A Question About Paul H. Dunn

[_sunstoned]

Dunn was a marvelous story teller. That was his gift. To tell a story so convincingly that everyone in the room, including him, would cry. I met Brother Dunn while on my Mission. The President had sent me and my companion to the Airport to pick him and his wife up and escort them to their hotel. He was coming to Chicago on personal business, but had plans to meet with the President, and then to tour our mission.

He and his wife were very kind to us. They asked about the work and seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say. Once we were at the hotel, I helped with the luggage and then asked Brother Dunn to sign my Bible. He reluctantly did, while making the comment that he was not the author. He made a big impression on me that day.

Later in the week, he spoke in our Zone conference. It was a story of personal trials. Of his dealings with a Sargent that was first confrontational, but then led to conversion. He had the undivided attention of everyone in the room and he held it for close to an hour. As I reflect back on it now with a detached and more informed perspective, I can see that it was a rehearsed and much practiced performance. But at the time it was to most spiritual thing I had ever experienced.

Later, much later I found out the truth about Mr. Dunn and his stories. I found out about the deflection and cover up by the church. The very people who’s calling it was to be above reproach, the testifiers of Christ, the receivers of his revelation had all lied, and repeatedly so. I felt betrayed. It was shocking and it hurt. But most of all I felt betrayed by my feelings. I could not reconcile how the Spirit I thought I experienced that day in that Zone conference could testify to a lie, a made up false story. This was the start down the path of serious self-reflection. It took a few years and much study, but now I see things much differently, and hopefully much clearer than I use to.

[_DrW]

Dunn was a marvelous story teller. That was his gift. To tell a story so convincingly that everyone in the room, including him, would cry. I met Brother Dunn while on my Mission. The President had sent me and my companion to the Airport to pick him and his wife up and escort them to their hotel. He was coming to Chicago on personal business, but had plans to meet with the President, and then to tour our mission.

He and his wife were very kind to us. They asked about the work and seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say. Once we were at the hotel, I helped with the luggage and then asked Brother Dunn to sign my Bible. He reluctantly did, while making the comment that he was not the author. He made a big impression on me that day.

Later in the week, he spoke in our Zone conference. It was a story of personal trials. Of his dealings with a Sargent that was first confrontational, but then led to conversion. He had the undivided attention of everyone in the room and he held it for close to an hour. As I reflect back on it now with a detached and more informed perspective, I can see that it was a rehearsed and much practiced performance. But at the time it was to most spiritual thing I had ever experienced.

Later, much later I found out the truth about Mr. Dunn and his stories. I found out about the deflection and cover up by the church. The very people who’s calling it was to be above reproach, the testifiers of Christ, the receivers of his revelation had all lied, and repeatedly so. I felt betrayed. It was shocking and it hurt. But most of all I felt betrayed by my feelings. I could not reconcile how the Spirit I thought I experienced that day in that Zone conference could testify to a lie, a made up false story. This was the start down the path of serious self-reflection. It took a few years and much study, but now I see things much differently, and hopefully much clearer than I use to.

Great post.

Thank you, sunstoned.

[_Racer]

It was a well practiced historically known art of "story-telling"....
It was common sometimes for "speakers" to sometimes tell story's as if they were their own, even though they were not. It was not considered "lying". It was simply considered a part of the art of story-telling that some utilized.

In our modern world, this is no longer acceptable.
Previously, it was simply known as a good story, even if not actually true of the individual in question, it was true "somewhere" thus not considered a lie, but embellishment to teach lessons, values, etc.

Thus, he wasn't "trying" to lie.... It's just when a person talks so much, they sometimes try to find new things to talk about, to tell other peoples story's as if they are your own, to bring the feeling and impact of the story.

Huh? Are you serious?

Im curious as to what constitutes differentiating facts vs. "story telling" in your mind. Dunn didn't seem to really precede his stories with any kind of caveat that they were for dramatic effect. In fact he ended up making a public apology about the falsehood of his stories after he was busted.

I wonder what percentage of GA statements and talks we should consider mere "story telling" vs. accurate facts?

How about the claim of possessing ancient golden tablets with prophetic inscriptions that an angel gave you? Could that be part of the old timey tradition of story telling?

[_John Smithson]

There was another dark side to Paul H. Dunn's lies. In 1985 a man named Grant Affleck was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. He was a Mormon who preyed on other Mormons to run a Ponzi scheme. Paul H. Dunn was one of his friends who gave him legitimacy, although Dunn escaped any liability.

Why do people lie like this? It seems to come from a desire to be better than they are, to add the perfect touch to something that is a little less than perfect. For example, a recent best-selling author Jonah Lehrer got caught making up quotes from Bob Dylan in a non-fiction book he wrote called "Imagine." The book did not need the extra quotes--it was fine without them. But Lehrer, a writer for the New Yorker, apparently made up the quotes to better support a point he was making. That little misstep cost him his career.

As people have said, Paul H. Dunn was a gifted speaker. He would have been the same success whether he made the stuff up or not. I grew up near his house, and heard him speak a few times. Nothing he said in those talks could have been made up, since they were not personal stories. They were touching none the less. I was stunned when he was forced to admit his lies. I too wondered why he did it. We can never really know.

[_moksha]

It seems generally accepted that Paul H. Dunn lied about some of the details of his life, but why?

At that time, there was a spate of self help authors providing inspiration to the masses through fictional tales. Tall tales were a campfire favorite. Surely Elder Dunn's stories of pitching ball, discovering penicillin and planting Old Glory on the ridge at Iwo Jima were no more criminal than my own stories regarding the marauding Great Turnip.

These stories are the stuff of legend. People wanted to hear Paul H. Dunn speak, just as they longed to go on a cattle drive with Babe the Blue Ox or weave webs with Charlotte. Without Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Pfitzer would not be such a blue ribbon pharmaceutical stock. Elder Dunn helped increase our LDS lore.

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