The September Six were six noted intellectuals and feminists expelled from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the LDS Church, or Mormons) in September 1993. The alliterative term "September Six" was coined by the The Salt Lake Tribune, and the term was frequently used in the media and subsequent discussion of the matter. “Literati” redirects here. ... Feminists redirects here. ... For other uses, see Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (disambiguation). ... The term Mormon is a colloquial name, most-often used to refer to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Alliteration is a literary device in which the same sound appears at the beginning of two or more consecutive words. ... Marquis of the Salt Lake Tribune on the Tribune Building in Downtown Salt Lake City The Salt Lake Tribune (ISSN 0746-3502) is Salt Lake City, Utahs largest-circulated local daily newspaper. ...

Church measures against the September Six

Except for Lynne Kanavel Whitesides, all of the September Six were excommunicated, meaning they were formally expelled. Whitesides was disfellowshipped, a less-severe sanction that restricts participation in some religious duties and privileges. According to LDS Church policy, Whitesides could return to full fellowship without re-baptism. Excommunicated members may be rebaptized and readmitted to the LDS church following repentance. However, as of 2004, four of the September Six are not members of the LDS church—the exceptions are Avraham Gileadi, who was rebaptized, and Whitesides, who is still a disfellowshipped member. Excommunication is religious censure which is used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. ... This article is about the Christian religious act of Baptism. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

While the LDS Church sometimes announces when a person of influence has been excommunicated, LDS leaders' policy is to refuse to publicly discuss details about the reasons for any excommunication, even if details of the proceedings are made public by that person. Such disciplinary proceedings are typically undertaken at the local levels, initiated by leaders in a ward (neighborhood congregation) or a stake (a collection of wards), but some of the September Six have suggested their excommunications were orchestrated by higher-ranking LDS leaders.

The LDS church's point of view is missing, therefore, as to why each of the September Six were excommunicated. Based on many of their own comments, and other sources, the following describes what is known or believed about the six individuals' reasons for excommunication, and their current relationship to Mormonism.

Short Biographies

Lynne Kanavel Whitesides

Lynne Kanavel Whitesides is a feminist noted for speaking on the "Mother in Heaven." Whitesides was the first of the group to experience church discipline. She was disfellowshipped September 14. is the 257th day of the year (258th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Whitesides has not returned to activity in the church again as of 2004. Reports state that she has pursued a personal spiritual growth by searching for a more feminine conception of God. Feminist theology is a movement, generally in the Western religious traditions (mostly Christianity and Judaism), to reconsider the traditions, practices, scriptures, and theologies of those religions from a feminist perspective. ...

Avraham Gileadi

Avraham Gileadi is an Old Testament scholar who is generally considered theologically conservative. He authored a book about Isaiah and the last days which was published by LDS-owned Deseret Book but later pulled from the shelves. Details of why he was excommunicated on September 15 are not available. Avraham Gileadi is a Latter-day Saint Old Testament scholar specializing in the Book of Isaiah. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Note: Judaism... Isaiah the Prophet in Hebrew Scriptures was depicted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo. ... Deseret Book is the largest Latter-day Saint book publisher and also owns a chain of LDS bookstores in the western United States. ... is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Gileadi has been re-baptized, and is an active member of the Church. He has since written Isaiah Decoded, a book now carried by the church-owned Deseret Book chain.

Paul Toscano

Paul Toscano is a Salt Lake City attorney who co-authored a controversial book, Strangers in Paradox: Explorations in Mormon Theology]^[1] (1990), and later wrote the book The Sanctity of Dissent^[2] (1994). He was excommunicated September 19. Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Toscano has stated that he lost his faith and said he feels remorse only for being so angry at the LDS Church. His wife Margaret Merrill Toscano was excommunicated in November 2000; her story can be found on the Sunstone Magazine website Tidying Up Loose Ends?: The November 2000 Excommunication of Margaret Toscano 2001 Salt Lake Sunstone Symposium. Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... In 1974, the Sunstone Foundation started the Sunstone Magazine to feature such subjects as Mormon experience, scholarship, art, short fiction and poetry. ...

