When he went into his office, the bishop, a man named Tom Andersen, said hed read this article in the L.A. Times, Quinn told me. Woodruff himself said in his journal that he was acting for the temporal salvation of the church, and the 1890 Manifestoas his official statement is knownwas not immediately taken to be a divine revelation. (Rick Bowmer/AP) This article is more than 8 years old. A history full of benignly angelic church leaders apparently advocated by Elders Benson and Packer would, he said, border on idolatry.. 2012. She won the Cornell Award for Excellence in Religion ReportingMid-sized Newspapers from the Religious News Association in 2004, 2012, 2017, 2018, and 2022. A church spokesman told him that it did exist, and the First Presidency issued a formal statement about it the following week. He got up in front of the congregation and declared his belief in the Mormon gospel, in Joseph Smiths status as a prophet of God, and in the Book of Mormon as divine scripture. The kindness of my ward members has been really important. Quinn went over local church rolls and found addresses of kids who didnt come to Sunday services. Instead, he simply took away Quinns temple recommend. Temples, distinct from regular meetinghouses, are reserved for sacred rituals, and require a recommend, a small card indicating ones worthiness, to enter. Quinn was already on the alert for such wrinkles in the churchs history. . Hired in 1991 to cover Utah's various faiths, particularly Mormonism, Peggy has talked forgiveness with Archbishop Desmond Tutu . I had received a blessing from a former stake president, assuring me that when the time was right, it would come very easily, so I could be at peace. I heard she's not Mormon at all. Mormons devote one sacrament meeting each month to personal testimonies, and Quinn was sure this would be his last opportunity to offer his in church. This is maybe where John and I are very different. "She might be a model for others who have been missing their Mormon community.". They were receptive. The churchs critics find the timing convenient: By 1890, the U.S. government had threatened to seize LDS property if polygamy wasnt renounced. We embedded him as thoroughly in the church as we ourselves had been. She was the editor of Hastings Center Report from 1986 until 1991, when she was hired to start the "Faith" column in the Salt Lake Tribune. I used to think Steve Benson was a bad person. The term "September Six" was coined by The Salt Lake Tribune and was used in the media and subsequent discussion. Hanks was excommunicated in 1993, one of the "September Six," Mormon writers and scholars who were disciplined by their local LDS officials in the same month. I felt they were not going to drive me away. Kate Kelly, founder of the Ordain Women movement, was excommunicated in 2014 for her views on gender inequality in the Mormon Church . I moved into recognizing the value and power of a lay priesthood in the body of Christ and Christian community. Quinn attended that ward in Westwood every week while he was in California. The regional council forwarded her request to church headquarters, with the recommendation that she be approved for rebaptism. Most people don't know I've been excommunicated. [4] During her time there, she has met and interviewed the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Gordon B. Hinckley, among others. Even after that, a few high-ranking Mormons continued to authorize such marriages. The Quarum of 12 Apostles wanted to ex her, but the Quarum of Public Relations blocked their move. Peggy Fletcher was raised in New Jersey, daughter of physicist Robert Chipman Fletcher and Rosemary Bennett, one of five girls and three boys. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. Paul usually sits on the outside of the pew, so when the sacrament comes, he shakes his head toward me so we don't have any socially embarrassing moments. He referred to the pathos that I felt in your private letters to mea plea to not be discarded from something that you love. I want to help resolve that pathos, he added, and a sadness that seems to pervade your private writing to me.. In an April 1968 talk about military service, he described the restless, unchallenged young people who are repudiating their citizenship responsibilities by avoiding and protesting the draft. ", This page was last edited on 30 November 2022, at 04:21. I had my answers.". Anderson wrote another piece that was again picked up by multiple papers, including the Los Angeles Times, which ran it under the headline Mormons Investigating Him, Critic Says.. Hanks had already held one church court in Quinns absence, in July, at which Quinn was disfellowshipped. Peggy Fletcher Fletcher (Peggy Bennett Fletcher) See Photos. She was told to pass along this message: Im tired of hearing him criticize the church. "All they asked me about was my relationship to Jesus Christ.". Lavina Fielding Anderson, who was excommunicated in 1993 as part of the so-called September Six, has had her request for rebaptism into the LDS Church rejected by the faith's governing First Presidency after being approved by her local lay leaders. sltrib.com 1996-2023 The Salt Lake Tribune. What's happening is so wrong. I always felt that I had Gods sanction and encouragement, so I went ahead following that path. Even early on, a fellow Mormon historian started telling Quinn he must have a death wish regarding his membership in the church. Before the first court, Whitesides and Anderson alerted friends and the press, and word spread quickly. Maxine Hanks was held in the same stake center one week before, though she did not attend it. Sign Up. During Quinns New Orleans years, the First Presidency put out a statement discouraging Mormons from participating in academic conferences and other independent forums devoted to the discussion of their faith. But the Churchs case against Twede will never be known: After the Daily Beast story, the council was postponed, and a few weeks later, Twede resigned from the faith. In 2004, after a series of fellowships and visiting appointments, he was the only finalist for a tenured position at the University of Utah. Groundbreaking Emma Smith biographer, a 'giant' in Mormon scholarship, dies at 82. From that point on, she explored various Christian teachings and practices, assisted clergy with religious services and served as volunteer chaplain at Holy Cross Chapel for 13 years. They were eventually published, without Quinns permission, by two prominent anti-Mormon activists, Jerald and Sandra Tanner. What's it like going to church for two decades as an excommunicated member? [5][6], Fletcher initially attended Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, for a year,[1] then transferred to the University of Utah, where she earned a BA in English literature. I was not surprised or angry about