How NOT to gain sympathy

Yesterday, at church, I stood up to bear my testimony. As I was walking to the front of the church, I realized that John [ed. note--surname was left off on purpose] was walking up the other aisle. He deferred to me and I went first. There he was sitting behind me. I noted that Brad Johnson seemed quite uncomfortable, also. (Dad had stayed home with a really bad cold.) I have no idea why, but I went back down and sat where I had been sitting. I should have just walked out but I was too dumb to do that. At any rate, he was his usual rambling self but did bring up my name, the newspaper letter and than moved on Joe [surname removed to protect the innocent] (I muttered, "If he mentions certain person, I will get up and sock him." I was by Sister White, and so I had to apologize. She hadn't really heard what I said, however.) but he did not go into detail except to say that he was being prosecuted and was having a very difficult time. He didn't mention any young people by name but he did say how there was a dark side to the church in this town and that he would not sustain Don Eyre. He said that Jared Eldridge and the attorney's office were persecuting him. He said that he usually sat in the back of the church near Annette and his step-son would come and sit with him. He said his daughter had convinced him to come back to church and he was trying to do so. He started rambling about his troubles and the bishop told him, quietly, that it was time for the meeting to end so he ended and left. Brad told me afterward that he was about to get up and call the police but decided to stay put. The bishop asked me, afterward, what he was talking about concerning me, the letter, the tape recorder, Joe and a cover-up. John had not made any of the connections clear. Only that while he was at my house working on the letter he had taken out his tape recorder to turn over the tape. Jenny, Brad's wife, said she thought we were taking it all too seriously. "I think, confused as he is, he forgot to set his clock and was in the wrong ward," she said. His stepson and former wife live in the 8th ward. Apparently he goes to that ward and sits at the back somewhere in the neighborhood of Annette. At any rate, Brad said that he is not to be in the same building with Brad because John has a restraining order and he told the bishop that as well. He said the bishop's face went pale when John was walking up the aisle and that he seemed really uncomfortable. I was OK with Jenny's explanation until my RS first councilor called me last night. (She was Ams RS president when they were at university.) She asked me about it. Then she said that her friend told her that he also showed up at the 6th ward and did the same thing. He is trying, I guess, to get sympathy.