Maxine Hanks

Maxine Hanks is a feminist theologian who compiled and edited the book Women and Authority: Re-emerging Mormon Feminism (1992). She was excommunicated September 19, ostensibly for this work (as was fellow contributor, D. Michael Quinn). Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Hanks had been writing or researching on Mormon topics since 1975, including LDS history, theology, and women's issues. She served an LDS mission, taught at the LDS Missionary Training Center, and worked for BYU in the 1980s. Mormon studies continued as her area of scholarly work after the excommunication, with publication of two more books and many articles on Mormonism. Her work also expanded into Christian liturgy and religious studies, including study at Harvard Divinity School. Privately, she pursued Gnosticism, became clergy in 1999, and active in interfaith work. ^[3] She continues her work on women's studies in Mormonism and religion. This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Lavina Fielding Anderson

Lavina Fielding Anderson is a feminist writer who edited the books Sisters in Spirit: Mormon Women in Historical and Cultural Perspective (1992), and Lucy's Book,^[4] the definitive edition of the Lucy Mack narrative, a former editor for the Ensign and the current editor for the Journal of Mormon History. She was excommunicated September 23. Lavina Fielding Anderson (born in 1944) is a Latter Day Saint scholar, writer, editor, and feminist. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Anderson still attends LDS church services as a non-member. She continues to write on Mormon issues, including editing the multi-volume Case Reports of the Mormon Alliance, an ongoing collection of interviews with Mormons who believe they were unfairly disciplined by the Church.^[5] The Mormon Alliance was organized on July 4, 1992 to counter spiritual and ecclesiastical abuse in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to protect the Church against defamatory actions. ...

D. Michael Quinn

D. Michael Quinn is a Mormon historian. Among other studies, he documented LDS Church-sanctioned polygamy from 1890 until 1904, after the 1890 Manifesto when they officially abandoned the practice^[6]. He also authored the 1987 book, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View,^[7] which argues that early Mormon leaders were greatly influenced by folk magic and superstitious beliefs including stone looking, charms, and divining rods. He was excommunicated September 26. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Polygamy has been a feature of human culture since earliest history. ... Year 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar). ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... The 1890 Manifesto, sometimes simply called The Manifesto, was a historical statement which officially renounced the practice of polygamy in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS Church; see also Mormon). Signed on by LDS President Wilford Woodruff in September of 1890, the Manifesto was a... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Folk religion consists of beliefs, superstitions and cultural practices transmitted from generation to generation, in addition to the formally stated creeds and beliefs of a codified major religion. ... is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Quinn has since published several critical studies of Mormon Hierarchy, including his two-volume work, that starts with his dissertation The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power^[8] and a companion volume The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power^[9], a third volume is scheduled for a 2008 publication by Signature Books. He also authored the 1996 book Same-Sex Dynamics Among Nineteenth-Century Americans: A Mormon Example, which argues that homosexuality was not uncommon among early Mormons, and was not seen as a serious sin or transgression. Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ...

Despite his excommunication and critical writings, Quinn still considers himself to be a Latter-day Saint. For further information on Quinn see, Lavina Fielding Anderson's article, "DNA Mormon: D. Michael Quinn." in Mormon Mavericks: Essays on Dissenters, edited by John Sillitoe and Susan Staker, Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2002, pp. 329-363. A Latter-day Saint is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). ...

Causes

As noted above, the LDS Church typically does not comment on excommunication or other disciplinary proceedings, so official LDS explanations are absent from discussions of the September Six. However, many scholars, researchers and others^[10][11] from within and outside the LDS Church argue the September 1993 excommunications were a historic move by the LDS Church to remove high-profile dissenting scholars and feminists from its membership. A disciplinary council in the context of Mormonism is a trial during which members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may be excommunicated, or expelled, from the church for a number of different sins or misdeeds. ...

This event climaxed long-standing tensions within Mormon culture regarding Mormon history, doctrine, theology, scholarship, feminism. Previously, in the 1970s and 1980s, LDS historian Leonard J. Arrington, had encouraged a more open approach to LDS history, allowing greater access to church archives, and encouraging public discussion of historical topics generally considered controversial. ^[12] As a result, the LDS Church encountered a series of challenges to some of its historical claims and theological or doctrinal practices from scholars and feminists within the faith, including some BYU professors and moderates, as well as from outside critics. Leonard J. Arrington (July 2, 1917 - February 11, 1999) was born in Twin Falls, Idaho. ...

This climate of increasing scholarly and public discourse on Mormonism in the 1980s produced a rising concern among some LDS Church leaders about defining and maintaining what they saw as traditional or orthodox views. ^[13] In 1989, the LDS Church formally advised church members to exercise caution about participating in public discourse and publications, not sponsored by the Church. ^[14]The LDS Church attempted to quell dissent by warning those whom it saw as testing orthodox boundaries to abandon controversial scholarship or writings, or face church discipline. This approach was seen by scholars and feminists as repressive. ^[15]

Some scholars and feminists were unwilling to censor their work in public, which brought an institutional church reaction against them. Some BYU professors lost their jobs, while other scholars and feminists were summoned to church disiplinary councils. Rather than quiet the dissent as intended, the disciplining of the September Six and other related cases created much publicity in Utah, and sparked debate as part of a broader discussion of academic freedom.^[16] A disciplinary council in the context of Mormonism is a trial during which members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may be excommunicated, or expelled, from the church for a number of different sins or misdeeds. ... Academic freedom is the freedom of teachers, students, and academic institutions to pursue knowledge wherever it may lead, without undue or unreasonable interference. ...

