Latter-day Dissent: At the Crossroads of Intellectual Inquiry and Ecclesiastical Authority

Edited by Philip Lindholm

• “The interviews ... are significant additions to the literature of Mormonism. They are quite revealing and, in general, they make for fascinating reading.” — Jan Shipps
• “Lindholm is a skilled interviewer, delicately prompting his subjects to relive difficult experiences while respectfully interjecting challenging and thought-provoking questions.” — Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought.

  
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Book Description:

This volume collects, for the first time in book form, stories from the “September Six,” a group of intellectuals officially excommunicated or disfellowshipped from the LDS Church in September of 1993 on charges of “apostasy” or “conduct unbecoming” Church members. Their experiences are significant and yet are largely unknown outside of scholarly or more liberal Mormon circles, which is surprising given that their story was immediately propelled onto screens and cover pages across the Western world.
     Interviews by Dr. Philip Lindholm (Ph.D. Theology, University of Oxford) include those of the “September Six,” Lynne Kanavel Whitesides, Paul James Toscano, Maxine Hanks, Lavina Fielding Anderson, and D. Michael Quinn; as well as Janice Merrill Allred, Margaret Merrill Toscano, Thomas W. Murphy , and former employee of the LDS Church’s Public Affairs Department, Donald B. Jessee.
     Each interview illustrates the tension that often exists between the Church and its intellectual critics, and highlights the difficulty of accommodating congregational diversity while maintaining doctrinal unity—a difficulty hearkening back to the very heart of ancient Christianity.

Comprehensive Table of Contents:

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 Praise for Latter-day Dissent:

“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.” — Jan Shipps

“The testimonies contained in this book are acts of courage and witnesses to a painful effort to seek integrity...They deserve sympathy and admiration.” — Diarmaid MacCulloch 

“Lindholm is a skilled interviewer, delicately prompting his subjects to relive difficult experiences while respectfully interjecting challenging and thought-provoking questions. That at least one of Lindholm’s subjects has at times expressed reluctance to comment on his excommunication heightens Latter-day Dissent’s value.” — Stephen McIntyre, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought.

About the Author:

Philip Lindholm obtained his doctorate in philosophical theology from the University of Oxford, and is a guest lecturer at both Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and MediehØgskollen, Norway. Of his seven degrees, he holds separate master's degrees in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and has published in volumes for scholarly and popular audiences alike. He has also worked in documentary film production for ITV and BBC Religion and Ethics, and is a managing member of the international production company 24/30 Cinema. 
www.philiplindholm.com

More Information:

272 pages
ISBN: 978-1-58958-128-9 (Paperback)
Published December 2010