the outcome, Anderson said Wednesday, and she has no plans to try to open that door again. Caffeinated Version: In the field of Mormon history the changes are particularly pronounced. Years ago, Don Bradley, a longtime scholar of Mormon history, asked to have his name removed from LDS membership rolls when participation became uncomfortable. Many people do reside in the borderlands between Mormon and not. In a detailed confession, Hofmann said that he had secretly stopped believing in Mormonism as a teenager and had hatched a plan to embarrass the church by creating fake documents that exposed uncomfortable facts about early Mormon history. Dallin Oaks speaking at the General Conference in April 1989. sltrib.com 1996-2023 The Salt Lake Tribune. It struck him as an old missionarys trick. In many respects, Andersons affirmations mirror those of other members. This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. Quinn told friends that he did not want anyone to lobby on his behalf. The book opened Quinns teenage eyes to dissent within the highest echelons of LDS leadership, and to the apostles debateand apparent dissemblingabout plural marriage after 1890. While Packers precise involvement remains a matter of dispute, what little is known hints at his interference. ", Kelly goes on KUER's Radio West "A lot of people are asking me why I came forward [with the news of my disciplinary hearing]. The other five people who were by then being referred to as the September Six had already faced their courts. According the her Wikipedia page: She is a great-granddaughter of Heber J. The four-day symposium, which begins Wednesday evening, also will include dozens of sessions about Mormonism and politics, about how members grapple with contemporary issues such as gay rights and feminism, building online LDS communities, Mormon Latino views of the church's immigration stance and how the Utah-based faith has developed its "brand" in the past several decades. Quinns religious status wouldofficially, at leastbe decided by his own stake president, not by the higher-ups in Salt Lake City. The church has control of my membership; I decide whether I'm Mormon or not. The nature of religion reporting in Utah is changing. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. He was the first academic to occupy the post, previously held only by high-ranking LDS leaders, and his appointment signaled a broader effort to reorganize the historians office along professional lines. The Bible and the Book of Mormon, which depict flawed, human prophets, are, Quinn said, an absolute refutation of the kind of history Packer advocated. In the past, many Mormon officials had a sense, he said, that the church must protect its members from "wolves among them.". When Benson asked why no one had stopped him, Oaks allegedly replied, You cant stage manage a grizzly bear. Benson resigned his Mormon membership shortly afterward and became a vocal opponent of the church his grandfather ostensibly led. Once in a while such a case will hit the press. "Mormonism was limiting to me, so I needed to test the limits to see who I and the church really might be. Lavina Fielding Anderson, who was excommunicated in 1993 as part of the so-called September Six, has had her request for . . [Excommunicated Mormons are not supposed to take communion.] Article type . At first, his timing appeared serendipitous: In 1972, while he was completing a masters in history at the University of Utah, an academic named Leonard Arrington was appointed church historian. These are very sensitive and highly confidential and this is why I have not mentioned them before in writing. Hanks alluded to these matters in subsequent letters, but never explicitly said that he had Quinns sexuality in mind. Quinn and four othersLavina Fielding Anderson, Maxine Hanks (a distant relative of Paul Hanks, the stake president who showed up at Quinns apartment), Paul Toscano, and Avraham Gileadiwere excommunicated by stake presidents in Salt Lake City and Provo, Utah; a sixth, Lynn Whitesides, was disfellowshipped, meaning that she remained a member of the church but could not fully participate in its rites and activities. Quinn argued against excommunication, he told me, but he did not have the final say. He later got married in the temple, while I sat outside with friends. There would be quite a number of people in the Mormon community who would look unfavorably on that. Later that year, Quinn was recommended for a one-year appointment at Arizona State. The truth is not uplifting. Thats according to Quinnmy request to speak with Packer, whose health has badly deteriorated in recent years, was declined. See Photos. By Peggy Fletcher Stack June 23, 2015 Many Mormon feminists experienced Kate Kelly's excommunication as a harsh slap felt around the world. Though a lifelong Latter-day Saint, Hanks had not been attending a Mormon ward for several years. And the Tribune is changing with it. Two decades ago, Maxine Hanks could not have imagined where her spiritual journey would take her, but she knew this much: She would not likely be walking into the waters of Mormon baptism. The men at his door were the local stake president and his two counselors, the men responsible for overseeing all the congregations in the area. Mormons from around the world have gathered to listen to church leaders during the two-day conference. Hired in 1991 to cover Utah's various faiths, particularly Mormonism, Peggy has talked forgiveness with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, nearly fainted waiting for the Dalai Lama, fasted with Muslims during Ramadan and has reported on 50 consecutive semiannual LDS General Conferences. Ive had more than one therapist Ive talked to about this issue say, Dont you see that you were purposely setting yourself up for this fall? he told me. During Quinns college years, BYUs president, Ernest Wilkinson, organized a student spy ring intended to catch out professors with communist leanings. They had the responsibility to preserve the doctrinal purity of the church, they said, adding that, because Mormon leaders are constrained by confidentiality rules, the media have relied on information supplied by those disciplined or by their sympathizers. Similar councils occurred more sporadically over the next few years. [4], She won the 2004 Cornell Award for 'Excellence in Religion ReportingMid-sized Newspapers' from the Religion Newswriters Association in 2004, an award she also received in 2012, 2017, and 2018. Lavina Fielding Anderson decided not to appear at her court, either, which took place at another Salt Lake meetinghouse a few days afterward. "But when I got to the point of priestly ordination, I pulled back. He said it was apostasy because I believed that general authorities had done something wrong.
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