In addition to the "September Six," a larger number of scholars and feminists were disciplined at that same time or during the years following. Some remain anonymous, while other cases are known. Some were successful in renegotiating their church memberships or delaying discipline, while others lost church jobs or membership.

Three professors at Brigham Young University were "fired" (their contracts not renewed) due to their scholarly work or comment on topics deemed controversial by the Church. Instead of losing Church membership, they lost their jobs. These include David Knowlton, who taught anthropology at BYU, now teaching at UVSC; Cecelia Konchar Farr who taught English, now teaching in Minnepolis-St. Paul; and Gail Houston who also taught English, now teaching in New Mexico. Additionally, another English professor, Eugene England, was pressured into "early retirement" (then tragically overtaken by a fatal illness a few years later).

A half dozen more high-profile writers were excommunicated in the months or years after the September Six event, for similar reasons. These include: editor Brent Metcalf, and Biblical scholar David Wright, both excommunicated for their work in _New Approaches to the Book of Mormon_. Also excommunicated were writer Janice M. Allred, who has written about the LDS Mother in Heaven, and classics professor, Margaret M. Toscano, who has written about Mormon women and priesthood.

In the 1990s, Mormon feminists were challenging male-dominant theology in the LDS faith, focused on male deity and male priesthood. ^[17] Some feminists suggested that Mormon women have an historical precedent for exercise of priesthood, and that Mormonism has an inherent feminine theology in need of expression and elaboration.

Feminist writings from Hanks, Quinn, the Toscanos, Anderson, and Allred, all critiqued LDS sexism, arguing from historical awareness. Quinn, Toscano, Anderson and Gileadi also challenged LDS Church position: Quinn's research questioned official Mormon history, while Toscano directly challenged church leaders to implement changes.

Four of the September Six, Quinn, Hanks, Toscano and Anderson stated that their discipline orginated with General Authorities, notably Elder Boyd K. Packer.^[18] Disciplinary proceedings are confidential, but anecdotes from individuals with access to private information suggest that LDS stake presidents and bishops received directives from higher church leaders to discipline intellectuals while taking responsibility for it as an entirely local decision. ^[19] Some speculate that the apparently synchronized warnings and disciplinary councils over the summer of 1993 suggested that the LDS Apostles directed the disciplinary measures. ^[20] In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a general authority is a member of a select body of approximately 100 men with administrative and ecclesiastical authority in the church. ... Acting President Boyd K. Packer Boyd Kenneth Packer (born September 10, 1924) is the current Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ... A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregrations in sects of the Latter Day Saint movement. ...

Reaction

Reactions to the September Six event within mainstream Mormon circles ranged from apathy to approval to confusion to sympathy. Many LDS people were not even aware of the expulsions;^{[citation needed]} the event was a sudden confrontation between the church leadership and a small scholarly subculture of which most Mormons were unaware. The event took many church members by surprise, and is still not well understood by mainstream Latter-day Saints.^{[citation needed]}

However, the event had repercussions for liberal scholarship and feminism in the contemporary LDS community, greatly discouraging liberals, feminists and "critical" scholarship, while spurring conservative apologetics. Church leaders apparantly viewed the disciplinary actions as an opportunity to maintain the doctrinal integrity of the Church and safeguard it from the infiltration of secular ideas or "apostasy."

The September Six event appeared to deliver a strong message that the LDS Church disapproved of members' secular work on Mormonism in the 1990s. Since that time, the LDS Church seems more comfortable with secular discussion of Mormonism. Observers of both trends wonder if the September Six and other casualties ironically helped acclimate the LDS Church to secular study of Mormonism.

See also

• Mormonism and history

Unlike other 19th-century religious movements such as Bahai, Shakerism, and Christian Science, Mormonism is a religion predicated on both the historicity of a prophets testimony and a sacred book that describes a detailed pre-Columbian history of North America. ...

