Latter-day Dissent: At the Crossroads of Intellectual Inquiry and Ecclesiastical Authority is a 2011 book by Philip Lindholm

Philip Lindholm

Philip Lindholm is a singer/songwriter, filmmaker, and academic from Seattle, Washington. He is best known as the author of Latter-day Dissent and for playing the lead role in the BBC's murder mystery Who Murdered Warren Taylor, presenting ITV1's The Grail Trail: In Pursuit of the Da Vinci Code,...

 that chronicles the stories of prominent LDS intellectuals who faced disciplinary action by the LDS Church. The book features contributions from members of the September Six

September Six

The September Six were six members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were excommunicated or disfellowshipped by the LDS Church in September 1993 for speaking against Church doctrine and leadership. The term "September Six" was coined by The Salt Lake Tribune and the term was...

, including Lynne Kanavel Whitesides, Paul Toscano, Maxine Hanks, Lavina Fielding Anderson

Lavina Fielding Anderson

Lavina Fielding Anderson is a Latter Day Saint scholar, writer, editor, and feminist. Anderson holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington...

, D. Michael Quinn

D. Michael Quinn

Dennis Michael Quinn is a historian who has focused on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a professor at Brigham Young University from 1976 until his resignation in 1988. At the time, his work concerned church involvement with plural marriage after the 1890 Manifesto, in which...

, as well as Janice Merrill Allred, Margaret Merrill Toscano, Thomas W. Murphy

Thomas W. Murphy

Thomas W. Murphy is a Latter Day Saint anthropologist and writer. Murphy earned his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Washington in 2003, and he now teaches in the Department of Anthropology at Edmonds Community College in Washington state...

, and Donald Jessee. Dr. Lindholm's analysis combined with Diarmaid MacCulloch

Diarmaid MacCulloch

Diarmaid Ninian John MacCulloch FBA, FSA, FR Hist S is Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford and Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford...

's foreword and the interviews themselves collectively discuss the nature and extent of intellectual freedom and disciplinary action in The LDS Church.

Background

In September 1993, the LDS Church disciplined six prominent intellectuals and speakers for expressing controversial views in public. Similar action was taken again in 1995, 2000, and nearly 2003 against other intellectuals, collectively consisting of feminists, activists, a lawyer, authors and academics who presented a dissenting paradigm to that of the LDS ecclesiastical hierarchy. Latter-day Dissent retroactively examines the events of the September Six and the subsequent disciplinary action, while also following the personal faith journeys of the purged intellectuals.

Importance

Notable historian Jan Shipps

Jan Shipps

Jo Ann Barnett "Jan" Shipps is an American historian specializing in Mormon History, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century to the present. Shipps is generally regarded as the foremost non-Mormon scholar of the Latter Day Saint movement, having given particular attention to The...

 says of the book: "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."


Revd Prof. Diarmaid MacCulloch

Diarmaid MacCulloch

Diarmaid Ninian John MacCulloch FBA, FSA, FR Hist S is Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford and Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford...

(Oxford): "The testimonies contained in this book are acts of courage and witnesses to a painful effort to seek integrity, when strong efforts were being made either to make them change their minds or at least keep their intellectual adventures to themselves. They deserve sympathy and admiration."


One reviewer called the book "timely" while another noted, "Some of the interviews are quite sympathetic and engaging. They convey very effectively the personal emotions involved in religious exclusion and exploring what it means to be a 'Mormon.' Personal stories carry power, as members of the Church understand when they bear personal testimonies or do missionary work. In that regard the book can evoke much sympathy and personal reflection."