The Mormon Church is threatening to excommunicate David Twede, managing editor of Mormon Think, a web page which is run by mostly anonymous Mormons that have researched their own religion and expressed dissenting views from the church. I have read this web site prior to this incident and until now I didn't even know who any of the editors were but the timing of this has led many people to believe that it might be due to several articles that he wrote about the Church and Mitt Romney. The reason that the writers on this web page have been keeping their identities secret is because the Mormon church has a long history of excommunicating their members if they dissent and they shun them as well. Apparently being part of the community is more important for people within this Church that many others. I have written about the Mormon church in several blogs (cited below) and found that Mormon think is one of the more reliable sources for information about this; in fact some of the best sources that I have found about the Mormon church are Mormons that don't blindly follow the teachings of their leaders.
The Mormons have provided contradictory messages to their followers about whether they should scrutinize their own religions from the beginning. George Albert Smith said, "If a faith will not bear to be investigated; if its preachers and professors are afraid to have it examined, their foundation must be very weak." Journal of Discourses, Volume 14, Page 216 Brigham Young said, "Take up the Bible, compare the religion of the Latter-day Saints with it, and see if it will stand the test." Journal of Discourses, Volume 16, p. 46, 1873 However in practice from the beginning they have often intimidated Mormons when they have attempted to do this. For more quotes and other information see Wat is Mormonism.com In many cases they have even excommunicated them including Sonia Johnson who supported the ERA against the will of the leaders of the Mormon Church.
Mitt Romney has recently said that we should speak out in favor of free speech when it comes to Muslims that attempt to suppress criticism of their religion like the recent cartoon that led to protests; the same should go for the Mormons who Mitt Romney is silent about.
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