Notes

1. ^ http://www.signaturebooks.com/excerpts/stranger.htm
2. ^ http://www.signaturebooks.com/reviews/sanctity.htm
3. ^ http://www.utahfaiths.org/slc
4. ^ http://www.signaturebooks.com/lucy.htm#lavina
5. ^ http://mormonalliance.org/
6. ^ see: "LDS Church Authority and New Plural Marriages, 1890-1904," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 18 (Spring 1985) 9-105
7. ^ http://www.signaturebooks.com/reviews/magic.htm Early Mormonism and the Magic World View
8. ^ http://www.signaturebooks.com/reviews/hier1.htm
9. ^ http://www.signaturebooks.com/reviews/hier2.htm
10. ^ see The Mormons, a two-part special collaboration between the PBS series Frontline and American Experience
11. ^ Waterman, Bryan and Brian Kageland. The Lord's University Freedom and Authority at BYU. Signature Books, 1998. ISBN 1-56085-117-1
12. ^ see The Mormons, a two-part special collaboration between the PBS series Frontline and American Experience
13. ^ see The Mormons, a two-part special collaboration between the PBS series Frontline and American Experience
14. ^ http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1989.htm/ensign%20may%201989.htm/alternate%20voices%20.htm
15. ^ see The Mormons, a two-part special collaboration between the PBS series Frontline and American Experience
16. ^ see The Mormons, a two-part special collaboration between the PBS series Frontline and American Experience
17. ^ see The Mormons, a two-part special collaboration between the PBS series Frontline and American Experience
18. ^ see The Mormons, a two-part special collaboration between the PBS series Frontline and American Experience
19. ^ see The Mormons, a two-part special collaboration between the PBS series Frontline and American Experience
20. ^ see The Mormons, a two-part special collaboration between the PBS series Frontline and American Experience

Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ... A frontline is a line of confrontation in an armed conflict, most often a war. ... American Experience (sometimes abbreviated AmEx) is a television program airing on the PBS network in the United States. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ... A frontline is a line of confrontation in an armed conflict, most often a war. ... American Experience (sometimes abbreviated AmEx) is a television program airing on the PBS network in the United States. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ... A frontline is a line of confrontation in an armed conflict, most often a war. ... American Experience (sometimes abbreviated AmEx) is a television program airing on the PBS network in the United States. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ... A frontline is a line of confrontation in an armed conflict, most often a war. ... American Experience (sometimes abbreviated AmEx) is a television program airing on the PBS network in the United States. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ... A frontline is a line of confrontation in an armed conflict, most often a war. ... American Experience (sometimes abbreviated AmEx) is a television program airing on the PBS network in the United States. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ... A frontline is a line of confrontation in an armed conflict, most often a war. ... American Experience (sometimes abbreviated AmEx) is a television program airing on the PBS network in the United States. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ... A frontline is a line of confrontation in an armed conflict, most often a war. ... American Experience (sometimes abbreviated AmEx) is a television program airing on the PBS network in the United States. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ... A frontline is a line of confrontation in an armed conflict, most often a war. ... American Experience (sometimes abbreviated AmEx) is a television program airing on the PBS network in the United States. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ... A frontline is a line of confrontation in an armed conflict, most often a war. ... American Experience (sometimes abbreviated AmEx) is a television program airing on the PBS network in the United States. ...

Bibliography

• Anderson, Lavina Fielding. "The LDS intellectual community and church leadership: A contemporary chronology." Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 26(1) [Spring 1993], 7-64.
• Anderson, Lavina Fielding. "Freedom of Conscience: A Personal Statement." Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 26(4) [Winter 1993], 196-202.
• Anderson, Lavina Fielding. "The Church and Its Scholars: Ten Years After." Sunstone, 128 (July 2003), 13-19.
• Stack, Peggy Fletcher. "Exiles in Zion" (Subscription required). Salt Lake Tribune, 16 August 2003.
• Whitesides, Lynne Kanavel, Toscano, Paul James, Hanks, Maxine, Quinn, D. Michael, and Anderson, Lavina Fielding. "Spiritual Paths after September 1993," Sunstone, December 2003, 13-31.
• Waterman, Bryan and Kagel, Brian. The Lord's University: Freedom and Authority at BYU. Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1998, pp. 258-301.
• "Six intellectuals disciplined for apostasy." Sunstone, November 1993, 65-73.

In 1974, the Sunstone Foundation started the Sunstone Magazine to feature such subjects as Mormon experience, scholarship, art, short fiction and poetry. ... In 1974, the Sunstone Foundation started the Sunstone Magazine to feature such subjects as Mormon experience, scholarship, art, short fiction and poetry. ... In 1974, the Sunstone Foundation started the Sunstone Magazine to feature such subjects as Mormon experience, scholarship, art, short fiction and poetry. ...

External links

• Official LDS Church Page
• Sunstone Magazine
• Paul Toscano's website
• "Exiles in Zion" - Copy of Ten-Year Anniversary article from the Salt Lake Tribune
• Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought - Published articles by the September Six can be found in this journal for Mormon scholars.