SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints filed a lawsuit in April against podcaster John Dehlin and three others. The suit seeks to prevent Dehlin from using the term "Mormon" for his podcast "Mormon Stories" and from branding it in ways that mimic copyrighted church materials.

The church's complaint alleges the branding was done with the "intent to capitalize on and increase confusion." The lawsuit accuses Dehlin and Mormon Stories of "intentionally and willfully" displaying copyrighted imagery. The church maintains it largely controls the word "Mormon" due to historical usage and claims Dehlin refused to "take the actions needed to sufficiently address the confusion." Dehlin previously agreed to modify imagery by removing light rays and changing navy blue font to orange.

John Dehlin, an excommunicated sixth-generation member, filed a legal response last week. He accused the church of using trademark laws to silence him. "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," Dehlin said. His counter-claim contends the term belongs to the public, including members of over 400 sects.

The church stopped using the term "Mormon" to describe itself in 2019. Church President Russell M. Nelson stated the Lord commanded the discontinuation of the title. "The Lord has impressed upon my mind the importance of the name he has revealed for his church," Nelson said. He added that continuing to use the term would be "a major victory for Satan." This shift led to the renaming of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Patrick Mason, a professor at Claremont University, said the lawsuit is "an extension of the church's policies to emphasize the move away from the nicknames Mormon and Mormonism."

Church leaders excommunicated Dehlin in 2015. They cited his disputes regarding "the nature of our Heavenly Father and the divinity of Jesus Christ" and statements that scriptural books were "fraudulent and works of fiction." Leaders also cited his rejection of the belief that the church was "the true church with power and authority from God." Dehlin claimed support for same-sex marriage was a factor, though the church disputes this. In 2017, leaked documents showed Dehlin on a list of those church leaders considered to be "leading people away from the gospel."