SALT LAKE CITY- (June 22, 2026) – Mormon Stories Podcast and the Open Stories Foundation today filed their response (link here) to a lawsuit brought by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, arguing that The Church is attempting to use trademark and copyright law to restrict lawful commentary about Mormonism and control usage of the word “Mormon.”
The lawsuit, filed in April, targets Mormon Stories, one of the longest-running independent podcasts covering Mormon culture, history, and lived experiences. Founded by Dr. John Dehlin more than two decades ago, Mormon Stories has published thousands of interviews with current and former Church members, historians, scholars, and others discussing Mormon life and belief.
Despite being fully aware and familiar with Mormon Stories and its creator and host, the LDS Church never once suggested a problem with the branding of Mormon Stories or The Church’s trademark or copyright rights. In fact, prior to The Church’s recent and unexpected intellectual property enforcement efforts, the only concern The Church ever expressed about Mormon Stories related to the content, opinions, and viewpoints presented on the podcast.
In its filing, Mormon Stories highlights the troubling inconsistency between the LDS Church’s years-long effort to publicly distance itself from the term “Mormon” while simultaneously urging the United States Trademark Office to renew its “Mormon”-styled trademark registrations, presumably for purposes of exercising control over how “Mormon” is used through enforcement actions like the lawsuit they filed against us.
“The LDS Church does not own the word ‘Mormon,’ and it should not be allowed to use intellectual property law to control how people discuss Mormon culture, history, doctrine, or lived experience,” said Dehlin. “This case raises important questions that extend well beyond Mormon Stories Podcast.”
According to today’s filing, Mormon Stories Podcast and the Open Stories Foundation have included disclaimers indicating its clear independence from The LDS Church since its founding. Mormon Stories’ use of the color blue and “rays” in its branding began well over a decade ago, and did not begin around 2022 as suggested by the Church’s claims. But, to avoid expensive litigation, Mormon Stories and the Open Stories Foundation engaged in months of mediation after first being contacted by The Church in late 2025, and agreed to numerous changes requested by Church representatives, including modifications to branding, disclaimers, logos, and imagery.
“We made substantial changes in good faith because we believed reasonable compromise could resolve this matter,” Dehlin said. “We were surprised to learn that despite accepting most of The Church’s requested changes, litigation would proceed. It feels like we were the only ones making compromises, and The Church took an all-or-nothing, one-sided approach to mediation, which included unreasonable demands. It is also very disappointing that The Church chose to publicly mischaracterize what happened in mediation.”
The response also argues that The Church’s claims raise broader concerns for independent publishers, podcasters, bloggers, businesses, churches, and nonprofit organizations that use the word “Mormon” descriptively to discuss the faith, culture, and community.
At issue is whether trademark law can be used to impose restrictions on an independent commentary platform that has operated openly for more than 20 years while repeatedly making clear that it is not affiliated with The Church.
Mormon Stories intends to vigorously defend itself while continuing its mission of providing a platform for open and honest conversations about Mormonism from diverse viewpoints.
For more information, please see detailed Q&A.
