From the article:
In that letter and the excommunication letter, King did not mention same-sex marriage or female ordination among the reasons. Dehlin's press release Tuesday insisting that they were factors prompted a statement from the LDS Church. The statement said that church discipline is a local issue, but the church reserves the right to respond when a person decides to make the process public. "In this case," the statement said, "attempts have been made to create the impression that the disciplinary council convened on Sunday which has resulted in a loss of church membership or excommunication of Mr. Dehlin arose largely because of his views on same-sex marriage and priesthood ordination for women. Although his stated positions on those subjects are not consistent with the church’s teachings, they were not cited in the local leader’s letter delivered to Mr. Dehlin on February 9."
Back on Jan. 16, I sized this up perfectly...saying that even tho Dehlin was off-track on same-sex marriage & glbt issues, it wouldn't be the reasons the Lds church would give for excommunication...:
See my six links here re: Dehlin
iNSTEAD, the reasons cited were:
"The council concluded," King wrote, "that you were in apostasy on the following issues — your teachings disputing the nature of our Heavenly Father and the divinity of Jesus Christ; your statements that the Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham are fraudulent and works of fiction; your statements and teachings that reject The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days Saints as being the true church with power and authority from God."
your teachings disputing the nature of our Heavenly Father —
When Mittens was running vs bo, I told my wife that Mormanism seemed just like Islam.
From the REAL papyrus of Abraham ...Verses 1-5
http://www.bookofabraham.com/boamathie/BOA_6.html
(I/1) [”Osiris, the god’s father], prophet of Amon-Re, King of the Gods, prophet of Min who slaughters his enemies, prophet of Khonsu, the [one who exercises] authority in Thebes,
(I/2) [. . .] . . . Hor, the justified, son of the similarly titled overseer of secrets and purifier of the god, Osorwer, the justified, born by the [housewife and sistrum-player of ]
(I/3) [Amon]-Re, Taikhibit, the justified! May your ba-spirit live among them, and may you be buried on the west [of Thebes].”
(I/4) [”O Anubis(?),51 . . .] justification(?).
(I/5) [May you give to him] a good and splendid burial on the west of Thebes as on the mountains of Ma[nu](?).”
[Osiris shall be towed in]to the great lake of Khonsu,
and likewise [the Osiris Hor, the justified,] born of Taikhibit, the justified,
after his two arms have been [placed] at his heart, while
the Breathing Document, being what
is written on its interior and exterior, shall be wrapped in royal linen and placed (under) his left arm in the midst of his heart. The remainder of his
wrapping shall be made over it. As for the one for whom this book is made,
he thus breathes like the ba-spirit[s] of the gods, forever and ever.
http://www.bookofabraham.com/boamathie/BOA_6.html
"The council concluded," King wrote, "that you were in apostasy on the following issues — your teachings disputing the nature of our Heavenly Father and the divinity of Jesus Christ; your statements that the Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham are fraudulent and works of fiction; your statements and teachings that reject The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days Saints as being the true church with power and authority from God."
King noted that doubts and questions were not the reason for the decision, but that Dehlin crossed a line when he spread what King characterized as "teachings" widely via the Internet, and that Dehlin had told King he would not stop.
While I might think that Catholicism is guilty of serious theological error, in contrast Mormonism is chock-full of patent absurdity. I may be the defacto Leader of the FR Calvinist Protestant Brigades, but I'll pucker up and lay a fat sloppy wet full-mouth kiss on the Papal ring and bulk-order me some rosary beads before I ever consider slipping into some Utah-brand Mystical Underwear.
If he could have just been a “glass looker”, he’d have seen this coming a mile away. ;-)
So what's fascinating, actually, is to read through the initial part of this article...plus to jump down to the middle of it...
Here, allow me to cite it and then show you what I mean: If you've read the article, read it again...with special emphasis on these highlights:
SALT LAKE CITY — The founder of the Mormon Stories podcasts announced Tuesday that he has been excommunicated from the LDS Church for apostasy. John Dehlin, who had criticized senior leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and spread what his local church leader called "false concepts" about the faith, made the announcement in a press release Tuesday morning and on the KUER radio program, "RadioWest." North Logan Utah Stake President Bryan King convened a church disciplinary council for Dehlin on Sunday night after eight months of correspondence and meetings with Dehlin. King delivered a letter to Dehlin late Monday with the council's decision, and Dehlin distributed it to the media. "The council concluded," King wrote...
Middle of article:
In that letter and the excommunication letter, King did not mention same-sex marriage or female ordination among the reasons. Dehlin's press release Tuesday insisting that they were factors prompted a statement from the LDS Church. The statement said that church discipline is a local issue, but the church reserves the right to respond when a person decides to make the process public.
Did you catch the plain-as-day contrasting/contradictory info being disseminated?
The middle of the article claims that "church discipline is a LOCAL issue..." ...and the KSL church-owned article takes great pains to present the whole thing that way early in the article...
..."his LOCAL church leader..."
..."North Logan Utah stake president..." (Dehlin's stake)
and then the local "council" this and "council" that...
The KSL article -- along with the same article that ran in the Lds Church owned Deseret News (see: Mormon Stories founder Dehlin's spread of 'false concepts' results in excommunication from LDS Church) -- doesn't say "Logan" or "North Logan"...
Nope
It says rather plainly:
But that was barely anything of the story...and was buried midway thru it.
Make no mistake...
This wasn't the "action" of a local stake council tucked away up in North Logan, no matter how much the Mormon Church attempts to cover its bureaucratic edicts from "on high" in SLC.
And it's quite shameless for them to even try -- all while acknowledging in the dateline that, yup, it's all centered in "SALT LAKE CITY"...!!!!
“I know in a lot of ways it feels like, for me, the church isn’t just rejecting John Dehlin, the church is rejecting me too,” supporter Micah Nickolaisen said. “I feel that it’s really important that we don’t stop people from speaking what they believe and what their truth is, it’s important to me that my girls know that when people are being silenced we aren’t quiet,” supporter Mary Danzig said.
New: Excommunicated Mormon blogger posts full letter, info from LDS church
So...
...if you're a Mormon who's been helped by a John Dehlin podcast (and I would say any of those he's had on homosexuality are detrimental)...
...but the Mormon church painstakingly made it quite clear they weren't excommunicating Dehlin for those opinions...
...as Micah told Fox13...the Mormon Church IS rejecting you, too!
If a "spouse" has booted you from the house, why would you hang around lingering just outside the door? Or settle for the porch? Or the backyard?
The Mormon Church has rejected you, too!
(So go find a new church home)
As "Mary" said, don't remain silent when the truth is at stake.
Of COURSE he was excommunicated!
Those were NOT false 'concepts'; but True Facts!
THX 1138