Examining the claims of Jonathan Neville and the Heartland movement

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Jonathan Neville thinks I’m being “purged” from Interpreter

So much for my hope to take some time off.

Jonathan Neville published another blog post today promoting Bill Reel’s false and defamatory video. Because Neville doesn’t read this blog, he’s probably not aware that I posted a refutation of the key “evidence” Reel and Steve Pynakker presented that I have purportedly been masquerading online as Richard Nygren.

(For who may not have understood me, I’ve never used the Richard Nygren name or persona online, nor have I ever interacted with anyone who has. If that name or identity has been used on social media, I was not the person behind it. End of story.)

Neville’s newest blog post is titled “Purging Mike Parker?” In it, he repeats the same untrue things he’s been saying for years about the Interpreter Foundation, but now with added spin about the supposed “fiasco” concerning the pseudonym I used on this blog:
Purging Mike Parker seems unfair and unnecessary. But also insufficient. After all, his antics didn’t occur in a vacuum. It seems unlikely that anyone at the Interpreter was unaware of Mike’s “Peter Pan” alter ego, given Dan [Peterson]’s frequent and enthusiastic endorsement. From the outside, it looks like Mike is taking the blame for the entire organization.
“Purging”? “Taking the blame”? What in the world is Neville talking about?

It seems he referring to the fact that I no longer participate in the weekly Interpreter Radio broadcasts:
Because I haven’t watched the Interpreter’s Scripture Roundtables or podcasts, I didn’t realize Mike was such an integral part of the Interpreter team for so long.

But now he’s omitted from the list of hosts, despite his having hosted numerous podcasts and videos over the years.
Neville thinks that my use of the pseudonym “Peter Pan” was a “fiasco”—a term I’m certain he’ll repeat continually in that hope that people will believe it. He also believes that I’m somehow being “purged” from Interpreter’s website.

The real reason I’m no longer appearing as part of the Interpreter Radio lineup is that I stepped away from it last summer because my life had simply become too hectic, and I needed to spend Sunday evenings with my family. That’s all.
Stalin Nikolai Yezhov airbrushed Mike Parker Interpreter Radio
All of the old shows I appeared on are still on the website; I’m just no longer a current host. By my own choice. Eight months ago.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a textbook example of the level of research the Jonathan Neville does before he publishes his views. He’s the clown car of investigative research.

It would be funny if it wasn’t so shockingly disgraceful.

—Mike Parker [“Peter Pan”]

If you personally know Jonathan Neville, please email him a complete copy of this blog post. He refuses to read what he calls my “stupid blog,” so the only way he’ll know how mistaken he is is if you tell him.
 

6 comments:

  1. So Neville took limited data without bothering to seek out more, applied sloppy and extremely biased analysis, and reached a conclusion that is totally, utterly wrong that he nonetheless confidently proclaimed as Truth.

    This is such a perfect illustration of his entire oeuvre.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Forgot about this page.

    Peter, in the spirit of what President Nelson taught us a few weeks ago, let me kindly suggest you leave all this alone. Put it away. We need peacemakers now more than ever. Yes, we can be upset at what people like Johnathan say. But the best way to help the situation is to ignore it. Ignore them.

    These 2 Book Of Mormon Geography movements in the church are such a stumbling block for so many. It has created division and contention where it should never be. Both sides have plenty of blame, and so we just need to stop.

    Is this really worth your time? Is it worth your time following everything he or Hannah Stoddard or Rod Meldrum say? I lost years of my life in this mire (on both sides) and I look back on that time with such regret. My journey as a disciple was hampered because of it and I was distracted from other things that were of far greater worth.

    Let it go dear brother. Just ignore them. Let all this go. Look deeply at how much time you are devoting to this, and ask yourself if it's really what you should be spending your time doing.

    Just food for thought. Have a good one man.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement, Andrew. I would very much like to blog less and spend more time on things that are truly important in my life, and my hope going forward is to do that.

      The Heartland movement, however, is much more than just differing geographies. As I’ve demonstrated many times—click the “Apostasy” link in the Tags section of any page on this blog—it is leading people away from faith in living prophets and into a sect of Mormonism that can only inevitably lead people out of the Church of Jesus Christ and into groups like those run by Denver Snuffer. These groups, like the Heartlanders, teach that modern apostles and prophets are leading the Church astray because they are not teaching their pet theories.

      I am compelled by the Prophet Joseph’s teaching about “an imperative duty that we owe to all the rising generation, and to all the pure in heart” that should be “attended to with great earnestness.” (D&C 123:11–14)

      I will try harder to find a way to attend to this with more compassion and less rancor.

      Delete
    2. Thank you for listening. I do appreciate that. It's rare to find someone willing to listen and reflect upon his or her actions.

      If you are interested, I stopped following this blog after I read this post of yours last October:

      https://www.nevillenevilleland.com/2021/04/elder-gerrit-w-gong-father-lehis-descendants-latin-america.html

      I brought it up because posts like this only serve to inflame and create more contention, especially when you become proactive in creating such contention by saying things such as "I imagine this will not sit well with Heartlanders."

      Taking an Apostle's opinion and using it as an attempted "jab-in-the-eye" against those you disagree with was not conducive. It reeked of tribalism and only fanned the flames between sides. But I suspect you know that now so nothing more needs to be said.

      I'll tag out now, and wish you the best of luck with whatever you do next. Take care.

      Delete
    3. I appreciate your candor, Andrew. Thank you for pointing out to me where I could have been better. I can (admittedly) be sarcastic and snarky, and some of my blog posts certainly reflect that. Your suggestions encourage me to be a better person and to take the higher road going forward. I hope I can do that.

      Delete

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