Latter-day Dissent

Latter-day Dissent: At the Crossroads of Intellectual Inquiry and Ecclesiastical Authority
Author Philip Lindholm
Country United States
Language English
Published 2011

Latter-day Dissent: At the Crossroads of Intellectual Inquiry and Ecclesiastical Authority is a 2011 book by Philip Lindholm that 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.

Background

In September 1993, the LDS Church disciplined six prominent intellectuals and speakers[1] for expressing controversial views in public. Similar action was taken again in 1995, 2000, and nearly 2003 against other intellectuals, collectively consisting of feminists, activists, a lawyer, authors and academics who presented a dissenting paradigm to that of the LDS ecclesiastical hierarchy. Latter-day Dissent retroactively examines the events of the September Six and the subsequent disciplinary action, while also following the personal faith journeys of the purged intellectuals.

Importance

Notable historian Jan Shipps says of the book: "The interviews with the eight disciplined Church members are significant additions to the literature of Mormonism. They are quite revealing and, in general, they make for fascinating reading."[2]

Revd Prof. Diarmaid MacCulloch (Oxford): "The testimonies contained in this book are acts of courage and witnesses to a painful effort to seek integrity, when strong efforts were being made either to make them change their minds or at least keep their intellectual adventures to themselves. They deserve sympathy and admiration."[3]

One reviewer called the book "timely"[4] while another noted, "Some of the interviews are quite sympathetic and engaging. They convey very effectively the personal emotions involved in religious exclusion and exploring what it means to be a 'Mormon.' Personal stories carry power, as members of the Church understand when they bear personal testimonies or do missionary work. In that regard the book can evoke much sympathy and personal reflection."[5]

References

  1. ↑ Stack, Peggy Fletcher (30 July 2010), "Young progressives join mix at Sunstone", Salt Lake Tribune
  2. ↑ [Back Cover]
  3. ↑ [Foreword, pg. vii]
  4. ↑ "Mormon Heretic" (anonymous) (9 May 2011). "Book Review: Latter-Day Dissent". mormonheretic.org (blog).
  5. ↑ Hodges, Blair Dee (28 March 2011). "Review: Philip Lindholm- "Latter-day Dissent: At the Crossroads of Intellectual Inquiry and Ecclesiastical Authority"". Life On Gold Plates (blog).
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