The September Six were six members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were excommunicated or disfellowshipped by the church in September 1993, allegedly for publishing scholarly work against or criticizing church doctrine or leadership. The term "September Six" was coined by The Salt Lake Tribune and was used in the media and subsequent discussion. The church's action was referred to by some as evidence of an anti-intellectual posture on the part of church leadership.
Mormon fiction is generally fiction by or about members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are also referred to as Latter-day Saints or Mormons. Its history is commonly divided into four sections as first organized by Eugene England: foundations, home literature, the "lost" generation, and faithful realism. During the first fifty years of the church's existence, 1830–1880, fiction was not popular, though Parley P. Pratt wrote a fictional Dialogue between Joseph Smith and the Devil. With the emergence of the novel and short stories as popular reading material, Orson F. Whitney called on fellow members to write inspirational stories. During this "home literature" movement, church-published magazines published many didactic stories and Nephi Anderson wrote the novel Added Upon. The generation of writers after the home literature movement produced fiction that was recognized nationally but was seen as rebelling against home literature's outward moralization. Vardis Fisher's Children of God and Maurine Whipple's The Giant Joshua were prominent novels from this time period. In the 1970s and 1980s, authors started writing realistic fiction as faithful members of the LDS Church. Acclaimed examples include Levi S. Peterson's The Backslider and Linda Sillitoe's Sideways to the Sun. Home literature experienced a resurgence in popularity in the 1980s and 1990s when church-owned Deseret Book started to publish more fiction, including Gerald Lund's historical fiction series The Work and the Glory and Jack Weyland's novels.
Ex-Mormon or post-Mormon refers to a disaffiliate of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or any of its schismatic breakoffs, collectively called "Mormonism". Ex-Mormons—sometimes referred to as exmo or postmo—may neither believe in nor affiliate with the LDS Church. In contrast, Jack Mormons may believe but do not affiliate; and cultural Mormons may or may not affiliate but do not believe in certain doctrines or practices of the LDS Church. The distinction is important to a large segment of ex-Mormons, many of whom consider their decision to leave as morally compelling and socially risky. According to 2014 Pew data, around 1/3 of adults raised LDS no longer adhere to the faith and in 2008 only 25% of LDS young adults were actively involved. Many ex-Mormons experience troubles with family members who still follow Mormon teachings. Aggregations of ex-Mormons may comprise a social movement.
Various spectrums of beliefs or practice within Mormonism account for categories of Mormons possessing faith or skepticism regarding various doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or pertaining to issues of orthopraxy/heteropraxy, among those identifying as Mormon. People may also partake of Mormon culture to some degree as a result of having been raised in the LDS Church or else having converted and spent a large portion of their life as an active member of the LDS Church. Such "cultural" Mormons may or may not be actively involved with the church. In some cases they may not even be, or have ever been, official members of the church.
The Mormon blogosphere is a segment of the blogosphere focused on issues related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought is an independent quarterly journal that addresses a wide range of issues on Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint Movement.
The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, or Maxwell Institute, is a research institute at Brigham Young University (BYU). The institute consists of faculty and visiting scholars who study religion, primarily the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The institute is named after a former LDS Church apostle, known for his writings and sermons.
John Parkinson Dehlin is an American podcast host. He holds a PhD in psychology. Dehlin founded the Mormon Stories Podcast, as well as several other Mormon-themed podcasts, blogs, and web sites. He was an influential early participant in the Mormon blogosphere, and blogs at Patheos.com. He has advocated for the rights of skeptics in Mormonism, LGBT rights, equality for women, and other individual views outside mainstream Mormonism.
The Journal of Book of Mormon Studies is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering topics surrounding the Book of Mormon. It is published by the University of Illinois Press on behalf of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship with funding from the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies.
Louis C. Midgley is a Mormon apologist and retired professor of political science at Brigham Young University. Since his retirement he has been closely involved with the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, writing many book reviews, articles, and book chapters defending the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from perceived critics.
Feminist Mormon Housewives (fMh) is a group blog, podcast, and Facebook group featuring commentary and discussion on contemporary Mormon culture and women's issues. According to The New York Times, "Unlike the more mainstream Mormon blogs – known collectively as the Bloggernacle – that by and large promote the faith, this online diary focuses on the universal challenges of mothering young children and on frustration with the limited roles women have in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
Stay LDS / Mormon is a collaborative blog featuring discussion and commentary about Mormon issues, beliefs, culture, thought and current events. It was created by Brian Johnston and John Dehlin, formerly of the Sunstone Education Foundation.
Mormon Stories Podcast is a podcast principally hosted by psychologist John Dehlin featuring interviews with individuals and occasionally scholars on Mormon topics. The podcasts are noted as a platform for individuals critical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, skeptic and dissident individuals.
Mormon studies is the interdisciplinary academic study of the beliefs, practices, history and culture of individuals and denominations belonging to the Latter Day Saint movement, a religious movement associated with the Book of Mormon, though not all churches and members of the Latter Day Saint movement identify with the terms Mormon or Mormonism. Denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by far the largest, as well as the Community of Christ (CoC) and other smaller groups, include some categorized under the umbrella term Mormon fundamentalism.
Steven L. Peck is an evolutionary biologist, poet, and novelist. His literary work is influential in Mormon literature circles. He is a professor of biology at Brigham Young University (BYU). He grew up in Moab, Utah and lives in Pleasant Grove, Utah.
Stephanie Nielson is a Latter-Day-Saint mommy blogger, burn survivor and until 2021 author of the blog "The NieNie Dialogues". She is also the younger sister of another popular blogger, C. Jane Kendrick.
John C. Hamer is an American-Canadian historian and mapmaker. His research has focused primarily on the history of the Latter Day Saint movement, authoring several books on the topic. Hamer is a leading expert on various schisms within especially non- far-Western (U.S.) portions of the Latter Day Saint "Restoration" movement. Raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hamer left the religion before joining Community of Christ in 2010 and now serves as Pastor of its Toronto Congregation.
Matt Page is an American graphic artist living in Farmington, Utah. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is known for his satirical LDS Church comics and image manipulations.
Keepapitchinin is an American history blog written by American independent historian Ardis Parshall who specializes in Mormon history. The site was founded in 2008, namesaked for a humorous newspaper published sporadically between 1867 and 1871 pseudonymously written by George J. Taylor, Joseph C. Rich, and Heber John Richards. Parshall received an award in 2010 for her Keepapitchinin essay "Beards" from the Association of Mormon Letters and was awarded by the Bloggernacle as 2010 Best Blogger and 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2013 Best Solo Blog. Parshall's article "'Pursue, Retake & Punish’: The 1857 Santa Clara Ambush" received the 2005 Dale L. Morgan Award of the Utah State Historical Society.
This is a list of literary works by Steven L. Peck. His academic publications are not included, but can be found on his curriculum vitae.
