While out on an errand the other day I spotted an artical titled, " Faith in Exile Mormon Identity and the Excommunicated" on the cover of a free local paper. Living here in Mormon country and being an exjw I couldn't resist the hook. So I thought I'd share the first couple of paragraphs.
In September 1993, the Mormon community was astonished to learn that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had excommunicated six of their own. The reasons for the disciplinary actions varied from the speculative theology found in the writings of Paul Toscano and Avraham Gileadi to the feminist theory openly advocated by Lynne Whiteside and Maxine Hanks. D. Michael Quinn was excommunicated for his historical writings and Lavina Fielding Anderson because of her documentation of ecclesiastical abuse within the church. These actions demonstrated an increased effort by the church hierarchy to suppress dissenting voices within the Mormon community.The so-called ?September Six? weren?t the only Mormons in jeopardy. Several high-profile BYU faculty terminations were also in progress. David Knowlton, Cecilia Konchar Farr and Gail Houston were the first of many casualties from the ?BYU Inquisitions? that resulted in a university-wide expulsion of all openly liberal professors. In subsequent years, Janice Allred and more recently, her sister Margaret Toscano, were also excommunicated for publishing feminist works. And, though officially the Church denied that it was conducting a purge, the message was clear: fall in line or face the consequences.
The institutional expurgation was extreme enough to warrant nationwide attention. No other mainstream church in America was banishing and excising its own at the alarming rate and degree of the LDS church.
These actions created a climate of fear and mistrust in the Mormon community. The church was systematically isolating and stigmatizing several of its members ? many of whom were active tithe-paying believers. Where once an open climate of tolerance toward alternative voices prevailed ? a new authoritarian trump heralded the end of heterodox speech and thought. The popular catchphrases, ?Follow the Brethren? and ?Obedience to Authority? became mantras for the new Mormon faithful.
Now doesn't all this sound just a little familiar? I guess it's true, we're not alone... :)
I'll be back tonite.
Regards,
felix a aka (davidp)