Posted on 09/21/2012 1:10:53 PM PDT by Zakeet
After writing negative articles about the Republican candidate, the managing editor of MormonThink.com says he faces excommunication. Is the Church on a witch hunt?
David Twede, 47, a scientist, novelist, and fifth-generation Mormon, is managing editor of MormonThink.com, an online magazine produced largely by members of the Mormon Church that welcomes scholarly debate about the religion’s history from both critics and true believers.
A Mormon in good standing, Twede has never been disciplined by Latter Day Saints leadership. But it now appears his days as a Mormon may be numbered because of a series of articles he wrote this past week that were critical of Mitt Romney.
On Sunday, Twede says his bishop, stake president, and two church executives brought him into Florida Mormon church offices in Orlando and interrogated him for nearly an hour about his writings, telling him, "Cease and desist, Brother Twede."
Mormon leaders have scheduled an excommunication "for apostasy" on Sept. 30. A spokesman for the church told The Daily Beast that the church would not be commenting for this story.
[Snip]
In his role as managing editor of MormonThink, Twede wrote an article about Romney last month titled “The God of Mitt Romney: Why Do Some Claim He’s Not Christian?”
Then last week he posted several stories about the political history of LDS and how the church may or may not influence Romney, as well as a few blog posts that were tongue-in-cheek takes on the church. And that was apparently all it took for church leaders to intervene.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...
“Yet Harry Reid is OK?”
Being critical of Dingy Hairy is just as bad as being critical of Myth Romney.
It’s a power thing in that “church” — they want it, however.
Romney sucks terribly to the point I can’t vote for him, no matter how bad Obama is.
I really think you are confusing mormons and mormonISM.
The phrase 'hate' is an emotional word play to try to delegitimize their presentation.
I am guessing maybe 12 or 13:
(information found on lds.org)
The Articles of Faith
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
Joseph Smith
Besides an anti-romney article, Mormonthink.com presents some pretty condemning information to the inquirer and probably sought his last name for a while.
Well, somebody had to say it.
Yes, that’s my usual thought when someone throws the word out there cavalierly without bothering to back it up.
WHAT??!!??
I'm only placed THIRD on YOUR hate list?
I'll have to try harder!
Our FR MORMONs know this; they just hope that NEW folks reading their accusatiuons will believe them without checking.
It simply looks like a Strengthening Church Members Committee action to me.
The current SCMC was formed in 1985 under the leadership of President Ezra Taft Benson.
When its existence was revealed at a Sunstone Symposium and a couple of expose articles in the Salt Lake Tribune in 1992, the First Presidency justified excommunicating members for apostasy for being being critical of local and general leaders of the church in their writings, based on an 1839 letter by Joseph Smith directing church leaders to establish such a committee.
The excommunications are handled as local matters.
It's the LDS Church and the LDS Church rules; the LDS Church gets to make them, Twede knew them, and LDS members have a right to believe them. That's one reason Twede was publishing using a pseudonym. I don't think he has grounds to complain.
Sharia Law, Mormon Style
Oh, man a really good point, that would then make sense since not one accusation is ever presented with a link or direct quotes of “hate”.
One poster mentioned that many of the people exposing mormonism were former mormons and have mormon family members, although I was never I mormon, I do have a huge branch of my family who are mormon.
My hope is that through exposure of mormonism, they will be able to escape mormonism.
We do not hate mormons, if we did hate them we would not care about their eternal state.
Obama is a Mormon...
If you think Mormonism is a credible, valid,genuine religion , you have to accept that even Willard believes Obama is a Mormon also, probably higher and more a Mormon than Willard himnself...
Strange but true...
In June, 2008 in at least one or more of their Mormon temples built for this reason, the Mormons dead dunked Stanley Ann Dunham, gave her a temple marriage to her polygamist lover, Barak Obama Senior,m the father of Preseident Barak Obama Junior...
