one thing I know I’m good at is watching television . . .

Going off of these shows alone I have to deduce that Mormonism is a faith that stigmatizes sexuality and values misogyny. Any desire that doesn’t fit into the heteronormative box of man and wife and sex as a function of procreation only, is punished and therefore shameful. This is obviously not sustainable in real life and therefore leads to deviancy and secrecy, which results in toxic relationship dynamics at best, and emotional abuse at worst.

Sometimes — I’ll be candid here — it just seems that there’s absolutely no way for us ever to cope with the tsunamis of incomprehension and disinformation that continually break upon the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Trying to counter all of the anti-Mormon “ministries” and the apostate podcasts and the never-ending flow of hostile and misleading Hollywood productions seems, occasionally, just as hopelessly futile as does the little Dutch boy’s sticking his finger in a hole in the dike in order to keep the sea out.  We’re outnumbered and underfunded.  In fact, many of those working for the opposition do so full-time and, in several cases of which I’m aware, make a very good living at it.  Still, the reports immediately below, if true, astonish even me:

I was sent a link yesterday to something that, the sender says, shows that John Dehlin and his efforts against the Church receive federal funding to the tune of $46,728 during one year.  (See here.)  And, just this morning, the same person forwarded a link on to me that, it is suggested, indicates that the Sunstone Foundation, a “liberal” to dissenting to outright apostate organization on the fringe of the Church (whose Executive Director is paid $85,000 per year and served as the “historical consultant” to the hit Netflix miniseries American Primeval), received $65,000 from American taxpayers.  (See here.)

I’m not actually sure what to make of the items that were sent to me but, if the claim is accurate that they received money from USAID — which, I confess, seems really bizarre to me, since I have known USAID only as an (admittedly rather inefficient, ham handed, and ineffective) foreign aid operation overseas — that would be both massively outrageous and neatly illustrative of the tilted playing field upon which defenders of the Church are obliged to operate.

Does anybody know anything more about possible USAID subsidies to John Dehlin and to the Sunstone Foundation?  Is this conceivably real?  I’ll admit to being deeply skeptical.  I’m loath to believe it.  Some things are just too bad to be true.  I would need more and better evidence before being convinced.