The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is the largest Latter Day Saint denomination. Founded during the Second Great Awakening, the church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has established congregations and built temples worldwide. According to the church, as of 2023, it has over 17.2 million members, of which over 6.8 million live in the U.S. The church also reports over 99,000 volunteer missionaries and 350 temples.
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.
Affirmation: LGBTQ Mormons, Families, & Friends is an international organization for individuals who identify as gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, queer, intersex, or same-sex attracted, and their family members, friends, and church leaders who are members or former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Ex-Mormon or post-Mormon refers to a disaffiliate of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or any related groups, such as the Community of Christ, The Church of Jesus Christ, and in rare cases the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, all of which are 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. Two surveys taken across the state of Utah between 1980 and 1981, showed that for every five converts into Mormonism, there were two converts out. Many ex-Mormons experience troubles with family members who still follow Mormon teachings. Aggregations of ex-Mormons may comprise a social movement.
Lavina Fielding Anderson was a Latter-day Saint scholar, writer, editor, and feminist. Anderson held a PhD in English from the University of Washington.
Signature Books is an American press specializing in subjects related to Utah, Mormonism, and Western Americana. The company was founded in 1980 by George D. Smith and Scott Kenney and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is majority owned by the Smith-Pettit Foundation.
The Mormon religion is predicated on what are said to be historical events such as the First Vision of Joseph Smith and the historicity of the Book of Mormon, which describes a detailed pre-Columbian history of the Americas. Joseph Fielding Smith, the tenth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, declared that "Mormonism, as it is called, must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith. He was either a prophet of God, divinely called, properly appointed and commissioned, or he was one of the biggest frauds this world has ever seen. There is no middle ground." As Jan Shipps has written, "Mormonism, unlike other modern religions, is a faith cast in the form of history," and until after World War II, Mormons did not critically examine the historical underpinnings of their faith; any "profane" investigation of the church's history was perceived "as trespassing on forbidden ground."
Sunstone is a magazine published by the Sunstone Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, that discusses Mormonism through scholarship, art, short fiction, and poetry. The foundation began the publication in 1974. The magazine's motto is Faith Seeking Understanding.
Teachings on sexuality in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is deeply rooted in its doctrine. In its standards for sexual behavior called the law of chastity, top LDS leaders bar all premarital sex, all homosexual sexual activity, the viewing of pornography, masturbation, overtly sexual kissing, sexual dancing, and sexual touch outside of a heterosexual marriage. LDS Leaders teach that gender is defined in premortal life, and that part of the purpose of mortal life is for men and women to be sealed together in heterosexual marriages, progress eternally after death as gods together, and produce spiritual children in the afterlife. The church states that sexual relations within the framework of monogamous opposite-sex marriage are healthy, necessary, and approved by God. The LDS denomination of Mormonism places great emphasis on the sexual behavior of Mormon adherents, as a commitment to follow the law of chastity is required for baptism, adherence is required to receive a temple recommend, and is part of the temple endowment ceremony covenants devout participants promise by oath to keep.
George Patrick Lee was the first Native American to become a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a member of the church's First Quorum of Seventy from 1975 to 1989, when he was excommunicated from the church.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been subject to scholarly and religious criticism and public debate since its inception in the early 1800s. The discussion encompasses a wide range of issues from the church’s leaders, origins, and teachings, to its social and political stances. The historical claims of the church, including the authenticity of foundational books of scripture such as the Book of Mormon and Pearl of Great Price, as well as the church's former practice of polygamy have faced public scrutiny. Changes in church teachings, as well as former teachings perceived as harsh or extreme face criticism as well. In the modern day, its historical teachings and policies around skin color and those around Black and Native American people, along with its past and current views on LGBTQ people and women have received greater public attention. Other controversies include church leaders' handling of sexual abuse cases, church finances, members critical of church leadership, and allegations of hiding or distorting parts of church history.
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 podcasts, blogs, and websites. He was an influential early participant in the "Mormon blogosphere," and blogs at Patheos.com. He advocates for LGBT rights and other views outside mainstream religious culture. In January 2015, Dehlin was excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Sterling Moss McMurrin was a liberal Mormon theologian and Philosophy professor at the University of Utah. He served as United States Commissioner of Education in the administration of President John F. Kennedy.
Peggy Fletcher Stack is an American journalist, editor, and author. Stack has been the lead religion writer for The Salt Lake Tribune since 1991. She and five other journalists at the Salt Lake Tribune won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting. She won the Cornell Award for Excellence in Religion Reporting—Mid-sized Newspapers from the Religious News Association in 2004, 2012, 2017, 2018, and 2022.
Latter-day Dissent: At the Crossroads of Intellectual Inquiry and Ecclesiastical Authority is a 2011 book edited, with an introduction, by Philip Lindholm. It chronicles the stories of prominent LDS intellectuals who faced disciplinary action by the LDS Church. The book features contributions from members of the September Six, including Lynne Kanavel Whitesides, Paul Toscano, Maxine Hanks, Lavina Fielding Anderson, D. Michael Quinn, as well as Janice Merrill Allred, Margaret Merrill Toscano, Thomas W. Murphy, and Donald Jessee. Lindholm's analysis combined with Diarmaid MacCulloch's foreword and the interviews themselves collectively discuss the nature and extent of intellectual freedom and disciplinary action in the LDS Church.
Denver Carlos Snuffer Jr. is a Utah lawyer, an author of Restorationist devotional books, a lecturer, a speculative theologian, and claims to be a “revelator to fellowships of the remnants movement,” a spiritual movement in schism with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The movement has a few thousand adherents, many of them members or former members of the LDS Church. He was excommunicated by the LDS Church in 2013 for refusing to cease publication of his 2011 book, Passing the Heavenly Gift which challenges many points of LDS orthodoxy. He subsequently has been identified as a prophet by many in Christian fellowships of "the Remnants" movement, and several of his teachings have been canonized as scripture.
Ordain Women is a Mormon feminist organization that supports the ordination of women to the priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was founded on March 17, 2013, by Kate Kelly, a human rights attorney from Washington, D.C., with the website launch containing 19 profiles of individuals calling for the ordination of Mormon women. As of May 17, 2014, the website featured more than 400 profiles.
Mormon feminism is a feminist religious social movement concerned with the role of women within Mormonism. Mormon feminists commonly advocate for a more significant recognition of Heavenly Mother, the ordination of women, gender equality, and social justice grounded in Mormon theology and history. Mormon feminism advocates for more representation and presence of women as well as more leadership roles for women within the hierarchical structure of the church. It also promotes fostering healthy cultural attitudes concerning women and girls.
This is a bibliography of literature treating the topic of criticism of Mormonism, sorted by alphabetical order of titles.
Kirton McConkie is an American law firm headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the largest law firm in Utah, and it has long served as the external legal counsel for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was ranked the 300th largest law firm in the United States in 2022 by the National Law Journal.