The Mormoins then did all the endowments that Mormonism can do for Stan Ann...making her, an aytheist in life now a full forever Mormon in death...one of the 15% temple Mormons..
The Mormons then “sealed” herr to her children, Barak Junior and hi9s younger sister...thus making them full Mormons too...
along with Hitler, many 100’s of his Jew Holocaust vistims, the 56 Founding Fathers and whomever name the Mormons can get, including several of my ancestors and me as a sealed descendant...
Although the Jews have been upset with the Mormons for decades for the afrontery and bigoted eligious discrimination and downright ugliness of this Mormon practice, the Mormons can no morfe “excommunicare” those Jewish victims than they can Stanley Ann, nor reverse the prosedd...there is no Mormoin doctrine to do so...
So forever my ancestors and me, Hitler and his Jewish victims and Stanley An and her famous son, Barak Obama are MORMONS...
Whether Willard and and the rest of the Mormon leaders like it or not...
Willard often “reaffirms” and “sustains” his beliefg in his chosen religion, Mormonism...
THis is a major part of that belief...
Willard himself as a teenager, and maybe since, hes stood in proxy and been deadunked (full submersion so called baptism) in the place of dead people he never heard of and who probaly died as contented Christians and lioke my ancestors who not have darkened the door of as pagan temple...
and so little grasshopper, we already have a Mormon president...
How is that working out for you ???
Mormonism most certainly is a religion. But then religion (even under the guise of Christianity) does not qualify one for eternal life. Only one thing does that, which is why you won't find any Mormons in heaven. Or Muslims. Or Baptists. Or Presbyterians. Or...(insert your own denomination here).
[Isn't it possible that obsessive, hostile Mormon-bashing might make Mormons a little less receptive to hearing the Gospel? Just sayin'.]
If you do a little searching on the lds site (think its called familysearch), mormonism has also “baptized” Jesus and His wives (death listed as unknown), as well as (and this one really makes me laugh) God Almighty. (yep, that’s how He is listed)
You appear to be confusing mormon with exposure of mormonISM.
Exposing mormonism is not hate and it is not bashing, it is just exposure.
I completely agree with you. On the other hand, that is a line is crossed regularly and I suspect it is unfruitful.
Yes Ive found them...
I used to be about to access the pages that listed all the so called “temple work” that was “done” for dead people...
I found Stan Ann and Jesus and my ancestors...
but was it January 2009 or 2010 tha the Mormons denied access to those pages to anyone not Mormon with the right codes...
No more Freedon of Information...
No more o9penness about the rituals of the religion Mormonism...
After the temple work for Stanley Ann Dunham was exposed and the Mormon leaders in SLC looked stupid, because now we had a Mormon president who happened to be black, that access was closed to whomever might be interested...
However I haver a printout given to me by a researcher in a Mormon familysearch library hat clearly states my ancestor was B, E, S...
and the page instructs that the letters stand for Baptism, Endowments, Sealed...
(80 years after he died a “Connexion Methodist” he became a temple worthy Mormon)
That 3rd great grandfather died in 1881...
In 1956 he was dead dunked, given all the endowments and “sealed” to all his descendants including the current living ones...
I just happened to already be here...
Thus I am a Mormon, if you believe that way...
Hes not the only one of my ancestors who was dead dunked...
“[Isn’t it possible that obsessive, hostile Mormon-bashing might make Mormons a little less receptive to hearing the Gospel? Just sayin’.]”
If Mormonism doesn’t get bashed, how do you suppose the Mormon is going to wake up from it? They believe they have the only true Gospel, and they even have 6 different definitions for the word ‘saved’ which is specifically designed by the devil to make them as utterly distance from the Gospel as possible.
Mormonism is such an absurd religion that even the slightest historical research disproves it. What’s gripping them is an unwillingness to look beyond their “faith promoting” LDS histories. I suspect the Islamics are the same way with their plagiarized and absurd Koran dictated by their pedophile.
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