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.
Lavina Fielding Anderson is a Latter-day Saint scholar, writer, editor, and feminist. Anderson holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington. Her editing credits include Sisters in Spirit: Mormon Women in Historical and Cultural Perspective (1987) and Tending the Garden: Essays on Mormon Literature (1996), as well as the Ensign, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Journal of Mormon History, Mormon Women's Forum Quarterly, and Case Reports of the Mormon Alliance. In 2001, Anderson published a critical edition of Lucy Mack Smith's memoir: Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's family memoir.
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 and considers it a vehicle for free and frank exchange in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The magazine's motto is Faith Seeking Understanding.
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 General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an on-line book of instructions and policies for leaders and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The contents are prepared by the church's First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Along with the church's standard works, the General Handbook stands as the preeminent policy and practice guide for the leaders of the LDS Church.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been subject to criticism and sometimes discrimination since its early years in New York and Pennsylvania. In the late 1820s, criticism centered around the claim by Joseph Smith to have been led to a set of golden plates from which the Book of Mormon was reputedly translated.
John Parkinson Dehlin is an American podcast host and excommunicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 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.
Westminster Magistrates' Court is a magistrates' court at 181 Marylebone Road, London. The Chief Magistrate of England and Wales, who is the Senior District Judge of England and Wales, sits at the court, and all extradition and terrorism-related cases pass through it. The court opened on 22 September 2011 as a replacement for the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court.
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, 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.
Kathleen Marie Kelly, known as Kate Kelly, is an American activist, human rights lawyer, and Mormon feminist who founded Ordain Women, an organization advocating for the ordination of women to the priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Kelly was excommunicated from the church in 2014. She is also a nationally known advocate for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and abortion access.
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.
Janice Merrill Allred is an excommunicated Latter Day Saint, theologian, writer, and Mormon feminist. She was born in Mesa, Arizona.
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 based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. It is notable as the law firm that represents the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is the largest law firm in Utah.
