dissidents - wasmormon.org

Elijah Abel, the NAACP, and the Abandoned Float That Helped Pressure for Change and Revelation

"The Salt Lake Chapter of the NAACP will enter a float in the Days of '47 parade on July 24 [1978]. The decision was made after considerable debate at their regular monthly meeting Monday. Some members of the organization felt by having a float in the parade it would be a means of recognition for the blacks who came across the plains with, and before the pioneers. One member said people of the state would see that blacks were early settlers and realize blacks had had an impact on the area." - SLC NAACP Eyes ’47 Parade Float, Salt Lake Tribune, April 4, 1978 | wasmormon.org

In the spring of 1978, 47 years ago to the day, there was a “Days of ‘47” parade for Pioneer Day in Salt Lake City. At the time the parade was planned, the church continued its unpopular priesthood ban on black members of the church. The ban was lifted weeks before the parade occurred, but …

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Hinckley’s “I Don’t Know That We Teach It” Interview

Is this the teaching of the church today, that God the Father was once a man like we are? Hinckley: "I don’t know that we teach it. I don’t know that we emphasize it. I haven’t heard it discussed for a long time in public discourse. I don’t know. I don’t know all the circumstances under which that statement was made. I understand the philosophical background behind it. But I don’t know a lot about it and I don’t know that others know a lot about it." Gordon B Hinckley interview transcript for TIME Magazine article Kingdom Come of August 1997, in context compared to the printed article. | wasmormon.org

A famous saying within the Church states, “As man is now, God once was; as God is now, man may be.” This couplet, originating from Joseph Smith’s King Follet discourse, was popularized by the fifth Church President Lorenzo Snow. Time Magazine published an article about Mormons and asked President Gordon B Hinckley about this concept …

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President Gordon B Hinckley Interview with San Francisco Chronicle

The church has issued a statement concerning the campaign for legal recognition of same-sex marriages in Hawaii and other states. And the church has asked its members to write to their legislatures opposing this. Hinckley: "Yes. We've been involved in some action against same-sex marriages." - LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in 1997 Interview with SFGate | wasmormon.org

Gordon B Hinckley, then church president, was interviewed by Don Lattin on April 13, 1997 for SFGate, the digital home of the San Francisco Chronicle. The interview was in his room at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel, just before he delivered an address to the World Forum of Silicon Valley. Here is the transcript of the interview as reported …

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Mormon Excommunication For Change – The September Six and More

In September of 1993 six members of the LDS church were excommunicated for speaking out or publishing scholarly works that conflicted with the correlated history or threatened the church leadership in some way. They collectively came to be known as the “September Six”. These individuals were Lynne Whitesides, Avraham Gileadi, Paul Toscano, Maxine Hanks, Lavina Anderson, and D. Michael Quinn. Dubbed the “September Six,” the group were mostly left-leaning writers and scholars who had published articles or given talks about the role of women in Mormonism and the way the church’s leaders handle dissent. | wasmormon.org

The September Six were a group of six members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who were excommunicated or disfellowshipped in September 1993 for their intellectual and historical pursuits that were deemed contrary to the teachings and doctrines of the Church. The six members were: The excommunications and disfellowshippings of …

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No Surprise that Every Ex-Mormon is Still a Missionary

You can leave the mormon church, but you can’t leave it alone. - Bishop Glenn Pace, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric in General Conference April 1989

The Mormon church likes to point the finger and demonize those who leave, complaining with the clever phrase that they can leave the church, but they can’t leave the church alone. They want us to leave quietly. This site refutes this demonization and serves as a platform to loudly share your story. We shouldn’t leave …

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Gordon B. Hinckley Interview Transcript– ZDF German Television

Salt Lake City, Utah January 29, 2002 Conducted by Helmut Nemetschek at 47 East South Temple, Prior To And In Preparation For, The “Mormon Winter Olympics” TRANSCRIPT REPORTER: President Hinckley, what are your expectations, your desires, your wishes, for the Olympic Games here in Salt Lake City? HINCKLEY: Well, I expect great things in the …

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